Saturday, April 30, 2011

Winner takes all

These NBA playoffs have been captivating and memorable. We have seen an 8 seed beat a 1 seed. The coming out party of the game's next big superstar. New franchises step up to challenge the historically great ones. Out of the 8 teams still standing, some look beatable while others look great. But at the end of the day, only two will get to play for the NBA title. I predict the winners of these two series will go on and win their respective conferences. Let's head west to start.

The Western Conference Finalists will come out of the Thunder-Grizzlies series.

The Grizzlies will most certainly be a tough out for the Thunder. Yes Oklahoma City does have Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but Memphis won the regular season series 3-1. The biggest weakness of the Thunder is their over reliance on Durant to score; and Memphis plays great defense. The Thunder do have a significantly better inside game than the Spurs with Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka. So Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol should not run as wild on the Thunder as they did on the Spurs. Plus the Thunder are more of a half court team than San Antonio, so they might not mind the slow pace the Grizzlies like to play at. The Key to this series is the point guard matchup. Mike Conley Jr had a very good series against Spurs, but Westbrook has been the better player over the course of his career. I'll take the Thunder in 7, but I will not be surprised if Memphis wins.




Sorry Lakers fans, but the Los Angeles Lakers will not get their shot at another 3 peat. Although I think they will beat the Dallas Mavericks in 5, too many questions remain regarding their mentality. LA has been heavily criticized for not playing hard against the New Orleans Hornets; who were short their second best player in David West. It took them 6 games to win a series they should have swept. LA will lose not because they reached down for the switch and couldn't find it, but rather because a better team in either Oklahoma City or Memphis Beat them in 6 games.


Out East, the winner of the Celtics-Heat series will represent the Eastern Conference.

This matchup is what the fans, and media have been craving since these two teams first played. The big two and a half lost 3 out of 4 against the Celtics in the regular season, but Boston won two of those games with Kendrick Perkins. Perkins was dealt to the Thunder at the trade deadline, and the Heat romped the Celtics 101-78 in their one meeting after the deadline. The media outlets will be talking about how Paul Pierce and Ray Allen vs Lebron James and Dwyane Wade is the key, but that is not the case. The Key to this series is how well the O'Neal step brothers play; and if Shaquille O'Neal plays at all. Jermaine O'Neal played well against the New York Knicks, who have a better scoring power forward in Amare Stoudemire (25.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in the regular season) than the Heat do in Chris Bosh (18.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in the regular season). There is zero doubt that James, Wade, Pierce and Allen will all get their points, but the battle down low will decide the series. Rivers has hinted that Shaq will play in this series, which is good news for the defending eastern Conference Chanps. With that information in mind, I'll cautiously take the Celtics in 7. Sorry Lebron, looks like the Celtics will spoil your lunch.



Although Derrick Rose is surely on his way to the top 5 players in the NBA, the Chicago Bulls have no chance of upending the Celtics or Heat. Carlos Boozer was inept in the first round series against the Indiana Pacers. And even though Rose played great, the Pacers could have won that series. If the Bulls can barely beat the Pacers, they can't beat the overwhelming talent of the Heat; or the championship experience of the Celtics. In fact, I don't expect the Bulls to beat the Atlanta Hawks in the second round. Atlanta already beat a team in the Orlando Magic, who played on the back of one star in Dwight Howard. By that logic, the Hawks can beat the fighting Derrick Roses. And the Hawks match up very badly with both the Celtics and Heat. Joe Johnson is the only scorer on Atlanta that the Celtics and Heat should consider scary. Also, Al Horford is a decent face up jump shooter, but he has hit his ceiling. The following players are better than Horford on the low block: Kevin Garnett, Shaq, Jermaine O'Neal, and Chris Bosh. Atlanta will beat Chicago in 6, but loose to the Celtics-Heat winner in 5.



If the second round of the Playoffs are anything like the first round, we are all in for a great ride.

More Proof that Bears are Dangerous

The San Antonio Spurs record at the end of the regular season: 61-21: and earned the number 1 seed in the powerhouse Western Conference. Surely the The  8th seeded, Memphis Grizzlies, with a  record of 46-35 had almost no chance of upsetting the best of the west. Surely, the  former champion Spurs, would have no problem handling the young, inexperienced Grizzlies, who had not made the playoffs since the 2005-2006 season. The Spurs winning in the playoffs is about as regular as the sun rising.

