Arial Ace

His first game as a member of the New Orleans Saints was on September 25th 2006; the Saints first home game since the Louisiana Superdome, their home, had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. After the imperfect storm demolished the gulf coast and left thousands in New Orleans without homes, food, or water, the re-opening of the Superdome had far greater meaning than just a franchise's attempt to rebound from a 3-13 season the year before. That game against the rival Atlanta Falcons embodied the resilient spirit of the people of New Orleans, and their determination to stand together no matter what adversity came before them. And in the previous off-season, the Saints organization signed a quarterback to be the man to lead them through an emotion packed regular season. He was too undersized to be a first round draft pick. His arm was not strong enough to make all of the deep throws. And too many questions surrounded his torn labrum that was sustained in his final season with the San Diego Chargers.

All of the adversity that surrounded Drew Brees made him the perfect man to be the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints in 2006. Drew Brees did not throw a touchdown pass in the Saints 23-3 thumping of the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football, but he helped bring something far greater to the Saints fan base than just accolades; Drew Brees brought the gift of hope to a franchise encased in mediocrity throughout it's existence. 

There were plenty of similarities between last night's game and Brees' first game as a New Orleans Saint. The field was the same, the opposing team was the same, the stage was the same, and the final result was the same as the regular season opener in 2006; yet the feel from last nights game was completely different than Brees' first game on his new team. The game in 06 had a sense of team unity throughout the stands, while last night's game had vibrant sense of anticipation focused on one player. Five years ago marked Drew Brees' first home victory as quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, last night marked the day when a 27 year old record fell in the big easy.


December 26, 2011 will forever be remembered as the game when Drew Brees broke Dan Marino's record for most passing yards in a single season.

The stats from Brees' game had Saints fans beaming, as usual. Brees completed 23 out of his 39 passes with four touchdowns and two interceptions, and 307 passing yards on a night in which he needed 305 to surpass Marino's mark. There were a few throws in which Brees pressed a bit, being slightly more aggressive and a hair less efficient than Saints fans were used to. But at the end of the night, those few throws did not matter. And with 2 minutes and 51 seconds to go, Brees found his former Charger teammate Darren Sproles for his fourth touchdown of the night and NFL immortality. 

Brees' record breaking touchdown pass lead to his linemen bull rushing their quarterback, the announcers re-emphasizing the importance of the record, and the deafening cheers from the fans that could be heard all throughout the French Quarter. Every camera in the Superdome turned towards number 9 and countless flashes filled the stadium in a moment that appeared frozen in time. The point after attempt that capped off the 45-16 win and kept the Saints in the hunt for the NFC's number two seed was a formality that did not even draw the attention of the cameras. Everyone in the football world was more concerned with watching Brees hug his teammates, coaches, and get his picture taken than the rest of a blowout. 

But perhaps the most amazing part of last night was not Drew Brees the quarterback who broke an almost three decade old record, but rather Drew Brees the man who surpassed the 27 year mark. 

Every post game interview that Brees conducted embodied the utmost class and humility that a professional athlete could have shown to the media. In a night that was all about Brees' individual accomplishment, the man of the hour reiterated the importance of the team's win, the team's hard work, and called the record a great team accomplishment. And perhaps the most telling moment of the evening came in the post game speech Brees gave to his team in the locker room. Where one of the NFL's most prominent athletes said to his teammates, coaches, members of management, and everyone else associated with the 2011 New Orleans Saints "There may be only one name that goes in the record book, but it's all about you guys." 

In the day of the twenty four hour media cycle and era of sports statistics, nobody would have blamed Brees for focusing the night's reaction on his individual hard work and the importance of the individual accomplishment. But unlike many of the athletes in today's world of sports, Brees tried his best to defer attention from himself. That kind of team focused attitude showed everyone why Brees had been so loved in the big easy for so long. Ever since being signed to the big deal in 2006, Brees worked to put the improvement of the organization over the significance of his individual performance. And with 52 other players and even more members of the franchise not wearing pads all getting praise for their hard work by the man of the night, the true character of the team, and Brees appeared as sincere and as genuine as they come.

But one cannot admire the record that Drew Bress surpassed without acknowledgement of the prior record holder Dan Marino. Marino was an all time great quarterback who was never quite lucky enough to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Just because Brees broke the record does not mean that he is better, nor should we waist our time trying to compare the two. Marino played in an era in which pass rushing linebackers first dominated the league compared to the Brees' time of NFL spread offenses. The times were different, but both men handled this situation with class, dignity, and a respect for the history of the game. Marino congratulated Brees on breaking his longstanding record via Twitter and Brees responded via Twitter by saying all of the right things about Marino. Both of these men played the quarterback position at it's highest level and both of these men set single season passing records in their different decades. Both Brees and Marino should be celebrated for what they accomplished instead of stacked up against each other to determine who was better.

As the NFL regular season starts to fade into the history books, we fans must appreciate the NFL's history books being rewritten by Drew Brees. Moments like what we saw last night come around rarely in today's world of instant gratification. And now, New Orleans' new favorite son will have the Saints marching into the 2011 playoffs after a long climb up to the summit of record mountain.

NBA Preview Extravaganza Part 3

The holiday spirit will be in the world of sport tomorrow as the NBA tips off it's long awaited lockout shortened season. It has been a arduous wait for this season's greetings and pro basketball fans are excited to see five marquee games wrapped up for them under their tree tomorrow at noon. So without any further delay, let us see how the playoffs are going to run down in the 2011-2012 NBA season.

Easter Conference                                                                                Western Conference

1: Miami Heat                                                                                      1: Dallas Mavericks
2: Chicago Bulls                                                                                   2: Oklahoma City Thunder
3: New York Knicks                                                                           3: Memphis Grizzlies
4: Orlando Magic                                                                                4: Los Angeles Lakers
5: Boston Celtics                                                                                 5: Portland Trail Blazers
6: Philadelphia 76ers                                                                           6: San Antonio Spurs
7: Atlanta Hawks                                                                                7: Los Angeles Clippers
8: Indiana Pacers                                                                                8: Denver Nuggets

First Round Breakdown: Eastern Conference

1 Miami Heat over 8 Indiana Pacers in 6 games- The Miami Heat had some difficulties with the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of last year's postseason; only winning one game by more than ten points. The Sixers were young, athletic, and played very good defense. Indiana presents some similar problems for the Heat in terms of their defensive play and unlike the Sixers, they have advantages at the Center and point guard positions. It will be a knock down, grind it out series, but Lebron James will show up at some point to close the door in Indiana's face. It will be a fun series to watch though, so be sure to tune in.

2 Chicago Bulls over 7 Atlanta Hawks in 4 games- This Atlanta Hawks team is now a shadow of the team that beat the Orlando Magic in the postseason a year ago. Josh Smith might still be able to negate Carlos Boozer and Joe Johnson will get his points, but the Bulls will provide too much Derrick Rose and Rip Hamilton will average 18 points per game in the sweep.

3 New York Knicks over 6 Philadelphia 76ers in 7 games- The Knicks have a very good front court made up of Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler that will bully the 76ers down low. That being said, Philly plays a good amount of defense and does have the athletes to frustrate the Knicks on offense. The Sixers could even pull off the upset if they had a more dominant scorer than Andre Iguodala. But the Sixers do not have enough offensive punch to push past NYC in Madison Square Garden, and Tyson Chandler will help the Knicks play just enough defense to get past the first round.

4 Orlando Magic over 5 Boston Celtics in 5 games- The Celtics will be gasping for air at this point in the season and the Orlando Magic will be enough to push the big three and company under for good. The Celtics did not have anybody to stop Dwight Howard before the season began, and nobody on a worn down team will want to see Howard in late April. The Magic and Celtics will both have their collective windows slam shut on them at the end of this season, but Orlando will force theirs open for one round longer.

Western Conference First Round.

1 Dallas Mavericks over 8 Denver Nuggets in 4- The probability that the Nuggets will retain enough of their overseas free agents to make this series competitive is highly unlikely. The Mavericks are too experienced, too good offensively, and too determined to loose in the first round. Dirk Nowitzki will go off this series and Nuggets will do their best to avoid the door hitting them on the way out.

2 Oklahoma City Thunder over 7 Los Angeles Clippers in 5- In what could be the most hyped first round playoff series this season, the Oklahoma City Thunder will have a fairly easy time dispatching of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin's team. The Thunder are deeper, far superior offensively, and will play just good enough defense to get the job done in LA. Griffin will have about five highlight plays per game against the Thunder, but the Clips do not have anyone who can stop Kevin Durant from scoring 30 plus every game.

