Last night the NBA regular season got underway with three games that included two key rookies on display. One had a successful first game, the other couldn't even finish the game.
The Celtics raised their 17th championship banner and held off the Cavs to win their game. The Bulls and rookie Derrick Rose faced the Bucks and came away with a win. Reigning MVP Kobe Bryant was in action against Portland and Greg Oden. The Lakers played sharp as expected but the story was Oden leaving the game with a foot injury.
Of course to his dismay, the next day critics had plenty to say. He's too big, hasn't played a full season, injury prone, on and on. Look injuries happen, yeah it was his first game, but injuries happen and there is nothing you can do about it. The guy will be back soon.
I just wanted to share my thoughts on a few of the statements that were left in the recent comments.
So the Cavs and Celtics played last night and the Celtics won by 5 points. The Cavs had 20 plus turnovers and the Celtics only won by 5 points. I know a win is a win, but if you are truly great and the Cavs aren't, you shouldn't win by 5 points when the other team has 20 plus turnovers.
Yeah it was opening night and emotions were high with the ring ceremony and whatever, but the Cavs led the whole way until the third quarter and the Celtics never lead by more than ten points. The Cavs played poorly the whole game on the offensive side, especially in the second half, yet they still had a shot to win the game.
And that is what I am saying. Come May when the Cavs and Celtics are playing in the playoffs, with a guy like Lebron James on the Cavs, he will give them a shot to win in those close games come playoff time.
I don't think the Celtics played very good defense last night, it was mostly the Cavs having poor execution on the offensive side, which will get corrected as the season goes on. So picking the Cavs to make it to the conference finals with the best player in the league on that team, who is hungry for a championship, is not an outrageous pick.
Love for the Pacers? Love to win 40 games? Sure they might win 40 games and maybe get the last seed in the East, but I really doubt it. All they have is Dunleavy and Granger, both are good players but they have no inside game and if they think they can be a running team, they better get some more employees to join their team.
Yeah the Heat have something to prove and they will prove it and make the playoffs, but they aren't a championship team this year. They too need an inside presence and with just Haslem and Beasley won't get the job done.
The Raptors will be a playoff team, but I don't see them being a championship team. Bosh will have a career year, just because he is a talented player. But the Raptors will fall short in the playoffs.
The Pistons, not make the playoffs? You think there are seven teams in the East better than them. No way. The Pistons will win the Central division, over Cleveland and Chicago. The Pistons haven't lost anyone and their young players off the bench will carry them all season long. What about Kwame Brown? This is his new beginning. And Rodney Stuckey is going to quickly turn into a star. Pistons will be a top four seed again, but their age will catch them come playoff time.
Sixers are the dark horse in the East. They might be the team other than Cleveland to make it to the conference finals. Some people think they will be good and make a run and some think they are over hyped and won't have success in the playoffs. I do think they will be a tough team and cause havoc in the East all season long.
Of course Superman and the Magic will be good. Some are even saying with the addition of Michael Petius, they could make a run at the East title, but I think they are still too young to go that far. But you never know.
It's hard to disagree with my picks in the West, because the Lakers and Hornets are easy championship teams.
I understand that most think the Rockets are injury prone, but I think this is their year to get over the hump and win a playoff series. They are a talented team that could cause some trouble for the top teams in the West.
Lakers and Hornets out West.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
2008-2009 NBA Preview
Before I get to today's main attraction I want to put a few images in your head first.
and...
Of course, those are videos of the two best players in the league: Lebron James and Kobe Bryant.
Kobe won his first MVP award last season in leading his team to the NBA Finals for the first time post Shaq. But there was a bump in the road when they collided with the Boston Celtics.
The point of this post is to discuss the upcoming NBA season and share who I think will have success and who will struggle.
Of course who I think will have success is Lebron and Kobe, but there are others as well.
The defending champs entering this new season are the Boston Celtics, who won their NBA leading 17th championship in June.
But they lost a key player from that team, defensive specialist James Posey, who now plays for West contender the New Orleans Hornets. But the Celtics are saying we can win another championship this season. Personally I don't see that happening, they might make it to the finals but they will have some issues.
Here are my thoughts on the top four teams from each conference, starting in the East:
- Of course, the Boston Celtics are still the team to beat in the East, but how will they favor without Posey. The big 3 will have to play tough all season long.
- The veteran Detroit Pistons. Their team age keeps climbing year after year and they seem to find a way to play well all season. How will they favor with a new coach? I don't see the Pistons making a deep run in the playoffs this year.
- The Philadelphia Sixers. Brought in a big inside presence in Elton Brand, something they needed badly. A young athletic team hoping to improve on last year's though run in the playoffs. I wouldn't want to play this team come playoff time.
-The Cleveland Cavaliers. I'm going to be honest, this team isn't built for a long regular season or to win 60 games. This team is a playoff team, built for the playoffs. They will probably end up the regular season with between 40-50 wins this season and probably the 4 or 5 seed in the East. But they also have a scoring point guard now to accompany Lebron James, who will be out for blood come postseason time. Expect this guy to be in the running for an MVP award this season, much like every season.
Also the Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, and Miami Heat are possible playoff teams in the East.
For the West:
- There are three teams that stand above the rest in this conference this year. LA Lakers, New Orleans Hornets and Houston Rockets. The Lakers will have Bynum back to start the season and if they stay healthy all season, they could easily win 60 games and make another appearance in the Finals.
- The Hornets added a key player in Posey, who will help big time on the defensive end. Paul is the best point guard in the league and will be in the MVP running. Hornets are a scary team.
- The Houston Rockets, added Ron Artest to the team. T-Mac is back, Yao is back, if, if, if they stay healthy they could make another run at that 22 consecutive games won like they did last year. I hope they stay healthy because this will be a tough team if they do.
- The remaining teams include Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers.
There are also some big name rookies that could have an immediate impact on the league this season. Players like Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, Greg Oden, O.J. Mayo and my sleeper rook, Joe Alexander.
I'm a fan of Oden, so I hope he stays healthy and has an impact for the Trailblazers, who I think is going to be a good team this year. I'm picking Greg Oden as this years Rookie of the Year.
You may be wondering who I am picking to win the NBA Finals. Well, I don't know.
I could easily pick the Celtics and Lakers again, because they are the two best teams in the league. Or I could make a silly pick like I did last year, when I picked the Suns and Bulls. Which was horrible idea. Or I could pick the 'every other year Spurs' since it's that type of season this year.
I'll give you my top two teams from each conference to make it to the conference finals this upcoming postseason and I'll let your mind do that rest.
Starting with the West... Lakers would be a good pick, Hornets too, I really want to pick the Rockets, but they can't even win a playoff series, I don't really like the Jazz, I do like the Spurs, but like the Pistons, I think age is catching up to them, Suns have the Nash running the Diesel, Mavericks, no, Trailblazers that could be my wishful pick, Nuggets, AI and Melo are they a good playoff team?
I'm going to be a lamo and pick the Lakers and Hornets. They are the two best teams in the West, they are both built for playoff success, they each have a MVP type player and have excellent supporting players. Lakers have two towers down low, and excellent shooting on the perimeter. Hornets have the best point guard, shooters on the outside, a perimeter defender to guard Kobe and a decent inside. Lakers-Hornets Western Conference Finals 2009.
Now with the East... Celtics want another title, Pistons want another title, but they are aging quickly, Cavs have the king, who wants a ring to match his gold medal, Magic and Sixers are young talented teams, Raptors don't have a chance, Heat have D-Wade back along side Beasley, Wizards can't beat the Cavs in the postseason and Arenas can't stay healthy.
Any guesses on who I'm taking?
I'll take the Celtics and Cavs in the East. Celtics still have the big three, Pierce thinks he's the best player in the league (I read an article where he said that), I could name 10 players who are better than him easily, Ray Allen can still shoot the three, and KG is the defensive inside presence. Cavs have the best player in the league, brought in a legit scoring point guard, now have extra depth at the guard position, still have Z and big Ben, who are aging quickly and solid bench players who can come in. To be honest, I think the Cavs have a deeper bench than the Celtics this season. Not to mention they don't have anyone that can guard Lebron for a seven game series. Cavs pushed the Celtics to the limit last season, Cavs made improvements this off season, I see trouble for the Celtics. Celtics-Cavs Eastern Conference Finals 2009.
There you have it, my picks for the conference finals. I'll let your imagination do the rest of the work. When it comes time for the Finals I'll let you know who I'm picking.
On to other issues,
Yeah I know I didn't pick the World Series correctly. It's the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies. At the moment, Phillies are up 3-1, game five is tonight in Philly. Hamels is on the mound. I see trouble for the Rays. They had an excellent season and surprised everyone, but can they fight back to push it to game seven?
Philly is trying to win their first championship since 1983 when the Sixers won the NBA championship. So this city is desperate and will surely go nuts if the Phillies win.
NFL news, Titans are the only undefeated team left, big game against the Colts tonight. My Super Bowl picks, Chargers (3-5) and Eagles (4-4) aren't looking too hot right now. Chargers have lost several close games which hurts them big time. Eagles have been fighting injuries, like always. I at least hope they can make it to the playoffs.
Drew Bees is the mid-season MVP with 2,500 passing yards through eight games, which is outrageous. Clinton Portis and the Redskins are 6-2 and Portis has 900 plus yards, leading the league.
My Niners (2-6) fired head coach Mike Nolan and have lost five straight games. Sad face. We need to pick it up in the second part of the season.
College Basketball is right around the corner. Who is this year's preseason number 1?
None other than the North Carolina Tar Heels! Psycho T and company are all back and have a talented freshman class to back them up. I see a special season approaching down in Chapel Hill.
and...
Of course, those are videos of the two best players in the league: Lebron James and Kobe Bryant.
Kobe won his first MVP award last season in leading his team to the NBA Finals for the first time post Shaq. But there was a bump in the road when they collided with the Boston Celtics.
The point of this post is to discuss the upcoming NBA season and share who I think will have success and who will struggle.
Of course who I think will have success is Lebron and Kobe, but there are others as well.
The defending champs entering this new season are the Boston Celtics, who won their NBA leading 17th championship in June.
But they lost a key player from that team, defensive specialist James Posey, who now plays for West contender the New Orleans Hornets. But the Celtics are saying we can win another championship this season. Personally I don't see that happening, they might make it to the finals but they will have some issues.
Here are my thoughts on the top four teams from each conference, starting in the East:
- Of course, the Boston Celtics are still the team to beat in the East, but how will they favor without Posey. The big 3 will have to play tough all season long.
- The veteran Detroit Pistons. Their team age keeps climbing year after year and they seem to find a way to play well all season. How will they favor with a new coach? I don't see the Pistons making a deep run in the playoffs this year.
- The Philadelphia Sixers. Brought in a big inside presence in Elton Brand, something they needed badly. A young athletic team hoping to improve on last year's though run in the playoffs. I wouldn't want to play this team come playoff time.
-The Cleveland Cavaliers. I'm going to be honest, this team isn't built for a long regular season or to win 60 games. This team is a playoff team, built for the playoffs. They will probably end up the regular season with between 40-50 wins this season and probably the 4 or 5 seed in the East. But they also have a scoring point guard now to accompany Lebron James, who will be out for blood come postseason time. Expect this guy to be in the running for an MVP award this season, much like every season.
Also the Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, and Miami Heat are possible playoff teams in the East.
For the West:
- There are three teams that stand above the rest in this conference this year. LA Lakers, New Orleans Hornets and Houston Rockets. The Lakers will have Bynum back to start the season and if they stay healthy all season, they could easily win 60 games and make another appearance in the Finals.
- The Hornets added a key player in Posey, who will help big time on the defensive end. Paul is the best point guard in the league and will be in the MVP running. Hornets are a scary team.
- The Houston Rockets, added Ron Artest to the team. T-Mac is back, Yao is back, if, if, if they stay healthy they could make another run at that 22 consecutive games won like they did last year. I hope they stay healthy because this will be a tough team if they do.
- The remaining teams include Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers.
There are also some big name rookies that could have an immediate impact on the league this season. Players like Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, Greg Oden, O.J. Mayo and my sleeper rook, Joe Alexander.
I'm a fan of Oden, so I hope he stays healthy and has an impact for the Trailblazers, who I think is going to be a good team this year. I'm picking Greg Oden as this years Rookie of the Year.
You may be wondering who I am picking to win the NBA Finals. Well, I don't know.
I could easily pick the Celtics and Lakers again, because they are the two best teams in the league. Or I could make a silly pick like I did last year, when I picked the Suns and Bulls. Which was horrible idea. Or I could pick the 'every other year Spurs' since it's that type of season this year.
I'll give you my top two teams from each conference to make it to the conference finals this upcoming postseason and I'll let your mind do that rest.
Starting with the West... Lakers would be a good pick, Hornets too, I really want to pick the Rockets, but they can't even win a playoff series, I don't really like the Jazz, I do like the Spurs, but like the Pistons, I think age is catching up to them, Suns have the Nash running the Diesel, Mavericks, no, Trailblazers that could be my wishful pick, Nuggets, AI and Melo are they a good playoff team?
I'm going to be a lamo and pick the Lakers and Hornets. They are the two best teams in the West, they are both built for playoff success, they each have a MVP type player and have excellent supporting players. Lakers have two towers down low, and excellent shooting on the perimeter. Hornets have the best point guard, shooters on the outside, a perimeter defender to guard Kobe and a decent inside. Lakers-Hornets Western Conference Finals 2009.
Now with the East... Celtics want another title, Pistons want another title, but they are aging quickly, Cavs have the king, who wants a ring to match his gold medal, Magic and Sixers are young talented teams, Raptors don't have a chance, Heat have D-Wade back along side Beasley, Wizards can't beat the Cavs in the postseason and Arenas can't stay healthy.
Any guesses on who I'm taking?
I'll take the Celtics and Cavs in the East. Celtics still have the big three, Pierce thinks he's the best player in the league (I read an article where he said that), I could name 10 players who are better than him easily, Ray Allen can still shoot the three, and KG is the defensive inside presence. Cavs have the best player in the league, brought in a legit scoring point guard, now have extra depth at the guard position, still have Z and big Ben, who are aging quickly and solid bench players who can come in. To be honest, I think the Cavs have a deeper bench than the Celtics this season. Not to mention they don't have anyone that can guard Lebron for a seven game series. Cavs pushed the Celtics to the limit last season, Cavs made improvements this off season, I see trouble for the Celtics. Celtics-Cavs Eastern Conference Finals 2009.
There you have it, my picks for the conference finals. I'll let your imagination do the rest of the work. When it comes time for the Finals I'll let you know who I'm picking.
On to other issues,
Yeah I know I didn't pick the World Series correctly. It's the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies. At the moment, Phillies are up 3-1, game five is tonight in Philly. Hamels is on the mound. I see trouble for the Rays. They had an excellent season and surprised everyone, but can they fight back to push it to game seven?
Philly is trying to win their first championship since 1983 when the Sixers won the NBA championship. So this city is desperate and will surely go nuts if the Phillies win.
NFL news, Titans are the only undefeated team left, big game against the Colts tonight. My Super Bowl picks, Chargers (3-5) and Eagles (4-4) aren't looking too hot right now. Chargers have lost several close games which hurts them big time. Eagles have been fighting injuries, like always. I at least hope they can make it to the playoffs.
Drew Bees is the mid-season MVP with 2,500 passing yards through eight games, which is outrageous. Clinton Portis and the Redskins are 6-2 and Portis has 900 plus yards, leading the league.
My Niners (2-6) fired head coach Mike Nolan and have lost five straight games. Sad face. We need to pick it up in the second part of the season.
College Basketball is right around the corner. Who is this year's preseason number 1?
None other than the North Carolina Tar Heels! Psycho T and company are all back and have a talented freshman class to back them up. I see a special season approaching down in Chapel Hill.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Love it!
It is officially the first of October and that means it is my favorite month of the year. I have a lot I want to talk about today, including basketball, baseball, this nations financial crisis, the upcoming presidential election and a few other topics.
No I'm only kidding about that stuff. I am here to talk about SPORTS! I do have a lot I want to cover, so enjoy today's post.
Like I was saying it is October 1st and that means the MLB postseason begins today. It also means that NBA training camps are underway, with preseason games to follow shortly, filed by the beginning of the regular season in 27 days. Also, the NFL season is four weeks into their season and to my surprise, there isn't one team who stands out above the rest. First I'll start with my thoughts on the MLB postseason.