But, as Memphis proved on Friday, the NBA playoff season is anything but regular.


The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the San Antonio Spurs 99-91 on their home court in Game 6 to become the fourth number 8 seed ever beat the conference's number 1 seed. Last time this happened? Actually it was not that long ago. The Golden State Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games during the 2007 playoffs. However, the 2007 Warriors and the Grizzlies of today couldn't be more different in their styles of play. Golden State was a high octane, really good transition, and live-and-die-by-the-3 team. These Grizzlies are big inside, athletic on the perimeter, and very well coached. A deadly combination for almost anyone to handle; much less an old, hurt, Spurs team that was out of sync from the jump.

Memphis simply beat the Spurs up in the paint. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol averaged 39 points and  19 rebounds between the two of them in each of their team's wins. The Grizz held the Spurs to 93 point per game while scoring 98 points per game. Key defenders Tony Allen and Shane Battier clamped down on the Spurs top scorers Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins out coached one of the League's best in Greg Popovich. The Grizzlies won every battle throughout the course of the series.

On the other side of this story sit the San Antonio Spurs. A team that re tooled its entire offense to a transition game because Tim Duncan is not the same player he used to be. A lot of people are questioning whether or not this core of San Antonio is done.

In a word: Yes

The average age of the Spurs best players, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Tony Parker and Antonio McDyess is 32. Duncan and McDyess are on the downside of their careers. Manu and Parker can't stay healthy. And Jefferson and Parker have a frightening tendency to disappear during certain games. And the rest of the Spurs are all good role players, but none of them are capable of carrying a team. Duncan should do the Spurs a favor and retire so management can blow the rest of the team up and start over.

The Grizz have given the people of Memphis some good news in the world of sports for a change. The most memorable sports stories out of The Volunteer state in recent memory have been Vince Young and Lane Kiffin getting run out of town. So Memphis fans can soak in a very nice sports story for today before facing the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Buzzer Beaters

Quick sports updates, they will all be over soon.

The Boston Bruins finally won a game 7 earlier today, in overtime, 4-3 to advance to the second round. The black and gold will take on the Philadelphia Flyers in a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference semifinal round when the flyers came back from a three games to none deficit to beat the B's. The Flyers eventually lost to the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Big 2 and a half took care of business against the Philadephia 76ers 97-91 earlier tonight. Wade lead the way (Yes Lebron, Wade Lead the way) 26 points, 11 boards and 7 assists. Bosh chipped in with 22 points and 11 boards and James rounded out the Heat's offense with 16 points 10 boards and 8 assists. Heat vs Celtics in Round two of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Remember when the San Antonio Spurs were done? Defeated at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies on their home court? Yeah, me neither. The spurs took game 5 110-103 in overtime behind Manu Ginobili's 33 points and Gary Neal's clutch shooting. Game 6 Friday in Memphis. If the Grizz want the upset, they had better do it at home cuz I like the Spurs to Remember the Alamo if it comes down to a game 7.

The Denver Nuggets have officially been Thuderstruck. The Oklahoma City Thunder took the series in 5 over the Nuggets 100-97. Leading the way was Kevin Durant with a no-big-deal-I-drop-41 points-in-series-clinching-games-Lebron performance that consisted of, you guessed it, 41 points from Duranchula.

And finally, in a vote that this writer did not see coming: Peyton Hillis will be on the cover of Madden 12. Hills beat out Eagles QB and Madden 04 Coverboy Michael Vick in a fan online poll. It doesn't mean much, considering Drew Brees already broke the Madden curse and Hillis plays for the cellar dwelling Cleveland Browns; but it's a nice story.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Cam the Man?

Much has been made about Heisman Trophy Winner and National Champion quarterback Cam Newton being projected as the number 1 overall pick in today's NFL draft. Big arm, mobile, stand up guy won a championship. The former Auburn QB Sounds like a can't miss right?

Well I wouldn't say that...


Let's dig a little deeper into the year of Cam Newton (scandal excluded because that was his dad) shall we.

Career Statistics: 2,908 total yards and 30 Touchdowns. Pretty solid numbers for a junior, but as we look closer...