3 Memphis Grizzlies over 6 San Antonio Spurs in 7 games- Well look at what we have here, a rematch of the epic first round series from a year ago. The Grizzlies put themselves on the map by winning against the number one seeded Spurs in seven games, and should be even better next season. The Spurs postseason experience and will of Tim Duncan and Greg Popovich will make the Spurs final hurrah last seven games. But in the end, Memphis will make San Antonio play their game and make the alamo an afterthought on their way to western conference glory.

5 Portland Trail Blazers over 4 Los Angeles Lakers in 6 games- The Los Angeles Lakers will loose in the first round of the postseason this year because their opponent is a better, younger, deeper team. Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge will exert his dominance on Pau Gasol, Jamal Crawford will provide the same key postseason performances he was known for in Atlanta, and Raymond Felton is better that whoever the Lakers trot out at point guard. Kobe Bryant will get his without question, but his injuries will catch up to him and hinder his performance enough for the Blazers to move on.

Eastern Conference Semi Finals

1 Miami Heat over 4 Orlando Magic in 5 games- The Heat play far better defense than the Magic and that will be the key to their advancement. It is true that the Heat do not have anybody that can stop Dwight Howard, but Miami can just let Dwight get his points and shut down the three point shooters to cripple the Magic. And you can say what you want about Lebron in the fourth quarter of games, but Dwight Howard also has a tendency to vanish when the spotlight is at its brightest. The Heat still have Dwayne Wade to take care of business when the pressure is on and Chris Bosh did make a game winning basket against the Mavericks in the NBA Finals a year ago. Orlando will fade into the off season with a loss to their south beach rivals.

2 Chicago Bulls over 3 New York Knicks in 6 games- The Knicks have a very good front line, but their suspect back court does not compare to the Bulls 1-2 punch of Derrick Rose and Rip Hamilton. And let us not forget the Bulls match up fairly well in the front court as well, with the Knicks biggest addition Chandler canceled out by Joakim Noah at the five spot. Too much Rose and Hamilton will be the downfall of the Knicks this season and will have NYC looking for a point guard in the off season.

Western Conference Semi Finals

1 Dallas Mavericks over 5 Portland Trail Blazers in 7 games- The defending NBA champs will be given all that they can handle against a young Portland team that took the Mavs to six games a year ago. Dallas is worse this year then they were last year, and if Brandon Roy did not have a career ending injury, it would be very tempting to pick the upset. Sadly for the team from the city of roses, Roy is gone and Dirk Nowitzki is still on the opposing team. This series will be fun, but the NBA champs will enjoy their run for another round longer.

2 Oklahoma City Thunder over 3 Memphis Grizzlies in 7 games- Get used to seeing these two teams playing each other in either this round or the Conference Finals on a yearly basis. These two teams are both young, hungry, deep, have good front courts, and can make the other team play their style of game. The best reason to pick the Thunder is because they pulled out the win in seven against the Grizzlies a year ago. If Memphis got anybody else in this round they would most likely win with their big time front court, good wing players, and overall complete team. That being said, the Thunder-Grizzlies series will become a common occurrence in the NBA over the next four to five years; and every one of those series will be fun to watch.

Eastern Conference Finals.

2 Chicago Bulls over 1 Miami Heat in 7 games- The Miami Heat put an end to the Bulls playoff run a year ago because the Heat shut down Derrick Rose. But here are two things to keep in mind from last season that fans might not remember. The first thing is that Carlos Boozer had two games when he averaged 20-10 against the vaunted Heat front court; and with more attention on Rose and Hamilton, Boozer should be able to put up those kind of numbers again. The second thing is that Rip Hamilton, a proven playoff veteran, was not a part of the Bulls loss to the Heat a year ago. Hamilton can provide the scoring punch that was not always present against the south beach trio. On top of it all, the Bulls play excellent defense and will be able to slow down Wade and Bosh enough and let the fourth quarter slow down LeBron James. The Bulls are better this year than they were last season, and although they might not have a ton of depth, the Heat are not as deep as Chicago. It will be a hard fought seven game series which will leave the beach boys on the outside looking in.

Western Conference Finals

2 Oklahoma City Thunder over 1 Dallas Mavericks in 6 games- The Mavericks will be gassed at this point in the season after a seven game series against Portland and the total accumulation of 66 games in a compressed schedule. Oklahoma City is a young, deep team that will be able to keep it's players fresh for the sped up season. Yes the Mavericks beat the Thunder a year ago, but this Mavericks team is not as good as last year's squad that won it all. Oklahoma City also should solve the chemistry problems between Westbrook and Durant because they will have had a whole off season to sort everything out. In a regular season, the Thunder's youth would hurt them, but in a compressed schedule, the older Mavericks, who's youngest starter is 32, will eventually burn out at season's end.

NBA FINALS

Oklahoma City Thunder over Chicago Bulls in 7 games- How great would this finals matchup be? Two of the game's up and coming stars Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant go head to head to compete for an NBA title. Rose and Durant will both leave their hearts on the court in every game this series, so the keys lie in the role players. The Bulls will have the edge in the low block because Boozer is a better scorer at this point in his career than Ibaka and Noah can out rebound Kendrick Perkins effectively. Durant will dominate whoever he is matched up against at small forward and Westbrook and Rose will both put up points against each other. But the Thunder have two key advantages that work in their favor. The first being depth. James Harden and the rest of the Thunder bench outclass the Bulls bench and will provide enough bench points to win games. The second is Thabo Sefolosha against Rip Hamilton. The Thunder are the one team in the NBA who will be able to take away Rip Hamilton from the Bulls because Sefolosha is a defensive minded two guard who can shut down a team's best off the ball scorer. If Hamilton does not get his points, that will put more pressure on Rose and Boozer to do all of the scoring.

So that will do it for the NBA preview extravaganza, hope everyone enjoys the slate of games that will be lying under the tree tomorrow. Happy Holidays to all.

NBA Preview Extravaganza Part 2

The Western Conference in the NBA had a very good season in 2010-2011. The Dallas Mavericks took home the NBA title. The Memphis Grizzlies broke out of their cocoon of mediocrity and became a very scary butterfly. Ron Artest changed his name, and the Lakers' little brother made the biggest splash in the off season to date. That all being said, the Western Conference did loose some teeth as a result of the lockout and trades that went down. Here are some of the big time story lines in the wild wild West entering 2011.

• Go Clippers Go
• Kobe hurt again
• The Memphis Grizzlies are the team nobody wants to play
• The Mavericks chances of repeating 
• "Metta World Peace"

First we start in LA, but surprisingly not with the purple and gold team. This off season has been one of the most noteworthy in Clippers history because they traded for Chris Paul. And for once in a very long time, the Clippers appear willing to spend money on good players. They signed veteran point guard Chauncey Billups to a low risk high reward deal, they picked up Caron Butler who can still put up points, and they retained Mo Williams to give them points coming off the bench. Not to mention they still have rising star and I-can-dunk-over-anything-and-anyone-at-any-given-time athlete Blake Griffin; who continues to show improvement in facets of his game and expand his range outside of dunking and closer. There is a lot to be excited about in la la land this season, but it has a different feel coming from the Clippers.

From LA, to LA we see that in the midst of the Lakers-Dwight Howard flirt fest, Kobe Bryant has gotten hurt again. Byrant has a torn ligament in his right hand during a preseason game with the idle Clippers, and if the Lakers had cause for concern before the injury they should be petrified now. Kobe Bryant has been one of the best, if not the best player in the NBA over the course of his career, and through his trial and tribulations, Bryant sustained a reputation of playing through pain. Over the course of his NBA career, Bryant has played through a broken finger on his shooting hand, a strained knee, back spasms, a sprained ankle, a strained elbow, and a partridge in a pear tree. Nobody is questioning Byrant's toughness and competitive fire, but at what point does playing through pain endanger a person's body for the rest of their life? The day will come when Bryant's body physically breaks down all at once and it will be very hard for everyone to take. Kobe Bryant is one of the five greatest Lakers of all time, he has won five titles, he is sixth on the all time scoring list and will finish in the top five before his career is done; Bryant has nothing left to prove to anyone, so worrying about his own health a bit more might be just what the doctor ordered.  

From a team with a hurt star to a team with plenty of young stars in the making, the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizz made their statement in the NBA a year ago with their first round upset of the highly favored San Antonio Spurs. The Grizzlies are young, fun, and have the best low post duo in the entire league. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol are both big, physical rebounders who can score against anybody. Mike Conley took a big step forward last season and O.J. Mayo can do what he does best, score the basketball. The Grizzlies did lose Shane Battier to free agency, but they get a healthy Rudy Gay back to make them even better. Tony Allen will fill in as the off the bench defender that Battier was, and there is plenty of depth on this Grizzlies team. The western conference and the rest of the NBA should beware the bears in 2011.