Who remembers way back to March 31, when I made my predictions for this MLB season. (Here is a Link back to that post). Well I only picked three out of eight correctly. And my World Series pick was completely off, neither team is even in the postseason. Anyways, enough about my poor predicting skills.
The eight teams that will be representing their respective leagues in this year's postseason are as follows: American League- Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox and LA Angels vs. Boston Red Sox. National League- Philadelphia Phillies vs. Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs vs. LA Dodgers.
How do you like that, both teams from Chicago made the playoffs. That's saying something about that city isn't it. Even in Los Angeles too. Except the Angles actually play in Anaheim, but their name has LA in it.
Anyway, this season a baseball was fairly quiet. Not many record breakers, except one major one. The Angels closer "K-Rod" broke the previous record of 57 saves and finished the season with 62 saves. That is a ridiculous number and congrats to that kid. He is probably the best closer in the league.
Oh, there is one thing you might have noticed. Where are the Yankees? Yup, they failed to make the postseason for the first time in several years. And this was the last season in Yankee Stadium. The Yanks will be moving into a new stadium right across the street next season.
As for the Mets, once again they chocked in September and failed to make the playoffs as well. They too will be moving to a new stadium next season, saying goodbye to old Shea Stadium.
So with New York usually being the stand out city of the nation, this year Chicago and LA have beat them out. How funny would it be if either team, LA or Chicago were to meet each other in the World Series? That would be pretty amazing.
But since I failed to pick the World Series correctly before the season began, I get a redo and get to make a postseason selection. So I think I will take one team from LA and one team from Chicago. I mean they cover half of the field right, so I think I have a pretty good shot this time.
From the American League, I'll take the LA Angels of Anaheim to take on from the National League, the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs will break through on the 100 anniversary of their last World Series Championship and make an appearance and have a shot at the title.
That's all I have to say about that...
NBA action gets underway very shortly and boy does that excite me! The first preseason games actually begin this coming Sunday. I check in with NBA.com regularly, just because I'm an avid basketball nut, and I came across this Season Preview article. (Here is the Link to that site, so you can check it out).
What came to my attention first was, they have a link called the NBA Live 09 Simulation. That means they simulate the whole NBA season through the NBA Live video game. To my shock, can you guess who were playing the NBA Finals? How about the Lakers and the Heat! The Miami Heat? Really? They came out of the simulation as the best team in the East! Is that because D-Wade had a stellar Olympic campaign? I was shocked by the Heat. I can understand the Lakers being in the Finals because more than likely they will return.
What an off season it was in the NBA and around the globe. There were numerous moves, free agents in new places, and even a Gold Medal.
Elton Brand is a Sixer, Ron Artest is a Rocket, Corey Maggette is a Warrior, Baron Davis, Marcus Camby, Ricky Davis are Clippers, Richard Jefferson is a Buck, Yi Yinlian is a Net, Jermaine O'Neal is a Raptor, James Posey is a Hornet, Kwame Brown is a Piston. Patrick Ewing is back with the Knicks (Jr.), Allan Houston is back with the Knicks.
Those are just a few of the moves made this off season. Busy, busy, Busy.
Meanwhile, the best players in the league were representing their country over seas in China at this year's Summer Olympics. Kobe, Lebron, Melo, D-Wade, CP3 were all on the team trying to Redeem themselves from their disappointing Bronze from 2004.
To cut a long story short, The Redeem Team won the Gold Medal going undefeated throughout the Olympics looking impressive most of the time.
Lebron has a new sidekick, D-Wade has a few talented rookies joining him, Kobe will have Bynum back, the defending champs lost their best defender, Arenas' knee still hurts, Oden is set to make his debut. Those are just a few headlines from this off season.
I'm not going to make any predictions for the season yet, but I want to point out the top four teams in my opinion from each conference. From the West- LA Lakers, New Orleans Hornets, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. From the East- Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia Sixers, and Orlando Magic.
Of course there are a few other teams that are on the edge of that list, including the Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls.
I'll get back to ya later this month with my predictions for the season.
Finally, the NFL season. Redskins knocked out the Cowboys this past weekend. Patriots are coming off a bye week headache after loosing to the Dolphins. Giants, Titans, and Bills are the only undefeated teams remaining. Ricky Williams said he was tempted to use the drug that got him kicked out of the league on his bye week. T.O. is upset with how Romo throws the football to him. Favre sets a personal record as a Jet, six passing touchdowns last weekend.
What surprises me is the Titans are 4-0? They do have the best defense statistically so far, but how are they scoring points on offense? Kerry Collins is playing tough, keeping Vince Young on the bench.
The Redskins are 3-1 after beating the Cowboys in Big D. The Skins are the most boring team to watch and some how they win games. I'm always saying how crappy they are and yet some how they get the job done.
The NFC East will produce three teams into the playoffs. That's a fact. And the one team left out will have a better record than one of the other division winners, probably the NFC West division winner. Giants, Cowboys, Redskins and Eagles are talented teams.
In other news, Vijay Singh won this year's PGA FedEx Cup.
In College Football, the top three teams at the moment are: 1) Oklahoma Sooners, 2) Alabama Crimson Tide, 3) LSU Tigers.
I think that's all I have for the moment. Please leave comments, they are appreciated. I'll check ya later.
No I'm only kidding about that stuff. I am here to talk about SPORTS! I do have a lot I want to cover, so enjoy today's post.
Like I was saying it is October 1st and that means the MLB postseason begins today. It also means that NBA training camps are underway, with preseason games to follow shortly, filed by the beginning of the regular season in 27 days. Also, the NFL season is four weeks into their season and to my surprise, there isn't one team who stands out above the rest. First I'll start with my thoughts on the MLB postseason.
Who remembers way back to March 31, when I made my predictions for this MLB season. (Here is a Link back to that post). Well I only picked three out of eight correctly. And my World Series pick was completely off, neither team is even in the postseason. Anyways, enough about my poor predicting skills.
The eight teams that will be representing their respective leagues in this year's postseason are as follows: American League- Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox and LA Angels vs. Boston Red Sox. National League- Philadelphia Phillies vs. Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs vs. LA Dodgers.
How do you like that, both teams from Chicago made the playoffs. That's saying something about that city isn't it. Even in Los Angeles too. Except the Angles actually play in Anaheim, but their name has LA in it.
Anyway, this season a baseball was fairly quiet. Not many record breakers, except one major one. The Angels closer "K-Rod" broke the previous record of 57 saves and finished the season with 62 saves. That is a ridiculous number and congrats to that kid. He is probably the best closer in the league.
Oh, there is one thing you might have noticed. Where are the Yankees? Yup, they failed to make the postseason for the first time in several years. And this was the last season in Yankee Stadium. The Yanks will be moving into a new stadium right across the street next season.
As for the Mets, once again they chocked in September and failed to make the playoffs as well. They too will be moving to a new stadium next season, saying goodbye to old Shea Stadium.
So with New York usually being the stand out city of the nation, this year Chicago and LA have beat them out. How funny would it be if either team, LA or Chicago were to meet each other in the World Series? That would be pretty amazing.
But since I failed to pick the World Series correctly before the season began, I get a redo and get to make a postseason selection. So I think I will take one team from LA and one team from Chicago. I mean they cover half of the field right, so I think I have a pretty good shot this time.
From the American League, I'll take the LA Angels of Anaheim to take on from the National League, the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs will break through on the 100 anniversary of their last World Series Championship and make an appearance and have a shot at the title.
That's all I have to say about that...
NBA action gets underway very shortly and boy does that excite me! The first preseason games actually begin this coming Sunday. I check in with NBA.com regularly, just because I'm an avid basketball nut, and I came across this Season Preview article. (Here is the Link to that site, so you can check it out).
What came to my attention first was, they have a link called the NBA Live 09 Simulation. That means they simulate the whole NBA season through the NBA Live video game. To my shock, can you guess who were playing the NBA Finals? How about the Lakers and the Heat! The Miami Heat? Really? They came out of the simulation as the best team in the East! Is that because D-Wade had a stellar Olympic campaign? I was shocked by the Heat. I can understand the Lakers being in the Finals because more than likely they will return.
What an off season it was in the NBA and around the globe. There were numerous moves, free agents in new places, and even a Gold Medal.
Elton Brand is a Sixer, Ron Artest is a Rocket, Corey Maggette is a Warrior, Baron Davis, Marcus Camby, Ricky Davis are Clippers, Richard Jefferson is a Buck, Yi Yinlian is a Net, Jermaine O'Neal is a Raptor, James Posey is a Hornet, Kwame Brown is a Piston. Patrick Ewing is back with the Knicks (Jr.), Allan Houston is back with the Knicks.
Those are just a few of the moves made this off season. Busy, busy, Busy.
Meanwhile, the best players in the league were representing their country over seas in China at this year's Summer Olympics. Kobe, Lebron, Melo, D-Wade, CP3 were all on the team trying to Redeem themselves from their disappointing Bronze from 2004.
To cut a long story short, The Redeem Team won the Gold Medal going undefeated throughout the Olympics looking impressive most of the time.
Lebron has a new sidekick, D-Wade has a few talented rookies joining him, Kobe will have Bynum back, the defending champs lost their best defender, Arenas' knee still hurts, Oden is set to make his debut. Those are just a few headlines from this off season.
I'm not going to make any predictions for the season yet, but I want to point out the top four teams in my opinion from each conference. From the West- LA Lakers, New Orleans Hornets, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. From the East- Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia Sixers, and Orlando Magic.
Of course there are a few other teams that are on the edge of that list, including the Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls.
I'll get back to ya later this month with my predictions for the season.
Finally, the NFL season. Redskins knocked out the Cowboys this past weekend. Patriots are coming off a bye week headache after loosing to the Dolphins. Giants, Titans, and Bills are the only undefeated teams remaining. Ricky Williams said he was tempted to use the drug that got him kicked out of the league on his bye week. T.O. is upset with how Romo throws the football to him. Favre sets a personal record as a Jet, six passing touchdowns last weekend.
What surprises me is the Titans are 4-0? They do have the best defense statistically so far, but how are they scoring points on offense? Kerry Collins is playing tough, keeping Vince Young on the bench.
The Redskins are 3-1 after beating the Cowboys in Big D. The Skins are the most boring team to watch and some how they win games. I'm always saying how crappy they are and yet some how they get the job done.
The NFC East will produce three teams into the playoffs. That's a fact. And the one team left out will have a better record than one of the other division winners, probably the NFC West division winner. Giants, Cowboys, Redskins and Eagles are talented teams.
In other news, Vijay Singh won this year's PGA FedEx Cup.
In College Football, the top three teams at the moment are: 1) Oklahoma Sooners, 2) Alabama Crimson Tide, 3) LSU Tigers.
I think that's all I have for the moment. Please leave comments, they are appreciated. I'll check ya later.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Tiger Who?
For those of you that think golf is a boring sport to play and to watch, should have checked out this past weekends Ryder Cup tournament. This is a tournament that matches up the best players from USA against the best players of Europe.
The tournament takes place every two years and alternates locations between Europe and USA. This year's tournament took place on US soil in Kentucky. The USA hasn't won the Ryder Cup trophy since 1999 and this year they were without the best player in the world, Mr. Tiger Woods.
But that didn't seem to matter. The young US team came out firing on all cylinders and lead all three days and ended up winning the Ryder Cup by a score of 16 1/2 points to 11 1/2.
Now like I was saying, those of you that think golf is boring and think all you do is hit a little ball 500 yards into a little cup; That may be true, but if you watched the tournament this past weekend your perception would surely change.
This tournament is all about team play and representing your country. Just like with the Olympics or any other team representing your country, everything changes. There is no better satisfaction that representing your own nation going against another country that thinks they are better than you.
Emotions are usually reserved during a regular golf tournament, but not in the Ryder Cup. Every hole is important and when you make that crucial putt to take a lead, then emotions will surely come out and the crowd reacts just as well. Chants of U.S.A and O'lay, from the crowd just gives you chills watching this tournament.
So next time you want to bash golf as a boring sport, stop and think before you speak, because golf is a very hard sport and requires much skill to play.
Props to USA captain Paul Azinger who put together a solid team victory to bring the Ryder Cup back to US soil. Though Tiger wasn't able to play and help out his country, I know he is proud of his fellow members.
A few headlines from the NFL. The big story of the day had to be the Miami Dolphins going into New England and just running all over the Brady-less Patriots. The Dolphins ended the Pats 21 game regular season winning streak handing the Pats a 38-13 loss. I didn't get to see the game, but I saw the highlights and all you can see is Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams just running all over the place on the Pats defense.
Ronnie Brown scored a franchise best four rushing touchdowns to go along with 100 plus rushing yards. But what happened to the Patriots? Yeah they lost the reigning league MVP for the rest of the season, but they still have a good defense right? I guess not, or maybe the Dolphins wanted to win more than the Pats.
Then if you watch the post game news conference on ESPN news, you see boring Bill Belichick at the mic talking in his monotone voice saying, yeah the Dolphins played good, we have a lot to work on, blah, blah. He is probably the most boring coach in the league. He rarely shows emotion anytime, on or off the field. Congrats to the Dolphins on a big win.
One other note for the day, Tampa Bay back up quarterback Brian Griese threw 67 passes yesterday in their overtime win over the Bears. 67 pass attempts! Are you serious? And he completed 38 of those 67. I mean throwing 38 passes is a lot of passes for one game, but 67!? I think that is the most passes I have witnessed in my lifetime. I am pretty sure that guy had an ice pack on his shoulder for the rest of the night and will surely be having a massage at some point this week.
The tournament takes place every two years and alternates locations between Europe and USA. This year's tournament took place on US soil in Kentucky. The USA hasn't won the Ryder Cup trophy since 1999 and this year they were without the best player in the world, Mr. Tiger Woods.
But that didn't seem to matter. The young US team came out firing on all cylinders and lead all three days and ended up winning the Ryder Cup by a score of 16 1/2 points to 11 1/2.
Now like I was saying, those of you that think golf is boring and think all you do is hit a little ball 500 yards into a little cup; That may be true, but if you watched the tournament this past weekend your perception would surely change.
This tournament is all about team play and representing your country. Just like with the Olympics or any other team representing your country, everything changes. There is no better satisfaction that representing your own nation going against another country that thinks they are better than you.
Emotions are usually reserved during a regular golf tournament, but not in the Ryder Cup. Every hole is important and when you make that crucial putt to take a lead, then emotions will surely come out and the crowd reacts just as well. Chants of U.S.A and O'lay, from the crowd just gives you chills watching this tournament.
So next time you want to bash golf as a boring sport, stop and think before you speak, because golf is a very hard sport and requires much skill to play.
Props to USA captain Paul Azinger who put together a solid team victory to bring the Ryder Cup back to US soil. Though Tiger wasn't able to play and help out his country, I know he is proud of his fellow members.
A few headlines from the NFL. The big story of the day had to be the Miami Dolphins going into New England and just running all over the Brady-less Patriots. The Dolphins ended the Pats 21 game regular season winning streak handing the Pats a 38-13 loss. I didn't get to see the game, but I saw the highlights and all you can see is Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams just running all over the place on the Pats defense.
Ronnie Brown scored a franchise best four rushing touchdowns to go along with 100 plus rushing yards. But what happened to the Patriots? Yeah they lost the reigning league MVP for the rest of the season, but they still have a good defense right? I guess not, or maybe the Dolphins wanted to win more than the Pats.
Then if you watch the post game news conference on ESPN news, you see boring Bill Belichick at the mic talking in his monotone voice saying, yeah the Dolphins played good, we have a lot to work on, blah, blah. He is probably the most boring coach in the league. He rarely shows emotion anytime, on or off the field. Congrats to the Dolphins on a big win.
One other note for the day, Tampa Bay back up quarterback Brian Griese threw 67 passes yesterday in their overtime win over the Bears. 67 pass attempts! Are you serious? And he completed 38 of those 67. I mean throwing 38 passes is a lot of passes for one game, but 67!? I think that is the most passes I have witnessed in my lifetime. I am pretty sure that guy had an ice pack on his shoulder for the rest of the night and will surely be having a massage at some point this week.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Well, Well, Well...
Yes, it's me, Mr. Sportssmak, actually writing a new post. It's not actually going to be a written post, just trying to slowly get back in the mode.
