I’ll be completely honest. My build up and preparation to this College Basketball season has been far less than it usually is. That isn’t a good sign when I’m getting ready to write a college basketball preview. I realized that my knowledge level was significantly lower than usual when I started writing a preview, and how no idea what to write. Don’t get me wrong, I am more than excited for College Basketball this year. However, I just hadn’t put myself in a mental state where I was fully ready for a College Basketball preview. I blame my lack knowledge on three things. First, I was totally stoked for the start of NFL and College Football, and neither have disappointed. In fact, I’ll go as far as saying I’m in love with these football seasons. Second, the fact that I have been preparing for this NBA season since LeBron decided to take his talents to South Beach might have something to do with my lack of preparation of College Basketball this year. Third, and most importantly, I have no favorite team in College Basketball. This really isn’t a huge issue. I have never had a consistent favorite team in College Basketball, and it hasn’t hindered my interest yet. I think it’s time for a change though. Instead of having one or two year affairs with a team, it’s time for me to settle down with a school.
This decision isn’t as simple as me just choosing a team. Actually, I have no decision to make. Instead, I’m leaving it to fate. Let me backtrack. Prior to last year’s tournament, I had the same feelings as I do now. I need a favorite team in College Basketball. Shouldn’t someone who is as big of a fan as me have a favorite team? So I left it to fate. Whichever team won the 65 team tournament would be my new team. Well, a monkey wrench was thrown into my plan. Duke won the tournament, and I refused to call Duke my favorite team. That wasn’t going to happen.
Well, I’m back at it again this year. However, reluctantly Duke isn’t going to be excluded. If Duke wins the 2011 tournament (gulp) they will be my favorite team. Sure, that sounds really similar to a guy getting trapped with a girl because she gets knocked up, but in reality, it happens. I’m not an exception. If Kentucky wins the tournament, they will be my favorite team. In translation, that’s like marrying the really hot girl. The hot girl who might cheat on you though. If Austin Peay wins the tournament, they will be my favorite team. That’s finding the inner beauty in a not so pretty girl and marrying her. It doesn’t matter who it is. Whoever wins the tournament, I’m marrying.
Of course there are some stipulations. I can’t possibly be locked into a relationship forever. I need a way out. So after three years, I can get a divorce. If things are going south or if there is another team that has stolen my heart, I need to be able to get out of the situation. If I’m enjoying my time with my team, I can sign on for another three years. Also, at any point I can opt of my team if:
A. The team is a part of a major academic or legal scandal which disallows them from being in the NCAA Tournament or dismembers their team (fingers crossed Kentucky doesn’t win the title this year!)
B. Florida Gulf Coast University turns into a perennial Cinderella Team. Hey, they can’t get into the tournament this year, but when they are eligible watch out for my FGCU Eagles to become the next George Mason.
C. My team perishes in a plane crash. I don’t wish that scenario on any team, even Duke.
Before I realize where I want to be, I need to look at my past relationships.
North Carolina Tar Heels (2004-2005)- I guess you could say it was a little bit of a bandwagon pick. They had a lot of good players and I jumped on just in time for a title run. I was excited about it. It was my first title since the Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls days. Yeah, the Tar Heels and I had a good year.
Gonzaga Bulldogs (2005-2006)- My affair with the Gonzaga Bulldogs was due to one player: Adam Morrison. I quickly fell in love with Morrison. White boy with serious game (Gus Johnson thought he was perhaps the next Larry Bird), scoring machine, diabetes, slamming the basketball against his head… what isn’t to love? Unfortunately, the Bulldogs got knocked out in the Sweet 16. Although I was saddened, the closing moments of Gonzaga’s loss to UCLA remains Gus Johnson’s most legendary play call.
Florida Gators (2005-2007)- After I broke up with Gonzaga, it was time for a new team. I took the team of my brother Paul Clark, and made them my new team. Florida was my most successful relationship. In my two seasons with the Gators, I got two championships, Joakim Noah dancing crazily after winning the SEC Championship (check it out on You Tube) and the emergence of a phrase, rather a word, that I cannot say in this blog. I’ll just say this, if you were describing Lee Humphrey (who ironically enough Pauley was complimenting) you would not use this word.
Texas Longhorns (2006-2007)- While I was with the Gators, I had a relationship on the side with Texas. We never met, just texted. Think of it like a Brett Favre/Jenn Sterger relationship. I was big on Kevin Durant, and even went as far as picking Texas to reach the National Championship and lose to the Gators. That didn’t really work out. Durant was awesome, but the team underachieved. Little did I know, there was a third team in this tournament that would soon steal my heart.
Davidson Wildcats (2007-2009)- When I walked into HSBC Arena for the first round matchup of Davidson vs. Maryland, I had no idea that Stephen Curry would soon hold the key to my heart. Curry scored 30 points, and I was on board. Fast forward to the 2008 Tournament. I hadn’t yet fallen for Davidson, rather it was just like a girl you text occasionally. See how their doing, what’s going on but that’s it. I had faith in Stephen Curry, and picked Davidson to make a run to the Sweet 16. 40 points versus Gonzaga later, I was in love. Davidson was my team, for the rest of the tournament, and I was devastated when the Cinderella run ended in the Elite Eight versus Kansas. I stayed with Curry and Davidson for the 2008-2009 season, despite a significantly worse team. They failed to make the tournament, and for the first time, I was without a team in the NCAA Tournament.
Ohio State Buckeyes (2009-2010)- Looking back, I have no idea what this was about. I liked the way Evan Turner played, even though I didn’t really like him personally. I guess this is equivalent to getting a girl who you just had stuff in common with, despite no physical attraction. I liked that Turner was a triple double threat. I didn’t like him though. The Buckeyes lost in the Sweet 16 and I wasn’t too upset.
Obviously I have some preferences of teams I would like to see win this year’s tournament. I broke them up into four categories.
Cinderella Teams
Xavier- The Gonzaga of the East. Every season they seem to make a decent tournament run. I like that out of a team.
Gonzaga- The Xavier of the West. The original Cinderella team is a good choice to be a fan of. Plus, I have a year under my belt as a Gonzaga fan and a Gonzaga T shirt that might fit if I lost 15 lbs. Let the workouts begin!
Butler- The ultimate Cinderella. If Gordon Hayward’s half-court shot went in last year, I’m not even writing about needing a favorite team.
Power Houses
Michigan State- I wouldn’t be complaining about liking the team that seemingly makes the final four every year. Tom Izzo consistently assembles a good team.
Syracuse- Although I strongly despise “The Bandwagon” (if you don’t know what “the bandwagon” check out my Running Diary of the NCAA Tournament) Syracuse would be an enjoyable team to call my own.
Friend’s Favorites
Villanova- The Wildcats are the team of good friend Collin Stucko. One thing I’ve learned about Collin over the last ten years: He’s passionate about his teams and it’s a lot more fun to be rooting for the same team as he is than rooting for an opposing team. He can get mean and ignorant when his team is successful. Something I would love to join in on.
Florida- I had my two year run when they won back to back championships, mainly because of Paul Clark. Even the last few years I consistently root for Florida to do well. I have plenty of Gators gear. Florida is a near perfect match.
Emerging Contenders
Kansas State- I have to say I love Frank Martin almost as much as I love Jacob Pullen’s beard. Pullen won’t be in Manhattan forever, but winning a Title would be a nice start for mine and K State’s relationship.
Baylor- I’m not quite sure what I like about this team, but for some reason I already like them. Maybe it’s because they turned into a contender overnight. Maybe it is because they nearly eliminated Duke last year. Or maybe it’s because they recruit guys with names like Tweety Carter, Quincy Acy and LaceDarius Dunn.
Oregon- The Ducks are in no way an emerging contender. The fact is they have the coolest court in the NCAA. You can find it on the internet. Trust me, it’s a revelation. It is a challenger to Boise State for best home court/field.
The Picks
Sweet 16- Baylor, BYU, Duke, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Missouri, Murray State, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, San Diego State, Syracuse, Villanova
Elite Eight- Duke, Florida, Kansas State, Michigan State, Ohio State, San Diego State, Syracuse, Villanova
Final Four- Duke, Kansas State, Michigan State, Syracuse
National Championship- Michigan State over Duke
I need to be optimistic that things aren’t going to be terrible for the next three years. Michigan State over Duke in the championship. Fingers Crossed!
College Football
Wisconsin over Michigan
NC State over North Carolina
South Florida over Pittsburgh
Stanford over California
Ohio State over Iowa
Virginia Tech over Miami FL
Arkansas over Mississippi State
Nebraska over Texas A&M
Baylor over Oklahoma
San Diego State over Utah
NFL
Miami over Chicago
Cleveland over Jacksonville
Pittsburgh over Oakland
Tennessee over Washington
New York Jets over Houston
Baltimore over Carolina
Green Bay over Minnesota
Kansas City over Arizona
Dallas over Detroit
Buffalo over Cincinnati
New Orleans over Seattle
Atlanta over St. Louis
New England over Indianapolis
Philadelphia over New York Giants
San Diego over Denver
Current Records
College Football- 49-31 (5-5 last week)
NFL- 69-47 (6-8 last week)
Yahoo! College Football Picks- 112-100 (7-12 last week, 3,290th in the country)
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
LeBron and Week 10 Picks
I’m going to come right out and say it. Hell, I did on Thursday night when Miami was getting out played by Boston. Not just out played. But out smarted, out toughed and out hustled too. I’m sick of this Miami experiment. 9 games in, and I’m really pissed off at this whole situation. I wish LeBron stayed in Cleveland. For those of you who know me, you know that saying that is a really tough pill for me to swallow. If you go back to July 8th, I couldn’t have been more excited that LeBron left Lake Erie and took his talents to South Beach. July 9th when Miami introduces the new Big Three to the home crowd, I was thinking about how fun it would be to get to go the victory parade every year after they won the championship. Now we come back to the present, November 11th, and I’m wishing I could have been there when LeBron asked, “What should I do?” Knowing what I know now, this is what I would have told him.