From an upstart team to the defending NBA champions, the Dallas Mavericks are getting up there in age. None of the Mavericks starting five going into the season is under the age of 32, and Dallas dealt some of it's younger players to clear cap space for the upcoming free agency period in 2012. Dirk Nowitzki is still one of the best scorers in the NBA and Vince Carter will have to get his points if the Mavericks want to compete. The Mavs will miss Tyson Chandler's rebounding ability and defensive play very badly because he was the perfect complement to the face up scoring style of Nowitzki. Brandon Haywood will be able to clog the middle like Chandler, but he can't put up those same numbers down low. Jason Terry will contend for the sixth man of the year award this season, but other than him and Shawn Marion, the Mavericks have nobody scary coming off the bench. The Dallas Mavericks won it all a year ago, but with key role players gone and an aging roster, don't expect a repeat in big D.

From the defending NBA champions to the team that they beat in the second round of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers and the introduction of the artist formerly known as Ron Artest. Artest has always been one of the most puzzling players in the NBA, but his September 16th decision to change his name to Meta World Peace takes the cake. World Peace told Stephen A. Smith that the name Meta means friendship, love, and kindness and that the last name is simply so fans can buy world peace jerseys. As far as name changes go, this one was extremely week because it lacks common sense. Yes Meta World Peace implies a very nice name and the artist formerly known as Artest has matured from his playing days with the Indiana Pacers once upon a time. That being said, World Peace was not so peaceful when he was involved in an on the court fight and separate fight in the stands at the Palace at Auburn Hills in 2004. So due to his track record, World Peace's name change comes off more as a joke than an attempt to instill morals into the basketball viewing community.

With the story lines covered, let us look at how the west will be won.

1:Dallas Mavericks
2: Oklahoma City Thunder
3: Memphis Grizzlies
4: Los Angeles Lakers
5: Portland Trail Blazers
6: San Antonio Spurs
7: Los Angeles Clippers
8: Denver Nuggets
9: Utah Jazz
10: Golden State Warriors
11: Phoenix Suns
12: Houston Rockets
13: Minnesota Timberwolves
14: Sacramento Kings
15: New Orleans Hornets

We start with the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks open up the NBA season in defense of their title with the banner celebration in the faces of the Miami Heat. Still, the '11-12 version of the Dallas Mavericks is far less equipped to make a run at the NBA championship than last years title winners. For one thing the Mavericks do not have front court depth of any kind, so if Dirk or Brendan Haywood go down then the Mavericks would find themselves playing catch up to the upstart Thunder and Grizzlies. Another weakness of the Mavericks would be the aforementioned starting five vs the lockout shortened season. The youngest member of the Mavericks starters is the 32 year old Haywood. Still, the Mavericks are the defending champions with Dirk Nowtizki becoming increasingly difficult to guard. Dallas also has two veteran players, Vince Carter and Lamar Odom, who should both put up their fair share of points despite their age. The Mavs will get the benefit of the doubt from a lot of people because they are the champs and the Thunder and Grizzlies are still young; and until one of those teams knock out Dallas, the Mavericks are still the team to beat out West.

Next up in the battle for Western Conference Supremacy is the Oklahoma City Thunder

With the Mavericks, Lakers, and Spurs taking steps back this off season, the time for the Oklahoma City Thunder to take the Western Conference title is now. The Thunder have maybe the best young core players in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Serge Ibaka. Durant can score form anywhere at anytime against anybody. Westbrook is quick, explosive, and a very good scorer as well. Ibaka is a defensive monster and seems to be improving offensively. The Thunder can also take pride in their defense, which finished 18th in the league in points allowed a year ago, and should be better now that the team gets a full year together. Oklahoma City might also be the deepest team in the NBA with James Harden anchoring a stable of shooting guards that can put points up in a hurry.

The key to the Thunder's success will be the continued improvement of their young core. Durant is already one of the best offensive players in the game, but he needs to get better on defense. Westbrook is explosive and talented with a very high ceiling, but he needs to play within his game and not take thirty shots to score thirty points. And most importantly, Serge Ibaka has to continue his growth as the team's third scoring option. Ibaka averaged ten points a game last season, but that number needs to be higher if the Thunder want to take the next step.

If Ibaka, Westbrook, and Durant all continue their accelerated improvements, they could very well represent the Western Conference in the NBA finals this season.

Next up on the Western Conference hierarchy is the Memphis Grizzlies

These Grizzlies are a very  dangerous, very young team with a big chip on their collective shoulders. The Grizzlies have perhaps the best front court duo in the NBA in Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Both of these bigs can score, rebound, and block shots with relative ease. There is only one team in the NBA who even have a chance of stopping them down low is the Oklahoma City Thunder duo of Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins. But Memphis can do it on the wings too. Mike Conley Jr. is coming into his own as a point guard in the NBA and O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay can put up points at will. Memphis also has an off the bench point guard in Greivis Vazquez and a lock down defender in Tony Allen. Memphis is one team that plenty of people will sleep on this season, but the entire NBA should beware these bears.

The scene shifts to Hollywood to take a look at the Los Angeles Lakers.

Even after the Lakers failed attempt to trade for CP3 in the off season and the ongoing flirtatious behavior between the purple and gold and one Dwight Howard, the Lakers will still make the playoffs with relative ease. Kobe Bryant will once again play his way through excruciating pain to lead the Lakers in scoring. Pau Gasol can still be a serviceable number two scorer for LA. And Ron Artest, Meta World Peace is still a very good defender who can hit the occasional corner three. Combine that recipe with a lot of teams in the Western conference taking steps backwards, and the Lakers will make the playoffs without too much difficulty.

Now onto perhaps the second most underrated team in the Western conference, the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Portland Trail Blazers made the playoffs a year ago and still have a very good nucleus entering a lockout shortened season. What happened to Brandon Roy is truly a shame, and Roy will be missed in the locker room and as a presence on the team. That being said, Portland have picked up former Atlanta Hawk Jamal Crawford and his 14 points per game off the bench last season in order to make up for the loss. Even so, there are plenty of other reasons to be afraid of Portland. LaMarcus Aldridge is getting better every year, and he is quickly becoming a standout player in a league decimated at the power forward position. Raymond Felton and Gerald Wallace are solid pieces that can contribute points to the Blazers. But what makes Portland so scary in a lockout shortened season is their depth. They have three serviceable front court players in Craig Smith, Kurt Thomas, and Nicolas Batum that teams would kill to have this season. Portland will be another quietly good team that a lot of people will forget about because of Brandon Roy's departure; don't sleep on the Blazers. 

Up next comes the old reliable San Antonio Spurs.

Normally you could wind the Spurs up in an 82 game season and watch as they moved their way to 55 wins or more every year. But with the league shortening it's season and the extra sets of seven games in ten days, this will be the year that the San Antonio Spurs begin to slow down. Tim Duncan's numbers, 13.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, were well below his career totals of 20.6 and 11.4; and now, 35 years of age, Duncan is not getting younger any time soon. But it is not just Duncan that is getting up there in age. Manu Ginobili is 34 and Richard Jefferson is 31, and both have had injury problems over the past two seasons. The Spurs do have Tony Parker, but he also missed time last season with injuries. If the Spurs most important four players all got bitten constantly by the injury bug a year ago in a full season, the Spurs collective starting group will last about as long as the ninth season of Scrubs did on ABC. The Spurs did lock up the sleeper of the draft in Kawhi Leonard, but his arrival will be too little to late to help the team. San Antonio has been the epicenter of consistency in the NBA over the last decade, but father time is still undefeated and the Spurs will show their age this season.

 Next up we have the team that everyone is talking about this year...The Los Angeles Clippers.

Yes the Los Angeles Clippers enter the season with the kind of expectations reserved for their Staples Center roommates. The Clips made a huge splash in the off season trading for Chris Paul and picking up Chauncey Billups in free agency. Much has been made about Paul and Billups sharing a back court, but both of these players want to win and are both experienced enough to figure out how to play together. Still, both Paul and Billups will get get plenty of chances to get alley-oop assists to Blake Griffin, so both guards will work out. Plus, the Clippers have plenty of solid guards that can score off the bench in Mo Williams, Randy Foye, and Eric Bledsoe.
The one thing that could cause the Clippers to loose the battle for LA is their concerning lack of front court depth with Chris Kaman gone. The Clippers are all in on DeAndre Jordan who averaged 7.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last season. If Blake Griffin gets hurt, then the Clippers can kiss their postseason dreams goodbye.
The Clippers will not do as well as the idle Lakers this season, but one thing is certain, both teams out in Los Angeles are facing steep expectations for the 2011-2012 season.

