Intertwined in Controversey

Every team sport has different conferences, and two teams from different conferences play each other all the time. In football, a team from the AFC conference can play a team from the NFC conference at any given week in the season. For basketball and hockey, teams from the eastern conference play teams out west frequently without it being a big deal. However, the same cannot be said for our national pastime. Baseball used to have teams from the American League only play teams from the American League, but that changed in 1997 when Interleague play was introduced. Out of the 162 regular season games in Major League Baseball, each team from the American League plays only 18 games against National League teams; while teams from the National League can play as few as 12 interleague games and as many as 18. A team's interleague schedule makes up roughly eleven percent of a team's regular season schedule, yet this season there seems to be several complaints about the necessity of interleague play.

Most of the complaints stem from the fact that when an American League pitchers have to bat whenever they go to National League parks; and that National League teams have to use a designated hitter when playing in American League parks. The other big complaint is that certain teams play opponents of differing skill level. While the New York Yankees play a NL division leader, the Tampa Bay Rays get to play a bottom feeder team. However, interleage play is so controversial this year is because MLB's collective bargaining agreement expires in December. And everyone who wants the American League and National League to stop playing each other has made sure to say so. Red Sox manager Terry Francona said this on WEEI's 'The Big Show', "I don’t like the fact that we lose our designated hitter because we have built our team for the designated hitter, and we have pitchers that aren’t used to hitting. So we’re at a disadvantage. I don’t like that part.”   

But those who are complaining about interleague play do not really have solid ground to stand on. As far as the scheduling aspect goes, yes it is not perfect, but schedules are always made based on a team's performance in the prior season. If a team like the Yankees, Red Sox or Rays win their division, they are going to get the division winner's schedule next season. And if they do not win those games while another team gets some cheap wins against lower quality opponents, tough darts. Good teams are supposed to be able to beat everybody, and those who cannot beat everybody are not championship contenders.

And to Terry Francona and other American League managers who have issues with loosing the DH when visiting National League teams, get over it. American League managers are spoiled by having  guys who are capable of hitting 30 home runs and having 100 runs batted in not having to risk injury by playing in the field. And because there is no designated hitter in the National League, NL managers have to utilize their benches, which likely do not have those 30 homer-100 RBI guys, when they go to American League ballparks. Plus, pitchers in the National League have to bat about three times a game every time they start, while a pitcher in the American League has to hit maybe nine times a year in the regular season. Also, 99.99 percent of pitchers could not hit water if they fell out of a boat, so American League pitchers having to bat is not much of a disadvantage in the lineup. So complain all you want Francona and friends, all you are doing is strengthening the argument that the DH is an unfair advantage for AL teams.

Baseball's attendance is down 50% this season, and getting rid of interleague rivalries such as the New York Yankees- New York Mets, Chicago Cubs-Chicago White Sox, and San Fransisco Giants-Oakland Athletics  will not help. There may be some problems with the sport of baseball, but interleague play is not one of them.

Align em Up

In the same way that stars align in order to form famous constellations, teams general locations near each other are coordinated by their respective leagues in order to build divisions. Through these alignments, certain teams like the Saint Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs, have been granted the opportunities to play each other so much and form a historic rivalry. In terms of the National Hockey League, let's just say that if the Central Division in the Western Conference was altered. Then the  rivalry between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings looses some value because they are not competing for a division crown. If a league such as the National Hockey League or Major League Baseball decided that their current system did not work, they would change it. So the question becomes, should either the NHL or MLB decide to scrap their current formations and re-align their leagues?

Let us take a look at the NHL first.

Recently, the NHL moved the Atlanta Thrashers all the way up to Winnipeg Canada, and have revived the Winnipeg Jets franchise. Although this is good news for Hockey, the Jets are still in the Southeast Division despite being geographically above hockey towns such as New York, Detroit, Minnesota, and Boston. A Canadian team should not have to travel that far just to play a division game. The amount of traveling the Jets would have to do and the limited rest they would get would be an unfair advantage for the rest of the league. Such a competitive disadvantage for one team has to be addressed, and the only way for the NHL to do so is through realignment. And just shifting the Jets to say the Northwest division would break the neat and tidy five teams to a division theme the NHL has going on. There is allegedly interest in making four divisions with eight teams in two of them and seven in the other two. It would be different, but give it about a season and everyone would be used to it.

So should the NHL realign the Entire League? : YES 

Now, let's change gears to the issue of realignment in Major League Baseball.