LeBron: What should I do?
Me: Well, if you are looking to make a big mistake, then Miami is your premier choice. Go for it Bron! You want no championships, take your talents to South Beach. You want people to hate you, then Welcome to Miami! I know Miami sounds great. You, D Wade, and Bosh. That’s 3 of the top 15 players. So you think… It turns out Chris Bosh is going to be less effective than Udonis Haslem. Trust me, Bosh is soft, and he WILL disappear in big games. Playing with D Wade could be fun. You guys will have some awesome fast breaks against crappy teams and make a few Sport Center Top 10’s. That isn’t what it is going to be like though. How do you feel about standing in the corner and watching Wade go to work? Sounds like a riot doesn’t it? And then get this, when you feel like taking a turn, he’ll stand in the corner for you. What a teammate! Speaking of teammates, you have Eddie House, Joel Anthony, Carlos Arroyo and James Jones logging big minutes for your squad. Think they would get any minutes for the Lakers, Celtics or Magic? Probably not. They might not get big minutes for the team you should be playing on… the Cleveland Cavaliers. Remember, the team you promised a championship to. And for the last three years when you didn’t bring them one, they still backed you up. They were the best home court advantage in the NBA in quite some time. One hundred times better than the Miami crowd will be. They absolutely loved you. When people called you Queen James, LeChoke and a quitter they still chanted MVP for you. They still rose to their feet and yelled every time you threw the powder into the air. The Cavaliers held Cleveland together. The Heat are a small part of Miami. LeBron, you meant everything to Cleveland. And whether you want to admit it or not, the Cavaliers are your best chance to win a title. The way you play together with those guys, the fun you have, and the way they look up to you. That all goes down the drain if you go to Miami. What I liked the most about the way you played was how much fun you had. All of that fun will disappear. You are going to be an angry and hurt man. Right now you are asking, “What should I do?” If you go to Miami, you will be soon asking yourself “What did I do?” Stay in Cleveland LeBron. Win a title there, and write your name in history as the best ever.
It’s that simple.
Now that I got the angry stuff out of the way, I want to touch on what has transpired in the NFL in the last two weeks. Two weeks ago I did my first NFL power rankings. Well, keeping with the theme of unpredictability, a lot has changed since then. Pittsburgh was number one back then, and that weekend they got beat by New Orleans. The Jets were two, and they lost to the Packers. New England was three, and they got beat by Cleveland (Hey, smile Cleveland!) The moral of the story is that whatever you expect is going to happen, probably isn’t going to happen. Whatever you think is real, isn’t real. In a way, I’m not too upset with my last power rankings though. I don’t have a good track record picking NFL. I was hoping not to bring this up, but I unfortunately picked the Cowboys to go to the Super Bowl this year (gulp). But I’m asking for a redo. Well, really I’m just giving myself a redo. No one can tell me I can’t, considering this is my column on my blog. Here are my new and hopefully improved NFL playoff picks.
Wildcard Round
3. Indianapolis Colts over 6. Tennessee Titans
5. New England Patriots over 4. Kansas City Chiefs
3. Green Bay Packers over 6. New Orleans Saints
5. Philadelphia Eagles over 4. Crappy NFC West Team with an 8-8 record (Arizona for arguments sake)
Divisional Round
1. Pittsburgh Steelers over 5. New England Patriots
2. New York Jets over 3. Indianapolis Colts
1. Atlanta Falcons over 5. Philadelphia Eagles
2. New York Giants over 3. Green Bay Packers
Conference Championship
1. Pittsburgh Steelers over 2. New York Jets
1. Atlanta Falcons over 2. New York Giants
Super Bowl
Pittsburgh Steelers over Atlanta Falcons
It was my Super Bowl matchup last year. What I forgot to mention last year was I was picking for this year. My bad to everyone I told this to, but didn’t elaborate.
Before I get to my picks, I want to let everyone know what my next week’s topic will be about. Last year before the NCAA tournament, I told quite a few people that whoever won the tournament would be my official favorite college basketball team. Well Duke won, and I rescinded my statement. The same stakes are alive this year. Next week I’m going to cover my Elite Eight choices of teams I would love to be a fan of. Plus I will be making my official NCAA Basketball picks. Until next week, here are my football picks.
College Football
Ole Miss over Tennessee
Kansas State over Missouri
Oklahoma over Texas Tech
Virginia Tech over North Carolina
Baylor over Texas A&M
Alabama over Mississippi State
Florida over South Carolina
Oregon over California
Arizona over USC
Florida State over Clemson
NFL
Atlanta over Baltimore (Yeah that’s right, I picked Atlanta)
Detroit over Buffalo
Minnesota over Chicago
New York Jets over Cleveland
Tampa Bay over Carolina
Houston over Jacksonville
Indianapolis over Cincinnati
Tennessee over Miami
Kansas City over Denver
New York Giants over Dallas
Arizona over Seattle
San Francisco over St. Louis
Pittsburgh over New England
Philadelphia over Washington
Current Records
College Football- 44-26 (5-5 last week)
NFL- 63-39 (10-3 last week)
Yahoo! College Football Picks- 105-88 (10-10 last week, 1,614 in the country)
LeBron: What should I do?
Me: Well, if you are looking to make a big mistake, then Miami is your premier choice. Go for it Bron! You want no championships, take your talents to South Beach. You want people to hate you, then Welcome to Miami! I know Miami sounds great. You, D Wade, and Bosh. That’s 3 of the top 15 players. So you think… It turns out Chris Bosh is going to be less effective than Udonis Haslem. Trust me, Bosh is soft, and he WILL disappear in big games. Playing with D Wade could be fun. You guys will have some awesome fast breaks against crappy teams and make a few Sport Center Top 10’s. That isn’t what it is going to be like though. How do you feel about standing in the corner and watching Wade go to work? Sounds like a riot doesn’t it? And then get this, when you feel like taking a turn, he’ll stand in the corner for you. What a teammate! Speaking of teammates, you have Eddie House, Joel Anthony, Carlos Arroyo and James Jones logging big minutes for your squad. Think they would get any minutes for the Lakers, Celtics or Magic? Probably not. They might not get big minutes for the team you should be playing on… the Cleveland Cavaliers. Remember, the team you promised a championship to. And for the last three years when you didn’t bring them one, they still backed you up. They were the best home court advantage in the NBA in quite some time. One hundred times better than the Miami crowd will be. They absolutely loved you. When people called you Queen James, LeChoke and a quitter they still chanted MVP for you. They still rose to their feet and yelled every time you threw the powder into the air. The Cavaliers held Cleveland together. The Heat are a small part of Miami. LeBron, you meant everything to Cleveland. And whether you want to admit it or not, the Cavaliers are your best chance to win a title. The way you play together with those guys, the fun you have, and the way they look up to you. That all goes down the drain if you go to Miami. What I liked the most about the way you played was how much fun you had. All of that fun will disappear. You are going to be an angry and hurt man. Right now you are asking, “What should I do?” If you go to Miami, you will be soon asking yourself “What did I do?” Stay in Cleveland LeBron. Win a title there, and write your name in history as the best ever.
It’s that simple.
Now that I got the angry stuff out of the way, I want to touch on what has transpired in the NFL in the last two weeks. Two weeks ago I did my first NFL power rankings. Well, keeping with the theme of unpredictability, a lot has changed since then. Pittsburgh was number one back then, and that weekend they got beat by New Orleans. The Jets were two, and they lost to the Packers. New England was three, and they got beat by Cleveland (Hey, smile Cleveland!) The moral of the story is that whatever you expect is going to happen, probably isn’t going to happen. Whatever you think is real, isn’t real. In a way, I’m not too upset with my last power rankings though. I don’t have a good track record picking NFL. I was hoping not to bring this up, but I unfortunately picked the Cowboys to go to the Super Bowl this year (gulp). But I’m asking for a redo. Well, really I’m just giving myself a redo. No one can tell me I can’t, considering this is my column on my blog. Here are my new and hopefully improved NFL playoff picks.
Wildcard Round
3. Indianapolis Colts over 6. Tennessee Titans
5. New England Patriots over 4. Kansas City Chiefs
3. Green Bay Packers over 6. New Orleans Saints
5. Philadelphia Eagles over 4. Crappy NFC West Team with an 8-8 record (Arizona for arguments sake)
Divisional Round
1. Pittsburgh Steelers over 5. New England Patriots
2. New York Jets over 3. Indianapolis Colts
1. Atlanta Falcons over 5. Philadelphia Eagles
2. New York Giants over 3. Green Bay Packers
Conference Championship
1. Pittsburgh Steelers over 2. New York Jets
1. Atlanta Falcons over 2. New York Giants
Super Bowl
Pittsburgh Steelers over Atlanta Falcons
It was my Super Bowl matchup last year. What I forgot to mention last year was I was picking for this year. My bad to everyone I told this to, but didn’t elaborate.