Rounding out the west's top eight is the Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are one of the teams that have fallen a bit in the power rankings because they lead the NBA in players stuck overseas for the first half of the season. Denver's productive small forward, Wilson Chandler, veteran post presence Keyon Martin, and crazy athletic guard J.R. Smith are all under contract with foreign teams until at least the mid way point in the season. Whether or not all of these free agents will return to Denver after their time overseas is up is still undecided. That being said, the Nuggets still have a workable team lead by the up and coming Ty Lawson and the underrated Nene. Lawson averaged just under twelve points per game a year ago and appears to be on the fast track to success in the NBA. Nene was quietly averaged 14.5 points per game and should be a big part of what Denver wants to do. Also, Chris Andersen leads the NBA in tattoos per square inch of one's body, and also averaged five rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game off the bench. Plus, the Nuggets have played better without Carmelo Anthony after the disgruntled star took his distractions with him to the big apple. The Nuggets will not do as well as they would have liked due to the number of absent contributors on their roster, but with the rest of the conference getting older, Denver should still be okay.


9: Utah Jazz.  The Jazz have a very underrated front court, which is an increasingly rare find in today's NBA. Al Jefferson is a very good player who put up 18.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game a year ago. Paul Millsap has also been flying under the radar in Utah; he had 17.3 points per game and 7.6 boards per game last season. But the lack of a shooting guard and inconsistent back court play will leave the Jazz singing the blues come June.

10: The Golden State Warriors. Golden State and their new head coach Marc Jackson will be one of the most fun teams in the NBA to watch. Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, and David Lee make for a very good young core that simply needs to develop and mature before challenging the big boys for conference supremacy. It will be interesting to see if Jackson coaches the players towards their strengths of shooting, or if Jackson instills a more defensive minded approach. Either way, Golden State is still a year and the Spurs or Mavericks wearing down away from being playoff contenders.

11: Phoenix Suns. The Arizona weather is leaving coach Alvin Gentry's seat extremely hot. Even though the Suns scored the fourth most points per game in the league a year ago, gave up the second most points in the league per game last season as well. It looks to be more of the same this year as they return the same team without adding anyone noteworthy.

12: Houston Rockets. The Rockets are still in their rebuilding phase. Kevin Martin will put up points and Luis Scola will bring in rebounds, but there Houston still has a problem at point guard. Kyle Lowry is not the answer and they missed out on Chauncey Billups in the off season. Expect the Rockets to finish towards the bottom of the league again in 2011-2012.

13: Minnesota Timberwolves. It looks to be another long year for the wolf pack this season. Kevin Love will lead the league in rebounding again this season while Derrick Williams will eventually beat out Michael Beasley for the starting small forward position before the season is done. Adding Brad Miller helps a bit, but Ricky Rubio was not ready to play in the NBA when the T-Wolves drafted him and he will not be a good player now. No depth and a mediocre team will mean the Minnesota Timberwolves will hope that they get the ping pong balls to bounce in their favor come April.

14: Sacramento Kings. Guess who the league's fourth best rebounding team was a year ago? The Kings. Guess what their record last year was? 24-58. And with all of the speculation as to if the Kings will move out to Anaheim will distract the young team and keep them down in the cellar.

15: New Orleans Hornets. The Hornets finished seventh in the league a year ago and got a future star in  Eric Gordon this off season. But that was outweighed by the loss of their two best players, Chris Paul and David West, this off season. Goodbye basketball success in the big easy and hello worst record in the NBA.

That is all for part two of the preview extravaganza, stay tuned for playoff predictions, conference winners, and who will win the NBA title in part three of the NBA preview extravaganza.

NBA Preview Extravaganza Part 1

After an insufferable summer and early fall of lockout talks, the NBA is just about ready to tip off the regular season. The sixty six game season is full of interesting story lines that each have different angles. Will the Los Angeles Clippers make the playoffs with the dynamic duo of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul? Will Dwight Howard be a Laker before the trading deadline comes to pass? Who is the biggest threat to the Miami Heat's in the Eastern Conference? Can the Lakers contend without Phil Jackson? Will anyone from the '12 draft class emerge as a force in a lockout shortened season? Who will come out of a seemingly weak Western Conference? And will anyone dethrone Kris Humphries as the most hated player in the NBA before the season ends? 

Not all of these questions will be covered in the Eastern Conference breakdown, but there are some interesting story lines in the entering the season.

• The Dwight Howard Fiasco
• The Celtics vs the shortened season
• Derrick Rose maxes out
• The Heat vs the World Year II
• Kris Humphires and the Boo Birds

We begin with Dwight Howard's on again off again flirt fest with being traded. Howard wants out of Orlando as soon as possible and the Lakers need a future face of the franchise with Kobe Bryant being held together by duct tape, crazy glue, and his own willpower. The Lakers tried and failed to get Chris Paul this off season, which puts far more pressure on them to land Howard now. Oddly enough, the Lakers remain reluctant to relinquish the key of the whole deal: Andrew Bynum. Which is interesting to say the least. Over the course of his career Bynum has averaged 10.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game against Howard's 18.2 and 13 rebounds per game. Bynum has played all 82 games only once in his career and has only surpassed 65 games played in a season twice in his six year career: Howard has played all 82 games five out of his seven seasons. On top of it all, Bynum has been suspended for the first five games of the season for his cheap shot against J.J. Barea; a guy who is about the size of one of Bynum's legs. And the Lakers are reluctant to involve Bynum in a trade for Howard for what reason again? The speculation will hang over both teams like a poltergeist until Howard moves or becomes a free agent. And at the end of the day, both of these roads will still end up taking D12 to Hollywood. 

From a team on the verge of losing it's best player to a team in the Boston Celtics who has three future hall of famers: all 34 or older. Add a sixty six game schedule that has been compacted to fit in as many games as possible, and you have one team that will not be able to keep up with the rest of the league. The Celtics have also already voiced their complaints to the league on how the shortened season is unfair. Ignoring the NBA's lockout debacle in the first place, the Boston Celtics are not the only team with an older roster that will suffer from a shortened season. The San Antonio Spurs, the paradigm of consistency in the NBA over the last decade, will have the same difficulties as the Celtics because they both have aging rosters. The defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks starting lineup does not have a single player under 32. The bottom line is this, does the lockout shortened season hurt three older teams? 

Yes.

That being said, neither the media nor the fans will have sympathy for these three teams if they struggle; so the Celtics are barking up the wrong tree if they are looking for sympathy.

From the old and troubled to the young and blossoming, the Chicago Bulls have inked the new face of an iconic basketball franchise for 95 million dollars. There are 95 million reasons as to why the Bulls should have locked up Derrick Rose, but the most important one may be this: the Chicago Bulls fans have not been this excited about a player since Michael Jordan played his last game as a Bull in 1998. Those kind of expectations simply cranks the colossal spotlight Rose is in up a thousand degrees or so. 

And Rose is just 23. Rose is also ready for that kind of pressure.

Rose took his team to the best record in the Eastern Conference, won the MVP, and took his team to the conference finals last season. And he is just beginning to enter his prime. Derrick Rose is a great player more than capable of leading a team to the promise land, he just needs some help to do so.

From Derrick Rose to the team that beat his Bulls in the conference finals a year ago, the Miami Heat. The Miami Heat lost in the NBA Finals in six games. Much has been made over the way that the Miami Heat came together as a team, like how they declared themselves to be the new dynasty of the league before ever touching the court. The Heat so far have not won two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven, not even one ring as of today. Last season's defeat in the finals and scrutiny from the media could humble the Heat just enough so that the south beach trio takes home their first ring together. Still, there are 29 other teams looking to accomplish the same goal as the Heat, so let us hold off on the parade routes through Miami: pre planning parades did not work so well for them last year.

From a hated team to a hated man Kris Humphires of the New Jersey Nets. Last night Humphires got the daylights booed out of him at Madison Square Garden during a preseason game. Humphries is not famous for finishing fifth in the league in rebounding a year ago, but rather his off season marriage with Kim Kardashian. A recent poll has Humphires as the most hated player in the NBA ahead of Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and Metta World Peace (the Artist formerly known as Ron Artest.) The Kardashian franchise is a powerful one in this country, and short of a disliked player being found guilty of committing sexual assault, Humphries' title as the most hated man in the NBA will remain in tact for a full season.

With the story lines covered, here is how the conference should shake out.