I'm not posting any smak at the moment, I just wanted to share a video about Lebron James' new high school documentary that will be released soon. Here is a short video I found on ESPN giving a brief overview about the movie.
As most of you know I will most likely try to see the movie, but I'm not sure how it is going to be released. Check it out yourself...
I know some of my fans have been having with drawls since I took the summer off, but I will try to post at least once a week from now on. I'm sure I'll have plenty to talk about as football is underway, the MLB playoffs are starting soon, and basketball season is right about the corner.
So I'll be back...
I'm not posting any smak at the moment, I just wanted to share a video about Lebron James' new high school documentary that will be released soon. Here is a short video I found on ESPN giving a brief overview about the movie.
As most of you know I will most likely try to see the movie, but I'm not sure how it is going to be released. Check it out yourself...
I know some of my fans have been having with drawls since I took the summer off, but I will try to post at least once a week from now on. I'm sure I'll have plenty to talk about as football is underway, the MLB playoffs are starting soon, and basketball season is right about the corner.
So I'll be back...
Thursday, June 5, 2008
NBA Finals 2008
The Finals are here and the match-up is one that might seem familiar.
The Los Angeles Lakers take on the Boston Celtics. It is the eleventh time these two teams have faced off in the NBA Finals. This match-up has occurred more often in the Finals of any other sport.
Should be a good series, I'm taking the Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers take on the Boston Celtics. It is the eleventh time these two teams have faced off in the NBA Finals. This match-up has occurred more often in the Finals of any other sport.
Should be a good series, I'm taking the Lakers.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
The King loses the War
Well the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers, or "The Lebrons," as I like to call them, have finally worn down as they couldn't complete the game 7 comeback to defeated the Boston Celtics.
First off, I want to congratulate Lebron and the Cavaliers for putting up a fight against the team with the best record in the league and taking them to the last minute of game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Lebron did all he could to get his team over the hump. His 45 points but wasn't enough to overcome a outstanding game from Paul Pierce who scored 41.
Boston jumped out to an early lead and maintained the lead the whole game as Lebron was trying to will his team back and just continued to chip away at the lead in the second half. Yet the Celtics defense and hustle came through down the stretch to give them the 97-92 victory to move on to the Eastern Conference Finals to face the Detroit Pistons.
I also want to congratulate Paul Pierce who just started attacking early and just kept going all game long. It was about time Pierce got aggressive in probably the biggest game of his career. The Big three and Celtics now move on to face a fierce Pistons team.
Seeing as Boston hasn't won a road game yet in the post season, I sticking with the Pistons to take this series and advance to the finals. The Pistons are tough at home and can even play tough on the road. Tough both teams are very talented and play with a lot of heart, I think the Pistons will win this series in six games.
Back to the Cavs-Celtics game, Boston seemed to control the game most of the way up until late in the fourth quarter when the Cavs finally woke up and started to play with some fluency. Lebron did all he could driving to the basket, getting to the line, hitting long 3 pointers. But when it came down to it, the Cavs defense could get those key stops to help keep them in striking distance.
As a Cavs fan (mostly a Lebron fan), it is frustrating to watch them play basketball. They are so inconsistent it makes it hard to watch them sometimes. I mean they have one of the best players in the league, yet sometimes it seems like they rely on him to the majority of the work sometimes.
Anyways good season to Lebron and the Cavs, hopefully they make some changes this off season to get Lebron some help or more consistency.
One more game 7 in the Western Conference tomorrow night, Spurs-Hornets. The winner moves on to face the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals starting on Wednesday.
The other major headline this weekend was the second leg of the horse racing triple crown. The Preakness took place Saturday with the headline of course Big Brown.
Watching this race it seemed like Big Brown was the only horse racing. He jumped out of the gate quickly and then settled in hanging around in third place all the way up until the back stretch, when he opened it up and there was no challenge.
Big Brown has now won the first two races of the Triple Crown and now awaits the Belmont Stakes on June 7th. Big Brown will be looking to become the first horse since 1977 to win all three races and be declared the Triple Crown Champion.
But as we all know, over the past 8 years there have been several horses to win the first two races and then run the Belmont Stakes poorly. This year I think will be different and we will be witnessing history.
In the first two races, they has been very little challenges for Big Brown and unless there is another horse out there that we don't know about yet, I believe Big Brown will win the Belmont Stakes to complete the rare Triple Crown.
In other news, the tennis French Open major begins next weekend in France. The defending Men's champion is Rachel Nadal, who has won the past three years and looks prepared to defend his crown. The defending Women's champion is Justine Henin, who shockingly retired from tennis this past week at the young age of 25.
The reason I heard why she retired was become she had no more motivation and her "flame went out." How does the number one ranked Women's tennis player decide to move on at the age of 25. She is in her prime. "Oh, hey guys, I'm retiring, I'm tired of being the best. I think I want to be a real estate agent."
I mean sure you might have personal reasons, but you are only 25 years old. It seems weird to me. Oh well. Best of luck to her.
I know I haven't kept up with my posts lately, but I will post as much as I can. If you want to leave comments and suggestions for topics more me to write about, please feel free, it will give me more reasons to post. Thanks again for all the support.
First off, I want to congratulate Lebron and the Cavaliers for putting up a fight against the team with the best record in the league and taking them to the last minute of game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Lebron did all he could to get his team over the hump. His 45 points but wasn't enough to overcome a outstanding game from Paul Pierce who scored 41.
Boston jumped out to an early lead and maintained the lead the whole game as Lebron was trying to will his team back and just continued to chip away at the lead in the second half. Yet the Celtics defense and hustle came through down the stretch to give them the 97-92 victory to move on to the Eastern Conference Finals to face the Detroit Pistons.
I also want to congratulate Paul Pierce who just started attacking early and just kept going all game long. It was about time Pierce got aggressive in probably the biggest game of his career. The Big three and Celtics now move on to face a fierce Pistons team.
Seeing as Boston hasn't won a road game yet in the post season, I sticking with the Pistons to take this series and advance to the finals. The Pistons are tough at home and can even play tough on the road. Tough both teams are very talented and play with a lot of heart, I think the Pistons will win this series in six games.
Back to the Cavs-Celtics game, Boston seemed to control the game most of the way up until late in the fourth quarter when the Cavs finally woke up and started to play with some fluency. Lebron did all he could driving to the basket, getting to the line, hitting long 3 pointers. But when it came down to it, the Cavs defense could get those key stops to help keep them in striking distance.
As a Cavs fan (mostly a Lebron fan), it is frustrating to watch them play basketball. They are so inconsistent it makes it hard to watch them sometimes. I mean they have one of the best players in the league, yet sometimes it seems like they rely on him to the majority of the work sometimes.
Anyways good season to Lebron and the Cavs, hopefully they make some changes this off season to get Lebron some help or more consistency.
One more game 7 in the Western Conference tomorrow night, Spurs-Hornets. The winner moves on to face the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals starting on Wednesday.
The other major headline this weekend was the second leg of the horse racing triple crown. The Preakness took place Saturday with the headline of course Big Brown.
Watching this race it seemed like Big Brown was the only horse racing. He jumped out of the gate quickly and then settled in hanging around in third place all the way up until the back stretch, when he opened it up and there was no challenge.
Big Brown has now won the first two races of the Triple Crown and now awaits the Belmont Stakes on June 7th. Big Brown will be looking to become the first horse since 1977 to win all three races and be declared the Triple Crown Champion.
But as we all know, over the past 8 years there have been several horses to win the first two races and then run the Belmont Stakes poorly. This year I think will be different and we will be witnessing history.
In the first two races, they has been very little challenges for Big Brown and unless there is another horse out there that we don't know about yet, I believe Big Brown will win the Belmont Stakes to complete the rare Triple Crown.
In other news, the tennis French Open major begins next weekend in France. The defending Men's champion is Rachel Nadal, who has won the past three years and looks prepared to defend his crown. The defending Women's champion is Justine Henin, who shockingly retired from tennis this past week at the young age of 25.
The reason I heard why she retired was become she had no more motivation and her "flame went out." How does the number one ranked Women's tennis player decide to move on at the age of 25. She is in her prime. "Oh, hey guys, I'm retiring, I'm tired of being the best. I think I want to be a real estate agent."
I mean sure you might have personal reasons, but you are only 25 years old. It seems weird to me. Oh well. Best of luck to her.
I know I haven't kept up with my posts lately, but I will post as much as I can. If you want to leave comments and suggestions for topics more me to write about, please feel free, it will give me more reasons to post. Thanks again for all the support.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
What's Good
It's been a little while since my last post and there has been some exciting sporting events happening. The NBA playoffs are now in the second round and all of the top four seeds have advanced in each conference.
This past Saturday was the first running of the three major horse races over the next month and a half. Of course the first race is the famous Kentucky Derby. When it was all said and done, the major story wasn't the winner, but the runner up.
The second place finisher was a "philly" horse, which is a female, and just after the race was over, tragedy struck. Eight Bellas unfortunately collapsed to the track surface and it was unclear of what happened at first. It turned out that the poor horse had broken both of her front ankles and it was so bad that she had to be euthanized right there on the track.
Of course it reminded fans of two years ago when the Kentucky Derby winner, Barabaro, unfortunately suffered a major leg injury in the opening stretch of the Preakness Race. Though he wasn't euthanized right away, after numerous surgeries the horse just didn't seem to get healthy and his owners decided to have him put to rest.
But the winner ended up being the favorite, Big Brown, and he had a convincing win as he ran to a five length win over runner up, Eight Bellas. Many of the horse racing analysts feel Big Brown has a good shot at the triple crown, but that seems to be the story every year if a favorite wins the Kentucky Derby. I think we all want to witness a triple crown winner though since it has been about 30 years since the last winner.
On to some NBA news, the Pistons and Hornets are quickly out to a 2-0 lead in their series'. I am shocked to see how well the Hornets have played against the Spurs. I guess I haven't seen them play that much this year and under estimated them. They are a tough team to play and seem to hurt you on both ends of the court.
The shocking thing has been the Hornets have been playing better defense than the Spurs so far. When you think of the Spurs, you immediately think defense, but the Hornets held home court and won two convincing games against the Spurs.
The Celtics and Cavs get their series underway tonight in Boston. Boston was taken to seven games against the Hawks, which was surprising to me. But this series with the Cavs should be a good tough series as well. I'm thinking Celtics will win in six or seven games.
In other news, Kobe Bryant is expected to be officially announced the leagues MVP later today. It will be his first MVP award of his career.
This past Saturday was the first running of the three major horse races over the next month and a half. Of course the first race is the famous Kentucky Derby. When it was all said and done, the major story wasn't the winner, but the runner up.
The second place finisher was a "philly" horse, which is a female, and just after the race was over, tragedy struck. Eight Bellas unfortunately collapsed to the track surface and it was unclear of what happened at first. It turned out that the poor horse had broken both of her front ankles and it was so bad that she had to be euthanized right there on the track.
Of course it reminded fans of two years ago when the Kentucky Derby winner, Barabaro, unfortunately suffered a major leg injury in the opening stretch of the Preakness Race. Though he wasn't euthanized right away, after numerous surgeries the horse just didn't seem to get healthy and his owners decided to have him put to rest.
But the winner ended up being the favorite, Big Brown, and he had a convincing win as he ran to a five length win over runner up, Eight Bellas. Many of the horse racing analysts feel Big Brown has a good shot at the triple crown, but that seems to be the story every year if a favorite wins the Kentucky Derby. I think we all want to witness a triple crown winner though since it has been about 30 years since the last winner.
On to some NBA news, the Pistons and Hornets are quickly out to a 2-0 lead in their series'. I am shocked to see how well the Hornets have played against the Spurs. I guess I haven't seen them play that much this year and under estimated them. They are a tough team to play and seem to hurt you on both ends of the court.
The shocking thing has been the Hornets have been playing better defense than the Spurs so far. When you think of the Spurs, you immediately think defense, but the Hornets held home court and won two convincing games against the Spurs.
The Celtics and Cavs get their series underway tonight in Boston. Boston was taken to seven games against the Hawks, which was surprising to me. But this series with the Cavs should be a good tough series as well. I'm thinking Celtics will win in six or seven games.
In other news, Kobe Bryant is expected to be officially announced the leagues MVP later today. It will be his first MVP award of his career.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Can't Finish the Job
Arenas and company got behind at halftime and then fought back in the second half and had a chance to send the game into overtime at the last second. But "Agent zero" couldn't complete the mission assigned, failing on a last second three point try.
The Cavs now take a 3-1 series lead back to their home court where they will be looking to finish the job. Delonte West finally had a huge game, particularly from three point land. After Arenas tied the game at 97 with 30 or so seconds left in the game, James held the ball as long as he could and dished to West for the big three point bucket. West finished the game with 21 and James at 34 points.
As I've been watching this series, the one person I have been disappointed with his Cavs forward Anderson Varejao. Yes he has got his hustle points and fought for rebounds, but he always makes me nervous when he dribbles the ball on his way to take a shot. Also he has missed countless wide open or uncontested lay-ups, which makes me sad and is uncalled for. Normally he is dependable to make those easy lay-ups, but not so much in this series.
Also Devin Brown shoots the ball way to much. Just about every time he touches the ball, he takes a bad shot. He has hit some good shots, but most of the time he is inconsistent.
Of course Lebron had another huge game and had another run in with the guy who thinks he's all that. Stevenson took a swipe at Lebrons head in the second quarter leading to the two to get in each others face. Stevenson got a flagrant foul for his actions and once again was shut up.
For a team that "wanted to play the Cavs," I surely haven't seen that happen, except in game 3. This was a Wizards team that felt they could beat the Cavs and really wanted to play them. Well unless there's a freak accident, such as Lebron getting injured, then I don't see the Wizards winning this series and yet again being eliminated for the third straight season by the Cavs.
Last night the Atlanta Hawks held a home playoff game for the first time in nine seasons and shockingly came away with a big victory. But one of their young immature players made a bone head move. Rookie Al Horford talked the Smak to Paul Pierce late in the game after making a shot. That was the wrong thing to do buddy. You and your team will be in for a hurting tomorrow night thanks to your lack of experience move.
That's one thing I haven't come to terms with being able to understand. How does someone talk trash when they are losing a series. Your team is two games behind and you are talking trash just because you won one game. You are still a game behind and still are losing and still have to play catch up. Stevenson did the same thing in game three. Yeah they won by 30 points, but when you are losing a series, it's really not worth it.
Anyways...
The Sun hasn't set yet in Phoenix. The Suns came out and put a hurting on the Spurs to stay alive in their series and avoided the sweep at home. Now they have to fight on again in game five back in San Antonio. I think the Spurs will put them away in the next game though. I still don't see any reason why the Spurs don't have a shot at making it back to the finals this year. Maybe the Lakers will be their road block, maybe.
The other big sporting event going on this weekend was the NFL Draft. The top five picks were Jake Long OT: Dolphins, Chris Long DE: Rams, Matt Ryan QB: Falcons, Darren Mcfadden RB: Raiders, and Glen Dorsey DT: Chiefs.
Personally, besides the first ten or some players selected, the draft was fairly boring and typical in a sense. It was mostly about teams trying to fill their needs to make them better.
I do think Matt Ryan will help out the Falcons get back on that winning mark and he will have a good solid career. Also Darren Mcfadden is a nice compliment for Jamarcus Russell. With these two young studs paired up in the back field, they could easily become one of the top dues in the league. Both players will develop into nice NFL players.
If you want to see a list of all the picks from all the rounds, check out NFL.com or click here to go directly to the site.
Enjoy the playoffs!
The Cavs now take a 3-1 series lead back to their home court where they will be looking to finish the job. Delonte West finally had a huge game, particularly from three point land. After Arenas tied the game at 97 with 30 or so seconds left in the game, James held the ball as long as he could and dished to West for the big three point bucket. West finished the game with 21 and James at 34 points.
As I've been watching this series, the one person I have been disappointed with his Cavs forward Anderson Varejao. Yes he has got his hustle points and fought for rebounds, but he always makes me nervous when he dribbles the ball on his way to take a shot. Also he has missed countless wide open or uncontested lay-ups, which makes me sad and is uncalled for. Normally he is dependable to make those easy lay-ups, but not so much in this series.
Also Devin Brown shoots the ball way to much. Just about every time he touches the ball, he takes a bad shot. He has hit some good shots, but most of the time he is inconsistent.
