Archive for the ‘ Sports ’ Category

March Madness

Every year just before Easter comes a time where anything and everything can happen, it’s called March Madness. We have seen a healthy serving of buzzer beaters, including a “hail mary” pass from Grant Hill to Christian Laettner, to huge mental mistakes (Chris Webber’s timeout with no timeouts remaining). Nonetheless, during this time everyone becomes a college basketball fan and fills out a bracket, hoping to be the person who picks the major upset that wins them their local office pool. The reality is no matter how much we analyze these games the outcome is very unpredictable. That is why the local office pool is usually won by some lady that chooses her team based on the names of mascots or team colors.

With that said, I will give some things to watch for in each bracket:

West

Potential Cinderella: Long Beach State University. This may be somewhat of a “homer” pick but I have watched this team all season and have played tough teams on the road and have been in every ball game. They have a lot of good 3-point shooters and are very active on defense.  Their Achilles heal is their lack of a defensive post presence. However, the x-factor in all of this is Casper Ware, the Big West Conference player of the year is very streaky and has the ability to take over a game offensively as long as he is wise in his shot selection.

Best First Round Matchup:  Long Beach State vs New Mexico. These may be the two hottest teams coming in to the tournament both won their conference tournaments and are very good defensively. This game could come down to whoever blinks first. The winner of this game is pretty much a lock to head to  the sweet 16.

Potential Final Four Candidate: Missouri or Marquette. I haven’t really picked one team as a lock in this bracket because I think it is very wide open. I think there are 3 teams at the bottom of the bracket that have the most potential Missouri, Marquette and Murray State (pending if they’re record isn’t just inflated by the opponents they play)

South

Potential Cinderella:  UNLV. I know youre thinking a 6-seed is not really a Cinderella, but if you look at how far this team has potential to go. Theyre looking at a possible sweet-16 appearance against Duke which let’s be honest Duke usually does really well in the tournament or loses a game everyone thinks that they can win. For UNLV, which beat North Carolina earlier this season a win against Duke is very possible.

Best First Round Matchup: VCU vs Wichita St. Last year’s Cinderella team is back  with a whole new cast, mostly underclassmen to take on a strong mid-major in Wichita St.  The Shockers have won big games this season including conference rival Creighton and UNLV.  At the same time the Rams of VCU don’t have any big wins against the RPI top-50, but after seeing what coach Shaka Smart did last year it is very possible for the Rams to pull the upset.

Potential Final Four Candidate: Kentucky. This is Kentucky’s region to lose. They have lost two games all season, one was a last second shot on the road in Indiana, the second was the final of the SEC tournament which didn’t really have meaning for Kentucky because they were a lock for the tournament and basically reached the final to secure a #1 seed in the big tournament. Freshman phenom Anthony Davis is a walking double-double and blocks almost five shots a game. Plus the Wildcats have four players who average over 10 points per game. Coach Calipari will have his guys ready and usually performs very well in the tourney especially since coming to Kentucky.

East

Potential Cinderella: Vanderbilt. Like UNLV they have potential to go to the elite eight because of who is on their side of the bracket especially with Fab Melo out for Syracuse. Since Syracuse has lost a big inside presence offensively and defensively they’re definitely the most vulnerable one –seed in the tournament. Plus coming off a big win against Kentucky to win the SEC tournament, Vandy is playing at a high-level and with a lot of confidence. Don’t be surprised for this team to reach the elite eight.

Best First Round Matchup: None that I think have amazing written all over it

Potential Final Four Candidate: Florida St. This one is very simple. Great defensive team that is strong inside. Plus, they beat Duke twice and North Carolina three times, including both on back to back days in the ACC tournament. A feat that major hasn’t happened since Chris Jericho beat The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin on the same night to become the first ever “undisputed champion”.

Mid-West

Potential Cinderella: North Carolina St. This team had an impressive showing at the ACC tournament and was one bad coaching decision away from beating North Carolina in the ACC semi-final. They have a favorable bracket with two winnable games, San Diego St. and Georgetown. The question is which North Carolina St. team is going to show up the one that took UNC to the wire or the team that UNC blew out in January. Nonetheless, a spot in the sweet-16 is possible.