1: Miami Heat

2: Chicago Bulls

3: New York Knicks

4: Orlando Magic 

5: Boston Celtics

6: Philadelphia 76ers

7: Atlanta Hawks

8: Indiana Pacers

9: Charlotte Bobcats

10: Milwaukee Bucks

11: Detroit Pistons

12: Toronto Raptors

13: Washington Wizards

14: Cleveland Cavaliers

15: New Jersey Nets

We start, of course, with the preseason number one in the East, the Miami Heat.

After a very eventful off season in 2010, the Miami Heat took the league by storm by winning 58 games and bulldozed through Eastern Conference opponents in the playoffs. And although confetti did rain down on the home floor of the south beach trio last season, that confetti was for the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA title. 

Unfortunately for the Heat haters, Wade, James, Bosh and company will not be going away any time soon. The Heat picked up veteran defender Shane Battier who is not only capable of playing lock down defense, but Battier can also provide the corner threes that Mike Miller could not in the Finals. And coach Eric Spoelstra is phoning friend Chip Kelly, the Oregon Ducks football coach, with ideas for a new offense. Not sure how it is going to look, but Spoelstra should get props for his willingness to try something new; and if his new look offense includes play cards with pictures on them, then it will at least be fun to look at. 

Still, the Heat do not have anybody in the front court other than Bosh that teams should even bother guarding on defense. Eddy Curry is as durable as a house of cards, Udonis Haslem has a very bad habit of disappearing during games, Juwan Howard is running on fumes, and a young Alonzo Mourning is not walking through that door. The best way to beat the Heat is to take them to the low block and eat up clock to stop their transition offense; Dirk Nowitzki killed the Heat in the Finals and there are a few teams that can expose the Heat down low in 2011. 

The Heat Index will be very high coming into this season, but that does not guarantee a ring in South Beach.

The second best team in the east is the Chicago Bulls

Just in case anybody did not already know, Derrick Rose is a great player. Rose won the MVP and guided the Bulls to the best record in the East a year ago before being bested by the south beach trio in the conference finals. But that was last season, and a lockout shortened 2011-2012 season will favor the Bulls slightly more than the Heat because they are slightly younger: the Bulls average player age is 27 compared to the Heat's average age of 28.

If the Chicago Bulls want to challenge the Miami Heat for Eastern Conference supremacy, then the other guys on the roster have to elevate to stand alongside Rose. Carlos Boozer had a good season with the Bulls, averaging 17.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game a year ago. Luol Deng also stepped up last season, averaging 17.4 points per game. Joakin Noah was one of the best rebounders in the game and averaged a double double a year ago. And the Bulls did add veteran shooter Rip Hamilton, who should be eager to contribute to a winner after an abysmal year with the Pistons that included everything from coming off the bench to feuds with the coaching staff. 

The Bulls biggest concern is their health. Boozer, Deng, and Noah had injury problems a year ago, and the rest of the roster consists of guards and small forwards. If Boozer or Noah go down for an extended amount of time this season, the Bulls will fall a couple of branches on the playoff tree. If all three of these guys remain healthy and Hamilton and Rose continue to jell, the Heat will have a fight on their hands in the conference championship game.

Third on the list of the Eastern Conference's best teams is the New York Knicks

A deadline deal last season gave the New York Knicks Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups and added a lot of hype. This season, Mello is the face of basketball in big apple, Billups is gone, and the excitement surrounding the team has grown exponentially over the summer. 

The Knicks could take a step forward in 2011 if they play their cards right. Anthony and Amare Stoudemire will have no problem putting up points, and the Knicks do have bench scoring in Barron Davis and Mike Bibby. Tyson Chandler and Landry Fields will sure up the defense for the Knicks, and if they add the same ten points per game they both averaged a year ago, the Knicks will be even more dangerous. But the key to the Knicks improvement is Toney Douglas. Douglas averaged 10.6 points and three assists per game as backup point guard a year ago, and this year Douglas is the man with Billups gone. If Douglas can go from being a eleven and three guy to a fifteen and eight guy, the Knicks can make some noise in the eastern conference.

Coming in at number four, the Orlando Magic.

The Magic dangled Dwight Howard as trade bait for quite some time before pulling the line back in. Unless a mystery team comes out with an offer that is too good to refuse, the Magic will have Howard for one more year before losing him to free agency. This makes this season the last chance for this Magic group to make a title run. But the Magic did not do anything that would suggest that they could challenge the Heat or Bulls. Howard is a physical freak, but his range is limited to dunking and closer. Quentin and Jason Richardson can only knock down threes. Jameer Nelson is a good, but not elite point guard. Hedo Turkoglu still will hog the ball in critical possessions. And the Glenn Davis for Brandon Bass trade will hurt the Magic down low because Davis does not rebound as well. 2011 will be the same old song and dance for the Magic, which will end in disappointment and Dwight Howard packing his bags at the end of it.

Let's go back up north to our number five team, the Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are one of three teams in the NBA who could not afford to have a shortened season because Paul Pierce Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are all in their mid thirties. It will be only a matter of time before one of two things happen to the Celtics in this sixty six game season.

1: The Celtics big three will play less in order to keep them fresh for the playoffs, which will cost them playoff positioning and home court against the Heat, Bulls, Knicks, and Magic.

Or

2: The Celtics will go for it all and two of the big three will get hurt at some point during the season. This would cause the Celtics to limp into the playoffs and get swept in the first round. 

The more likely scenario is the first one, so the highest the Celtics would finish is fifth in the Eastern conference. Rajon Rondo is a good slashing point guard who can pass well, but his jump shot is still nothing to be afraid of. And sure the Celtics got the Purdue duo E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson, but their growth will be hindered due to the lack of training camp and off season preparation.

A fitting number 6 in the conference is one of the more interesting teams in the East, the Philadelphia 76ers.

 

The Sixers surprised a lot of people by making the playoffs as the seventh seed a year ago, and this young team could be on the rise with other members of the conference taking a step backwards. The Sixers did fall to the Miami Heat in five games last year, but they only lost by more than ten points once in the entire series. Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand lead the way in scoring with 14 points per game each. Not spectacular scoring numbers, but this 76er team relies more on defense to win than scoring. The Sixers did far better than many predicted at the beginning of the year, raking ninth in the NBA in defense a year ago. 

If the 76ers want to move up to the next level, they need better play from their guards. Jure Holiday stepped up last year, and now the number 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft, Evan Turner, needs to unearth himself from the bench and become the starting shooting guard in the city of brotherly love. The Sixers play good defense and are young, which are two good building blocks for any team. Expect improvement from Philadelphia this season.

Coming in at number 7 is the Atlanta Hawks

 

The Atlanta Hawks got their wings clipped a bit in the playoffs due to their run in with the Heat wave, and appear to be in the downswing in 2011. The Hawks return their core of Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and Al Horford for yet another season, but they lose a key piece in Jamal Crawford to the black hole of free agency. The Hawks did try to recover by adding Tracy McGrady and Vald Radmonovich, but neither of those players will be able to provide the consistent scoring that Crawford gave the Hawks. Joe Johnson should will the Hawks to the playoffs as a seven seed, but they will be quickly ousted by the Heat or Bulls in five. 

Rounding out the top eight in the conference is the Indiana Pacers.

Here is another young team that knows how to play defense and gave a top level team in the Chicago Bulls all they could handle in the first round of the playoffs. The Pacers lost in five, but there were a lot of good things to take away from last season, such as the team's seventh ranked field goal percentage against a year ago.

The Pacers bring youth and talent to the table in 2011. Danny Granger is a good player on both sides of the ball. Darren Collison is a quick point guard that is willing to pass and can score when he has to. Roy Hibbert is a solid rebounder and could provide a double double season for the Pacers. And most importantly, the Pacers landed David West in the off season to give Indiana some additional scoring punch it has been missing. 

Like other teams, the Pacers lack back court depth, but if everyone stays healthy and David West can fit into the defense, the Pacers could be sneaky good this season.

Next up we have the outsiders looking in on the top half of the east.

9: Charlotte Bobcats: Kemba Walker dominated March Madness and will push D.J. Augustin for the point guard of the future title in Charlotte. That being said, the Bobcats are painfully thin up front in addition to not being good in the low post. Charlotte could push Indiana for the eighth spot if they slip up, but that is wishful thinking.

10: Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks should be better with Brandon Jennings back in the lineup full time after missing time with a broken toe, but Jennings needs to figure out what kind of player he is so the Bucks can plan on what kind of talent to surround him with. As for the Rest of the Bucks, Bogut Gooden, Jackson, and Delfino could all contribute on a winning team, but they are all better role players than starters. The Bucks will not get past Indiana for the eighth spot in the playoff chase.