Of course Lebron had another huge game and had another run in with the guy who thinks he's all that. Stevenson took a swipe at Lebrons head in the second quarter leading to the two to get in each others face. Stevenson got a flagrant foul for his actions and once again was shut up.
For a team that "wanted to play the Cavs," I surely haven't seen that happen, except in game 3. This was a Wizards team that felt they could beat the Cavs and really wanted to play them. Well unless there's a freak accident, such as Lebron getting injured, then I don't see the Wizards winning this series and yet again being eliminated for the third straight season by the Cavs.
Last night the Atlanta Hawks held a home playoff game for the first time in nine seasons and shockingly came away with a big victory. But one of their young immature players made a bone head move. Rookie Al Horford talked the Smak to Paul Pierce late in the game after making a shot. That was the wrong thing to do buddy. You and your team will be in for a hurting tomorrow night thanks to your lack of experience move.
That's one thing I haven't come to terms with being able to understand. How does someone talk trash when they are losing a series. Your team is two games behind and you are talking trash just because you won one game. You are still a game behind and still are losing and still have to play catch up. Stevenson did the same thing in game three. Yeah they won by 30 points, but when you are losing a series, it's really not worth it.
Anyways...
The Sun hasn't set yet in Phoenix. The Suns came out and put a hurting on the Spurs to stay alive in their series and avoided the sweep at home. Now they have to fight on again in game five back in San Antonio. I think the Spurs will put them away in the next game though. I still don't see any reason why the Spurs don't have a shot at making it back to the finals this year. Maybe the Lakers will be their road block, maybe.
The other big sporting event going on this weekend was the NFL Draft. The top five picks were Jake Long OT: Dolphins, Chris Long DE: Rams, Matt Ryan QB: Falcons, Darren Mcfadden RB: Raiders, and Glen Dorsey DT: Chiefs.
Personally, besides the first ten or some players selected, the draft was fairly boring and typical in a sense. It was mostly about teams trying to fill their needs to make them better.
I do think Matt Ryan will help out the Falcons get back on that winning mark and he will have a good solid career. Also Darren Mcfadden is a nice compliment for Jamarcus Russell. With these two young studs paired up in the back field, they could easily become one of the top dues in the league. Both players will develop into nice NFL players.
If you want to see a list of all the picks from all the rounds, check out NFL.com or click here to go directly to the site.
Enjoy the playoffs!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Game Two's
There were three game two's last night and three teams now hold a 2-0 series lead. The Spurs, Hornets and Magic all won their games last night and now lead their series 2-0.
First off, the Hornets have just made the Mavs looks silly and that is kind of shocking to me. I felt the Mavs would have come out and gave the Hornets a run for their money. But Chris Paul has just exploded in his first post season experience. He has scored 35 and 32 in each game and also dished out 10 and 17 assists.
I really didn't think the Hornets would fair well with this being their first post season experience in a while. Yet they continue to prove me and all the critics wrong. Now with the series heading back to Dallas, this will truly be a sign if the Hornets are for real. I'm still expecting the Mavs to come around and give the Hornets a little bit more of a challenge. But in order to do that, they have to find an answer for Paul.
They brought Kidd in to be that extra playoff leader, but he has just faded and not looked good at all. I guess I had better expectations for the Mavs, but obviously they aren't the team I thought they could be.
The Magic won a very close game two last night behind a monstrous game from Dwight Howard. He had 29 points and 20 rebounds. In game one, he had 25 and 22. This guy is clearly a superstar waiting to happen, if he isn't one already and he is only 22 years old. He is on his way to many championships in his future, it is obvious that he will soon reach the level of Tim Duncan and Shaq.
The Spurs once again came from behind to beat the quickly fading Suns in game two to take a 2-0 lead heading to Phoenix. The Suns lead by 7 at half time, having scores 61 first half points. What do they do in the third quarter, they score 11 points and lose the lead. How do you score 61 in the first half and then score 30 points in the second half. This is the playoffs, you have to be consistent all game long.
I guess you have to give credit to the Spurs for playing defense and then taking advantage of the Suns poor defensive play. All I know is the Spurs are looking good and who ever has to play them should be worried because they are healthy and sure look strong in the playoff mode. And obviously the Suns have no one that can guard Ginobili because he just scores at will when he wants.
The sad story so far in the playoffs is the Mcgrady and the Rockets. They start off their series against the Jazz at home, though they are the five seed, and they quickly lose both games. Now they have to go to Utah, where the Jazz only lost four games all season long, and they have to at least win one game in order to send the series back to Houston for a shot at staying alive.
I feel bad for Mcgrady, who has never got past the first round of the playoffs. He is a great player, but his team is missing Yao and it's obvious that he is trying to do all the work to will his team to win games, but have come up just short both times. I just hope the Rockets don't get swept, but the Jazz are a tough team, especially at home. I know one thing, the Lakers better watch out next round if they face the Jazz because they will have their hands full for sure.
Two regular season awards have been handed out so far, the sixth man and defensive player of the year.
I think everyone knew Spurs guard Manu Ginobili was going to win the sixth man award having received all but one first place vote. He is a clear star and could be a starter, but he just fits better coming off the Spurs bench. He could be a starter on just about any team though.
The defensive player of the year goes to Celtics forward Kevin Garnett. This is the first time he has won this award and he adds this award to his MVP award he won in 2004. Garnett clearly helped turn the Celtics team around and led them to being the best defensive team in the league. Garnett and company are now on the quest to bring the glory days back to Boston.
First off, the Hornets have just made the Mavs looks silly and that is kind of shocking to me. I felt the Mavs would have come out and gave the Hornets a run for their money. But Chris Paul has just exploded in his first post season experience. He has scored 35 and 32 in each game and also dished out 10 and 17 assists.
I really didn't think the Hornets would fair well with this being their first post season experience in a while. Yet they continue to prove me and all the critics wrong. Now with the series heading back to Dallas, this will truly be a sign if the Hornets are for real. I'm still expecting the Mavs to come around and give the Hornets a little bit more of a challenge. But in order to do that, they have to find an answer for Paul.
They brought Kidd in to be that extra playoff leader, but he has just faded and not looked good at all. I guess I had better expectations for the Mavs, but obviously they aren't the team I thought they could be.
The Magic won a very close game two last night behind a monstrous game from Dwight Howard. He had 29 points and 20 rebounds. In game one, he had 25 and 22. This guy is clearly a superstar waiting to happen, if he isn't one already and he is only 22 years old. He is on his way to many championships in his future, it is obvious that he will soon reach the level of Tim Duncan and Shaq.
The Spurs once again came from behind to beat the quickly fading Suns in game two to take a 2-0 lead heading to Phoenix. The Suns lead by 7 at half time, having scores 61 first half points. What do they do in the third quarter, they score 11 points and lose the lead. How do you score 61 in the first half and then score 30 points in the second half. This is the playoffs, you have to be consistent all game long.
I guess you have to give credit to the Spurs for playing defense and then taking advantage of the Suns poor defensive play. All I know is the Spurs are looking good and who ever has to play them should be worried because they are healthy and sure look strong in the playoff mode. And obviously the Suns have no one that can guard Ginobili because he just scores at will when he wants.
The sad story so far in the playoffs is the Mcgrady and the Rockets. They start off their series against the Jazz at home, though they are the five seed, and they quickly lose both games. Now they have to go to Utah, where the Jazz only lost four games all season long, and they have to at least win one game in order to send the series back to Houston for a shot at staying alive.
I feel bad for Mcgrady, who has never got past the first round of the playoffs. He is a great player, but his team is missing Yao and it's obvious that he is trying to do all the work to will his team to win games, but have come up just short both times. I just hope the Rockets don't get swept, but the Jazz are a tough team, especially at home. I know one thing, the Lakers better watch out next round if they face the Jazz because they will have their hands full for sure.
Two regular season awards have been handed out so far, the sixth man and defensive player of the year.
I think everyone knew Spurs guard Manu Ginobili was going to win the sixth man award having received all but one first place vote. He is a clear star and could be a starter, but he just fits better coming off the Spurs bench. He could be a starter on just about any team though.
The defensive player of the year goes to Celtics forward Kevin Garnett. This is the first time he has won this award and he adds this award to his MVP award he won in 2004. Garnett clearly helped turn the Celtics team around and led them to being the best defensive team in the league. Garnett and company are now on the quest to bring the glory days back to Boston.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Really?
I want to dedicate this post to the SNL skit called 'Really' and it is all about the Cavs-Wiz series through the first two games.
Really. You think Lebron James is overrated. You have no reason to be trash talking about other players, especially about one of the best in the game. Your name is Deshawn Stevenson, how much success have you had in the NBA. Are you an All-Star, no, but you have three All-Star teammates. That would put you below them typically.
Whenever I read Gilbert Arenas' Blog, he always seems to talk about him and Deshawn making bets and playing tricks on each other after practices on who can make the most 3 pointers and yada yada. Why not make a bet on if we win a game, then I'll take the team out to dinner. Why not make a bet on who doesn't trash talk the most gets to do something for the other person. Heck, go ahead and make a bet on who can grow the longest hair. I mean Stevenson has already been in a season long bet with Drew Gooden on who will shave their beard first. That is why he has that scruffy looking beard on his face.
Instead of playing betting games after practice, why not go and watch the game film and study it so you might be able to learn and become a better player. Arenas says he's an "assassin," but where were you at the end of game one when the game was close and when your "assassin" skills should come into play.
What's the headline before game two yesterday? 'Arenas expected to play with sprained right wrist.' What is with all the injuries? First off, he has a bum knee that is clearly not one hundred percent, now he sprains his shooting wrist in game one after fouling Lebron. You can't call yourself an "assassin" when your team is loosing in the playoffs and loosing by 30 points.
All the commentators have been saying Gilbert doesn't look healthy at all and so on. That is completely true, but when they say he is a top five player in the league when he is healthy, that's when I get confused. Don't get mt wrong, he is a great shooter, but he is no where near my top five players in the league.
He's been able to talk the talk, but he hasn't been able to walk the walk. He constantly seems to talk and get in the news with some absurd comment. When it comes playoff time, he fades. That's when great players are supposed to shine. Look at Tim Duncan and Shaq. Stewart Scott made a statement that blew my mind last night on Sportscenter. Most people probably haven't realized it.
Every year since 1999, Duncan or Shaq have either won or played in the NBA Finals. Think about it. Duncan's Spurs won in 99, 03, 05 and 07. Shaq won in 00, 01, 02 and 06. The one year either one of them didn't win, was 04 when the Pistons beat Shaq's Lakers. So if anyone ever wants to talk bad about Duncan or Shaq, you better rethink your opinions. But that's a different story.
The definition of an "assassin" is someone who eliminates another player from a certain situation. The only person being eliminated from competition is the so called "assassin" himself. So I just don't understand. Now back to my really skit.
Really. You shot 1 for 9 in game 1. Really. Your going to wave your hand across your face, symbolizing 'you can see me,' after you make a 3 pointer, when you team in loosing by 20 points in game two, after you lost game one. Really. Arenas is getting posted up by Wally and he is pushing him back and gets a technical called on him for pushing for him for no reason.
Really. You are going to push a fellow NBA player while he is in full flight in the air and then act like you didn't push him. Really. You deliberately pushed the guy, it was clearly obvious. If that was any other player other than Lebron, I guarantee there would have been punches thrown.
Really. Wizards coach Eddie Jordan is going to say in the post game press conference that he didn't think his player did anything deliberately and his players were just giving out hard playoffs fouls. Come on man, watch the replay. Your player pushed the guy. He came over while he was in the air and extended his arms and pushed him. I thought Haywood had more class than that, but I guess not.
Sure you can foul him hard when he drives into the lane. If you think that is sending a message, go right ahead. But what it does do is motivate the player to just keep coming at you and forcing you to foul him. You want to foul, you can go ahead and foul out. But if you push a fellow NBA player while he is all alone in the air, that is just uncalled for.
Personally, I think Haywood should be suspended for the next game. If Robert Horry gets suspended for shoulder charging Steve Nash during last year's playoffs, then I think this situation deserves a suspension as well.
Really though. I expect to the Wizards to come back on Thursday and possibly win game three. If they are without Haywood, then they could have a harder time, but I do expect a much closer game on Thursday. They will be back at home and usually most teams play better at home.
But Really though. Deshawn Stevenson? Come on man. Know your role and know your place and when you can talk, if at all.
That's all I got to say about that subject. Take it easy and enjoy the playoffs.
Really. You think Lebron James is overrated. You have no reason to be trash talking about other players, especially about one of the best in the game. Your name is Deshawn Stevenson, how much success have you had in the NBA. Are you an All-Star, no, but you have three All-Star teammates. That would put you below them typically.
Whenever I read Gilbert Arenas' Blog, he always seems to talk about him and Deshawn making bets and playing tricks on each other after practices on who can make the most 3 pointers and yada yada. Why not make a bet on if we win a game, then I'll take the team out to dinner. Why not make a bet on who doesn't trash talk the most gets to do something for the other person. Heck, go ahead and make a bet on who can grow the longest hair. I mean Stevenson has already been in a season long bet with Drew Gooden on who will shave their beard first. That is why he has that scruffy looking beard on his face.
Instead of playing betting games after practice, why not go and watch the game film and study it so you might be able to learn and become a better player. Arenas says he's an "assassin," but where were you at the end of game one when the game was close and when your "assassin" skills should come into play.
What's the headline before game two yesterday? 'Arenas expected to play with sprained right wrist.' What is with all the injuries? First off, he has a bum knee that is clearly not one hundred percent, now he sprains his shooting wrist in game one after fouling Lebron. You can't call yourself an "assassin" when your team is loosing in the playoffs and loosing by 30 points.
All the commentators have been saying Gilbert doesn't look healthy at all and so on. That is completely true, but when they say he is a top five player in the league when he is healthy, that's when I get confused. Don't get mt wrong, he is a great shooter, but he is no where near my top five players in the league.
He's been able to talk the talk, but he hasn't been able to walk the walk. He constantly seems to talk and get in the news with some absurd comment. When it comes playoff time, he fades. That's when great players are supposed to shine. Look at Tim Duncan and Shaq. Stewart Scott made a statement that blew my mind last night on Sportscenter. Most people probably haven't realized it.
Every year since 1999, Duncan or Shaq have either won or played in the NBA Finals. Think about it. Duncan's Spurs won in 99, 03, 05 and 07. Shaq won in 00, 01, 02 and 06. The one year either one of them didn't win, was 04 when the Pistons beat Shaq's Lakers. So if anyone ever wants to talk bad about Duncan or Shaq, you better rethink your opinions. But that's a different story.
The definition of an "assassin" is someone who eliminates another player from a certain situation. The only person being eliminated from competition is the so called "assassin" himself. So I just don't understand. Now back to my really skit.
Really. You shot 1 for 9 in game 1. Really. Your going to wave your hand across your face, symbolizing 'you can see me,' after you make a 3 pointer, when you team in loosing by 20 points in game two, after you lost game one. Really. Arenas is getting posted up by Wally and he is pushing him back and gets a technical called on him for pushing for him for no reason.
Really. You are going to push a fellow NBA player while he is in full flight in the air and then act like you didn't push him. Really. You deliberately pushed the guy, it was clearly obvious. If that was any other player other than Lebron, I guarantee there would have been punches thrown.
Really. Wizards coach Eddie Jordan is going to say in the post game press conference that he didn't think his player did anything deliberately and his players were just giving out hard playoffs fouls. Come on man, watch the replay. Your player pushed the guy. He came over while he was in the air and extended his arms and pushed him. I thought Haywood had more class than that, but I guess not.
Sure you can foul him hard when he drives into the lane. If you think that is sending a message, go right ahead. But what it does do is motivate the player to just keep coming at you and forcing you to foul him. You want to foul, you can go ahead and foul out. But if you push a fellow NBA player while he is all alone in the air, that is just uncalled for.
Personally, I think Haywood should be suspended for the next game. If Robert Horry gets suspended for shoulder charging Steve Nash during last year's playoffs, then I think this situation deserves a suspension as well.
Really though. I expect to the Wizards to come back on Thursday and possibly win game three. If they are without Haywood, then they could have a harder time, but I do expect a much closer game on Thursday. They will be back at home and usually most teams play better at home.
But Really though. Deshawn Stevenson? Come on man. Know your role and know your place and when you can talk, if at all.
That's all I got to say about that subject. Take it easy and enjoy the playoffs.