Before I get to my picks, I want to let everyone know what my next week’s topic will be about. Last year before the NCAA tournament, I told quite a few people that whoever won the tournament would be my official favorite college basketball team. Well Duke won, and I rescinded my statement. The same stakes are alive this year. Next week I’m going to cover my Elite Eight choices of teams I would love to be a fan of. Plus I will be making my official NCAA Basketball picks. Until next week, here are my football picks.
College Football
Ole Miss over Tennessee
Kansas State over Missouri
Oklahoma over Texas Tech
Virginia Tech over North Carolina
Baylor over Texas A&M
Alabama over Mississippi State
Florida over South Carolina
Oregon over California
Arizona over USC
Florida State over Clemson
NFL
Atlanta over Baltimore (Yeah that’s right, I picked Atlanta)
Detroit over Buffalo
Minnesota over Chicago
New York Jets over Cleveland
Tampa Bay over Carolina
Houston over Jacksonville
Indianapolis over Cincinnati
Tennessee over Miami
Kansas City over Denver
New York Giants over Dallas
Arizona over Seattle
San Francisco over St. Louis
Pittsburgh over New England
Philadelphia over Washington
Current Records
College Football- 44-26 (5-5 last week)
NFL- 63-39 (10-3 last week)
Yahoo! College Football Picks- 105-88 (10-10 last week, 1,614 in the country)
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Week 9 Football Picks
Don’t you just love those Political ads that are on television all of the time, for about two months straight? They are so much fun. All it boils down to is one candidate scum-bagging another candidate just to get ahead, when the reality is, they are all extremely shady. I’ve been gathering some info about the Florida Governor Race, and I came up with this: Alex Sink, Charlie Crist and Rick Scott are all crooks. They are all slimy. They belong in the Political Creep category, just as John Calipari, Billy Gillespie, Jim Zorn and Mike D’Antoni are in the Coaching Creep category. This led to me thinking about what it would be like if every MVP race was debated and settled with such dirty tactics as political races are? That would be so awesome, and so image-mangling at the same time. Just try to imagine this:
Ben Roethlisberger. Not once, but twice has he been accused of sexual assault. If that isn’t bad enough, the girls were only 19 years old. Michael Vick. Does a man who runs a dog fighting ring deserve to win an award that carries so much honor? Probably Not. Peyton Manning is a proven winner. He is a leader and a valuable teammate.
I’m Peyton Manning, and I approve this message.
Or how about this one?
Loyalty. A word that isn’t in the vocabulary of LeBron James. He abandoned his home town, and left them without an NBA title, despite promising year after year it would come. Los Angeles has five titles because of Kobe Bryant. He kept his promise to Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant keeps his promises and wins titles. This message has been paid for by the supporters of Kobe Bryant.
And that would be followed up with this:
Eagle, Colorado. This message has been paid for by Leon Rose, Maverick Carter and William Wesley.
Can you imagine the rivalries that would result because of this? My god it would be amazing. These players would be competing like never before. We also might see a rise in athlete fatalities. I’m not going to take the low road and be a shady like every politician and most high profile coaches are. I’m going to present to you the top three MVP and top three Heisman candidates as of right now. You’re only going to hear the good stuff from the captain.
MVP Award
Peyton Manning- Could we start anywhere else? The Colts offense is like clockwork as long as Peyton Manning is taking the snaps. He makes mediocre receivers into superstars, and has carried the Colts to the playoffs year after year despite not always having a defense or a running game. Anyone who questions that he is the best in the game is crazy.
Stats: 2,184 yards (4th), 15 tds (2nd), 101.4 QB Rating (2nd)
Phil Rivers- San Diego is just 3-5, but it was the same story two years ago when they came storming back to make the playoffs after starting 4-8. It’s not like the AFC West is great. There is a definite chance San Diego can still make the playoffs. If they do, and Rivers keeps up at the pace he is playing at now, he may deserve it. To put into perspective how good he has been, no other quarterback has passed for as many yards in the first eight games of any season as Rivers has this year.
Stats: 2,649 yards (1st), 15 tds (2nd), 98.9 QB Rating (3rd)
Tom Brady- I have to say, I like the Patriots a heck of a lot more without Randy Moss than with him. I think that they are better off going back to “spread the ball around” mode than “let’s throw it deep to Randy” mode. Hell, they won three super bowls without him, and won zero with him (as you can see I am omitting the fact that they went a destructive 16-0 in the regular season). Sure, Brady had his best statistical season ever in the first year of the Moss experiment, but you see how great he really is when he is making Danny Woodhead, Brandon Tate and Rob Gronkowski look like superstars.
Stats: 1,602 yards (15th), 12 tds (6th), 96.6 QB Rating (5th)
Heisman Trophy
Cameron Newton- As of right now, the overwhelming leading candidate. Dare I say, he has a little bit of a Vince Young-esque feel to him? You can never really count Auburn out of any game, even if they are trailing late, just because you feel like Newton isn’t going to lose. Newton has overtaken Denard Robinson as the top duel-threat quarterback in the country, and if Auburn can get past Alabama in Tuscaloosa, he’ll be playing for the title. Along with Newton’s stats, take a look at Vince Young’s stats from the 2005 season where Texas won the national championship. Remember, I was a huge Vince Young at Texas fan, and I still consider him my favorite football player. Young has the upper hand, but I’m just saying the Young/Newton comparison may be valid… if Auburn plays for the championship.
Stats: 1,573 passing yards, 1,122 rushing yards, 29 total touchdowns through 9 games.
Vince Young: 3,036 passing yards, 1,050 rushing yards, 38 total touchdowns.
LaMichael James- The most dynamic player on the most dynamic offense in the country. That counts for something. Oregon is very much the sexy team this year. Their offense is absolutely unstoppable, and that’s what people like. High scoring games, long plays and a different set of uniforms every game. Continuing with the 2005 analogy, LaMichael James would be the Reggie Bush to Cam Newton being Vince Young. Oh wait, Reggie Bush at USC never happened. My bad, I always forget that. Anyways, if Oregon runs the table and James’ productivity stays high, he’s a Heisman threat.
Stats: 1,210 rushing yards, 15 total touchdowns
Kellen Moore- By all means, Kellen Moore is having a great season. Again. His problem, much like his teams problem is he isn’t getting nearly enough credit. Moore has been outstandingly efficient and is once again leading his team to an undefeated regular season. However, his stats aren’t even close to being as good as they were in 2009. In 2009 he had a ridiculous 3,536 passing yards, 39 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. You take a look at his stats this year, and also look at the way Boise St. has played this year (not much more convincing than last year) and he, much like Boise St. gets lost in the shuffle. In reality, the award should’ve been Moore’s last year. He deserves recognition, but I hope he doesn’t win just because he was slighted last year.
Stats: 1865 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns, 2 interceptions.
College Football
Oklahoma St. over Baylor
Syracuse over Lousiville
Michigan over Illinois
TCU over Utah
Alabama over LSU
Florida St. over North Carolina
Oregon over Washington
South Carolina over Arkansas
Missouri over Texas Tech
Stanford over Arizona
NFL
Atlanta over Tampa Bay
Chicago over Buffalo
New England over Cleveland
New York Jets over Detroit
New Orleans over Carolina
Baltimore over Miami
Houston over San Diego
Minnesota over Arizona
New York Giants over Seattle
Indianapolis over Philadelphia
Oakland over Kansas City
Green Bay over Dallas
Pittsburgh over Cincinnati
Current Records:
College Football- 39-21 (6-4 last week)
NFL- 53-36 (8-5 last week)
Yahoo! College Football Picks- 95-78 (9-10 last week, 2,998th in the country)
Ben Roethlisberger. Not once, but twice has he been accused of sexual assault. If that isn’t bad enough, the girls were only 19 years old. Michael Vick. Does a man who runs a dog fighting ring deserve to win an award that carries so much honor? Probably Not. Peyton Manning is a proven winner. He is a leader and a valuable teammate.
I’m Peyton Manning, and I approve this message.
Or how about this one?
Loyalty. A word that isn’t in the vocabulary of LeBron James. He abandoned his home town, and left them without an NBA title, despite promising year after year it would come. Los Angeles has five titles because of Kobe Bryant. He kept his promise to Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant keeps his promises and wins titles. This message has been paid for by the supporters of Kobe Bryant.
And that would be followed up with this:
Eagle, Colorado. This message has been paid for by Leon Rose, Maverick Carter and William Wesley.
Can you imagine the rivalries that would result because of this? My god it would be amazing. These players would be competing like never before. We also might see a rise in athlete fatalities. I’m not going to take the low road and be a shady like every politician and most high profile coaches are. I’m going to present to you the top three MVP and top three Heisman candidates as of right now. You’re only going to hear the good stuff from the captain.
MVP Award
Peyton Manning- Could we start anywhere else? The Colts offense is like clockwork as long as Peyton Manning is taking the snaps. He makes mediocre receivers into superstars, and has carried the Colts to the playoffs year after year despite not always having a defense or a running game. Anyone who questions that he is the best in the game is crazy.