As the running theme seems to be for this summer in sports, the Collective Bargaining Agreement that Major League Baseball has is set to expire on December 1st of this year. And one of the big issues that sits firmly on the negotiating table is the issue of realignment. One of the reported ideas for realignment is that Baseball would split the 30 teams into two leagues, or conferences of 15 teams. But the new fun wrinkle in this system would be that Baseball would add a second Wild Card Team. So the number of teams that make the playoffs would go from eight to ten. Adding more playoff teams is an interesting idea, but ten teams would not work because two teams would have to sit around and wait. It's not like football where it's one game, loser goes home. Baseball prides itself on series, and since baseball is all about timing and momentum, it would be in fact worse for the higher seeds to sit and wait while other teams get into a groove in the playoffs. There are potential realignment ideas that could work for baseball, but the league's reported plan is not one of them.

So, should Baseball realign under THIS proposed plan?: NO

Realignment has such a huge impact on a sport that a commissioner and his brain trust would need months of discussion before setting a plan into motion. But hopefully, the adjustments that will be made will make everyone who loves their sports happy.

...And Twins

Many people in the world can say that they have a brother or sister that they used to play with, but fewer of these people have brothers or sisters that look exactly like them. A person having an identical twin could lead to all kinds of shenanigans and confusion in life. For one thing, they never have to buy a mirror if their brother or sister wears the exact same clothes as they do. And if these twins both play the same sport, there are going to be plenty of two for one coupons to Sports Authority laying around their house. But although these two siblings may forever be confused for each other in the real world, the world of sports enables them to be seen by their fans as their own men or women.

Our first set of twins is Ronde and Tiki Barber of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Giants respectively.

The brothers Barber may be the most recognizable pair of twins in the history of the NFL. Tiki Barber has been very good throughout his career. Tiki has a total of 10,449 rushing yards and is the only player in NFL history with 18,00 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in one season. His brother Ronde has been just as good at his position. The Buccaneers corner back has 1165 tackles, 26 sacks, and 40 interceptions and counting. Ronde Barber is also the only NFL defensive back with 25 sacks and 40 interceptions. And although they both play different positions, Ronde Barber has had the better overall career. Ronde has been to more pro-bowls (5-3 appearances in favor of Ronde) has made more All Pro teams (Ronde's 5 to Tiki's 3), and has one more super bowl ring than Tiki does. But despite their different positions and teams, it is likely that both of the Barber brothers will make the NFL Hall of Fame.

Batting second for the Twins, Jose and Ozzie Canseco 

These two may be identical twins, but their playing careers could not have been more different. Ozzie Canseco had a .200 batting average with zero home runs and four runs batted in during the 1990 season. For most players, those numbers signify a bad ten game stretch, but for Ozzie Canseco those stats consisted of his entire 24 game career in the Major Leagues. Jose on the other hand played a lot longer than 24 games with far better numbers than his brother. From 1985-2001 Jose hit .266 with a total of 462 home runs and 1407 runs batted in. Jose Canseco was a six time all star, four time silver slugger, two time world series champion, 1986 rookie of the year, 1988 MVP, and 1994 comeback player of the year. Unfortunately, Jose had used performance enhancing substances throughout his entire career and now spends his days ratting out other players who used also steroids. These two are the most forgettable on this list, but not every twin can win.

But these two brothers do well on the tennis court. Bob and Mike Bryan, also known as doubles trouble

Now these brothers are twin tennis stars competing with the Barbers for best twins in sports. Bob and Mike have dominated the doubles tennis scene for quite some time. The brothers have won a total of 72 tour titles, which is the most all time by a doubles team in the history of the Pro tennis. The Ryans have a career slam for they won the doubles Australian Open five times, the French Open once, Wimbledon once, and the US Open  three times. Mike and Bob also won bronze medals during the 2008 Olympics and were named Tennis' team of the decade from 2000-2009. But the statistics aside, these twins are unique among similar company because of the chemistry needed to be successful at their sport. Doubles tennis requires a great deal of communication, skill and trust to be good at; and the Ryans have mastered all of these qualities. Another cool fact about the Ryan brothers is that Bob plays left handed while his brother Mike plays right handed. These twins are a lot of fun to watch.

Next up we hit the ice with Henrik and Daniel Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks.