Friday, April 18, 2008
NBA Playoffs Preview
Tomorrow at Noon, the NBA Playoffs get underway for the next month and a half. I want to give you my thoughts and picks for the upcoming playoffs.
If you need a copy of the first round match-ups and the series schedule, you can click here to see the entire first round schedule.
In the East:
Boston vs. Atlanta - I'm taking the Celtics to win this series in 4 games. I think the Celtics will be on a mission to make an early statement in the playoffs so other's know they are here and are legit. The young Hawks made it to the playoffs for the first time in almost 10 years, but their inexperience will show against the veteran Celtics.
Detroit vs. Philadelphia - I'm taking the Pistons to win in 5 games. This series could possibly be close just about every game, but Detroit's experience will kick in in the clutch and they will fight off a hot 76ers team who will be a tough out.
Orlando vs. Toronto - This series has the potential to go 7 games, but I'll take the Magic in 6 games. Each of these teams are pretty well matched, but Orlando is a good defensive team when they actually try at it. Howard/Bosh will be a fun match up to watch this series. Magic move on.
Cleveland vs. Washington - As most of you know, this is the first year in a row that the Cavs and Wiz have faced off in the first round. And already Arenas is talking trash. He thinks he is an "assassin" and will surprise the Cavs by coming off the bench. This series will most likely go 7 games and can be won by their side, but I'm taking Lebron and company to win in game 7. The Wiz have been playing good as of late, but their poor record away from home will catch up with them in game 7 in Cleveland. Arenas will talk all series long, until the end when his team goes home for the third straight year losing to Cleveland.
In the West:
LA Lakers vs. Denver - This could be a good offensive series to watch, but the Lakers will win in 6 games. Denver didn't fair well against the Lakers well during the regular season but will surely bring their A game this year.
New Orleans vs. Dallas - Here is my first upset pick! I'm taking the Mavs to win this series in 7 games. Dallas will be out for a vengeance after being knocked out in the first round last year as the 1 seed. New Orleans has had a great season, but their lack of playoff experience will catch up to them in this long series.
San Antonio vs. Phoenix - Many would think of this match up as a conference finals series. This will certainly be the best series in the west and will surely go 7 games with either team being able to win. The Suns have played well against the Spurs this season and have added that playoff center they have lacked in years past. I was originally going to pick these two teams to make it to the conference finals, but since they are facing each other in the first round that is tough. I'm going to have to pick the Spurs in game 7, because that team lives for the playoffs and will surely be ready for this tough series.
Utah vs. Houston - This series could go 7 games as well, but with Houston being without Yao Ming, it will hurt them this series. I'm taking the Jazz to win in 6 games.
Those are my first round thoughts and picks and when it comes down to it, I'm thinking it will be Boston and Detroit in the East Finals and the Lakers and Spurs in the West Finals. I know one thing, it will be an exciting playoff season this year.
Just another story I thought was interesting. Steve "Air" Mcnair retired from the NFL yesterday after 13 tough seasons. What I thought was interesting was why he said he was retiring. He said he was calling it a career because he physically couldn't handle it anymore, but he was still mentally there, just not physically.
Why I thought that was interesting because when Bret Favre retired, he said he was mentally tired, but still felt physically like he could play. Favre retired after 17 seasons compared to Mcnair's 13. But I can see why Mcnair said he was physically tired due to the fact that he was a scrambler earlier in his career compiling over 3,500 rushing yards as a QB. Favre just used his rocket launcher arm his whole career.
So we have now lost two good veteran quarterbacks who have set the standard over the past 15 years in the league. I think we might be seeing Mcnair commentating in the near future.
Enjoy the playoffs tomorrow!
If you need a copy of the first round match-ups and the series schedule, you can click here to see the entire first round schedule.
In the East:
Boston vs. Atlanta - I'm taking the Celtics to win this series in 4 games. I think the Celtics will be on a mission to make an early statement in the playoffs so other's know they are here and are legit. The young Hawks made it to the playoffs for the first time in almost 10 years, but their inexperience will show against the veteran Celtics.
Detroit vs. Philadelphia - I'm taking the Pistons to win in 5 games. This series could possibly be close just about every game, but Detroit's experience will kick in in the clutch and they will fight off a hot 76ers team who will be a tough out.
Orlando vs. Toronto - This series has the potential to go 7 games, but I'll take the Magic in 6 games. Each of these teams are pretty well matched, but Orlando is a good defensive team when they actually try at it. Howard/Bosh will be a fun match up to watch this series. Magic move on.
Cleveland vs. Washington - As most of you know, this is the first year in a row that the Cavs and Wiz have faced off in the first round. And already Arenas is talking trash. He thinks he is an "assassin" and will surprise the Cavs by coming off the bench. This series will most likely go 7 games and can be won by their side, but I'm taking Lebron and company to win in game 7. The Wiz have been playing good as of late, but their poor record away from home will catch up with them in game 7 in Cleveland. Arenas will talk all series long, until the end when his team goes home for the third straight year losing to Cleveland.
In the West:
LA Lakers vs. Denver - This could be a good offensive series to watch, but the Lakers will win in 6 games. Denver didn't fair well against the Lakers well during the regular season but will surely bring their A game this year.
New Orleans vs. Dallas - Here is my first upset pick! I'm taking the Mavs to win this series in 7 games. Dallas will be out for a vengeance after being knocked out in the first round last year as the 1 seed. New Orleans has had a great season, but their lack of playoff experience will catch up to them in this long series.
San Antonio vs. Phoenix - Many would think of this match up as a conference finals series. This will certainly be the best series in the west and will surely go 7 games with either team being able to win. The Suns have played well against the Spurs this season and have added that playoff center they have lacked in years past. I was originally going to pick these two teams to make it to the conference finals, but since they are facing each other in the first round that is tough. I'm going to have to pick the Spurs in game 7, because that team lives for the playoffs and will surely be ready for this tough series.
Utah vs. Houston - This series could go 7 games as well, but with Houston being without Yao Ming, it will hurt them this series. I'm taking the Jazz to win in 6 games.
Those are my first round thoughts and picks and when it comes down to it, I'm thinking it will be Boston and Detroit in the East Finals and the Lakers and Spurs in the West Finals. I know one thing, it will be an exciting playoff season this year.
Just another story I thought was interesting. Steve "Air" Mcnair retired from the NFL yesterday after 13 tough seasons. What I thought was interesting was why he said he was retiring. He said he was calling it a career because he physically couldn't handle it anymore, but he was still mentally there, just not physically.
Why I thought that was interesting because when Bret Favre retired, he said he was mentally tired, but still felt physically like he could play. Favre retired after 17 seasons compared to Mcnair's 13. But I can see why Mcnair said he was physically tired due to the fact that he was a scrambler earlier in his career compiling over 3,500 rushing yards as a QB. Favre just used his rocket launcher arm his whole career.
So we have now lost two good veteran quarterbacks who have set the standard over the past 15 years in the league. I think we might be seeing Mcnair commentating in the near future.
Enjoy the playoffs tomorrow!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
End of NBA Regular Season
I was going to hold off a few more days until I gave my MVP discussion, but I have been reading all kinds of chat rooms and reading all the "expert" picks and I just couldn't hold off.
Clearly the choice for MVP has come down to Hornets point gaurd Chris Paul and Lakers guard Kobe Bryant. Some are saying Kevin Garnett and Lebron James, but it will either be Paul or Bryant.
The MVP award has somehow change over the past few seasons and doesn't really live up to its true name of Most Valuable Player. Let's say last year Dirk Nowitzki won the award leading his team to the best record in the league, but that team lost in the first round of the playoffs to Golden State. If he was a true MVP, that wouldn't have happened under any circumstance. Lebron and Kobe were also among those players receiving votes last year, but didn't seem to be the favorite because their team didn't have a "good record," though Lebron single handling took his team to the NBA Finals for the first time in their team history.
The previous two years Steve Nash won the award, with his first MVP being in controversy because many felt Shaq should have won the award after leading the Miami Heat to the NBA title. I think we have to go back to 2004 when Kevin Garnett won the award after leading his then team Minnesota to game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.
This year's MVP is a close battle in many "experts" eyes, but it should clearly go to Kobe Bryant this year. His Lakers wrapped up the best record in the West to secure the number one seed and he has been the glue to their year round team chemistry. After loosing big man Andrew Bynum to injury, Kobe stepped in and led his team until they made a trade for Pau Gasol. Since the trade the Lakers have made a statement to being the best team in the West.
I have been reading around and people have been saying that if you take Paul and Bryant off their teams then they would struggle to make the playoffs. That is probably true, but some have said the Lakers could still make it and I really doubt that. As for the Hornets, they clearly wouldn't make the playoffs at all without Paul. But then if that is your argument you could make a chase for Lebron James. He has had the best statistical season on his young career and his team has been through injury after injury and even a huge trade that completely changed the outlook of the Cavs.
Lebron will finish the season with averages of 30 points (leads the league), 7.9 rebounds and 7.3 assists. The only reason Lebron isn't getting first place MVP votes is because of his team record. Honestly I think they have done a decent job with the long season they have had. Paul stats look like this, 21 points, 11.6 assists, 2.7 steals, he is leading the league in assists and steals.
Yes Paul has lead this team to the second best record in the West, but how long will they go in the playoffs. I think they will lose in the second round, after barely making it out of the first. Paul is the best player on his team but it's not like there are a bunch of no names on his team. Teammate David West joined him on this year's West All-Star team. I'll give him credit, he has had a great season, but he isn't the most valuable player.
Kobe averaged 28.3 points (second in league), 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists. Those are the best overall in Kobe's career, though his points are down a little from previous years, but those are basically the stats Lebron has had in pretty much every season since his second season. But the fact is the Lakers have the best record in the West and have a legitimate chance at making it to the NBA Finals.
What about Kevin Garnett? No, he is not the most valuable player. He has other key players on his team Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Yes they have the best win turnaround in NBA history, but that isn't just due to Kevin Garnett. Yes they have the best record in the league, but Garnett has other key support on his team. He isn't the most valuable to his team.
So if I got a vote my would go Kobe first, Lebron second and Paul third.
Though Lebron's team doesn't have the best record, he is clearly the most valuable player to any team. He has no other stand out player to get his back and that's probably why he has been having back spasms as of late.
I think that if it wasn't based on team record, which I think is bogus, Lebron is clearly the Most Valuable Player to their team. But for the sake of the "team" rule, Kobe is this year's NBA MVP and it will be his first of his career.
With that said, the regular season comes to an end tonight and all of the playoff spots are set.
From the East: Boston, Detroit, Orlando, Cleveland, Washington, Toronto, Philadelphia and Atlanta.
From the West: LA Lakers, New Orleans, San Antonio, Utah, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas and Denver.
Seeding is still being determined and will be final after tonight's games. The NBA playoffs begin on Saturday. I can't wait, it will be an exciting playoffs this year.
Another college basketball star has declared for the NBA draft, that is Memphis guard Derrick Rose. There are reports that UCLA forward Kevin Love will declare tomorrow during a press conference.
So who would I take if I had the first pick? Well it really depends on who has the first pick in the draft. If it's Miami, I think they should take Derrick Rose. He would be a nice counter piece to join Wade and Marion (if he hangs around). If it's Seattle or New York, I think they should take Michael Beasley. Each of those teams have legit point guards and could use a talented forward to add to their team.
If it was my decision just to pick a player, I would take Derrick Rose. He has the potential to being a good scoring point guard or eventually move to shooting guard once he gets some experience. He is also big and quick and could be a player who is similar to Deron Williams, who has developed to a top of the league point guard. But either player will be an NBA star in the near future.
Well I think this post has been long enough. Let me know what you think about your MVP pick and please leave any other comments you have.
Clearly the choice for MVP has come down to Hornets point gaurd Chris Paul and Lakers guard Kobe Bryant. Some are saying Kevin Garnett and Lebron James, but it will either be Paul or Bryant.
The MVP award has somehow change over the past few seasons and doesn't really live up to its true name of Most Valuable Player. Let's say last year Dirk Nowitzki won the award leading his team to the best record in the league, but that team lost in the first round of the playoffs to Golden State. If he was a true MVP, that wouldn't have happened under any circumstance. Lebron and Kobe were also among those players receiving votes last year, but didn't seem to be the favorite because their team didn't have a "good record," though Lebron single handling took his team to the NBA Finals for the first time in their team history.
The previous two years Steve Nash won the award, with his first MVP being in controversy because many felt Shaq should have won the award after leading the Miami Heat to the NBA title. I think we have to go back to 2004 when Kevin Garnett won the award after leading his then team Minnesota to game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.
This year's MVP is a close battle in many "experts" eyes, but it should clearly go to Kobe Bryant this year. His Lakers wrapped up the best record in the West to secure the number one seed and he has been the glue to their year round team chemistry. After loosing big man Andrew Bynum to injury, Kobe stepped in and led his team until they made a trade for Pau Gasol. Since the trade the Lakers have made a statement to being the best team in the West.
I have been reading around and people have been saying that if you take Paul and Bryant off their teams then they would struggle to make the playoffs. That is probably true, but some have said the Lakers could still make it and I really doubt that. As for the Hornets, they clearly wouldn't make the playoffs at all without Paul. But then if that is your argument you could make a chase for Lebron James. He has had the best statistical season on his young career and his team has been through injury after injury and even a huge trade that completely changed the outlook of the Cavs.
Lebron will finish the season with averages of 30 points (leads the league), 7.9 rebounds and 7.3 assists. The only reason Lebron isn't getting first place MVP votes is because of his team record. Honestly I think they have done a decent job with the long season they have had. Paul stats look like this, 21 points, 11.6 assists, 2.7 steals, he is leading the league in assists and steals.
Yes Paul has lead this team to the second best record in the West, but how long will they go in the playoffs. I think they will lose in the second round, after barely making it out of the first. Paul is the best player on his team but it's not like there are a bunch of no names on his team. Teammate David West joined him on this year's West All-Star team. I'll give him credit, he has had a great season, but he isn't the most valuable player.
Kobe averaged 28.3 points (second in league), 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists. Those are the best overall in Kobe's career, though his points are down a little from previous years, but those are basically the stats Lebron has had in pretty much every season since his second season. But the fact is the Lakers have the best record in the West and have a legitimate chance at making it to the NBA Finals.
What about Kevin Garnett? No, he is not the most valuable player. He has other key players on his team Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Yes they have the best win turnaround in NBA history, but that isn't just due to Kevin Garnett. Yes they have the best record in the league, but Garnett has other key support on his team. He isn't the most valuable to his team.
So if I got a vote my would go Kobe first, Lebron second and Paul third.
Though Lebron's team doesn't have the best record, he is clearly the most valuable player to any team. He has no other stand out player to get his back and that's probably why he has been having back spasms as of late.
I think that if it wasn't based on team record, which I think is bogus, Lebron is clearly the Most Valuable Player to their team. But for the sake of the "team" rule, Kobe is this year's NBA MVP and it will be his first of his career.
With that said, the regular season comes to an end tonight and all of the playoff spots are set.
From the East: Boston, Detroit, Orlando, Cleveland, Washington, Toronto, Philadelphia and Atlanta.
From the West: LA Lakers, New Orleans, San Antonio, Utah, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas and Denver.
Seeding is still being determined and will be final after tonight's games. The NBA playoffs begin on Saturday. I can't wait, it will be an exciting playoffs this year.
Another college basketball star has declared for the NBA draft, that is Memphis guard Derrick Rose. There are reports that UCLA forward Kevin Love will declare tomorrow during a press conference.
So who would I take if I had the first pick? Well it really depends on who has the first pick in the draft. If it's Miami, I think they should take Derrick Rose. He would be a nice counter piece to join Wade and Marion (if he hangs around). If it's Seattle or New York, I think they should take Michael Beasley. Each of those teams have legit point guards and could use a talented forward to add to their team.
If it was my decision just to pick a player, I would take Derrick Rose. He has the potential to being a good scoring point guard or eventually move to shooting guard once he gets some experience. He is also big and quick and could be a player who is similar to Deron Williams, who has developed to a top of the league point guard. But either player will be an NBA star in the near future.
Well I think this post has been long enough. Let me know what you think about your MVP pick and please leave any other comments you have.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Here's the Latest
Just want to go over a few headlines that you may have missed over the past week.