Best First Round Matchup: Creighton vs. Alabama. Two evenly matched teams which is a classic 8-9 matchup. X-factor is sophomore Wooden Award candidate Doug McDermott and his 23.2ppg. McDermott can score from anywhere on the floor and is more than capable of throwing his team on his back. This is a very winnable game for Creighton, the bad news is the next round is almost guaranteed to be North Carolina.

Potential Final Four Candidate: North Carolina. Best team in this bracket by far and it is very hard to see anyone upsetting the Heels especially if John Henson comes back healthy to solidify the third scoring option in the lineup.

2012
03/15
CATEGORY
NCAA Basketball
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Struggling Lakers

Two seasons ago the Los Angeles Lakers were celebrating their second championship in as many years. However, everything since then has pretty much gone downhill from there. The Lakers were swept out of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks in a fashion that was disgraceful to such a proud organization.  Phil Jackson retired from coaching, not celebrating a 4th back-to back- to back, but on the losing end of a 36-point blowout. Then Mike Brown was hired after many Laker players and fans wanted Brian Shaw to finally get the nod as head coach. Then came the failed Chris Paul trade followed by the exit of Lamar Odom. Lastly, the signings of Josh McRoberts, Jason Kapono and Troy Murphy, three players that Laker fans were not expecting.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers drafted Blake Griffin, signed Caron Butler, traded for Chris Paul and claimed Chauncey Billiups off waivers. Laker fans can’t seem to comprehend how this all happened, how they went from championship contenders to mediocre playoff team. Despite having one of the best 3-player tandems in the NBA, the Lakers don’t have much else.  They have no 3-point shooting (Last in the NBA), no depth on the bench and father time seems to be catching up with most of the team. The offense is atrocious averaging 92 points a game and is based on how many points Kobe Bryant scores each given night. Not to mention, no cap space to make any signings to really improve the team.

The Lakers don’t really have any valuable trade assets, Andrew Bynum is by far the most valuable and Pau Gasol has some value but is decreasing by the season. However, teams are not calling the Lakers for aging players like Derek Fisher, Metta World Peace, and Luke Walton or unproven players like Devin Ebanks. Kobe Bryant’s $30million-per-year contract doesn’t help the Laker’s cause. Bryant, who is a Laker legend isn’t a piece the Laker’s would like to get rid of, but it’s tough to watch him receive such a bad supporting cast because of such a big contract.

I don’t see the Lakers drastically improving this season unless they can somehow get Dwight Howard, a good young point guard and some 3-point shooting. The Lakers can’t rely on Kobe to score 40 points a night; he is in his mid 30’s and is constantly battling injuries. I think the only way Kobe would come off the court is if he were stretchered out. I like the old-school toughness Kobe has, but he needs help more than ever in this stage of his career. Especially if he wants to tie Michael Jordan with six championship rings.

2012
01/25
CATEGORY
NBA
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Rock City Prince

 

After months of speculation of where he would end up Prince Fielder has signed with the Detroit Tigers. With news of Victor Martinez tearing his ACL the Tigers were in need of replacement and instead of finding a replacement for the season they went out and got a 9 year, $214-million one. Fielder announced before the end of the season he was not returning to the Milwaukee Brewers so the move was inevitable, the destination is a surprise.

Fielder was originally speculated to go the Anaheim Angels but when the Angels reeled in Albert Pujols, Fielder was then speculated to go to the Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals or Seattle Mariners. The Rangers would have made the most sense for Fielder considering he would have great protection in the lineup (any combination of Hamilton, Beltre or Cruz) and the baseball just flies out of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Although Prince is a great hitter and joining Miguel Cabrera is a great 3-4 combo, I don’t think there are enough weapons surrounding the other parts of the lineup. Even when Martinez comes back it is a great 3-4-5 combo, but the two guys at the top of the lineup are lack luster at best. Austin Jackson is an offensive underachiever, .249 avg. 331 obp. 181K’s and 22 SB. Defensively Jackson is one of the league’s best center fielders, but the Tigers need some more production from the top of the lineup to maximize the production of a guy like Fielder.