It is one thing for two brothers to make it to the same league playing the same sport, it is a completely different story when you and your twin brother get drafted by the same team in the same draft. But for Henrik and Daniel Sedin, that is just the story of how they got into the NHL. The Sedins have enjoyed good careers for the Canucks since first lacing up in 1999. Daniel has been more of a scorer between the two brothers, because Daniel has career totals of 249 goals, 402 assists and 651 total points. Henrik on the other side is a much better passer, for he has total of 157 goals, 509 assists and 666 total points. Their regular season success has translated into playoff success for the most part. Daniel has totals of 23 goals, 39 assists and 62 points in his playoff career; while his brother Henrik has 20 goals, 46 assists and 66 points in playoff games. But alas, the two brothers quest for the cup came up short this year. The Sedins combined for three points in the series as the Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games. 

Finally we hit the NBA with the Lopez twins. Brook Lopez of the New Jersey Nets and Robin Lopez of the Pheonix Suns. 

These two NBA players follow similar paths that the Sedin twins did. They both played their college basketball at Stanford University and both were drafted in the first round in the 2008 NBA draft. But unlike the Sedins, the Lopez brothers were not drafted by the same team. Brook has been the far better player to this point in his NBA career, for he averages 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game for the Nets and continues to improve every year. Robin Lopez comes off the bench for the Suns and averages 5.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and .01 assists per game and is one of Phoenix's energy guys. However, Brook may be the better player, but Robin does have something that his brother does not: Playoff experience. In the 09-10 playoffs for the Suns, Robin Lopez notched up 47 points, 24 rebounds and one block in his six career playoff games. In an NBA that is running low on impact big men, the Lopez twins will be coveted when their contracts are up. 

Honorable mention: Heather and Heidi Burge

Essentially these sisters are the female equivalents of the Lopez Brothers. The Burges played at the University of Virginia and made three consecutive Final Fours from 1990-1992. The Burge sisters made it into the WNBA when it was formed in 1997, but both sisters had to retire early in their careers due to injuries. Despite their lackluster playing careers, the Burge sisters have something that the Lopez brothers do not: a movie made about them. Disney made a movie in 2002 called Double Teamed about Heather and Heidi's journey through college through the WNBA. 

While it is true that no two people are completely the same, identical twins carry extreme physical similarities between them. But in the world of sports, the name on the back of the jersey is only as important as the athletes' play on the field.

Buzzer Beaters

The NBA may have a new champion, but for all of those players who were not able to tattoo the Larry O' Brien trophy on themselves this season, help is on the way. The NBA Draft begins tomorrow night at 7:00 P.M. on ESPN. Unfortunately for many teams, this draft class lacks a franchise changing player that can immediately take their club out of the basement. The projected number one overall pick, Kyrie Irving, is an inexperienced point guard who was hurt for the majority of his only season at Duke. There is a total of zero dominant big men in the class of 2011. Scouts can rave about Enes Canter and Jonas Valanciunas all they want, but the fact remains that there have only been two noteworthy foreign centers, Yao Ming before he got hurt and Andrew Bogut, who have panned out. The best overall player in this very weak draft class is Derick Williams because of his length, versatility, and scoring ability. Williams' play is similar to Paul Pierce's, but Pierce could not win a ring by himself and neither will Williams without a little help from his new friends.

Speaking of the NBA draft, there number of rumors going around regarding trading players and picks is reminiscent of high school gossip. But the juiciest rumor surrounding this year's draft is that the San Antonio Spurs will part ways with one of their big three. The Spurs have talked with multiple teams about trading point guard Tony Parker for a high first round draft pick. The two lottery teams that seem to be the most receptive to these conversations have been the Toronto Raptors and the Sacramento Kings.The Kings started former Spur Beno Udrith at point guard for the bulk of the season last year, but they were still cellar dwellers. With big man Demarcus Cousins already in place, the Kings next logical step would be to add an experienced point guard. Although the overall probability of this happening is still in doubt, the Spurs seem willing to part with Parker due to his declining play, and the fact that Parker thinks the Spurs championship window has closed. 

While the Los Angeles Dodgers continue to struggle on the field, they still hold the crown for ugliest divorce in sports this year. After Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig rejected the Dodger's proposed Television deal with FOX sports yesterday. Frank McCourt's lawyer called Selig's decision "premeditated" and questioned if Selig's actions were in good faith. Selig said yesterday about the proposed deal, "It is my conclusion that the proposed transaction with FOX would not be in the best interest of the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise..." This proposed deal would have given half the up front money of the deal to the McCourts instead of the team. Without this T.V. deal, the Dodgers will not make the June 30th payroll and Major League Baseball will seize the franchise from the McCourts and put the Dodgers up for sale. 