The newest headline at the moment is that Kansas State freshman All-American Michael Beasley has decided to enter the upcoming NBA draft is will likely be the first or second pick in the draft. Other notable players that will enter the draft is USC star OJ Mayo, Indiana guard Eric Gordon, and Joe Alexander of West Virginia. Those are just a few of the stand out players who have put their name in the draft pool for this year.
Of course there are still a few stars that have yet to make a decision and more will likely come.
The headline of yesterday comes from Augusta, Georgia and the first major of the PGA season. None other than the famous Master's tournament. To cut the story in half, South African Trevor Immelman won the Green Jacket by a three stroke victory over none other than Tiger Woods.
Immelman is just the second South African player to don the green jacket joining legend Gary Player, who is also Immelman's idol.
But the story was Tiger finishing second after having a tough weekend with hardly any of his putts falling when he needed to make a run. It is Tiger's fifth second place finish in a major tournament and if you turn those five second place finishes into victories, then Tiger would have 18 majors tying Nicklaus for most all time, but that is a different story.
The NBA season is coming to a close on Wednesday and teams are still vying for seeding and trying to get into the playoffs. I'm ready for the playoffs just because it's the time when you get to see the best games of the season. And this year could be historic, especially in the Western Conference where 1-8 pretty much all have a chance to make it to the finals.
I think it would even be safe to say that any of the West teams could win in the Eastern conference as well, since the East isn't as strong; though Boston and Detroit are very good teams.
I can't wait until the pairings are set so I can make my picks that will most likely be completely wrong since it will pretty much be impossible to pick who will win in the first round especially in the West since either team could come out a winner.
The other interesting story coming from the NBA is the close battle for MVP. Basically the race has come down to Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul, both who are trying to lead their team to the number 1 seed in the West. Later on I will make my pick and argument who should win the MVP but I'll let you know right now that I wouldn't pick Chris Paul.
Well I'm sitting here watching Sportscenter while I write this post and something just caught my attention. Sportscenter just put a quote on from none other than big mouth Gilbert Arenas and he basically said they can't wait to play Cleveland in the first round and who wouldn't want to play them because they are just a .500 team since their big trade and it will be hard to beat the Wizards for the third straight year.
Well first off, he has a point that Cleveland hasn't been playing great since their big trade, but what has got him into trouble the past two seasons with him running his mouth. Last year, the Wizards were without Arenas and Butler against the Cavs in the first round and got swept. The previous year Gilbert ran his mouth too much and got it shut by the superior player and team in a historic series.
I think you are getting yourself in trouble when you speak about another star players team. Lebron is a competitor, so is Arenas, and if you give another competitor a reason to win a series by talking trash then that is trouble.
I'll admit it, Cleveland doesn't look like a strong team at the moment, but they still have Lebron James, the second best player in the league. And Cleveland has beat the Wizards each of the past two seasons in the first round. The Wizards are at full strength, the Cavs aren't. It will be a good series, but if you talk bad about a team, that will motivate them to want to prove to them that they can beat your team three years in a row.
Even Deshawn Stevenson of the Wizards talked bad about Lebron earlier this season and said Lebron wasn't good or something along those lines. Stevenson is the last player on the Wizards who should be talking trash, especially about a player who is clearly better than you. Cleveland vs. Washington is pretty much the perfect match-up and are similarly the same to a point. So it will be a good series but Gilbert will be proven wrong and yet again be put in his place for running his mouth.
Well that's all I have for now, please leave comments, thoughts and suggestions. They are always welcome and appreciated.
The newest headline at the moment is that Kansas State freshman All-American Michael Beasley has decided to enter the upcoming NBA draft is will likely be the first or second pick in the draft. Other notable players that will enter the draft is USC star OJ Mayo, Indiana guard Eric Gordon, and Joe Alexander of West Virginia. Those are just a few of the stand out players who have put their name in the draft pool for this year.
Of course there are still a few stars that have yet to make a decision and more will likely come.
The headline of yesterday comes from Augusta, Georgia and the first major of the PGA season. None other than the famous Master's tournament. To cut the story in half, South African Trevor Immelman won the Green Jacket by a three stroke victory over none other than Tiger Woods.
Immelman is just the second South African player to don the green jacket joining legend Gary Player, who is also Immelman's idol.
But the story was Tiger finishing second after having a tough weekend with hardly any of his putts falling when he needed to make a run. It is Tiger's fifth second place finish in a major tournament and if you turn those five second place finishes into victories, then Tiger would have 18 majors tying Nicklaus for most all time, but that is a different story.
The NBA season is coming to a close on Wednesday and teams are still vying for seeding and trying to get into the playoffs. I'm ready for the playoffs just because it's the time when you get to see the best games of the season. And this year could be historic, especially in the Western Conference where 1-8 pretty much all have a chance to make it to the finals.
I think it would even be safe to say that any of the West teams could win in the Eastern conference as well, since the East isn't as strong; though Boston and Detroit are very good teams.
I can't wait until the pairings are set so I can make my picks that will most likely be completely wrong since it will pretty much be impossible to pick who will win in the first round especially in the West since either team could come out a winner.
The other interesting story coming from the NBA is the close battle for MVP. Basically the race has come down to Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul, both who are trying to lead their team to the number 1 seed in the West. Later on I will make my pick and argument who should win the MVP but I'll let you know right now that I wouldn't pick Chris Paul.
Well I'm sitting here watching Sportscenter while I write this post and something just caught my attention. Sportscenter just put a quote on from none other than big mouth Gilbert Arenas and he basically said they can't wait to play Cleveland in the first round and who wouldn't want to play them because they are just a .500 team since their big trade and it will be hard to beat the Wizards for the third straight year.
Well first off, he has a point that Cleveland hasn't been playing great since their big trade, but what has got him into trouble the past two seasons with him running his mouth. Last year, the Wizards were without Arenas and Butler against the Cavs in the first round and got swept. The previous year Gilbert ran his mouth too much and got it shut by the superior player and team in a historic series.
I think you are getting yourself in trouble when you speak about another star players team. Lebron is a competitor, so is Arenas, and if you give another competitor a reason to win a series by talking trash then that is trouble.
I'll admit it, Cleveland doesn't look like a strong team at the moment, but they still have Lebron James, the second best player in the league. And Cleveland has beat the Wizards each of the past two seasons in the first round. The Wizards are at full strength, the Cavs aren't. It will be a good series, but if you talk bad about a team, that will motivate them to want to prove to them that they can beat your team three years in a row.
Even Deshawn Stevenson of the Wizards talked bad about Lebron earlier this season and said Lebron wasn't good or something along those lines. Stevenson is the last player on the Wizards who should be talking trash, especially about a player who is clearly better than you. Cleveland vs. Washington is pretty much the perfect match-up and are similarly the same to a point. So it will be a good series but Gilbert will be proven wrong and yet again be put in his place for running his mouth.
Well that's all I have for now, please leave comments, thoughts and suggestions. They are always welcome and appreciated.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Memphis Chokes it away
Many of you may know, the Kansas Jayhawks are on top of the college basketball world. They beat the Memphis Tigers in overtime in a game Memphis ultimately gave away.
In the final two minutes of the game, the one flaw in the Memphis armour was exposed when CDR and Rose both missed huge important free throws. They both got fouled and went 1/4 in their attempts and those three misses are what gave Kansas a chance to tie the game to push it to overtime.
Ultimately when I saw CDR miss both of his free throws, I said to myself, well Kansas is going to win this game. It was obviously coming, Kansas was making the last minute push and in the end tied the game and of course went on to win in overtime.
The game was good up until that moment when CDR missed both of his free throws. But after that it was just disappointing. But I guess you have to commend the Jayhawks for hanging tough and fighting all the way to the end to come out the champions.
That's all I have to say about the game, Memphis had the clear shot to ice the game, but their run in the tournament didn't last long enough. Congrats to Kansas and Memphis.
Well that concludes the 2007-2008 Men's College Basketball season and it was a very good season with stand out freshman and savvy veterans. But in the end there were four teams who stood out above the rest and made history by all one seeds making the final four for the first time ever. Congrats to the Kansas Jayhawks for standing alone as the champions.
In the final two minutes of the game, the one flaw in the Memphis armour was exposed when CDR and Rose both missed huge important free throws. They both got fouled and went 1/4 in their attempts and those three misses are what gave Kansas a chance to tie the game to push it to overtime.
Ultimately when I saw CDR miss both of his free throws, I said to myself, well Kansas is going to win this game. It was obviously coming, Kansas was making the last minute push and in the end tied the game and of course went on to win in overtime.
The game was good up until that moment when CDR missed both of his free throws. But after that it was just disappointing. But I guess you have to commend the Jayhawks for hanging tough and fighting all the way to the end to come out the champions.
That's all I have to say about the game, Memphis had the clear shot to ice the game, but their run in the tournament didn't last long enough. Congrats to Kansas and Memphis.
Well that concludes the 2007-2008 Men's College Basketball season and it was a very good season with stand out freshman and savvy veterans. But in the end there were four teams who stood out above the rest and made history by all one seeds making the final four for the first time ever. Congrats to the Kansas Jayhawks for standing alone as the champions.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
National Championship Set
Kansas Jayhawks vs. Memphis Tigers, Monday night in San Antonio for the 2008 National Championship.
Well so much for my picks. That was lousy on my part. Memphis and Kansas both played absolutely great the whole game and came away with huge victories. It should be a good game on Monday night, but I'm not going to make any picks since I failed at that already. I'll be rooting for Memphis though.
Congratulations to UCLA and UNC, both had great seasons and sadly had to come to an end. UNC won a school record 36 games. UCLA made it to their third consecutive final four. Both could easily be back next year.
I'm out.
Well so much for my picks. That was lousy on my part. Memphis and Kansas both played absolutely great the whole game and came away with huge victories. It should be a good game on Monday night, but I'm not going to make any picks since I failed at that already. I'll be rooting for Memphis though.
Congratulations to UCLA and UNC, both had great seasons and sadly had to come to an end. UNC won a school record 36 games. UCLA made it to their third consecutive final four. Both could easily be back next year.
I'm out.
Final Four Saturday
It is officially Final Four Saturday and we are done to only 3 games left in the college basketball season. Of course we all know the final four left, all four 1 seeds, and both games tonight should be some of the best of the season.
Most critics and analysts seem to be taking Kansas to beat UNC and it's about 50-50 between Memphis and UCLA. But I like to look at it from the point of view of experience. UCLA is now in their third straight final four and clearly have the most final four experience of any of the four teams left.
Memphis is out for redemption having lost in the elite 8 each of the past two seasons and last year losing in San Antonio. So they have experience playing in that dome in front of the large crowd. So really Memphis-UCLA could really be a 50-50 game. Their team could come out with the win. But in my bracket I picked UCLA to win it all and I'm not going to shy away from it.
I'm expecting this game to be played in the 60 or 70 point range with UCLA winning by 3 points. UCLA 71 - Memphis 68.
As for the second game between UNC and Kansas, this game could be a race to 80 points wins. Or both teams could play tough defense, which both have been doing so far this tournament and be played in the 70s.
Of course the headline this past week has been Roy facing is former team and Kansas finally getting over the hump with new coach Bill Self. Like I said both teams have been playing good defense in the tournament and definitely have the fire power to pour in the points. I'm taking Roy and the boys to pull out the tough victory and advance to their second national championship appearance in five seasons under coach Roy Williams. UNC 75 - Kansas 73.
That leaves UNC taking on UCLA in the National Championship on Monday and I picked UCLA to win, but I will still be rooting for UNC to win it. The headline of this game would be Hansbrough vs. Love and Lawson vs. Collison. It's also the top to basketball programs in the nation facing each other to add to their impressive championship titles. Unfortunately UCLA wins 70 - UNC 66.
The other major sporting event coming up next week in of course the first major tournament of the season in the PGA, The Masters. The Masters tournament starts next Thursday at the famous Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. The big headline will be if Tiger Woods can win his fifth green jacket and start a trend of his march towards the major sweep. Many feel Tiger is more than capable of doing so this season.
With four wins in five starts so far this season I'd say Tiger has a pretty good chance, especially since he has such a good reputation at Augusta. I'd like to see Tiger continue is march towards Jack's major record and see Tiger win his 14th career major.
The other sports headline that has been in the news over the past few days has been Favre coming out a retirement. The LA Times published an article that said they had sources that said Favre was considering coming out of retirement and possibly playing for another team.
Favre's agent was shocked by this story because he was one of the courses that "said" Favre was considering. His agent denied this report and said Favre had no intention of doing so and Favre wasn't even thinking about it.
Then Favre made a statement that said he had no idea where this report came from and that coming out of retirement hasn't even crosses his mind and he knew he made the right decision to retire. I think everyone needs to leave Favre alone and let him be at peace in retirement. I don't think Favre needs to come out of retirement or wants to come out of retirement. It was his time and he made the right decision.
Finally, there are only two weeks left in the NBA regular season and teams are still fighting for positioning in both conferences. I posted a new poll on the sidebar asking who you think should be MVP this season. Not who will, but who you think should win it. It's still a close battle between several players.
I'll let you know later who I think should win the award. Hopefully this year won't turn out like last year when Dirk won the award. I'm not saying Dirk isn't good, he just wasn't the most valuable to his team last year. But please leave you votes so I can see what you think and I'll write about it later.
Enjoy the Final Four!
Monday, March 31, 2008
NCAA History... MLB Opening Day
Well there are only four teams left in the mighty NCAA Men's tournament and the four remaining teams have made NCAA history. The four remaining teams are the four one seeds and it is the first time ever that all four one seeds have made it to the Final Four.
I know that seems shocking right, but it's true. I guess these four teams are really the elite teams in the NCAA or the selection committee made the right choices. I don't know if any of you remember back to the end of October when I made my preseason basketball picks, but you can check them out here and see that the first five teams I picked are either in the Final Four or played in the Elite Eight. The other three made the tournament, but let me down in the end.
What I think it came down to was the Final Four teams were just the elite teams of the nation and proved it all season long. All four won their conference tournaments and continued their march on into the NCAA tournament. UNC, UCLA, Memphis and Kansas are the best teams in the nation and now the four teams will battle it out for the right to play in the National Championship to be crowned the champion.
I know I only got two of the four right in my bracket, but when it comes down to it I'm sure there were millions out there that picked all four one seeds to make it to the Final Four for the first time ever, just because they are the best teams in the nation.
But when Saturday night comes around I think UNC will knock off Kansas and UCLA will slow down Memphis to make it to the Championship on next Monday for the right to be crowned national champion in 2008.
As college basketball and March Madness comes to a close, April approaches and everyone knows what that means. It's officially spring time and time for the MLB season to get back to the grind. Opening night kicked off last night in the Nation's Capital in the Nationals new ballpark when they faced my Atlanta Braves.
But earlier last week, the season "officially" began in Japan with Boston taking on Oakland in two games that counted towards their record, when each team winning a game. But opening day is today to begin the long regular season march from now until the end of September. I'm going to skip right into my season predictions and then I'll share some thoughts.
American League-
East winner: Boston Red Sox
Central winner: Cleveland Indians
West winner: LA-Anaheim Angles
Wild Card: Detroit Tigers
National League-
East winner: Atlanta Braves
Central winner: Chicago Cubs
West winner: Arizona Diamondbacks
Wild Card: New York Mets
World Series 2008: Cleveland Indians over New York Mets in 6 games
I'm taking a very balanced Indians team to get over the hump and make it to the World Series to face the Mets and bring home the crown. The Indians came up just short last season against the Sox and will be back with a vengeance on their way to the championship.
I've been doing a little bit of reading about the upcoming season and many feel that the Yankees will be back in the playoffs this season. Me on the other hand don't see it happening this year. A new manager, weak pitching, it's not going to happen. Many think they are under the radar behind the mighty Sox, but that is not the case. As long as they have Yankees on their jersey and the classic pinstripe uniforms, everyone will be out to take out the Yankees.
What? You picked the Braves over the Mets and Phillies? Yes I sure did, Cox has rebuilt his young team and their pitching staff is back in order having brought Tom Glavine back, they will cause trouble in the National League East this year. Bobby Cox has been under slight scrutiny the past two seasons, but he has his team back in order and they will be hanging around the top of the division all season long as long as they don't suffer any major injuries.
It will be a tight three way race all season long, but the Braves will pull through and win the division over the Mets by one games and the Phillies by two games. Yes, it will be very tight.