Stats: 2,184 yards (4th), 15 tds (2nd), 101.4 QB Rating (2nd)
Phil Rivers- San Diego is just 3-5, but it was the same story two years ago when they came storming back to make the playoffs after starting 4-8. It’s not like the AFC West is great. There is a definite chance San Diego can still make the playoffs. If they do, and Rivers keeps up at the pace he is playing at now, he may deserve it. To put into perspective how good he has been, no other quarterback has passed for as many yards in the first eight games of any season as Rivers has this year.
Stats: 2,649 yards (1st), 15 tds (2nd), 98.9 QB Rating (3rd)
Tom Brady- I have to say, I like the Patriots a heck of a lot more without Randy Moss than with him. I think that they are better off going back to “spread the ball around” mode than “let’s throw it deep to Randy” mode. Hell, they won three super bowls without him, and won zero with him (as you can see I am omitting the fact that they went a destructive 16-0 in the regular season). Sure, Brady had his best statistical season ever in the first year of the Moss experiment, but you see how great he really is when he is making Danny Woodhead, Brandon Tate and Rob Gronkowski look like superstars.
Stats: 1,602 yards (15th), 12 tds (6th), 96.6 QB Rating (5th)
Heisman Trophy
Cameron Newton- As of right now, the overwhelming leading candidate. Dare I say, he has a little bit of a Vince Young-esque feel to him? You can never really count Auburn out of any game, even if they are trailing late, just because you feel like Newton isn’t going to lose. Newton has overtaken Denard Robinson as the top duel-threat quarterback in the country, and if Auburn can get past Alabama in Tuscaloosa, he’ll be playing for the title. Along with Newton’s stats, take a look at Vince Young’s stats from the 2005 season where Texas won the national championship. Remember, I was a huge Vince Young at Texas fan, and I still consider him my favorite football player. Young has the upper hand, but I’m just saying the Young/Newton comparison may be valid… if Auburn plays for the championship.
Stats: 1,573 passing yards, 1,122 rushing yards, 29 total touchdowns through 9 games.
Vince Young: 3,036 passing yards, 1,050 rushing yards, 38 total touchdowns.
LaMichael James- The most dynamic player on the most dynamic offense in the country. That counts for something. Oregon is very much the sexy team this year. Their offense is absolutely unstoppable, and that’s what people like. High scoring games, long plays and a different set of uniforms every game. Continuing with the 2005 analogy, LaMichael James would be the Reggie Bush to Cam Newton being Vince Young. Oh wait, Reggie Bush at USC never happened. My bad, I always forget that. Anyways, if Oregon runs the table and James’ productivity stays high, he’s a Heisman threat.
Stats: 1,210 rushing yards, 15 total touchdowns
Kellen Moore- By all means, Kellen Moore is having a great season. Again. His problem, much like his teams problem is he isn’t getting nearly enough credit. Moore has been outstandingly efficient and is once again leading his team to an undefeated regular season. However, his stats aren’t even close to being as good as they were in 2009. In 2009 he had a ridiculous 3,536 passing yards, 39 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions. You take a look at his stats this year, and also look at the way Boise St. has played this year (not much more convincing than last year) and he, much like Boise St. gets lost in the shuffle. In reality, the award should’ve been Moore’s last year. He deserves recognition, but I hope he doesn’t win just because he was slighted last year.
Stats: 1865 passing yards, 18 passing touchdowns, 2 interceptions.
College Football
Oklahoma St. over Baylor
Syracuse over Lousiville
Michigan over Illinois
TCU over Utah
Alabama over LSU
Florida St. over North Carolina
Oregon over Washington
South Carolina over Arkansas
Missouri over Texas Tech
Stanford over Arizona
NFL
Atlanta over Tampa Bay
Chicago over Buffalo
New England over Cleveland
New York Jets over Detroit
New Orleans over Carolina
Baltimore over Miami
Houston over San Diego
Minnesota over Arizona
New York Giants over Seattle
Indianapolis over Philadelphia
Oakland over Kansas City
Green Bay over Dallas
Pittsburgh over Cincinnati
Current Records:
College Football- 39-21 (6-4 last week)
NFL- 53-36 (8-5 last week)
Yahoo! College Football Picks- 95-78 (9-10 last week, 2,998th in the country)
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Week 8 Football Picks and Power Rankings
And just like that, the Captain turned it around! A good week last week picking college football (8-2), NFL (9-5, not terrific, but I’ll deal with it), and Yahoo! Sports college football picking with the point spread (15-5) brings my record up to 33-17 picking college, 45-31 picking NFL and most impressively, I am currently 1,628th in the country picking college football on Yahoo! Sports. Dr. Lou’s visit is put on hold thank God. This week, I want to go a step further than just discussing every NFL matchup. Since it’s just about mid-season, it’s time for some NFL Power Rankings. And, we are going to dive back into “The Tournament Everybody Has Wanted For Years.”
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The NFL is exceedingly unpredictable this year. There is not one team that you could go into any week and say, “They are definitely going to win.” This being the case, properly ranking teams is that much harder. After careful evaluation, this is what I came up with. It will be fun to look at these rankings next week and have to completely change them (SARCASM).
Total Crap Teams
32. Buffalo Bills
31. San Francisco 49ers
30. Carolina Panthers
Should they really be here Teams
29. Detroit Lions
28. Cincinnati Bengals
27. Dallas Cowboys
The Not Good but Not Terrible Teams
26. Denver Broncos
25. Cleveland Browns
24. Arizona Cardinals
23. Jacksonville Jaguars
22. St. Louis Rams
21. San Diego Chargers
20. Oakland Raiders
NFC Mediocrity
19. Minnesota Vikings
18. Chicago Bears
17. New Orleans Saints
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
15. Washington Redskins
14. Philadelphia Eagles
13. Green Bay Packers
12. Seattle Seahawks
AFC Teams lost in the Shuffle
11. Miami Dolphins
10. Kansas City Chiefs
9. Houston Texans
The Contenders
8. Baltimore Ravens
7. New York Giants
6. Atlanta Falcons
5. Indianapolis Colts
4. Tennessee Titans
3. New England Patriots
2. New York Jets
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
Notice the contenders. Six of the top eight team are in the AFC. Nine of the top eleven are in the AFC. This is like the NBA Western Conference in the early to mid 2000’s when the Eastern Conference was terrible. Just think of it this way: There is the San Antonio Spurs who are a model of consistency in the west, and a pretty underrated dynasty (Steelers). The Los Angeles Lakers who won three titles early, but then got to the finals in 2004 only to be upset by the Pistons (Patriots). The Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves are the new teams on the block who might make a splash (Jets and Titans). And we have the Dallas Mavericks who put up amazing numbers, have a terrific star, and reached the finals only once despite getting so close so many times (Colts). Then in the Eastern Conference there are teams who for the most part didn’t stand a chance against the West. I give you, the 2010 NFL season.
Now, onto College Football which has somehow been crazier than NFL. Number one has gone down three straight weeks. There are a bunch of teams that have come out of nowhere that have emerged as contenders. Much like the NFL, it seems as if there is no team you could point to that you know is going to win every week. The only thing is, we have seen this story before. Let me take you back to the season where “The Tournament Everybody Has Wanted For Years” should have been born.
Some fun facts on the 2007-2008 Season- The season which saw three weeks where the #1 and #2 teams lost in the same weekend. No dominant teams. No undefeated teams. A two-loss BCS Champion. This was “The Year of the Upset.” 59 lower ranked teams defeated higher ranked teams. #2 Teams lost seven times throughout the season. Thirteen unranked teams defeated top 5 teams.
Here is the telling fact though: South Florida, Kentucky, Kansas, Missouri, Boston College, Oregon, Arizona St., Hawaii, South Carolina all began the season outside of the top 20. All of these teams were at one point were ranked in the top 10. All of these teams but Kentucky and South Carolina made their way into the top 5. So far this season, Arizona, Auburn, Missouri, Utah, South Carolina, Michigan St., Stanford, LSU have all climbed from outside of the top 20 into the top 10.
In a season with so much unpredictability, close games and upsets, the national championship in 2008 was a matchup of two loss LSU and one loss Ohio St. LSU won 38-24. Why was there not a tournament? Wouldn’t my tournament be a much more fitting end to a season where there clearly wasn’t a dominant team much better than this was? Why make this mistake again? I’ll admit, I think that Oregon and Auburn are the two best teams in the country. But three weeks ago, I would have told you Alabama and Boise St. were. In 2005 all year it was Texas and the imaginary USC Trojans that were the top 2 teams all year. But this year there is constant changing and shuffling in the top five. So take the top 16 at the end of the year and find out who is truly the best team. Do I have to keep repeating myself? Here is how it looks right now.
Holiday Bowl- 1. Oregon vs. 16. Arizona
Music City Bowl- 8. Utah vs. 9. Wisconsin
Alamo Bowl- 5. Michigan St. vs. 12. LSU
Outback Bowl- 4. TCU vs. 13. Nebraska
Insight Bowl- 6. Alabama vs. 11. Oklahoma
Independence Bowl- 3. Auburn vs. 14. Stanford
Chick-Fil-A Bowl- 7. Missouri vs. 10. Ohio St.
Liberty Bowl- 2. Boise St. vs. 15. Florida St.