A tennis rematch for the century was a colossal disappointment. John Isner defeated Nicholas Mahut 7-6, 6-2, 7-6 in the first round of Wimbledon action yesterday. Although the result was the same as last time, the rest of the matches could not have differed more. In the first round match between these two at Wimbledon last year, Isner and Mahut played the longest match in tennis history at eleven hours and five minutes long. These two set records for the longest set in tennis history at eight hours and eleven minutes. Most games in a set with 138 games in the fifth. Most games in a match with 183 games. And most total aces in a match with 216; Isner had 113 and Mahut had 103 aces. This year was just your typical run of the mill tennis match that Isner won in straight sets. And although this win proves once and for all that Isner is the better player than Mahut, it would have been nice to see this thing go five sets. In the end, lightning did not strike twice, and this match is just as human as any other in Wimbledon. Isner advances to the second round for the second year in a row.

Finally in NFL Labor situation news, the owners have drawn up a new blueprint for the collective bargaining agreement. In the deal, the players would get 48% of the total revenue. Teams would be required to spend almost all of their salary cap money. There would be a rookie wage scale in place when the deal is finalized. And the Owners would get some expense credits that would allow for new stadium funding. But despite the pay cut, the new deal does have some parts that the players like. The rookie wage scale being one of them, because nobody wants to see JaMarcus Russell for 68 million dollars over six years happen again. And retired players would get better health care and pensions because the league's revenue is projected to double by 2016. Also, the player's share in the money will never dip below 46.5% and the 18 game regular season is virtually off the table. If this were proposed in May, there would be time for negotiations, but this is essentially the Owners take-it-or-leave-it proposal. Now the fans wait for the players response, still without football.

Rory Days

In order for anyone to succeed, we must first fail. And after Rory McIlroy had collapsed in the Masters earlier this year, all eyes were on how the 22 year old would fair in the year's second major. Judging by the numbers, he exceeded all expectations.

The final stats for the young golfer when he turned his scorecard at the end of the US Open were jaw dropping. McIlroy finished 16 shots under par, with a final score of 69. His final score was the best score in the history of the Tournament and his eight stroke margin of victory was the third largest in US Open history: and also his eight stroke victory was tied for the sixth largest margin of victory in the history of Golf's four majors. But what may have been the most impressive about McIlroy's performance was the fact that he is was ninth youngest golfer ever to win the US Open at the age of 22 years, and 46 days old. Hmmmm, an extremely young golfer with a ton of talent wins the US Open by a huge margin; where have we all seen that before?

The answer is from this guy.

Yes , the now infamous Tiger Woods used to be the young gun with something to prove to the world of golf. During the 1997 Masters, Woods terminated the field throughout the weekend, for he lead by nine strokes heading into that Sunday and won by 12 strokes. But then, 13 years and 13 majors later, it was all but certain that Woods would eventually pass Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 Major wins. But since 2008, Woods has fallen from the good graces of his fans with a very loud thud. Tiger has not won a tournament since the 2008 U.S. Open, and he could not even participate in this year's Open due to an ACL injury. And since Woods has fallen so far, Golf is now in search of a new face that will bring casual viewers back to watching major tournaments; and although Phil Mickelson has been a recognizable name for the sport, his four majors pale in comparison to Wood's. So what about McIlroy? Is he the new face of golf now that Tiger is still struggling?


No. As long as Woods is still playing, Rory McIlroy is just another golfer living in the Tiger's den.

Now maybe one day McIlroy will be ready to take the torch of being the face of Golf from Tiger Woods, but while he now is 12 Majors and 70 PGA tournaments behind Tiger, let us all hold off on calling him the next anything for a little while. Since McIlroy is only 22, there is no sure fire way to tell whether or not he will become Arnold Palmer or the next Phil Mickelson until the rest of his career plays out. So for now, let us congratulate Rory McIlroy for his performance in the U.S. Open, but let us see how he does in the British Open before crowning him golf's savior.

Stanley's Shipping up to Boston

A wise man once said that a series is never over until the home team loses. But in this series, the home team for the final game of this year's NHL season picked a really bad time to loose.

The Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 in game seven to win Lord Stanley's Cup for the first time since 1972. The B's struck first off of the stick of their assistant captain, Patrice Bergeron, for the fifth and sixth times in these playoffs. While the only other goal scorer of the game came from Boston's most effective rookie in the playoffs, Brad Marchand, during the second and third periods to stamp the Cup's flight back to Bean town. 