As for the NL West division, that is probably the hardest division to pick because four of the five teams in that division could win the division. I choose the Diamondbacks due to their success from last season and their strong pitching, but one could make a claim for the Rockies, Padres or even new look Dodgers as well. That is a stacked division as well.
That is why I love baseball so much. The balance of power is so Topsy-tourvey these days. It is hard to pick who will win just because teams are so good and balanced. It's no more expecting the Yankees to make it to the World Series every season like in the 90s. Now it's anybodies game. The Yankees are now without a World Series Title since the Subway series in 2000. Their last appearance was in 2003 when they lost to the Florida Marlins.
So here's to the 2008 season, looking forward to a good, long season.
I know that seems shocking right, but it's true. I guess these four teams are really the elite teams in the NCAA or the selection committee made the right choices. I don't know if any of you remember back to the end of October when I made my preseason basketball picks, but you can check them out here and see that the first five teams I picked are either in the Final Four or played in the Elite Eight. The other three made the tournament, but let me down in the end.
What I think it came down to was the Final Four teams were just the elite teams of the nation and proved it all season long. All four won their conference tournaments and continued their march on into the NCAA tournament. UNC, UCLA, Memphis and Kansas are the best teams in the nation and now the four teams will battle it out for the right to play in the National Championship to be crowned the champion.
I know I only got two of the four right in my bracket, but when it comes down to it I'm sure there were millions out there that picked all four one seeds to make it to the Final Four for the first time ever, just because they are the best teams in the nation.
But when Saturday night comes around I think UNC will knock off Kansas and UCLA will slow down Memphis to make it to the Championship on next Monday for the right to be crowned national champion in 2008.
As college basketball and March Madness comes to a close, April approaches and everyone knows what that means. It's officially spring time and time for the MLB season to get back to the grind. Opening night kicked off last night in the Nation's Capital in the Nationals new ballpark when they faced my Atlanta Braves.
But earlier last week, the season "officially" began in Japan with Boston taking on Oakland in two games that counted towards their record, when each team winning a game. But opening day is today to begin the long regular season march from now until the end of September. I'm going to skip right into my season predictions and then I'll share some thoughts.
American League-
East winner: Boston Red Sox
Central winner: Cleveland Indians
West winner: LA-Anaheim Angles
Wild Card: Detroit Tigers
National League-
East winner: Atlanta Braves
Central winner: Chicago Cubs
West winner: Arizona Diamondbacks
Wild Card: New York Mets
World Series 2008: Cleveland Indians over New York Mets in 6 games
I'm taking a very balanced Indians team to get over the hump and make it to the World Series to face the Mets and bring home the crown. The Indians came up just short last season against the Sox and will be back with a vengeance on their way to the championship.
I've been doing a little bit of reading about the upcoming season and many feel that the Yankees will be back in the playoffs this season. Me on the other hand don't see it happening this year. A new manager, weak pitching, it's not going to happen. Many think they are under the radar behind the mighty Sox, but that is not the case. As long as they have Yankees on their jersey and the classic pinstripe uniforms, everyone will be out to take out the Yankees.
What? You picked the Braves over the Mets and Phillies? Yes I sure did, Cox has rebuilt his young team and their pitching staff is back in order having brought Tom Glavine back, they will cause trouble in the National League East this year. Bobby Cox has been under slight scrutiny the past two seasons, but he has his team back in order and they will be hanging around the top of the division all season long as long as they don't suffer any major injuries.
It will be a tight three way race all season long, but the Braves will pull through and win the division over the Mets by one games and the Phillies by two games. Yes, it will be very tight.
As for the NL West division, that is probably the hardest division to pick because four of the five teams in that division could win the division. I choose the Diamondbacks due to their success from last season and their strong pitching, but one could make a claim for the Rockies, Padres or even new look Dodgers as well. That is a stacked division as well.
That is why I love baseball so much. The balance of power is so Topsy-tourvey these days. It is hard to pick who will win just because teams are so good and balanced. It's no more expecting the Yankees to make it to the World Series every season like in the 90s. Now it's anybodies game. The Yankees are now without a World Series Title since the Subway series in 2000. Their last appearance was in 2003 when they lost to the Florida Marlins.
So here's to the 2008 season, looking forward to a good, long season.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Carolina advances, UCLA too
Yesterday was the first day of the sweet 16 round and two of the one seeds have won to advance to the elite 8 on Saturday.
In the West, UCLA faced Cinderella Western Kentucky and opened up a big lead in the first half with stingy defense and forcing Western Kentucky into bad shots. They couldn't get anything to fall and were trailing by 20 at halftime.
It was a good run by a tough Western Kentucky team but their luck ran out against one of the nations elite. UCLA is a tough team to face due to their balance on both ends of the floor. UCLA will face Xavier who held off a late push by West Virginia and won their game in overtime giving them their 30th win this season, a school record, and advancing to the elite 8 round to take on UCLA.
In the East, UNC gave Washington State a taste of their own medicine. UNC held the Cougars to 21 first half points and led by 14 at halftime and once the second half started the Cougars didn't stand a chance for a comeback. UNC played tough defense and of course they are impossible to stop on the offensive side as UNC cruised to a 21 point victory and will face Louisville in the elite 8.
Yup, Louisville knocked out the Volunteers of Tennessee with their own style of stingy defence. So the story for the winners of the night was defense, and personally I think that's what it takes to be crowned the national champion of Men's College basketball.
UNC vs. Louisville should be a very, very close game. Both have been playing tough defense and that leads to points on the offensive side. I'm looking at this game being played in the 60s with the winning margin no more than 6 points. Of course I'm rooting for Carolina to win, but they will have to fight tough and not let what happened last year happen again this year.
Tonight the other four games of the sweet 16 take place in Detroit and Houston. In the South, it's Memphis taking of Michigan State and Texas vs. Stanford. And in the Midwest, Kansas taking on Villanova and Wisconsin and Davidson. Should be in store for some more great college basketball tonight and continued into the weekend on our way to deciding the Final Four.
As always please leave your comments or suggestions!
In the West, UCLA faced Cinderella Western Kentucky and opened up a big lead in the first half with stingy defense and forcing Western Kentucky into bad shots. They couldn't get anything to fall and were trailing by 20 at halftime.
It was a good run by a tough Western Kentucky team but their luck ran out against one of the nations elite. UCLA is a tough team to face due to their balance on both ends of the floor. UCLA will face Xavier who held off a late push by West Virginia and won their game in overtime giving them their 30th win this season, a school record, and advancing to the elite 8 round to take on UCLA.
In the East, UNC gave Washington State a taste of their own medicine. UNC held the Cougars to 21 first half points and led by 14 at halftime and once the second half started the Cougars didn't stand a chance for a comeback. UNC played tough defense and of course they are impossible to stop on the offensive side as UNC cruised to a 21 point victory and will face Louisville in the elite 8.
Yup, Louisville knocked out the Volunteers of Tennessee with their own style of stingy defence. So the story for the winners of the night was defense, and personally I think that's what it takes to be crowned the national champion of Men's College basketball.
UNC vs. Louisville should be a very, very close game. Both have been playing tough defense and that leads to points on the offensive side. I'm looking at this game being played in the 60s with the winning margin no more than 6 points. Of course I'm rooting for Carolina to win, but they will have to fight tough and not let what happened last year happen again this year.
Tonight the other four games of the sweet 16 take place in Detroit and Houston. In the South, it's Memphis taking of Michigan State and Texas vs. Stanford. And in the Midwest, Kansas taking on Villanova and Wisconsin and Davidson. Should be in store for some more great college basketball tonight and continued into the weekend on our way to deciding the Final Four.
As always please leave your comments or suggestions!
Monday, March 24, 2008
New Website Address
Hey everyone, I edited my website URL to make it a little bit easier to remember.
Here is the new URL for my blog.
http://mjsportssmak.blogspot.com/
As you can see I just switched up the mj and took out the dash. So it's mjsportssmak instead of what it was.
Sorry for any inconvenience. Just trying to make some improvements.
Here is the new URL for my blog.
http://mjsportssmak.blogspot.com/
As you can see I just switched up the mj and took out the dash. So it's mjsportssmak instead of what it was.
Sorry for any inconvenience. Just trying to make some improvements.
And then there was 16
Well the first two rounds of the NCAA Men's Tournament have officially come to a conclusion after a fun and eventful four days of action. We are now down to the Sweet 16 remaining and as I doubted, there are several surprises.
Who is left playing in the Sweet 16:
From the East Region:
1. North Carolina
2. Tennessee
3. Louisville
4. Washington State
From the Midwest Region:
1. Kansas
3. Wisconsin
10. Davidson
12. Villanova
From the South Region:
1. Memphis
2. Texas
3. Stanford
5. Michigan State
From the West Region:
1. UCLA
3. Xavier
7. West Virginia
12. Western Kentucky
So as you can see there are three double digit seeds playing in the Sweet 16, which is a shock to me. Basically my bracket is shot, so all I have left is rooting for my Tar Heels, who averaged 110 points in their first two games of the tournament. But now it is time to get down to the business.
Now I want to address the two comments left from the other day and boy am I shocked to see comments from these two. I thought they feel off the bandwagon or something, especially Mr. John. Anyways I am all happy when any leaves comments, it always gives me something extra to talk about.
First T's comment about the Georgetown "choke" Hoyas. As most of you know the Hoyas got upset in the second round by a mighty Davidson team lead by sophomore stud Stephen Curry who scored 30 huge points in a winning effort against the Hoyas, just days after he torched Gonzaga for 40.
Yes I picked Georgetown to make it to the final four, just because I didn't want to have all four 1 seeds in there because that has never happened. But what can you do, evidently the Hoyas weren't ready to big it and got shocked by this year's Cinderella.
I don't think they let me down last season though, they upset my Tar Heels in the Elite 8 in an overtime game that they never should have won, only to go on to lose in their final four game. Most of the time I don't consider making it to the final four a let down. Anyways, tough lose, tough pick. I'll survive.
Now to get onto the business of John's comments. Where have you been man? No E-mail, no comments in like 2 weeks, not even any bracket talk. It's okay, I know you are a busy man. But now I have to Smak ya.
I don't know who that lose friend was who said Georgetown was going to tear it up and if it was me, then I must have been losing it, but it is sad that they lost in the second round. I had better expectations, but I don't think I said they would tear it up.
As for Skip Bayless, I don't even want to talk about that fool. I can't even watch that show he is on because he just makes the worst points. Especially when he has the nerve and calls Lebron the Queen and KG the softest power forward in the league. That is just plain ridiculous. If I ever have the chance to go 1 on 1 with that guy in the future, (probably won't since he is like a 60 year old bum) but I would have to pull a Stephen A. Smith on him and talk a million words a minute and just rant him out. That is the only good time to watch Skip, when he is going against Stephen A. because he makes him look like the fool he is.
I'm sure Skip called Roy Hibbert a weak, slow center, blah, blah, blah. Which is something he would say but Roy will be a legit center in the next few years in the NBA. He will do a lot better than any of the Florida bums from last year who have stunk it up this year, with the exception of Al Horford, he is the only legit player out of that group.
I'm telling you, people are sleeping on Greg Oden and Roy Hibbert. But they are true centers and will be the face of the league for the next 10 years mark my words. Yeah the NBA has become a guards league, but they will keep the center game around because both of them will be studs.
Pacers? Only 1.5 games out, yeah there are several teams trying to get that 8 spot in the East, even the Bulls are in the mix and when it all comes down to it, I think the Bulls will win that 8 spot. It doesn't really matter who gets the 8 spot in the East because they will just get swept by the Celtics in the first round anyways. Hawks, Nets, Pacers, Bulls all fighting for the 8 spot, Bulls will get it and will be swept in the first round by the Celtics.
Oh and the Pacers just need to let Jermaine O'neal go, because he is causing them problems with his injuries and not so hot play. The stars on the Pacers are Dunleavy and Danny Granger. So build around them and part ways with O'Neal.
What's the deal with the Wizards? I just can't figure them out. They lose 5 games, then they win 5 games, all without Gilbert Arenas. They're one of those teams that can beat the Celtics and Pistons one night and then turn around and lose to the Bobcats or Heat the next. They're just one of those confusing teams to understand, but Antwan Jamison has been playing great during Arenas's absence and has kept them around in the East.
I saw when Dirk injured his leg, I thought he was done for the year, it just didn't look pretty at all. But two weeks, that's going to be huge. I really don't think the Mavericks are going to be able to hang out to survive the playoffs. The Warriors are playing some tough ball and the Nuggets will make that push and to get and the Mavericks and reigning MVP Dirk will miss out on the playoffs after a 67 win season last year.
The Spurs are fine, they are still settling in their their new pieces and will be in tip top shape when the playoffs come around. Whether their a 1 seed or the 6 seed, they will be a tough challenge for any team in the West.
I don't see why you are a Rick Carlisle fan anyway, he chocked with a good Pistons team and he chocked with the Pacers, why would you like him as a coach. I think he should coach the Bulls though, maybe he can do something with them, since there wouldn't be high expectations right away.
I don't know what this Larry Bird riddle is about, but I'm looking forward to hearing about it. I heard that Jerry West wanted to move from Memphis to New York. Not really sure why, but I saw a little excerpt about it on SI the other day.
I also saw a website has been created to help bring Lebron to New York. That's right, the Knicks fans are already trying to convince Lebron to come play in the Big Apple. Check out www.nycforlebron.com and you will see their little campaign to try to get Lebron to come to New York when his contract runs out in 2010.
Personally, I could see Lebron playing in New York, but only if they were a team competing for a Championship. And of course with Lebron and any one's team you have a chance to compete for a championship, but the Knicks have just to many situations going on and as long as Isaiah Thomas is there, I don't see it happening.
Wow, that was a lot of information. I hope you all enjoy it and I'll be back in a couple days with more information.
Take it easy.
Who is left playing in the Sweet 16:
From the East Region:
1. North Carolina
2. Tennessee
3. Louisville
4. Washington State
From the Midwest Region:
1. Kansas
3. Wisconsin
10. Davidson
12. Villanova
From the South Region:
1. Memphis
2. Texas
3. Stanford
5. Michigan State
From the West Region:
1. UCLA
3. Xavier
7. West Virginia
12. Western Kentucky
So as you can see there are three double digit seeds playing in the Sweet 16, which is a shock to me. Basically my bracket is shot, so all I have left is rooting for my Tar Heels, who averaged 110 points in their first two games of the tournament. But now it is time to get down to the business.
Now I want to address the two comments left from the other day and boy am I shocked to see comments from these two. I thought they feel off the bandwagon or something, especially Mr. John. Anyways I am all happy when any leaves comments, it always gives me something extra to talk about.
First T's comment about the Georgetown "choke" Hoyas. As most of you know the Hoyas got upset in the second round by a mighty Davidson team lead by sophomore stud Stephen Curry who scored 30 huge points in a winning effort against the Hoyas, just days after he torched Gonzaga for 40.
Yes I picked Georgetown to make it to the final four, just because I didn't want to have all four 1 seeds in there because that has never happened. But what can you do, evidently the Hoyas weren't ready to big it and got shocked by this year's Cinderella.
I don't think they let me down last season though, they upset my Tar Heels in the Elite 8 in an overtime game that they never should have won, only to go on to lose in their final four game. Most of the time I don't consider making it to the final four a let down. Anyways, tough lose, tough pick. I'll survive.
Now to get onto the business of John's comments. Where have you been man? No E-mail, no comments in like 2 weeks, not even any bracket talk. It's okay, I know you are a busy man. But now I have to Smak ya.
I don't know who that lose friend was who said Georgetown was going to tear it up and if it was me, then I must have been losing it, but it is sad that they lost in the second round. I had better expectations, but I don't think I said they would tear it up.
As for Skip Bayless, I don't even want to talk about that fool. I can't even watch that show he is on because he just makes the worst points. Especially when he has the nerve and calls Lebron the Queen and KG the softest power forward in the league. That is just plain ridiculous. If I ever have the chance to go 1 on 1 with that guy in the future, (probably won't since he is like a 60 year old bum) but I would have to pull a Stephen A. Smith on him and talk a million words a minute and just rant him out. That is the only good time to watch Skip, when he is going against Stephen A. because he makes him look like the fool he is.
I'm sure Skip called Roy Hibbert a weak, slow center, blah, blah, blah. Which is something he would say but Roy will be a legit center in the next few years in the NBA. He will do a lot better than any of the Florida bums from last year who have stunk it up this year, with the exception of Al Horford, he is the only legit player out of that group.