We can only hope that someone important will read this, like it, and make it happen. We can only hope. Anyways, onto the picks
College Football
Kansas St. over Oklahoma St.
Michigan St. over Iowa
Nebraska over Missouri
Georgia over Florida
Auburn over Ole Miss (the streak of number one going down ends)
Stanford over Washington
Mississippi St. over Kentucky
Baylor over Texas
Oregon over USC
Michigan over Penn St.
NFL
Washington over Detroit
Jacksonville over Dallas
Miami over Cincinnati
Kansas City over Buffalo
St. Louis over Carolina
Denver over San Francisco
New York Jets over Green Bay
Tennessee over San Diego
Tampa Bay over Arizona
New England over Minnesota
Oakland over Seattle
Pittsburgh over New Orleans
Indianapolis over Houston
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The NFL is exceedingly unpredictable this year. There is not one team that you could go into any week and say, “They are definitely going to win.” This being the case, properly ranking teams is that much harder. After careful evaluation, this is what I came up with. It will be fun to look at these rankings next week and have to completely change them (SARCASM).
Total Crap Teams
32. Buffalo Bills
31. San Francisco 49ers
30. Carolina Panthers
Should they really be here Teams
29. Detroit Lions
28. Cincinnati Bengals
27. Dallas Cowboys
The Not Good but Not Terrible Teams
26. Denver Broncos
25. Cleveland Browns
24. Arizona Cardinals
23. Jacksonville Jaguars
22. St. Louis Rams
21. San Diego Chargers
20. Oakland Raiders
NFC Mediocrity
19. Minnesota Vikings
18. Chicago Bears
17. New Orleans Saints
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
15. Washington Redskins
14. Philadelphia Eagles
13. Green Bay Packers
12. Seattle Seahawks
AFC Teams lost in the Shuffle
11. Miami Dolphins
10. Kansas City Chiefs
9. Houston Texans
The Contenders
8. Baltimore Ravens
7. New York Giants
6. Atlanta Falcons
5. Indianapolis Colts
4. Tennessee Titans
3. New England Patriots
2. New York Jets
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
Notice the contenders. Six of the top eight team are in the AFC. Nine of the top eleven are in the AFC. This is like the NBA Western Conference in the early to mid 2000’s when the Eastern Conference was terrible. Just think of it this way: There is the San Antonio Spurs who are a model of consistency in the west, and a pretty underrated dynasty (Steelers). The Los Angeles Lakers who won three titles early, but then got to the finals in 2004 only to be upset by the Pistons (Patriots). The Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves are the new teams on the block who might make a splash (Jets and Titans). And we have the Dallas Mavericks who put up amazing numbers, have a terrific star, and reached the finals only once despite getting so close so many times (Colts). Then in the Eastern Conference there are teams who for the most part didn’t stand a chance against the West. I give you, the 2010 NFL season.
Now, onto College Football which has somehow been crazier than NFL. Number one has gone down three straight weeks. There are a bunch of teams that have come out of nowhere that have emerged as contenders. Much like the NFL, it seems as if there is no team you could point to that you know is going to win every week. The only thing is, we have seen this story before. Let me take you back to the season where “The Tournament Everybody Has Wanted For Years” should have been born.
Some fun facts on the 2007-2008 Season- The season which saw three weeks where the #1 and #2 teams lost in the same weekend. No dominant teams. No undefeated teams. A two-loss BCS Champion. This was “The Year of the Upset.” 59 lower ranked teams defeated higher ranked teams. #2 Teams lost seven times throughout the season. Thirteen unranked teams defeated top 5 teams.
Here is the telling fact though: South Florida, Kentucky, Kansas, Missouri, Boston College, Oregon, Arizona St., Hawaii, South Carolina all began the season outside of the top 20. All of these teams were at one point were ranked in the top 10. All of these teams but Kentucky and South Carolina made their way into the top 5. So far this season, Arizona, Auburn, Missouri, Utah, South Carolina, Michigan St., Stanford, LSU have all climbed from outside of the top 20 into the top 10.
In a season with so much unpredictability, close games and upsets, the national championship in 2008 was a matchup of two loss LSU and one loss Ohio St. LSU won 38-24. Why was there not a tournament? Wouldn’t my tournament be a much more fitting end to a season where there clearly wasn’t a dominant team much better than this was? Why make this mistake again? I’ll admit, I think that Oregon and Auburn are the two best teams in the country. But three weeks ago, I would have told you Alabama and Boise St. were. In 2005 all year it was Texas and the imaginary USC Trojans that were the top 2 teams all year. But this year there is constant changing and shuffling in the top five. So take the top 16 at the end of the year and find out who is truly the best team. Do I have to keep repeating myself? Here is how it looks right now.
Holiday Bowl- 1. Oregon vs. 16. Arizona
Music City Bowl- 8. Utah vs. 9. Wisconsin
Alamo Bowl- 5. Michigan St. vs. 12. LSU
Outback Bowl- 4. TCU vs. 13. Nebraska
Insight Bowl- 6. Alabama vs. 11. Oklahoma
Independence Bowl- 3. Auburn vs. 14. Stanford
Chick-Fil-A Bowl- 7. Missouri vs. 10. Ohio St.
Liberty Bowl- 2. Boise St. vs. 15. Florida St.
We can only hope that someone important will read this, like it, and make it happen. We can only hope. Anyways, onto the picks
College Football
Kansas St. over Oklahoma St.
Michigan St. over Iowa
Nebraska over Missouri
Georgia over Florida
Auburn over Ole Miss (the streak of number one going down ends)
Stanford over Washington
Mississippi St. over Kentucky
Baylor over Texas
Oregon over USC
Michigan over Penn St.
NFL
Washington over Detroit
Jacksonville over Dallas
Miami over Cincinnati
Kansas City over Buffalo
St. Louis over Carolina
Denver over San Francisco
New York Jets over Green Bay
Tennessee over San Diego
Tampa Bay over Arizona
New England over Minnesota
Oakland over Seattle
Pittsburgh over New Orleans
Indianapolis over Houston
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
2010 NBA Preview- Part Two
PART TWO
14. Miami Heat- I’m not going to sit here and say that the Heat are going to break records. I’m not going to tell you that they are the best team ever or even the best team in the league. The Heat are the NBA’s enigma, considering we have no idea if this experiment will be a disaster or if they will just massacre every team that crosses their path. There are so many questions. However, I can tell you that the Miami Heat will be the most scrutinized, watched and talked about team in NBA history. There is absolutely no doubting this. Even if you hate everything about the Miami Heat, like LeBron is a first class d-bag and attention hog, Bosh is riding the coat tails of LeBron and Wade, their team is filled with holes at a number of positions… you will watch them and root for them to fail. But they will be getting your attention. A couple months ago I wrote about how the Heat should embrace the “villain” role. I stand by it. LeBron has pissed people off like it’s his job. Why not keep doing it, and take care of business along the way? To paraphrase 50 Cent, “If people hate, let em’ hate and watch the wins pile up.” If Miami runs through the league and wins an NBA title, it will be something that we have never seen before and possibly will never see again.
15. Los Angeles Lakers- 5 interesting subplots surrounding this Los Angeles Lakers team, not counting the Adam Morrison issue.
1. If the Lakers win a 3rd consecutive title, where does this place them as a dynasty? Top 5 all time? Top 3? Are their two 3 peats viewed as more impressive than Chicago’s?
2. If the Lakers win a 3rd consecutive title, how high does Kobe vault into the discussion of best players of all time? Top 10 (if he isn’t already there)? Top 5? What kind of arguments would be made about him and Jordan?
3. If the Lakers win a 3rd consecutive title, where does that put Phil Jackson? Twelve titles, four 3 peats; does that make him the greatest coach in sports history? I’m pretty sure it does.
4. Are the Lakers too injured? Kobe played with a broken finger all last year and this year, his knee could be a major concern. Andrew Bynum appears to have knees made out of construction paper. If Kobe has to miss a significant chunk of time along with Bynum, how much does this affect a Lakers push for a 3 peat?
5. Will Ron Artest have a secret affair with Khloe Kardashian? I’m still convinced that this could happen.
16. Oklahoma City Thunder- They splashed on the scene last year as Kevin Durant took the league by storm, and were only one defensive stop away from taking the Lakers to a game 7 in round one. Just six months later, the Thunder are getting recognition as a potential title contender. Is this hype warranted or are they too young and inexperienced to get to the top? What they did last season was no fluke. Kevin Durant is without a doubt one of the best players in the league, and a scoring machine like we may have never seen. The supporting cast is loaded with explosive young talent and useful pieces. Russell Westbrook runs the show, Jeff Green does the dirty work, Serge Ibaka is the hyper active big guy every team would love to have and James Harden is one of the best sixth men in the league. The key is Durant though. He had a look in his eye at the World Championship like he was ready to get in between Kobe and LeBron and steal the metaphorical torch away from both of them. The Thunder were a legitimate threat in the western conference last year and they are this year too.