2010 Statistics: 182.05 QB rating 2,854 total yards and 30 touchdowns.

His stats reflect the typical 1 year wonder of college football. Know who else was a 1 year wonder? Jamarcus Russell out of LSU. Remember him? The former number 1 overall pick that showed up to camp overweight and was a grand bust? Likely not, because he is now out of the NFL.

However, I'll give Newton a pass on the one year wonder factor. Quarterback is the single most risky position to draft in the entire league. Get it right, you could be a contnedah right away. Get it wrong, you set your franchise back a few years at least.

Still, this past year, the Carolina Panthers stunk everywhere, not just quarterback. When a team has so many problems, the smartest course of action is to take the best available player in the draft such as DB Patrick Peterson out of LSU, Linebacker Von Miller out of Texas A&M or D-Lineman Marcell Dareus out of Alabama. All of whom are better players than Newton, and there is no sure thing at Quarterback in this year's draft. Andrew Luck is going back to school next year.

Another question surrounding Newton is what kind of quarterback will he be in the NFL?

This guy? (Hopefully minus the alleged rape charges and motorcycle antics)




No: Newton, although more mobile than Big Ben, does not have as good of an arm. Newton also lacks the quick decision making and vision that Ben has. And although Newton is strong, Big Ben is an ox. Newton couldn't be brought down in college, but he isn't fast enough to escape the quick and strong linemen and linebackers. Nor is he so strong like Ben that he can shake off nose tackles in the NFL. Generous comparison, but not what career is in store for Cam.

How about this guy?


Again no: In fact, Newton is better now in pretty much every category without any NFL experience than Tim Tebow and his three games started in the NFL.But here is one point worth mentioning, both of these players ran very similar offenses at their respective schools. Out of the shotgun, quarterback option type of system. But Newton's physical gifts will enable him to adapt to a more pro-style offense quicker than Tebow.

So what mold does Cam Newton fit? Here are three hints: They both won a national championship in a great game. Both played quarterback for big time football schools. Both are mobile, pretty good arms, and find ways to win: even when the going gets rough. Give up

The Answer is: This guy...


The best comparison for who Cam Newton will grow to be is Vince Young. Young was overdrafted by the Tennessee Titans at Number 3 overall in 2006. Newton will likely be overdrafted somewhere in the top 10. Both make crazy plays, are gritty, and find ways to win.

Honestly Cam, you needed a better mold.

Young was a decent starter during his tenure in Tennessee, who made one trip to the playoffs and two Pro-Bowls. But Vince Young today is sitting in the NFL unemployment line. So that is the predicted outline for Cam Newton's career: five solid years before being labelled a bust that got overdrafted by management and getting a coach or gm fired.

There you go Cam, happy drafting.

PS: If you want to know why Championship is typed with strike through, read My biases for the answer.

Football is Back....Now Let's Keep it that way

U.S. Judge Susan Nelson has reached a decision that sort of lifted the 42 day NFL Lockout. The ruling came in Last Monday; and players are allowed into their respective team facilities, but they can't work out or talk to their coaches. The players situation is like visiting a college: They can go and look, but they can't use any of the college's stuff. And the NFL wants to appeal the ruling.

Enough already. The players and owners are playing chicken in cadillacs and royce royals with the money that hard working people pour into their business. Get over yourselves, both of you.

Owners, you are fighting loosing battles against the United States court system and the court of  public opinion. The most recent court ruling, before lifting the lockout, was the 9 billion dollars in TV revenue is to be split between the owners and players. And owners are acting as if not getting all of it is the end of the world.

And players, you are not the victims of an oppressive business. The mean NFL player salary is $770,000 a year. In the real world, that's pretty good. And superstars get paid far more than that. Don't get me started on how Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson compared football to modern day slavery. Peterson makes 10.2 million dollars a year. And he has the guile to say that. It's unthinkable.

 Now, the one thing that both sides can agree on is this: Everybody wants Football to be played in 2011.

The players want to play in order to make money and the owners want the players to play in order to make money. If, by some divine intervention, that Football were not to be played in 2011, everybody looses money. And they can all sit in their respective mansions for the lockout, but both sides will eventually hurt financially.

Here is one piece of advice to both sides. Fans don't care about your posturing, they care about their team's games in 2011. Fans work very hard at their jobs in order to pay your very successful business. A lockout would forever damage the relationship between fans and the sport. Happened with Baseball in 1994 and it took  the great home run chase of 1998 to get fans to care again. So both sides, get off your high horses and play football.