An interesting fact is Fielder is going back to where his dad, Cecil, played for six seasons. Both men no longer speak to each other as Cecil wanted a portion of Prince’s first contract for assisting in negotiations. Personally, I feel that not only the money was enough for Prince, but the allure of being better than his dad in the same city was something Prince did not want to pass up. Only time will tell how well Prince will perform and if an average salary of $23-million for a player who can be a defensive liability was way too much to pay.

2012
01/25
CATEGORY
MLB
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Lamar Odom: Return of a Hero or Crybaby?

Last night Lamar Odom made his return to Los Angeles. Nothing seemed out of place as number 7 checked in off the bench and the reigning 6th man of the year walked on to the court to his usual applause. Except this time he received a standing ovation and was wearing the away blue of the Dallas Mavericks. Jack Nicholson even was standing as Odom took the court only to be embraced by former teammate Derek Fisher.  He even hit a spot up three-pointer in front of the Los Angeles Laker bench while LL Cool J’s view was being obstructed by Laker coach Mike Brown. Yes, LL and myself were tweeting about that situation which is a different story altogether.

Odom was traded to the Mavericks before the beginning of the season after the original three-team trade with the New Orleans Hornets and Houston Rockets, which would have made Chris Paul a Laker, was vetoed by David Stern. Odom said his feelings were hurt because the Lakers had agreed to trade him. However, this wasn’t the first time Odom was subject to being part of a trade or trade rumors. In fact, every season Odom had been a member of the Lakers he was always involved in potential trades. So what brought about these hurt feelings? Was the possibility too real? Was it because he won a championship with the Lakers? Or is it because Lamar Odom had become Lamar Kardashian.

Odom is one of the most gifted players in the NBA; He is point guard in a center’s body. He can rebound, pass, score off the dribble or down in the block, and he can guard any position on the court. So why isn’t he considered one of the top 10 players in the NBA? Because he is full of potential but rarely plays up to it, he also sometimes takes plays off defensively. It also seems that since Lamar has become part of the Kardashian family he has lost his mental toughness and has become “Hollywood” so to speak. He used to leave Facebook posts and tweets about basketball and now the only updates that come from Odom are to catch episodes of “Khloe and Lamar”.

Personally I wouldn’t have cheered Odom; it was his choice to leave after the failed trade. Getting traded is part of the business and no one is above getting traded it could happen to anybody and the Lakers are known to make trades to get superstar caliber players in return.  If Odom was traded and it was beyond his control then he would deserve a standing ovation.  But why should a player who was asked to be traded receive a standing ovation? Especially, because the reason he asked for a trade is because his feelings were hurt. In the words of WWE Superstar Zack Ryder, “Are you serious bro?” Odom is 32-years-old and apparently hasn’t grown up if his feelings are hurt because of a trade.

2012
01/18
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NBA
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NFL Playoffs Preview and Prediction: Steelers vs Broncos

Steelers vs Broncos

How the Steelers win: Put eight in the box and play the run, the Broncos bread and butter is the run game and the NFL has caught on, hence the Bronco losing three in a row. The Steelers secondary is really banged up but it shouldn’t be too much of a factor against a team that usually throws the ball 15-20 times a game. Ben Roethlisberger should play despite a bad ankle and has made courageous performances before, plus he has won two Super Bowls so it is very hard to bet against him. Rashard Mendenhall will be out this game which means Isaac Redman will get the bulk of the carries. If Roethlisberger is healthy enough to step in to his throws the deep threats Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace will have a field day against the Broncos secondary.

How the Broncos win: Tebowing! But seriously if the Broncos can put the last 3 games behind them they have a serious chance of winning this game. Defensively they have to get pressure on Roethlisberger if he plays, if not than you make Charlie Batch beat you because he is no Roethlisberger. The Broncos run defense is very good so they shouldn’t have a problem containing Redman. Offensively they need to pound the football but make a few more short passes to open up some running lanes and keep the Steelers defense honest.

Who Wins: TBD. If Roethlisberger plays the Steelers should have enough fire power and defense to win this game. If he doesn’t they should be Tebowing all weekend in Denver.