17. Orlando Magic- Orlando has officially taken the title from Phoenix as the team that could easily score 120 points a night. Let’s not forget that Orlando has been to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals and an NBA Finals two years ago. They seem to get lost in the shuffle considering they got picked apart by LA in the finals, Rajon Rondo slaughtered them in the Eastern Conference Finals last year (not quite as bad as he did with Cleveland the round earlier) and there is a certain team playing in South Beach that has monopolized the Florida media. If it is possible for a team that has won 170 games in the previous three seasons and has a perennial franchise player to be underappreciated, Orlando has done it. Orlando scares me though. Dwight Howard really scares me. I watched a video of him training with Hakeem Olajuwon (the best Center in NBA History) and I just have a feeling Howard has his best offensive year this season.
18. Utah Jazz- Utah is this year’s sneaky good team. You won’t realize they are that good until May rolls around, you notice they have over 50 wins and already advanced out of the first round of the playoffs. Jerry Sloan is a true professional and he is always going to get the best out of his team. And I like what Utah did to improve their teams. I personally think that Al Jefferson makes Utah a more legitimate contender than Carlos Boozer did. Boozer was never really the type to establish himself as a post presence. With Boozer gone, and Mehmet Okur recovering from a torn Achilles, Jefferson comes in and Paul Millsap finally gets a chance to start at power forward (it’s about time, I think he has a great season as starter.) Not to mention, Deron Williams is a top 3 point guard. Don’t sleep on the Jazz.
19. Chicago Bulls- Back in early July, I thought that when I was going to be writing this column Chicago would be the HEAVY favorite to win the championship. I predicted that LeBron and Bosh would be taking their talents to the Windy City rather than South Beach, and effectively making Chicago the overwhelming favorite in the east. Let’s compare the starting lineup for the Miami Heat and the starting lineup that could have been for Chicago.
Miami- Arroyo, Wade, James, Bosh, Anthony with Udonis Haslem as sixth man.
Chicago- Rose, Bogans, James, Bosh, Noah with Luol Deng as sixth man.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic for this upcoming Heat season. But does the Chicago scenario perhaps set up LeBron better than the Miami scenario does? I’m not sure, just some food for thought. Anyways, Chicago adds all-star Carlos Boozer and a good role player in Kyle Korver to a solid nucleus of Rose, Noah and Deng.
20. Boston Celtics- Why not sign Robert Parish, Antoine Walker and Bob Cousy too? The Celtics are clearly establishing that they think their time is now and 5 years ago. I can’t knock their pick-ups though. I think that the Celtics significantly improved by signing Shaq (who by the way has officially become a team whore), Jermaine O’Neal (fun fact about Jermaine O’Neal- I have a High School Jermaine O’Neal jersey. It’s orange and green. Most likely the oddest basketball jersey I ever bought) and Delonte West. One thought: could the Celtics signing Delonte end up hurting them? I think there is a 95% chance LeBron unleashes basketball hell on the Celtics every time they play because of this. On the flip side, there is a 5% chance that the Boston fans come up with some kind of chant relating to the LeBron/Delonte incident that completely takes Bron out of his game. Something along the lines of GLOR-IA! GLOR-IA!
21. San Antonio Spurs- Much like Boston, the Spurs window has been slowly coming to a close the last couple of seasons. Tim Duncan is reaching to twilight of his career, much like Manu Ginobili’s hair is. San Antonio has added a few young pieces recently (George Hill, DeJuan Blair and potentially Tiago Splitter.) Can this young group along with the experience of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker lead San Antonio to yet another 50 win season? I say yes, and I say as long as San Antonio still has the quietest superstar of all time, Tim Duncan, they are contenders.
22. Eastern Conference Standings
1. Miami Heat 63-19
2. Orlando Magic 59-23
3. Boston Celtics 53-29
4. Chicago Bulls 50-32
5. Milwaukee Bucks 47-35
6. Atlanta Hawks 46-36
7. New York Knicks 43-39
8. Washington Wizards 38-44
9. Charlotte Bobcats 36-46
10. Indiana Pacers 35-47
11. Philadelphia 76ers 30-52
12. New Jersey Nets 27-55
13. Cleveland Cavaliers 26-56
14. Detroit Pistons 20-62
15. Toronto Raptors 16-66
23. Western Conference Standings
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 57-25
2. Los Angeles Lakers 56-26
3. Utah Jazz 51-31
4. Dallas Mavericks 51-31
5. San Antonio Spurs 50-32
6. Portland Trailblazers 48-34
7. Houston Rockets 44-38
8. Los Angeles Clippers 43-39
9. Memphis Grizzlies 42-40
10. Phoenix Suns 42-40
11. Denver Nuggets 40-42
12. New Orleans Hornets 36-46
13. Golden State Warriors 34-48
14. Sacramento Kings 30-52
15. Minnesota Timberwolves 19-63
24. Awards
MVP: Kevin Durant
Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard
Coach of the Year: Erik Spoelstra
Most Improved Player: Darren Collison
Sixth Man of the Year: Manu Ginobili
Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin
All NBA Teams
1st Team- LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Deron Williams
2nd Team- Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Dwayne Wade, Amare Stoudemire, Pau Gasol
3rd Team-Chris Paul, Joe Johnson, Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Bosh
25. Playoffs
1st Round- Miami over Washington (4-0), Orlando over New York (4-1), Boston over Atlanta (4-2), Chicago over Milwaukee (4-2), Oklahoma City over LA Clippers (4-1), LA Lakers over Houston (4-1), Utah over Portland (4-2), San Antonio over Dallas (4-2)
2nd Round- Miami over Chicago (4-2), Boston over Orlando (4-2), Oklahoma City over San Antonio (4-1), LA Lakers over Utah (4-2)
Conference Finals- Boston over Miami (4-2), LA Lakers over Oklahoma City (4-2)
26. The Champion
Boston over Los Angeles (4-3)
God I hate this. This means Boston beat Miami, which would be awful because I hate losing to the Celtics so much. And it means I have to hear Kevin Garnett yell “Anything is Possiblllllllleeeeee!” again. Yuck! But I can’t deny it, I like what Boston did in the off season, and I think they have just enough left in those old bones to win another title. If Miami wasn’t in the equation, this would be the ideal NBA Finals match-up we could ask for. The rubber match between two storied franchises who played one of the most memorable NBA Finals games in NBA history in June. Ultimately, Los Angeles might not have Andrew Bynum or a totally healthy Kobe Bryant. With that being the case, Boston raises the banner again. Should I really be so excited for this NBA season then?
I would like to thank my good friend Collin Stucko for a number of ideas that you have read in this column. If you want to know exactly what they were, feel free to ask him.
14. Miami Heat- I’m not going to sit here and say that the Heat are going to break records. I’m not going to tell you that they are the best team ever or even the best team in the league. The Heat are the NBA’s enigma, considering we have no idea if this experiment will be a disaster or if they will just massacre every team that crosses their path. There are so many questions. However, I can tell you that the Miami Heat will be the most scrutinized, watched and talked about team in NBA history. There is absolutely no doubting this. Even if you hate everything about the Miami Heat, like LeBron is a first class d-bag and attention hog, Bosh is riding the coat tails of LeBron and Wade, their team is filled with holes at a number of positions… you will watch them and root for them to fail. But they will be getting your attention. A couple months ago I wrote about how the Heat should embrace the “villain” role. I stand by it. LeBron has pissed people off like it’s his job. Why not keep doing it, and take care of business along the way? To paraphrase 50 Cent, “If people hate, let em’ hate and watch the wins pile up.” If Miami runs through the league and wins an NBA title, it will be something that we have never seen before and possibly will never see again.
15. Los Angeles Lakers- 5 interesting subplots surrounding this Los Angeles Lakers team, not counting the Adam Morrison issue.
1. If the Lakers win a 3rd consecutive title, where does this place them as a dynasty? Top 5 all time? Top 3? Are their two 3 peats viewed as more impressive than Chicago’s?
2. If the Lakers win a 3rd consecutive title, how high does Kobe vault into the discussion of best players of all time? Top 10 (if he isn’t already there)? Top 5? What kind of arguments would be made about him and Jordan?
3. If the Lakers win a 3rd consecutive title, where does that put Phil Jackson? Twelve titles, four 3 peats; does that make him the greatest coach in sports history? I’m pretty sure it does.
4. Are the Lakers too injured? Kobe played with a broken finger all last year and this year, his knee could be a major concern. Andrew Bynum appears to have knees made out of construction paper. If Kobe has to miss a significant chunk of time along with Bynum, how much does this affect a Lakers push for a 3 peat?
5. Will Ron Artest have a secret affair with Khloe Kardashian? I’m still convinced that this could happen.
16. Oklahoma City Thunder- They splashed on the scene last year as Kevin Durant took the league by storm, and were only one defensive stop away from taking the Lakers to a game 7 in round one. Just six months later, the Thunder are getting recognition as a potential title contender. Is this hype warranted or are they too young and inexperienced to get to the top? What they did last season was no fluke. Kevin Durant is without a doubt one of the best players in the league, and a scoring machine like we may have never seen. The supporting cast is loaded with explosive young talent and useful pieces. Russell Westbrook runs the show, Jeff Green does the dirty work, Serge Ibaka is the hyper active big guy every team would love to have and James Harden is one of the best sixth men in the league. The key is Durant though. He had a look in his eye at the World Championship like he was ready to get in between Kobe and LeBron and steal the metaphorical torch away from both of them. The Thunder were a legitimate threat in the western conference last year and they are this year too.