Despite outscoring the Canucks 24-8 in the series, the Bruins were able to win the cup thanks largely in part to the spectacular goaltending form the second American player to ever win the Conn Smythe Trophy for most valuable player: Tim Thomas. Thomas was spectacular for the vast majority of these playoffs, for he had a playoff record of 16-9. And Thomas' record is just the tip of the statistical iceberg. On hockey's biggest stage, Thomas turned away 238 of  the 246 shot attempts against him. Thomas averaged 1.98 goals per game in the NHL playoffs, while playing all 1542 minutes of ice time during the Bruins run towards a championship. And in an new age of hockey in which teams utilize both of their goalies, Thomas was the only goaltender in these playoffs never to be switched out for his backup. And more proof of Thomas succeeding under pressure, he and the rest of the Bruins are the only team in NHL history to win three game 7's in one playoff run. Now that is impressive.

In addition to Thomas doing the spectacular on a regular basis, the Boston Bruins were a team that  dominated the best offensive team in the NHL throughout the course of the regular season.The Bruins set a physical tone in game three of the series that the Canucks could not keep up with.  Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg held the critically acclaimed Sedin twins to a total of three points between the two of them. These twins are the same guys who, along with Ryan Kesler, scored a total of 55 points through the first three rounds of the NHL playoffs. And with the fierce combination of great goaltending and blue collar defense, the Canucks managed just eight goals in a seven game series. And the all mighty power play of the Canucks that had a conversion percentage of 24.4 percent in the playoffs was held to just two power play goals in the Stanley Cup Finals. 

Although the statistics will say that the series was very one sided, the drama that unfolded was anything but. The chippy play began in game one of the series in which Vancouver Left Wing Alexander Burrows forgot to eat his pre game snack, and decided to munch on the finger of Patrice Bergeron. The Bruins did not take to kindly to the teething Burrows, but after being down two games to none, the gesture of placing fingers in front of the Bruins' mouths was the go to taunt for the Canucks. But then the series shifted to Boston. After the Bruins' second leading scorer Nathan Horton had to be carted off the ice with a concussion in game three, the Bruins beat down the Canucks that same night. But all of the taunting and dirty play from both teams resulted in the second most penalty minutes in one game in NHL history. Then things took a turn for the ugly when Canucks Mason Raymond also had to be carted off the ice with a broken vertebrae in game six. Cooler heads never prevailed in the series, but the drama was more compelling than most reality television.

With all of the success surrounding Boston sports in the past decade, it is difficult to remember that the last time the Bruins won the Stanley Cup was back when the time in which NHL players did not wear helmets. And now that the Bruins have completed Boston's grand slam of sports championships, the city can now begin planning a champion's parade route for Boston's favorite Bears.

Lights, Camera, Athletes!

Professional athletes are used to being followed around by cameras before, during, and especially after the game. These cameras are the omnipresent eye that sees athletes' successes, failures, and the occasional tirade. But what the game time broadcasts usually fail to capture is who these famous sports athletes are as people. Some athletes enjoy the everlasting spotlight that shine on their lives, while others prefer to fade into the background when the game has been won or lost. But let's face it, the athletes who relish the spotlight are always the more fun because they like spending their time in front of cameras. And there are athletes who don't fear the cameras, decide to spend more time in front of them by appearing in movies. There have been a decent number of professional athletes in successful movies, and movies that bombed.

First up on this list is the most recent, Mike Tyson in The Hangover

Mike Tyson has been one of the most interesting boxers in his generation. His record in the ring is 50-6-2 with 44 career knockouts, But his record on the big screen includes one really good performance in the first Hangover . The first time Mighty Mike appears on the screen, he reels the audience in by singing Phil Collin's song  In the Air Tonight. Tyson was able to captivate some of his boxing skills in a fitting manner, by punching out Zach Galifianakis's character after the guys steal Tyson's pet tiger. Then when he is watching the protagonists shenanigans on the security camera, the really guys, really look is very convincing. And although the franchise seems to de-fang Tyson in the film, Mighty Mike seems to have accepted the transition  from boxing tyrant, to lovable comedy actor. 

Overall grade for Tyson on screen: B+

Next up on the list is Michael Jordan in Space Jam. 