11: Detroit Pistons: With Rip Hamilton gone, the team's chemistry should be better this season. But with the Pistons' salary tied into the ovepaid duo of Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, it will be tough to surround Greg Monroe and Rodney Stuckey with any kind of real talent.

12: Toronto Raptors: DeMar DeRozan burst onto the scene as one of the NBA's most promising young players in 2010-2011. That being said, DeRozan needs a lot more help that what he has to work with in Toronto to make Canada care about basketball this season.

13: Washington Wizards: John Wall would have won rookie of the year if Blake Griffin did not dunk on everything in his path a year ago. Still, Washington has their point guard of the future, they just need to surround him with..well talent.

14: The Cleveland Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving is the new face of the Cleveland Cavaliers. But until he proves he is ready, he will ride the pine during another bad year for the team formerly known as the fighting Lebrons.

15: New Jersey Nets: Brook Lopez is down with a broken right foot and Kris Humphires has the power to make an opposing team's fan base boo at the top of their lungs. And why would Deron Williams come back after this year? 

That will do it for the Eastern Conference breakdown, but how will the Western Conference be won? Stay tuned for part two of the NBA preview extravaganza.

The Agony of Defeat

For a few weeks, the football world thought that they could pull it off.

From their epic Super Bowl performance against the decorated Pittsburgh Steelers, to an opening day shootout with the New Orleans Saints that had everyone predicting a rematch in the NFC conference championship game, to narrowly escaping the New York Giants by the exact same score as the 2007 New England Patriots, the Green Bay Packers put the idea in our collective heads that they would be the team that kept the 1972 Dolphins' champagne on ice. 19-0 seemed like a very realistic goal for the Packers. Trying to stop the Packers offense was like trying not to get hurt during the running of the Bulls. Their defense bent often, but they got key turnovers and lead the NFL in interceptions for the first thirteen weeks of the season. The coaching staff kept the Pack humble and hungry. And the media was too focused on the man who's name became a verb to pay attention to a team gunning for football immortality. This Green Bay Packers team was the humble, yet confident Goliath of the NFL that appeared hell-bent on football supremacy and legend.

But then David showed up in the form of the Kansas City Chiefs, and struck down the mighty Goliath with a slingshot in the form of a 19-14 win.

The Chiefs cooked up the perfect recipe for stopping the Packers in their tracks. Kansas City ran for 139 yards over the course of the entire game. The Chiefs utilized five running backs to keep in fresh legs on the field and wear down the Packers defense. Since they ran the ball so well, Kansas City had the ball for thirty six minutes and eleven seconds. The Chiefs controlled the clock and maximized the only defender that could stop Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense all season: the sidelines. 

Even when the Packers did hit the field against the Chiefs underrated defense, they looked like first time car buyers at their local car dealership: confused and frustrated. Aaron Rodgers, who had picked apart defenses like the NFL's surgeon general, looked like just another NFL quarterback on Sunday. The thirteen different Packers receivers that torched defenses on a weekly basis, did not have one guy who caught more than five passes last Sunday. And the virtually invisible running game of the Pack attack, remained just that on Sunday. 

The Packers looked like just another NFL team last Sunday instead of the unstoppable force that we had seen all season long. And any NFL team can loose on a given week, even to a 5-8 team that was all but dead in the playoff picture. Still, there are two important things to take away from the Packers defeat on Sunday.

There is parody in the NFL again.

It is inevitable that after an undefeated team goes down in football, the team that will hold the Lombardi Trophy in February is no longer a foregone conclusion. And since the NFL's only unbeaten has gone down , the other nine teams fighting for a playoff spot in the NFC should all feel like they have a chance again; even though the NFC playoffs will run through Wisconsin. The veil of invincibility surrounding the Packers is gone, and the Kansas City Chiefs wrote up the blueprint other teams hope to pirate for themselves. There are two primary candidates in the NFL who can copy the Chiefs recipe for success against the Packers, the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. Others, like the New Orleans Saints or Detroit Lions, may not be as well built to take on the Packers, but that does not mean that they can't win. And parody always makes for the most compelling games in sports.

And the second thing that we can take from the Packers defeat is that you can't go undefeated in the NFL with an unstoppable offense alone.

The biggest difference between the 2007 Patriots and the 2011 Packers was the defense. The 07 Patriots not only averaged a trillion points per game, but they also had the NFL's second ranked defense behind the New York Giants. The Pack attack in 2011 was a terminator that destroyed everything in its path; that being said, the defense was ranked 31st in yards allowed per game, 31st in passing yards per game, 12th in rushing yards allowed per game, and 26th in the league in sacks. The 2011 Packers compare far better with the 2009 New Orleans Saints than the 2007 Patriots. The Pack and Saints both had great offenses that nobody could stop. Both had defenses that created turnovers, but were not top five in the NFL by any means of the imagination. And both went 13-0 before loosing in week 14 to teams that  many believe should not have beaten them. The 09 Saints were impressive and very fun to watch, but like the Packers this season, they were not properly built to go 19-0 due to their questionable defenses. 

Now the members of the 1972 Dolphins get yet another year to hold onto the bane of their collective existence. Champagne bottles have been taken off ice and enjoyed by the members of a team that played during a completely different time during the NFL. The 72 fins played two quarterbacks at different points of the regular season as opposed to having a Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, or Tom Brady. The Dolphins leading rusher had 1,117 yards as opposed to today when between fifteen and seventeen guys are expected to rush for 1,000 yards this season. But the biggest difference between the 72 Dolphins and the teams that tried for perfection this decade is that the Dolphins had fewer games to play: 17 was the magic number of games back when the 72 Dolphins played as opposed to 19 games today. Going undefeated is simply harder today to do than it was in the times of Led Zeppelin and the Eagles. That all being said, the 1972 Dolphins are still the only team ever to go undefeated in NFL history, so they will still have that until somebody eventually does it.

Now, with the Green Bay Packers 13-1 and the quest to perfection over, the entire NFL can focus back on the playoff races. And with nine teams fighting for four spots in the NFC, there are plenty of other story lines to pay attention to as the season comes to ahead. 

And the Winner is....

College football's regular season is predominantly known for dominating teams, epic school rivalries, and jaw dropping numbers from athletes who hope to be invited to the Marriott Marquis this upcoming Saturday.

But this season has been anything other than regular.

The college football landscape has been dominated by bad news. One of the most iconic programs in the game was ripped apart by scandal that took place just a few minutes away from campus. More than twelve schools will be playing in conferences that geographically do not make sense just so they can get a bigger piece of the revenue pie at the NCAA's dinner. And there is controversy surrounding the two teams who made it to the BCS Championship game.

Okay that last one is nothing new, but you get the idea.

This college football season has been surrounded by negative headlines that have detracted from the individual seasons of the five men invited to the trophy presentation this upcoming Saturday. These finalists include, the foregone number one draft pick in next year's draft, the most electrifying player on the best team, the face of the other team in the national championship, the man who was one touchdown away from breaking a legend's record, and the man who elevated his program to the next level. So who is going to have to come up with a teary eyed thank you speech after receiving the 77th annual Heisman Trophy? Well, all five of these players have a case.

Let us start with the predetermined number one draft pick in next year's draft: Andrew Luck.

Andrew Luck could have come out of college last year and made millions of dollars in the NFL last year, but instead he decided to return to college to bring a Heisman trophy and a national championship to the Stanford Cardinal football family. Luck has put up numbers for the fourth ranked Cardinal, including a 70 percent completion percentage, 3,170 passing yards, 35 passing touchdowns against nine interceptions, and the fifth highest QB rating in the country at 167.5.

That is Luck's case and it is simply not good enough. In fact based on some key numbers, Luck should not even be at the award presentation.

His quarterback rating of 167.5, is the fifth highest in the national country, behind Boise State's Kellen Moore's 177.2, Baylor's Robert Griffin III's 188.6, Houston's Case Keenum's 193.3, or Wisconsin's Russell Wilson and his NCAA leading 201.6 quarterback rating.

Luck's 70.8 percent completion percentage is eighth in the country behind RGIII, Keenum, Moore, Wilson, and three others.

He ranks 12th in the country with 8.6 yards per completion, and would rank 13th if Kellen Moore's last name came before the letter L.

And Luck has the 10th best touchdown to interception ratio in college.


It appears written in the Stars that Andrew Luck will be heading to the Indianapolis Colts as the number one overall draft pick in April's draft.

It appears written in the stars that Luck will be holding the jersey of the Indianapolis Colts when they draft him number one overall next April, but Luck will not be holding the 77th Heisman trophy as well.