17. Orlando Magic- Orlando has officially taken the title from Phoenix as the team that could easily score 120 points a night. Let’s not forget that Orlando has been to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals and an NBA Finals two years ago. They seem to get lost in the shuffle considering they got picked apart by LA in the finals, Rajon Rondo slaughtered them in the Eastern Conference Finals last year (not quite as bad as he did with Cleveland the round earlier) and there is a certain team playing in South Beach that has monopolized the Florida media. If it is possible for a team that has won 170 games in the previous three seasons and has a perennial franchise player to be underappreciated, Orlando has done it. Orlando scares me though. Dwight Howard really scares me. I watched a video of him training with Hakeem Olajuwon (the best Center in NBA History) and I just have a feeling Howard has his best offensive year this season.
18. Utah Jazz- Utah is this year’s sneaky good team. You won’t realize they are that good until May rolls around, you notice they have over 50 wins and already advanced out of the first round of the playoffs. Jerry Sloan is a true professional and he is always going to get the best out of his team. And I like what Utah did to improve their teams. I personally think that Al Jefferson makes Utah a more legitimate contender than Carlos Boozer did. Boozer was never really the type to establish himself as a post presence. With Boozer gone, and Mehmet Okur recovering from a torn Achilles, Jefferson comes in and Paul Millsap finally gets a chance to start at power forward (it’s about time, I think he has a great season as starter.) Not to mention, Deron Williams is a top 3 point guard. Don’t sleep on the Jazz.
19. Chicago Bulls- Back in early July, I thought that when I was going to be writing this column Chicago would be the HEAVY favorite to win the championship. I predicted that LeBron and Bosh would be taking their talents to the Windy City rather than South Beach, and effectively making Chicago the overwhelming favorite in the east. Let’s compare the starting lineup for the Miami Heat and the starting lineup that could have been for Chicago.
Miami- Arroyo, Wade, James, Bosh, Anthony with Udonis Haslem as sixth man.
Chicago- Rose, Bogans, James, Bosh, Noah with Luol Deng as sixth man.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic for this upcoming Heat season. But does the Chicago scenario perhaps set up LeBron better than the Miami scenario does? I’m not sure, just some food for thought. Anyways, Chicago adds all-star Carlos Boozer and a good role player in Kyle Korver to a solid nucleus of Rose, Noah and Deng.
20. Boston Celtics- Why not sign Robert Parish, Antoine Walker and Bob Cousy too? The Celtics are clearly establishing that they think their time is now and 5 years ago. I can’t knock their pick-ups though. I think that the Celtics significantly improved by signing Shaq (who by the way has officially become a team whore), Jermaine O’Neal (fun fact about Jermaine O’Neal- I have a High School Jermaine O’Neal jersey. It’s orange and green. Most likely the oddest basketball jersey I ever bought) and Delonte West. One thought: could the Celtics signing Delonte end up hurting them? I think there is a 95% chance LeBron unleashes basketball hell on the Celtics every time they play because of this. On the flip side, there is a 5% chance that the Boston fans come up with some kind of chant relating to the LeBron/Delonte incident that completely takes Bron out of his game. Something along the lines of GLOR-IA! GLOR-IA!
21. San Antonio Spurs- Much like Boston, the Spurs window has been slowly coming to a close the last couple of seasons. Tim Duncan is reaching to twilight of his career, much like Manu Ginobili’s hair is. San Antonio has added a few young pieces recently (George Hill, DeJuan Blair and potentially Tiago Splitter.) Can this young group along with the experience of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker lead San Antonio to yet another 50 win season? I say yes, and I say as long as San Antonio still has the quietest superstar of all time, Tim Duncan, they are contenders.
22. Eastern Conference Standings
1. Miami Heat 63-19
2. Orlando Magic 59-23
3. Boston Celtics 53-29
4. Chicago Bulls 50-32
5. Milwaukee Bucks 47-35
6. Atlanta Hawks 46-36
7. New York Knicks 43-39
8. Washington Wizards 38-44
9. Charlotte Bobcats 36-46
10. Indiana Pacers 35-47
11. Philadelphia 76ers 30-52
12. New Jersey Nets 27-55
13. Cleveland Cavaliers 26-56
14. Detroit Pistons 20-62
15. Toronto Raptors 16-66
23. Western Conference Standings
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 57-25
2. Los Angeles Lakers 56-26
3. Utah Jazz 51-31
4. Dallas Mavericks 51-31
5. San Antonio Spurs 50-32
6. Portland Trailblazers 48-34
7. Houston Rockets 44-38
8. Los Angeles Clippers 43-39
9. Memphis Grizzlies 42-40
10. Phoenix Suns 42-40
11. Denver Nuggets 40-42
12. New Orleans Hornets 36-46
13. Golden State Warriors 34-48
14. Sacramento Kings 30-52
15. Minnesota Timberwolves 19-63
24. Awards
MVP: Kevin Durant
Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard
Coach of the Year: Erik Spoelstra
Most Improved Player: Darren Collison
Sixth Man of the Year: Manu Ginobili
Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin
All NBA Teams
1st Team- LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Deron Williams
2nd Team- Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, Dwayne Wade, Amare Stoudemire, Pau Gasol
3rd Team-Chris Paul, Joe Johnson, Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Bosh
25. Playoffs
1st Round- Miami over Washington (4-0), Orlando over New York (4-1), Boston over Atlanta (4-2), Chicago over Milwaukee (4-2), Oklahoma City over LA Clippers (4-1), LA Lakers over Houston (4-1), Utah over Portland (4-2), San Antonio over Dallas (4-2)
2nd Round- Miami over Chicago (4-2), Boston over Orlando (4-2), Oklahoma City over San Antonio (4-1), LA Lakers over Utah (4-2)
Conference Finals- Boston over Miami (4-2), LA Lakers over Oklahoma City (4-2)
26. The Champion
Boston over Los Angeles (4-3)
God I hate this. This means Boston beat Miami, which would be awful because I hate losing to the Celtics so much. And it means I have to hear Kevin Garnett yell “Anything is Possiblllllllleeeeee!” again. Yuck! But I can’t deny it, I like what Boston did in the off season, and I think they have just enough left in those old bones to win another title. If Miami wasn’t in the equation, this would be the ideal NBA Finals match-up we could ask for. The rubber match between two storied franchises who played one of the most memorable NBA Finals games in NBA history in June. Ultimately, Los Angeles might not have Andrew Bynum or a totally healthy Kobe Bryant. With that being the case, Boston raises the banner again. Should I really be so excited for this NBA season then?
I would like to thank my good friend Collin Stucko for a number of ideas that you have read in this column. If you want to know exactly what they were, feel free to ask him.
Monday, October 25, 2010
2010 NBA Preview- Part One
PART ONE
Last October in my NBA preview, I went with the theme of Ridiculous NBA Predictions. I jokingly predicted the Lakers were going to self-combust at the end of the season due to the fact that Lamar Odom would find out that Ron Artest had been sleeping with Khloe Kardashian. I continued to say that this would lead to a Cleveland NBA championship. Fast forward to the following May. Coincidentally, an incident similar to this occurred. Unfortunately, I put the reverse jinx on my Cavaliers, and I was the reason that Delonte West slept with LeBron’s mom. I am taking full blame for the Cavs not winning the NBA title. Therefore, I am the reason LeBron James is now a member of the Miami Heat. So rightfully so, I am very excited for the season I have played a vital part in creating. Let’s get to it!
Now, this isn’t your normal NBA season. Commissioner David Stern said so. Stern said, “We're going to have, really, our most successful season,” and “I think you're going to be getting to see some of the greatest basketball ever played.” That is really saying something. The man has been in charge for 25 years, which means he saw:
Bird’s Celtics vs. Magic’s Lakers at its peak
The Bad Boy Pistons
Michael Jordan’s 1st Three Peat
Olajuwon stepping up in the void left by Jordan and winning two titles
Michael Jordan’s 2nd Three Peat
Popeye Jones, Sam Cassell and Tyrone Hill (the 3 ugliest NBA players ever)
Lakers Three Peat
An Underrated Spurs Dynasty
Tim Donaghy
Celtics return to the top
The beginning of a LeBron vs. Kobe rivalry
Through all of this, he feels like the 2010-11 season is going to be the most successful and greatest NBA season ever. You may be asking yourself why. Well I am here to tell you. David Stern is entering his 26th NBA season as Commissioner, so in honor of this, here are 26 tidbits of information about the 2010-2011 season.
1. Miami Heat vs. Los Angeles Lakers- Could we start anywhere else? No matchup is more anticipated than Miami and LA. They play in Miami on March 10, a game I will most likely be going to, which will be legen…wait for it… dary! And they play in the City of Angels on Christmas Day. By the way, thank you Santa. That is exactly what I wanted for Christmas! Now if you also give me one day of snow in Florida, you’re covered. I’ll just put it this way, 3 of the top 5 and 5 of the top 15 players in the league are going to be playing at the same time. That’s 60% of the top 5 and 33% of the top 15. Yeah, it’s going to be on like Donkey Kong! Plus, this matchup doubles as a potential NBA Finals preview, which triples as the most watched NBA Finals ever. Speaking of which, the five most watched NBA Finals of all time are:
1. Chicago vs. Utah 1998
2. Chicago vs. Phoenix 1993
3. Chicago vs. Utah 1997
4. Chicago vs. Seattle 1996
5. Los Angeles vs. Boston 1987
The top five of the 2000’s are:
1. Los Angeles vs. Philadelphia 2001
2. Los Angeles vs. Indiana 2000
3. Detroit vs. Los Angeles 2004
4. Los Angeles vs. Boston 2010
5. Los Angeles vs. New Jersey 2002
Take a look at the top five from the 2000’s. With the exception of LA vs. Boston, is there one matchup there that is anywhere close as intriguing as a potential LA vs. Miami series? Not close.