The greatest NBA player ever joins forces with the Loony Toons cast in the 1996 live/animated film to save the world from aliens. The concept is a little silly, but the purpose of this film was to make children laugh and teach them good values; and the film itself does a good job of executing their game plan. As for Jordan's role in the film, he is thrust into a basketball game to save the Loony Toons home. Jordan's play during the game gets more characteristic of his career during the second half of the film, when he rallies the team to victory. In terms of his character during the film, he goes from a lack of self confidence, to teacher, to leader, and finally to the Michael Jordan we are all used to seeing. And like most things Jordan did in his career, he executed his role well. But don't expect much of Jordan the actor, outside of a well written, simple script. 

Overall Grade for MJ on screen: B-




Next up, we take flight with Kareem Abdul Jabbar in Airplane

The NBA's all time leading scorer decided to try his luck at being an actor during the 1980's; and his first and only film was very successful. For those who have never seen Airplane, it is basically the first successful spoof movie. Abdul Jabbar's character in the film is the plane's co-pilot Roger Murdoch. Murdoch's role is very non essential to the plot, however, Murdoch does have a humorous dialogue with a young boy regarding Murdoch's true identity. Since Abdul Jabbar's character is so unessential to the plot, the writers get rid of him quickly by having Murdoch be one of the first individuals who gets sick. In short, the film did very well, but Abdul Jabbar's character was not compelling enough to give him much screen time.

Overall grade for Abdul Jabbar on screen: C




Next we look at how other NBA big men have done on the big screen with Shaquille O' Neal in Kazaam

Shaquille O' Neal was one of the most dominating big men ever to play the game of basketball; and with his vibrant personality, his trip to the big screen seemed inevitable. Unfortunately, the big diesel's performance in this horror show was unable to add the big Oscar to his long list of nicknames. The film itself is your typical boy-meets-genie movie that revolves around the genie, played by O' Neal, and his owner having to come up with three wishes. The first problem with this film was that Shaq's character came out of a boom box instead of the typical magic lamp. What kind of genie gets trapped in a boombox? Especially one who is 7'2 and weighs 360 pounds. Also, Shaq's genie character takes us away from the humorous Shaq we all know and love, by making him appear to lack self confidence. Despite Shaq's marketability and sense of humor, this terrible film will forever prevent the big cactus from claiming Hollywood fame.

Overall grade for Shaq on screen: F 

Finally, we turn to the old west and an even older athlete. Alex Karras in Blazing Saddles

 For those who may not know the name Alex Karras, he was a defensive lineman who played for the Detroit Lions from 1958 until 1970. Karras had a very good carrer, for he made four pro bowls, had four career interceptions as a defensive lineman, and was a part of the 1960's NFL All Decade Team. But as good as he was on the field, the lineman killed on screen. Karras was perfect for the character of Mongo, for Mongo was a simple minded hired hand with ludicrous physical abilities. During the course of the film, Mongo proves his strength by punching out a horse, and breaking out of chains as if they were tissue paper. However, Mongo's confrontation with the protagonist does not go so well, for the sheriff outsmarts Mongo and captures him. As a character, Karras fit into his role of the crazy strong, dim witted Mongo beautifully. It was a match made in movie making heaven and Mongo's character contributed by not only being comedy relief, but also aided in the protagonist's development as a sheriff.

Overall grade for Karras on screen: A


The number of athletes that hit the big screen is relatively low. And although there have been successes on the big screen, there have also been some very underwhelming performances. Athletes and movies were both made to entertain the masses, but maybe keeping them separated is what is best for both worlds.

Texas Toast

Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks got a tattoo of the Larry O' Brien trophy on his right bicep at the beginning of the NBA season. The ink was a motivational tool used to motivate a locker room full of guys who had never won. Guys who were all tired of being written off as a team that could not perform under pressure. A team that many across the league in the beginning of the year called soft and not good enough to win it all. Now, after a memorable NBA Finals series, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat and proved to everyone that, like the cowardly lion from the Wizard of OZ, their heart was inside of them all along. 

The Dallas Mavericks were a veteran team full of players who were so close to achieving championship glory, but yet so far at the same time. As everyone expected, they took care of business in the first round by beating the youthful Portland Trailblazers in six games. Up next came one of the most lopsided series in recent memory, as the Mavericks shocked the NBA world by steamrolling the favored Los Angeles Lakers in four games. As the spotlight got brighter and brighter, the Mavericks grew hotter and dispatched the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games. Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Jason Kid, Tyson Chandler and JJ Barea could see their best shot at a title appear before their eyes. And the only thing standing in their way of their goal was the most talented team in the NBA.