What about the best player on the best team? LSU's Tyrann Mathieu

This is an easy one. Only once in the illustrious history in college football has a defensive back won the Heisman Trophy, and that was Charles Woodson in 1997. Here is how Mathieu stacks up against Wilson's past numbers

Woodson Defensive: 44 tackles, 17 assists, 1 sack, 8 interceptions

Mathieu Defensive: 54 tackles, 17 assists, 1.5 sacks, 2 interceptions

Woodson return: 36 punt returns, 301 yards, 8.4 yards per return, long of 78 yards, 1 touchdown

Mathieu return: 33 returns, 420 yards, long of 92 yards, 2 touchdowns.

Defensively and returner wise, Mathieu has a clear edge, but what Wilson had that Mathieu does not is 3 offensive touchdowns as well. Woodson was all over the field and his value was integral to Michigan in 1997, Mathieu has been electric, but LSU has a dominant team defense that is not lead by this sophomore. What also works against Mathieu is that Tim Tebow, a quarterback, is the only sophomore to win the Heisman trophy.

In short: good stats Matheiu, but no cigar.

What about Alabama Running back Trent Richardson? Could he bring home the Tide's second Heisman Trophy?

Don't count on it.

Let us compare Richardson's numbers against Oregon running back LaMichael James.

James: 222 carries, 1,646 rushing yards 7.4 yards per carry, Long of 90 yards, 17 touchdowns.

Richardson: 263 carries, 1,583 rushing yards, 6 yards per carry, long of 76 yards, 20 touchdowns.

Factor in the fact that James got hurt in his last game and he separates himself from Richardson even further. The only reason that Richardson is going to the presentation is because James got hurt.

Sorry Richardson, good luck in the National Championship game.

What about the Wisconsin running back Montee Ball?

Now here we have a prospect.

Monte Ball has had a fantastic season that appears to have come out of nowhere. This season Ball has had 275 carries for 1,759 yards, a 6.4 yard per carry average, and 32 rushing touchdowns.

But Monte has done more than just run the ball extremely well. As a receiver, Ball has 20 catches for 255 yards and six touchdowns.

All of those statistics are better than Richardson's and Ball even has bested James in carries, yards, and touchdowns. In addition to ground superiority, Monte Ball has more receiving touchdowns alone than James and Richardson do combined.

All this comes without mentioning the fact that Monte Ball's 38 total touchdowns are the second most in NCAA history by a running back. His total is just one shy of the legendary Barry Sander's 39.

Any time you are a running back that can be mentioned in the same sentence as Barry Sanders, you are someone who should be taken seriously.

And now the final Candidate: Baylor's Robert Griffin the Third.

Ladies and Gentlemen we have our 2011 Heisman Trophy Winner.

The Heisman should boil down to a two horse race between Ball and RGIII and we have heard Ball's compelling case already. Now it's RGIII's turn.

Griffin III has 267 completions for 3,998 yards, 36 touchdowns against 6 interceptions. His 188.6 quarterback rating is the third highest in the country. Griffin III is the proud owner of the third best completion percentage in the nation with 74.2% completed passes. To continue the trending pattern, his 10.2 yards per attempt is the third best in the nation. The only key stat in which Griffin III ranks lower than third is touchdown to interception ratio: which ranks fourth in the nation. And in the fourth week of the season, RGIII had more touchdown passes, 14, than incompletions, 12.

The primary reason that Griffin will win is due to the developing historical trend of Heisman winners during the 2000s. Out of the previous eleven Heisman trophy winners, nine were quarterbacks. And polls across the nation seem to be predicting Griffin to win with Ball finishing fifth in the voting.

If history means anything, it will go to Griffin. If the award truly goes to the player who had the best season, Monte Ball will win. But due to the huge popularity of quarterbacks in football and the recent historical trend during this generation, bet on Griffin III taking home the 77th Heisman Trophy.

Tim Tebow: The Man, The Myth, The Quarterback

When the first floorboards of the illustrious Radio City Music Hall in New York City were first laid down in 1929, John D. Rockefeller envisioned a complex so superior to it's surroundings that the American people would be able to look at that building and see a symbol of hope. The project took eleven years and continued to be funded throughout the Great Depression, but when the final coat of paint was applied the building that stood before New York City was the palace for the people that it's constructors had envisioned.


Even 70 years after the final floorboards of Radio City Music Hall had been laid down, the essence of what this national landmark stood for had embraced the opportunity to showcase exceptional young college football players who got to live their childhood dreams of becoming professionals. The 2010 NFL draft provided another 254 college athletes with the chances to make something of themselves in the NFL. One of the 32 employers of these young men, the Denver Broncos were once one of the most illustrious franchises in NFL history traded a second, third, and fourth round draft picks in order to move into the first round.

And with the 25th pick of the 2010 NFL Draft the Denver Broncos selected Tim Tebow, quarterback out of the University of Florida.

But still there were questions as to why the Broncos drafted him.

Did Denver draft a player who was regarded as a man of impeccable character and one of the nicest guys that they would ever meet?

They did.

Did the Broncos think that they were getting a player with a heavily decorated track record that included being a two time SEC Champion, two time Maxwell Award winner, two time first team All American, Heisman trophy winner, and two time BCS National Champion?

They did.

Did the Broncos think they got the steal of the draft in a class that included Sam Bradford, Ndamukong Suh, Eric Berry, Joe Haden, Rolondo McClain, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Dez Bryant?

That remains to be seen.

And this is only the beginning of the microcosm that is Tim Tebow.

Ever since Tim Tebow first hit the field in 2010 and especially in a lockout shortened training camp in 2011 he got he has been praised, scrutinized, approved, criticized, ripped to shreds, praised, counted out and brought back in again ad nauseum. Mere mention of Tebow in a conversation was like striking a match and throwing it at a gasoline covered giant lint ball that would result in fiery debate. At one point or another, everybody and their grandmother had a different opinion on Tim Tebow, and all of them were right.

Tebow's number's are intriguing for all the wrong reasons. The statistics simply do not lead us as football fans to a concrete conclusion as to if Tim Tebow is a good or bad quarterback. Here are some examples of the off putting statistics that cause such a stir among the brotherhood of football fans.

• Tim Tebow has not thrown for 200 yards in a game this season.
• He has three fourth quarter comebacks this season; which ties him for fourth best in the NFL.
• Tebow's completion percentage in 2011 is an abysmal 45.5%
• He has only thrown 1 interception in 2011.
• Tim Tebow has gone 5-1 in six starts this season.
• His all time record against teams with records of .500 or better is 2-3.
• Tebow did not commit a turnover in four out of the six games he has played in this season.
• He has only thrown for more than 200 yards twice in a span of two seasons.

Tim Tebow puts up statistics that simply do not follow a consistent pattern that his captivated audience can follow to a forgone conclusion. Which is just one of the reasons that the viewing public cannot seem to come to a general consensus as to if Tebow is a good quarterback or not. Yes Tebow's career sampling is small, but still he has played enough to get a pretty clear scouting report.

Tim Tebow is a pretty good runner. At 6'3 236 pounds, Tebow is a load to bring down, and the two headed race horse that is Tebow and Willis McGahee has put up an average of 159.7 rushing yards per game: good for the best rushing attack in the NFL. During Denver's four game winning streak, Tebow has averaged 13 carries for 74 rushing yards per game. Now these numbers are not anything spectacular, but they are effective enough to establish the play action. Still, like every other NFL quarterback, running is not the only part of Tebow's job description.

As a passer Tim Tebow is atrocious. His throwing motion looks worse that the dead girl from The Ring. Tebow does have above average arm strength, which is a good quality to have. That being said, Tebow could be able to throw the ball faster than a speeding bullet, but when it comes to the intermediate routes, Tebow could not hit water if he fell out of a boat. Tim Tebow's career completion percentage is an abysmal 47.1 despite completing 106 passes for 1,506 yards as well as 13 touchdowns against 4 interceptions during this six ga....my mistake, those numbers are from Tebow's career line over the course of two seasons. There is nothing about Tim Tebow the passer that looks pretty, which is one of the primary reasons that so many people think he is a bad quarterback.

Football fans have always equated the quarterback position in the NFL with a signal caller that stands in the pocket and methodically picks defenses apart. Quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers are so highly regarded in today's game because they quickly and efficiently pick apart defenses with their passing as if they are preforming open heart surgery and reconstructive tissue surgery with their backs to the patient. In contrast, Tim Tebow is the intern two weeks in to his first year that causes his patient to flatline twice before resuscitating him and patching up the broken valve with duct tape. Both of these scenarios end with the patient alive, but the Rodgers, Bradys, Brees', and Mannings of the world come out with barely any blood on their scrubs while Tebow comes out looking like he went for a swim inside the patient. And if you had the choice between these two types of doctors with your beloved, which one would you have operate?