I'm telling you, people are sleeping on Greg Oden and Roy Hibbert. But they are true centers and will be the face of the league for the next 10 years mark my words. Yeah the NBA has become a guards league, but they will keep the center game around because both of them will be studs.
Pacers? Only 1.5 games out, yeah there are several teams trying to get that 8 spot in the East, even the Bulls are in the mix and when it all comes down to it, I think the Bulls will win that 8 spot. It doesn't really matter who gets the 8 spot in the East because they will just get swept by the Celtics in the first round anyways. Hawks, Nets, Pacers, Bulls all fighting for the 8 spot, Bulls will get it and will be swept in the first round by the Celtics.
Oh and the Pacers just need to let Jermaine O'neal go, because he is causing them problems with his injuries and not so hot play. The stars on the Pacers are Dunleavy and Danny Granger. So build around them and part ways with O'Neal.
What's the deal with the Wizards? I just can't figure them out. They lose 5 games, then they win 5 games, all without Gilbert Arenas. They're one of those teams that can beat the Celtics and Pistons one night and then turn around and lose to the Bobcats or Heat the next. They're just one of those confusing teams to understand, but Antwan Jamison has been playing great during Arenas's absence and has kept them around in the East.
I saw when Dirk injured his leg, I thought he was done for the year, it just didn't look pretty at all. But two weeks, that's going to be huge. I really don't think the Mavericks are going to be able to hang out to survive the playoffs. The Warriors are playing some tough ball and the Nuggets will make that push and to get and the Mavericks and reigning MVP Dirk will miss out on the playoffs after a 67 win season last year.
The Spurs are fine, they are still settling in their their new pieces and will be in tip top shape when the playoffs come around. Whether their a 1 seed or the 6 seed, they will be a tough challenge for any team in the West.
I don't see why you are a Rick Carlisle fan anyway, he chocked with a good Pistons team and he chocked with the Pacers, why would you like him as a coach. I think he should coach the Bulls though, maybe he can do something with them, since there wouldn't be high expectations right away.
I don't know what this Larry Bird riddle is about, but I'm looking forward to hearing about it. I heard that Jerry West wanted to move from Memphis to New York. Not really sure why, but I saw a little excerpt about it on SI the other day.
I also saw a website has been created to help bring Lebron to New York. That's right, the Knicks fans are already trying to convince Lebron to come play in the Big Apple. Check out www.nycforlebron.com and you will see their little campaign to try to get Lebron to come to New York when his contract runs out in 2010.
Personally, I could see Lebron playing in New York, but only if they were a team competing for a Championship. And of course with Lebron and any one's team you have a chance to compete for a championship, but the Knicks have just to many situations going on and as long as Isaiah Thomas is there, I don't see it happening.
Wow, that was a lot of information. I hope you all enjoy it and I'll be back in a couple days with more information.
Take it easy.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Happy Anniversary to me!
What anniversary am I talking about?
Well on this day a year ago I launched this site and the revolution of Sports Smak was created.
Here is a link to my First Blog Post and you can also find it in the achieves section located on the sidebar.
Writing on this blog had become one of my favorite hobbies, though I don't update and much as most true blogger's, I still enjoy writing and sharing my thoughts and opinions. Sports is one of my most favorite things in life. I just wanted to give my appreciation to those loyal readers and thank you for all the support. I am still just a "beginner" when it comes to blogging, but this year has been a learning experience and I only hope to improve into the future.
So I thank you all again for the support!
Well the NCAA tournament is underway and playing the second day of round one games and like I doubted there has been a big upset. 13 seed San Diego took down 4 seed Connecticut with a 1 point win in overtime this afternoon. I was shocked when I saw this happening as I felt UCONN had been playing good ball as of late, but you never know what can happen in the NCAA tournament.
It's one and down if you lose and if you win you get another chance to win another game. So you have to be mentally focused and play your heart out.
As of right now, I have only missed four games on my bracket picks, but with the current games playing that number will probably grow to six misses which makes me sad, but it's all good.
The other "shocker" upset would have been 12 seed Western Kentucky beating 5 seed Drake on a game winning shot at the buzzer in overtime. That was en exciting game to watch with my mid-major teams battling it out. But Western Kentucky did show any love to the Drake and sent them home.
I actually picked Western Kentucky to win this game, it was the highest upset I had on my bracket so I was excited about that.
The shocking game of last night had to be 2 seed Duke facing 15 seed Belmont and boy oh boy Belmont pushed them to a last second shot that just missed to allow Duke to escape back to back loses in the first round. Duke won 71-70. I was going to be the happiest man in America if Duke would have lost, but I have to deal with them for at least another game.
Anyways, so far the NCAA tournament has been exciting and we are just in the first round. I expect more excitement coming tomorrow and Sunday in the important second round games.
Until then, thanks again for the support and I always encourage comments and thoughts. Also if you have any suggestions on how I can improve the features on my blog I would be more than welcome to hearing suggestions.
Enjoy the Madness everybody!
Well on this day a year ago I launched this site and the revolution of Sports Smak was created.
Here is a link to my First Blog Post and you can also find it in the achieves section located on the sidebar.
Writing on this blog had become one of my favorite hobbies, though I don't update and much as most true blogger's, I still enjoy writing and sharing my thoughts and opinions. Sports is one of my most favorite things in life. I just wanted to give my appreciation to those loyal readers and thank you for all the support. I am still just a "beginner" when it comes to blogging, but this year has been a learning experience and I only hope to improve into the future.
So I thank you all again for the support!
Well the NCAA tournament is underway and playing the second day of round one games and like I doubted there has been a big upset. 13 seed San Diego took down 4 seed Connecticut with a 1 point win in overtime this afternoon. I was shocked when I saw this happening as I felt UCONN had been playing good ball as of late, but you never know what can happen in the NCAA tournament.
It's one and down if you lose and if you win you get another chance to win another game. So you have to be mentally focused and play your heart out.
As of right now, I have only missed four games on my bracket picks, but with the current games playing that number will probably grow to six misses which makes me sad, but it's all good.
The other "shocker" upset would have been 12 seed Western Kentucky beating 5 seed Drake on a game winning shot at the buzzer in overtime. That was en exciting game to watch with my mid-major teams battling it out. But Western Kentucky did show any love to the Drake and sent them home.
I actually picked Western Kentucky to win this game, it was the highest upset I had on my bracket so I was excited about that.
The shocking game of last night had to be 2 seed Duke facing 15 seed Belmont and boy oh boy Belmont pushed them to a last second shot that just missed to allow Duke to escape back to back loses in the first round. Duke won 71-70. I was going to be the happiest man in America if Duke would have lost, but I have to deal with them for at least another game.
Anyways, so far the NCAA tournament has been exciting and we are just in the first round. I expect more excitement coming tomorrow and Sunday in the important second round games.
Until then, thanks again for the support and I always encourage comments and thoughts. Also if you have any suggestions on how I can improve the features on my blog I would be more than welcome to hearing suggestions.
Enjoy the Madness everybody!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
2008 NCAA Tourney Picks
Here is my bracket with my picks. I know it is hard to read but you can click on the bracket to view it larger, I will give you the down low on what I think will happen.
This year's tournament will certainly be interesting, but I don't think there will be many upsets this year just because the top seeds are just that good this year.
As I mentioned, this year's 1 seeds are North Carolina, Memphis, UCLA and Kansas. The 2 seeds include Tennessee, Georgetown, Texas and Duke.
I think the national champion will come out of that group. There might be a 3 seed, either Louisville or Wisconsin that has a shot to win it too. This year's top seeds are just that good and won't falter to any "Cinderella" teams. Basically, don't count on George Mason to make it to the Final Four again this year.
One of the biggest headlines was the snub teams that didn't get the chance to make it into the tournament. The biggest snub this year was probably Arizona State. There argument is their RPI rating and strength of schedule weren't strong enough. Then again, they did beat Arizona two times and Arizona made it in as a 10 seed with a worse overall record and a worse conference schedule.
I don't know about you, but I would have put Arizona State in the tournament over Arizona, plain and simple. Arizona is 19-14, that is not an acceptable record to be put in a tournament that is supposed to be the top 65 teams in the nation. 19-14 is not a top record in the nation. I would have put Virginia Tech in before Arizona, who won 20 games this year and nearly upset North Carolina.
Anyways, on to my picks. As you may have noticed I chose UCLA to be the National Champion winning over North Carolina. My Final Four was North Carolina, Georgetown, Texas and UCLA. I know my bracket doesn't have any major surprises, that's just because I feel that the top seeds will hold up this year and there is a good chance all four 1 seeds could make it to the Final Four, although that has never happened, there is always a first for everything.
I know there will be people out there that might pick a higher seed to make it far in the tournament, such as a USC or a Michigan State or even a Pittsburgh, or heck even those loyal George Mason fans that think they can make that run again. But when it all comes down to it, I just feel the top 1 and 2 seeds will come out on top and the Champion will be a 1 or 2 seed.
The reason I chose UNC and UCLA to make it to the title game is because these two teams have been playing great ball lately and clearly have the talent to win games. UCLA has been to the Final Four the past two seasons losing to Florida both years, so right away you know they have plenty of experience to go along with their talented team on both sides of the ball.
As for UNC, yes they are my team, but I chose them because I know that Hansbrough is out for blood this year and will not be denied like he was shockingly upset last year in the Elite 8 to Georgetown. I am looking for them to come out of a tough East region and face either Georgetown or Kansas in the Final Four.
Either match up will be exciting to watch, either a rematch with Georgetown or getting to see Roy's Alma Mater take on his previous team in a talented Kansas team. Anyway, UNC is clearly talented on offense their only question is will they play team defense the whole tournament. They have been playing defense lately, they just need to keep it up on the way to the Final Four.
I think the best first round match-up is between (7) Gonzaga and (10) Davidson. Two of the top mid-major teams, Gonzaga once being a Cinderella, now just a normal top team taking on the new Cinderella in Davidson. I am looking for Davidson to squeak by Gonzaga in a fun game.
I think the best potential Final Four match-up could be UNC taking on Kansas. Roy's Tar Heels facing his previous team in a battle of offense versus a strong defensive team would be an exciting match-up.
Alright, there you have it, my picks and thoughts on this year's tournament. My final score for the Championship game will be...
UCLA 77 - North Carolina 71
Enjoy the Madness and good luck with your picks!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Selection Sunday!
Well Selection Sunday has officially come and gone and the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament is set and gets underway on Tuesday with the opening round game.
The four top seeds are: North Carolina, Memphis, UCLA, and Kansas.
Here is a link to view the Bracket...
I will be back in the next few days to give you my break down of this year's tournament and post my picks for who I think is going to win.
Until then, good luck with your picks and using your "bracketology" skills.
Let the Madness begin!
The four top seeds are: North Carolina, Memphis, UCLA, and Kansas.
Here is a link to view the Bracket...
I will be back in the next few days to give you my break down of this year's tournament and post my picks for who I think is going to win.
Until then, good luck with your picks and using your "bracketology" skills.
Let the Madness begin!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Conference Tournies
We are officially into the mix of March Madness with Conference tournaments on the way and there have been some good games.
Sunday at 6 p.m. sharp is the NCAA selection show on ESPN to reveal this years NCAA tournament teams playing for a shot at the National Championship. Will there be any Cinderellas this year? How many of the top seeds will get upset or breeze through the tournament? I know I can't wait until Sunday so I can begin my construction of my tournament bracket.
In NBA news, the leagues hottest team is the Houston Rockets who have won an amazing 20 straight games, which is tied for the second longest win streak in NBA history. What is the most shocking thing is they have continued to win without their big man Yao Ming who was lost for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
How much longer can the Rockets keep this run going, my guess is not to much longer. They might win 1 more game, but then they face a tough Lakers team on Sunday.
I'll be back on Sunday for my NCAA tournament break down, until then enjoy some college basketball.
Sunday at 6 p.m. sharp is the NCAA selection show on ESPN to reveal this years NCAA tournament teams playing for a shot at the National Championship. Will there be any Cinderellas this year? How many of the top seeds will get upset or breeze through the tournament? I know I can't wait until Sunday so I can begin my construction of my tournament bracket.
In NBA news, the leagues hottest team is the Houston Rockets who have won an amazing 20 straight games, which is tied for the second longest win streak in NBA history. What is the most shocking thing is they have continued to win without their big man Yao Ming who was lost for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
How much longer can the Rockets keep this run going, my guess is not to much longer. They might win 1 more game, but then they face a tough Lakers team on Sunday.
I'll be back on Sunday for my NCAA tournament break down, until then enjoy some college basketball.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Wisconsin in shock
It's been 17 seasons, 3 MVPs, 2 Super Bowl appearances with 1 victory and many, many, many, records broken. Green Bay Packer great Brett Favre has officially called it a career, stating he is just mentally exhausted.
I have grown up watching Brett play and seen all of his famous moments and exciting play. To watch the Packers play next season without Favre at the helm of quarterback is going to be hard to deal with. They will not be a number four in Green Bay probably ever again, seeing as I think they should not only retire his jersey but his number too. No other quarterback should be able to don the great '4' for the rest of Green Bay history.
I have grown up watching Brett play and seen all of his famous moments and exciting play. To watch the Packers play next season without Favre at the helm of quarterback is going to be hard to deal with. They will not be a number four in Green Bay probably ever again, seeing as I think they should not only retire his jersey but his number too. No other quarterback should be able to don the great '4' for the rest of Green Bay history.
Favre will be known as one of the best quarterbacks of all time and I know he will most certainly be in my top five of all-time just because I have grown up watching him play. From the mid 90s when Favre become the only NFL player to win three MVP awards, he did it in three consecutive seasons, 95, 96, and 97. Then on to the 2000s having moderate success before facing criticism in 05 and 06 and then having one of his best seasons in 07 leading the Packers to a close shot at another Super Bowl birth.
He led the Packers back to the reign of champions in 1997 winning his first NFL Super Bowl and then leading them back the next year to lose to fellow NFL great John Elway. If I had to pick my five favorite quarterbacks of my generation, being the 90s to the present, here's what my list would look like:
- Joe Montana
- Brett Favre
- Steve Young
- Peyton Manning
- Dan Marino
That's not my all-time quarterback list, just my favorite quarterbacks I have been able to watch play in my generation so far. But I know there would be many people that would agree with me that Favre deserves to be in just about anybodies top five greatest quarterbacks of all time.
Even if Favre isn't the "conventional prototype QB," he is surely one of the best to watch do his job just because he always has fun an always has a smile on his face because he loved to do what he did.
I think I can speak for everyone when I say, Brett you will be missed and we have all enjoyed watching you do work at the quarterback position during your career in Green Bay. I know you will enjoy your retirement and will surely be inducted into the Hall of Fame five years from now in your first year eligible. Take it easy man, hopefully I'll see ya around some day...
NCAA Championship week is approaching quickly as conferences are finishing up their final games and some conferences have already started their tournaments. There is already 1 team that has qualified for the NCAA tournament, that is Cornell, their first appearance ever.
I got my game face on for this Saturday night when UNC heads to Duke for the second game to close out the season. Lawson is back and the Heels have been playing well during his absence and look to finish the regular season strong with a much needed win in Durham to claim the ACC regular season title for the second straight season. Let's go!
In NBA news, the hottest team in the league right now, not the Celtics, maybe the Lakers. How about the reigning champion San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs are tied for best record with the Lakers at the top of the Western Conference and are riding a ten game win streak, including winning 14 of their last 15.
Have you seen them play lately? Well now that Tony Parker is back healthy and the additions of Damon Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas, Duncan and his Spurs look like they are in the middle of playoff form. And all I have to say about that is everyone in the league are in trouble. The Spurs mission is to win a championship and they are on course to do so for the first time in back to back seasons.
All I have to say is man, all those Spurs are boring guys out there, doesn't matter how boring you are, you want excitement go watch the Harlem Globetrotters or go to the streets of New York. The Spurs play fundamental execution basketball. Duncan, Parker and Ginobili are firing on all cylinders, and when Ginobili is hot he will just go off on you. He is having a great season on the offensive side of the ball having scoring games in the 30s and 40s.
So if the Spurs are shutting you down on the defensive end and then coming back and putting up numbers, then it's lights out. Spurs will repeat this year!
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