But like every NBA championship prior to this year, the Larry O' Brien trophy was given out in June after the playoffs ended; not July of last year at the team's first press conference.

But the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA title was not because Dirk Nowitzki averaged  48 points per game on 12-15 shooting from the field and 100% shooting from the charity stripe; although Dallas' favorite German player did take home the Final's MVP honor. The reason that the Mavericks were able to play through the scorching Heat index was because the Heat may have had better stars, but the Mavericks had a better team.

Coming into the series, the Dallas Maverick had the best bench in the entire NBA. And in the Finals, the bench dominance was no different. The Mavs bench averaged 28 points per game in the title series while the Heat's bench had only 22 points per game.Jason Terry and JJ Barea seemed to score at will, while DeShawn Stevenson and the custodian Brian Cardinal were able to frustrate Wade and James defensively. In contrast, the only one off of Miami's bench who was a constant threat in this series was Mario Chalmers. And while the Heat had Wade, Bosh, and James starting, the big two and a half were responsible for scoring 68% of their team's points in the series. And as this series proved, it takes more than just three of the league's 15 best players on one team to win an NBA title. And the Mavericks simply had more depth to their team than the Miami Heat did.

As great as it was to see so many almost champions finally complete their quests for the one ring to rule them all, don't expect a repeat performance next season. The key players on the Dallas Mavericks, Dirk, Terry, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, are all over the age of 33. Plus, there is always the Boston Celtics title syndrome. A bunch of players who had never won an NBA title finally win, and don't play with the same hunger as they did the year before.And although there is some young talent in Caron Butler and Barea, that is not enough to build a team around in the distant future. But don't expect the Mavs draft class this year to help, for the NBA Draft class of 2011 is looking pretty weak as a whole.

And although the Miami Heat took the loss in this series, they will be back and most likely better. James, Wade and Bosh are all locked up long term, but the Heat need better support around their core. The plan should include dumping everyone on that bench not named Chalmers and Udonis Haslem because they were all ineffective throughout the majority of the playoffs. Give the Heat a consistent bench that is about three fifths as good as the Mavs bench, and the Heat are likely the ones hoisting the trophy next season.

But now that the Mavericks have all one their first titles, we all will be forced to remember that it is another year for Lebron James without an NBA title. James received a great deal of criticism for his play in the Finals because of his inability to produce down the stretch. James only scored 18 points in the fourth quarter of six games in the entire series. In contrast, Dirk scored a total of 62 points in the fourth quarter of games during the entire series. In short, James was good in the Finals, but the Miami Heat needed him to be the Lebron James that played for the Heat against the Celtics and Bulls, but he was not.  

After the rings get given out, next will come the questions regarding the legacy that this year's NBA Finals will leave behind. The legacy of this Dallas Mavericks championship run can best be compared to the old children's cartoon Capitan Planet. Owner Mark Cuban being the 'fire' that sparks his team with inflammatory comments regarding the NBA's officiating. While the player who best represents the 'earth', being Tyson Chandler and his physical style of play. The 'water' being Jason Kidd and the calming influence he had over the team. While the 'wind' being Jason Terry's shooting that took the team to new heights. As for the 'heart', that title belongs to the lovable JJ Barea from that basketball factory Northeastern University. And with Dirk Nowitzki as Capitan Planet, the Mavs have delayed the NBA's global warming for another year.

Home is Where the Heart is

Whether it be a parent returning from a long day at work, a college student returning from their semester away from the family, or our brave men and women overseas coming back from a tour of duty, there is something special about coming home. Home is a place in which it is easy to feel safe, comfortable, and surrounded by the people who love you. And in the world of sports, home is where teams play their best. Rarely does a team preform better on the road than at home. In hockey, there were only six teams out of 30 to have a better record away from their friendly confines. But that was just in the regular season. There is nothing quite like a playoff atmosphere in a team's home building because it fuels teams that appear to be down for the count. And last night, the Boston Bruins fans gave them fuel, gave them fire, and propelled them to that which they all desired: a statement win in Bean Town.