The answer is easy in medicine, it is harder to find in football because generally speaking every sin committed during a game is forgiven if the team wins. And the statistical archaeologists can dig up ever stat on Tim Tebow dating back to high school, but Tebow had the most important statistic on his side in 2011: Five wins against one loss in his six starts this season. There is little question that the Broncos have had more success with Tebow at the helm, but let us remember to give credit to a swarming Denver defense.

The Denver Broncos are tied for eighth in the league in sacks with 30 this season. Rookie linebacker Von Miller and his 10.5 sacks are leading the pass rush for Denver and Miller appears to be a lock for defensive rookie of the year. In addition to Miller, the Broncos also have done a great job wrapping up ball carriers, for they rank tenth in the league in tackles made. In addition to the Broncos pass rush, they have gotten very good play from veteran defensive backs Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins. But what may be the most important statistic from Denver's defense is that they are only giving up 14.8 points per game over the last six games. It is true that Denver's defense has given up 14 fewer points per game since Tebow took the reigns? Yes it is. Still, Tebow has the same kind of impact on the Broncos defense as the other 26 cheerleaders on Denver's sideline.

Even though the defense has played very well over the course of the Broncos last six games, Tim Tebow is clearly doing something right between his wrecking ball running and clubbed hand throwing because Denver has won five of the six games Tebow started. And with Denver now a game an a half back of the idle Oakland Raiders for first place in the AFC West, it is valid to ask if Denver can pass the silver and black and make the postseason.

It is possible, but not likely. The good news for the Broncos is that they only have to play two teams above .500 the rest of the way and one of them is the Cutler less Chicago Bears. The bad news is that even without Cutler, the Bears should still be able to beat Denver and the other plus .500 team Denver plays is the New England Patriots. Still, Denver does get a Kansas City team they beat once already this year, a Minnesota Vikings team without Adrian Peterson, and a Buffalo Bills team in free fall. But what hurts Denver is that Oakland's remaining schedule looks about as winnable and they already have a one and a half game lead. Yes Oakland has to play the undefeated Packers and the 7-4 Detroit Lions, and will most likely loose both of those games. However, the silver and black get a Miami Dolphins team that Denver already beat, the same abysmal Kansas City Chiefs that Denver gets to play, and the dysfunctional San Diego Chargers. To put a percentage chance that the Broncos can make the playoffs is about 48% because they own a better division record and better conference record than the Raiders; but the Broncos need help from bad teams in their own division and or Miami  in order to pass Oakland on the final length.

Tim Tebow's success in the NFL to this point has made him the most polarizing athlete in professional sports due to his ability to make winning look grotesque. But like the iconic Radio City Music Hall, Tebow and this Denver Broncos team have a chance to become the symbol of hope that the Broncos can return to glory.

Fight Night

In one corner stood six foot five, 212 pounds wing, the challenger, Paul Gaustad of the Buffalo Sabers. The other corner was occupied by the six foot three, 225 pound wing of the Boston Bruins Milan Lucic. When Lucic first skated onto the ice for his first shift, he was greeted by a downpour of boos by the Sabers faithful and then the gloves came off. Right off the bat.

As it should have been.

What had sparked such a perverse response from Gaustad and the waterfall of boos to reign down on Lucic was in the previous game Lucic leveled Sabers goalie Ryan Miller when the Bruins were down a goal. In the NHL, a hit against a goalie had been a penalty since the birth of hockey; and teammates who watched their goal stopper get cleaned out were always obligated to respond as one of the unwritten rules of the game.

At the end of the game, the final score was irrelevant due to the amount of games left in the season. But what could we have taken away from the game last night was what should and should not be considered proper fighting etiquette in the game of hockey.

The first and most important rule of fighting in the NHL: Stay above the belt.

You would not kick a man in the engine room in a regular fight, and players in the fight last night did a very good job of keeping their potential children out of danger. Even when the scrum broke out behind the net between Gaustad, Brad Marchand, Zedeno Chara, Robyn Regehr, Adam McQuaid, and Corey Tropp, none of the aforementioned players attempted to make someone else's voice increase dramatically in pitch. Sots below the crotch had been and always will be regarded as the most unethical tactic in a fight, and the fewer  groin shots in the NHL the better.

The next rule for NHL fisticuffs: Pick on somebody your own size.

The battle that ensued last evening between Lucic and Gaustad had this very important element of size matters. Gaustad and Lucic were both over six foot three, and both weighed more than 215 pounds. They were very evenly matched in terms of size, and as close in weight as a fight could hope for. Lucic clearly won the fight, but it was due to superior fighting skill that won the bout, not a discrepancy in size. If a person as big as Zedeno Chara picked on a guy the size of Brian Gionta of the New Jersey Devils, Chara would have been able to step on Gionta and win the fight. If two players were to drop the gloves and they were the same size, it would likely lead to the best possible NHL fight.

Another rule of NHL fighting: Do not utilize your stick as a weapon in a fight.

Suppose that a player in the NHL went out of their way and hit somebody over the back or in the face with a hockey stick, there would be two kinds of punishments. The first type of punishment would be handed out by the league. If a player hit somebody else with a stick he would receive an immediate game ejection, a fine that would be the size of a bailout, and a season long suspension. The other type of punishment that player would receive would be assault charges from a court of law, and those never end well for anybody. Look at baseball player Jose Offerman taking a bat to the mound during a minor league game. He got arrested, and so would anyone charging another player with a hockey stick.

Next rule of fighting in hockey: Do not have your entire team gang up on one person.

In the Lucic and Gaustad fight, the teammates of Gaustad did not try and assist him in the battle. Even though Lucic won the fight with ease, his teammates did not participate either. The primary reason for this was because the Sabers wanted to send their message with only one player getting penalty minutes as a result. But again just like in a real fight, it would be very unfair to have your team rush one dude. In hockey fights, either man up and have it be one on one or don't fight, plain and simple.

All in all, the fights that broke out in last nights game cleared the air, temporarily, because every fight that went down last night was a good clean fight. The Lucic-Gaustad, Chara-Regehr, and McQuaid-Tropp fights all followed these very important guidelines to NHL fighting, and most importantly, nobody got hurt for the rest of the game. And although these NHL fights can be overplayed at times, the brawls in the last two games will make the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabers games more compelling the rest of the way.

Two Teams, One Game, By themselves

The landscape of America's national pastime is changing again.

In the midst of the baseball off season news surrounding Albert Pujols' new team in 2012, the Houston Astros moving to the American League in 2013, and the Chicago Cubs finding their new skipper, there is one piece of new information that might not be getting the attention it deserves. MLB will expand on their playoff system after the most successful postseason in years.

To sum up these upcoming changes concisely, MLB would essentially add a play in game to it's current format that has been in place since Bill Clinton was in office. This robust new format would feature ten teams, five from each league, vying for their chance to compete for a World Series trophy. And here is the best part. There would be no agonizing third series that would push baseball's postseason into December. This new playoff format would feature a one game, winner take all, contest between the two teams that just barely made the cut.

This upcoming change could add a good deal of excitement to the already captivating pennant races.

For one thing this would put an additional amount of weight on the out of division schedule. Since there will be a second wild card team, teams like the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Orange County, California, United States, Western Hemisphere, Earth, Milky Way) would need to beat the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox more often to have a leg up when the dog days of summer swing by. Out of division schedule includes interleague play; and interleague play means that your team will have more on the line when playing its NL or AL rivalry game.  

On a similar note, this upcoming playoff system ideally gives teams not in the American League East to make the playoffs. The current wild card format might as well have been called 'the playoff spot for whoever finishes second in the AL East this year.' And although a lot of people in the baseball world want to see the Sox and Yanks in the playoffs, it gets boring to see the same teams from one division in the playoffs all the time. The last time a team that was not from the AL East won the wild card was back in 2006 when the Detroit Tigers did it. And guess what? That Tigers team in 06 made it all the way to the World Series. This fifth team that enters the mix could give a sleeper team from the AL West or AL Central the chance to make a Saint Louis Cardinals type run for the Commissioner's trophy. 

And perhaps the most obvious reason that the playoffs are expanding is because two more playoff teams mean that more postseason priced ticket packages will be sold to baseball fans. And what baseball fan would not want to pay to see a winner take all, playoff berth on the line, game? The answer is nobody who likes baseball. This move may be in part a money grab, but it is a money grab that benefits the sport. 

Baseball is riding a huge wave of momentum after the best postseason in recent years. And so far, the higher ups in MLB are making all of the right pitches to improve the game.