2012
01/06
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NFL
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NFL Playoff Preview and Prediction: Bengals vs Texans

Bengals vs Texans

How the Bengals win: They are going to have to win this in typical AFC North fashion, defense. They will have to put an eight man front to stop Arian Foster and make T.J. Yates beat you. The Texans will not have Andre Johnson at 100 percent plus he hasn’t really played the last three months. Offensively the Bengals have to get production from their run game to open up opportunities for Andy Dalton to get the ball downfield to A.J. Green and Jerome Simpson.

How the Texans win: On offense just run the ball with Foster and occasionally Ben Tate. Yates doesn’t need to do anything special just have him manage the game and let the running backs handle the rest. On defense they just need to get a lot of pressure on an inexperienced. The Bengals offense shows signs of potential but hasn’t performed well against the NFL’s top defenses.

Who Wins: Bengals. Both have great defenses and even though the Texans have the outstanding Foster, I don’t trust Yates to win a franchise’s first playoff game. Although Dalton is a rookie, he has played some big games in college, which Yates has not. If they can contain Foster and put the pressure on Yates I think that the Bengals will be victorious.

2012
01/06
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NFL
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NFL Playoff Preview and Prediction: Lions vs Saints

Lions vs Saints

How the Lions win: This is going to be a very difficult task for any team but as they say on “any given Sunday anything can happen”.  For the Lions to win they will have to get a lot of pressure on Drew Brees not only to get sack but to force some bad throws for interceptions or to just throw it away. The Lions are +3 in takeaways this season compared to the Saints -3. Offensively they have to have long clock draining drives to keep the Saints offense off the field.

How the Saints win: The Saints are one of the top offenses in the game they can score early and often.  The Saints have every facet of their offense covered even a running game that ranked 6th in the NFL, which was once considered their Achilles’ heel. Getting into a shootout is more than enough to win the game but getting a little help from a defense that have held their last five opponents, including the Lions, under 20 points.

Who Wins: Saints. Too many offensive weapons and it‘s in New Orleans, which is a very difficult place to play. Plus, the Saints have a lot to prove after last season’s upset loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

2012
01/06
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NFL
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Brock Doesn’t Need to Answer to Anyone

Last Friday we saw the final fight of a great mixed martial artist, the one and only Brock Lesnar. Some would say that Lesnar is just another guy that got knocked out in the first round his last two fights and just wanted to save face as a decent fighter. However, what people need to realize is that fought his last two fights with diverticulitis, which is a disease in the large intestine that can become fatal if not treated properly. This also took away from Lesnar’s ability to properly train and prepare his body to perform at full capacity.

Lesnar’s career started in what most people had thought to be a publicity stunt because he had left the WWE and had a failed attempt at the NFL. MMA extremists were saying that this guy is a joke he will never become a real mma fighter and would get owned by any real competition. What they failed to realize is that Lesnar was a former NCAA division 1 wrestling champion and wrestling can be a huge factor in mma because if you can control position you can dominate a fight.  Wrestling skills along with a massive frame and excellent speed made Lesnar a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division.

In his first fight he took down former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir, who in his own right is a very large man and maybe the best heavyweight jiu-jitsu artist, like a rag doll. Even though Lesnar got caught with a heel- hook that he should have seen coming, the UFC heavyweight division was still put on notice. Lesnar then cruised to four straight victories including beating mma legend Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight championship. Lesnar then took a year off due to diverticulitis and fought at less than 100 percent rather than relinquish the title changed him from WWE superstar to UFC badass.  Lesnar lost his next two fights and called it a career.

A lot of people have called out Lesnar about not being well-rounded mixed martial artist, but how many fighters really are Matt Hughes and couture are in the UFC Hall of Fame and they mostly just wrestled, Chuck Liddell also in the hall of fame was basically just a striker. The point is that Lesnar doesn’t have to prove anything else to anyone. He came in and he put his money where his mouth was, he wasn’t afraid of anyone and never made any excuses, he just got in the cage and went to work. Most men would have called it a career after being diagnosed with Diverticulitis but to come out and compete after something like that is amazing. Hats off to you Brock Lesnar although you didn’t go out on top, you silenced the critics and put the mma world on notice.

2012
01/06
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MMA
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