The Boston Bruins rolled the Vancouver Canucks in game three of the Stanley Cup Finals 8-1 to make the series 2-1 in favor of Vancouver. The Boston crowd was in in from the beginning, and the B's were doing something early that they had not been in the great white north: outhitting the Canucks. Boston had played to Vancouver's offensive pace in the great white north, and that put them in an 0-2 hole. The blue collar, low scoring style of play is when the Bruins are at their best; and in a game in which the hits never seemed to stop, the Bruins had 40 hits compared to Vancouver's 31. And it was one of these hits by Vancouver's Aaron Rome that gave Bruins wing Nathan Horton a serious concussion. After Horton was taken off the ice in a stretcher, the fans were rilled up, and the Bruins released the Kraken on Vancouver.

After a great scoreless first period played by both teams, it was all Bruins in the second 20 minutes. Eleven seconds into the second period, deffensmen Andrew Ference scored his third goal of these playoffs from the passes of Rich Peverly and David Krejci. Later in the period, the pathetic Bruins power play managed itself a goal off of the stick of Mark Recchi to take a two nothing lead. But the Bruins were far from done. After 11 minutes and 30 seconds of play, a Vancouver turnover in their own zone resulted in a Brad Marchand unassisted shorthand goal. And a few minutes later, David Krejci added the exclamation point in Boston's four goal period with his eleventh goal of the playoffs. Although the Canucks avoided a shutout by Jannik Hansen's goal, that was not enough to stop the Bruins rampage. Four more goals from Daniel Paille, Mark Recchi, Chris Kelly, and *gasp* another power play goal from Michael Ryder completed the beat down.

But the overwhelming penalties and dirty play by both teams in this game is something to take note of. Between the two teams a total of 145 penalty minutes were accumulated during the course of the game, including 110 minutes from game misconducts. The cause of the penalties in the third period were about an even split between Vancouver being frustrated because they were down by four goals, and the Bruins being frustrated by what happened to Horton. But there is a line between physical play and dirty play that both teams crossed last night. Boone's hit that took out Horton was well after Horton had passed the puck and Millan Lucic slashed and then punched Burrows in the side of the head while he was down. And although the Bruins players taunting Burrows by holding their fingers in front of his mouth for the whole night was funny, expect the referees to call pretty much everything for the rest of the series.

I got your nose, I got your nose

Boston's performance at home in game three has given the team, and the city of Boston new hope that they could still hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. Because every team, no matter what the sport, loves a little home cooking.

The Sour Grapes of Wrath

The world of sports falls into parallel with the world of cliches. Phrases such as 'they are feeling each other out', 'they are within striking distance' and 'that was a page right out of (insert team name or coaches' name here) play book' continue to riddle sports broadcasts. Yet the less common cliche that perfectly describes how players, fans, or in this particular case, management feels about an unfortunate event to befall their team is called sour grapes. And as the name implies, these grapes always fall from three different vines. One of these hypothetical vines is that an important player could not play due to injury, but team X would have beaten team Y if this player was healthy. There is also, the other team got all of the calls to go their way. Or in this particular situation, a player got away with some "stuff" and should have been punished for it.

But contrary to popular belief, it is not just the players and fans who are guilty of eating some off of some of the sour grape vines. Recently, San Fransisco Giants manager Brian Sabean had some rather harsh comments for Florida Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins. Sabean said of Cousins

"If I never hear from Cousins again, or he doesn't play another day in the big leagues, I think we'll all be happy." 

These comments came after Cousins collided with Giants catcher Buster Posey on this play that shattered Posey's ankle and ended his season.

Sabean went into that press conference with the right idea of sticking up for his guy, yet all that could be heard through the microphone was the regurgitation of sour grapes. The play itself was not a dirty, so questioning the character of Scott Cousins is out of line. It is one thing to hear these kind of comments on KNBR 680 AM from the thirty year old balding man who still lives in his mother's basement. But as the general manager to the San Fransisco Giants, Sabean has a responsibility to his organization to make sure he does not say anything inflammatory during the press conference. 

Now this collision at home plate did not end with the unprofessional comments from Sabean. The play at the plate also sparked a nation wide debate on if baseball should or should not change anything about collisions at the plate. What happened to Posey was extremely unfortunate for himself and for the Giants, but for baseball to get rid of the only form of contact between players in the game is a ludicrous idea. Compared to the vicious collisions in football, the aggressive checking in hockey, or even the hard fouls in basketball, collisions at the plate are nothing. In terms of contact, baseball is already the softest professional sport out there; and if baseball does change the rules against collisions at the plate, they might as well go ahead and change the uniforms so players look like this.

Frightening I know

There is a great deal of controversy that surrounds the daily grind of the sports world. And most of it stems from the vine of all evil: sour grapes.