2. Adam Morrison- LeBron James taking his talents to South Beach was the most talked about move of the off season. Perhaps no move was more important however than Adam Morrison taking his talents to the team in the nations capital. Let’s not forget that Adam Morrison is a two time defending NBA champion. He was a key contributor to the Lakers, offering a number of back pats and chest bumps, along with awkward white guy high fives with Luke Walton. Can the Lakers deal with the loss of Morrison? And what kind of impact will he have on Washington? Will he start carrying around gats and doing the John Wall dance? Only time will tell.
3. Josh Childress- The Dr. J look alike of the 2000’s makes his way back to the NBA after spending a few years playing overseas… that’s all I got considering Childress isn’t really that good. As long as he keeps the afro I’m happy.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers- Is there anything for Cavs fans to be excited for? To answer that question I’m going to revert back to being a Cavs fan. (Gulp) Here we go.
Question: Sonny, what’s the outlook on your Cavaliers this year?
Answer: Well, we lost the greatest physical specimen and one of the best NBA players in the last decade. Not only does that move devastate the team, but it also destroys the city. Our next best guys are Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams, who are proven pants crappers come playoff time, but that doesn’t matter because we won’t even sniff the playoffs. For the first month of the season the fans might be united and loud and try to show everyone LeBron didn’t mean too much. But by Christmas time when the Cavs are hovering around 13th in the eastern conference, the attendance will slowly dwindle and the city will officially start their upcoming 50 year slump. That’s right, it might be 50 years before there is sunshine is Cleveland again. Translation: There is nothing to be excited about. It looks bleak.
5. Charles Barkley- How fat is Chuck going to be this upcoming season? It’s definitely something that needs to be mentioned. Remember the Taco Bell commercial? You know, “the five buck box, it rocks it rocks.” He could barely make his way out of the phone booth in the commercial. I think he got to sample several thousand five buck boxes before he signed the contract to film the commercial. He brings a lot to the table for TNT’s pre-game show… and a lot of food to the dinner table as well.
6. Rondo vs. Rose- Don’t you think Rondo’s exit from Team USA this summer had a little bit to do with Coach K deciding Derrick Rose would be starting, and Rondo wouldn’t? Two years ago these two squared off in an epic first round matchup where we established two things: 1. Rajon Rondo was the best player on the Celtics (this was hammered home by his superb play in last year’s series versus Cleveland) and 2. Derrick Rose was on his way to being really, really good. Possibly the best point guard in the league (which was hammered home by his superb play in last year’s series versus Cleveland.) In the last 11 games these two played against each other (seven playoff games and four regular season games) these were their averages:
Rondo: 15.7 ppg, 11.3 apg, 7.8 rpg, 6 wins
Rose: 20.3 ppg, 5.9 apg, 5.9 rpg, 5 wins
Pretty close right? I see Rose playing with a lot of confidence due to some big minutes with Team USA this summer, and Rondo playing with a bit of an edge because he was slighted by that same team for his rival. They play four times, all on television. I advise tuning into one of the best rivalries in the NBA. This rivalry leads me to…
7. The Golden Age of Point Guards- The last time there was a golden age in the NBA was during the late 1990’s to early 2000’s when we saw a golden age in power forwards (Malone, Duncan, Garnett, B. Wallace, R. Wallace, J. O’Neal, Webber, Nowitzki, Rodman and Horry.) Right now, the NBA’s crop of point guards is absolutely outstanding. There are twelve quality point guards in the league right now which are one of the two best players on their respective team. Rose and Rondo obviously, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Russell Westbrook, John Wall, Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans, Aaron Brooks and Darren Collison are all on that list. Not to mention you have guys like Raymond Felton, Mo Williams, Jason Kidd, Derek Fisher, Jameer Nelson and Tony Parker all leading playoff teams. Almost every team can confidently say “at least our point guard isn’t a disaster.” Most teams have at least one position that is a major question mark, and rarely is it the point guard.
8. Lorenzo Mata Real- I had to bring him up since I mentioned Popeye Jones, Sam Cassell and Tyrone Hill. Mata-Real, or as I affectionately call him, Lorenzo Mata-Really Ugly, has been playing in the Mexican league LNPB. If he somehow makes an NBA roster this year, he will immediately bring himself to the top of the list of ugliest NBA players ever. Keep your fingers crossed. On second thought, do we want this atrocity making his way to the USA? If you feel like having fun, do a Yahoo! Image search for all four of these guys and decide for yourself who is the ugliest.
9. LeBron’s Mental Notes- So far my count of who is on the list of people who questioned LeBron is Charles Barkley, Skip Bayless, Dan Gilbert along with most of Ohio, the Orlando Magic Organization, Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest and Michael Jordan. I wish LeBron would announce what the mental notes are. Who are the people that the King feels crossed him? Will he tell us at some point and if he does will it be another one hour special on ESPN? That would be way more exciting than the release of the Mitchell Report.
10. Carmelo Anthony- CAUTION: The following paragraph was written before any Carmelo Anthony trade.
I don’t know who Carmelo thinks he’s fooling. For a month all we heard about was how Melo wanted out of Denver. Then it comes time for the start of training camp and Melo is still in a Nuggets uniform. Now all of the sudden, he never wanted to leave. He loves Denver. He thinks it’s happening place. He loves Aspen too! What a crock. Listen, if Chris Broussard and J.A. Adande are telling people that you demanded a trade, you demanded one. Those men do not lie and they are not misinformed. I find it ironic that Carmelo wants out of the Mile High City so bad considering he has been caught with pot before and he must be smoking it again if he actually thinks anyone buys the fact that he wants to play for Denver. Carmelo wants exactly what his buddies LeBron, Wade and Bosh got: A bunch of attention and a chance to play with other superstars. All of the sudden Birdman, Earl Smith and Chauncey “we have a 3 on 2 fast break so I’m going to kill it with a pull up three that will brick off the side of the rim” Billups aren’t looking so promising. Apparently, Carmelo wants to play with…
11. Chris Paul- Who has also made it pretty obvious he wants out of his current situation. Can you blame him really? Three years ago CP3 looked like the modern day Isiah Thomas, but better. Now due to some injuries and a crap team, he might waste away his career unless he makes a move. Can we really blame Melo and Paul for wanting out of their current situation? Why not want to play in Madison Square Garden? It’s clear that they both want to end up in New York, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of. And frankly, Melo might be there sooner than later.
12. Three Promising Rookies
1. John Wall- As an Evan Turner fan this past college season, I didn’t really appreciate John Wall so much during his one soon-to-be-named illegal season at Kentucky. However, Wall has every quality you want in a point guard dominated league. Fast, strong, athletic, confident and he is a playmaker. In five years we may look at John Wall as the cream of the point guard crop.
2. Blake Griffin- The way I look at Blake Griffin has changed over the last year. Griffin was as close to a sure thing as you could’ve asked for, until he broke his knee which we can solely blame on the Clippers. Now, I see Griffin as a bundle of potential. He can be the super athletic power forward that Charles Barkley was in his prime before he ate several thousand five buck boxes. He can dominate like no power forward has. I’m excited to find out if he will.
3. DeMarcus Cousins- Cousins might be the biggest sure thing of any player from this draft. He is a guaranteed 20-10 guy for a number of seasons. Just wait, when the Kings are a top five team in the west within the next five years, Cousins will be leading the charge.
13. NBA on NBC- This hasn’t showed up on the radar of any type of NBA discussion in quite some time, but God I miss NBA on NBC. Is the pain ever going to go away? There has to be someone who wants this back as much as I do, right? I mean it was only the single greatest sports theme ever, with bright/flashy graphics during a period when the NBA’s greatest player was at his best. I think you need a reminder of NBA on NBC as you get ready to read part 2 of this NBA preview tomorrow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UooitEU6AtE&feature=related
Last October in my NBA preview, I went with the theme of Ridiculous NBA Predictions. I jokingly predicted the Lakers were going to self-combust at the end of the season due to the fact that Lamar Odom would find out that Ron Artest had been sleeping with Khloe Kardashian. I continued to say that this would lead to a Cleveland NBA championship. Fast forward to the following May. Coincidentally, an incident similar to this occurred. Unfortunately, I put the reverse jinx on my Cavaliers, and I was the reason that Delonte West slept with LeBron’s mom. I am taking full blame for the Cavs not winning the NBA title. Therefore, I am the reason LeBron James is now a member of the Miami Heat. So rightfully so, I am very excited for the season I have played a vital part in creating. Let’s get to it!
Now, this isn’t your normal NBA season. Commissioner David Stern said so. Stern said, “We're going to have, really, our most successful season,” and “I think you're going to be getting to see some of the greatest basketball ever played.” That is really saying something. The man has been in charge for 25 years, which means he saw:
Bird’s Celtics vs. Magic’s Lakers at its peak
The Bad Boy Pistons
Michael Jordan’s 1st Three Peat
Olajuwon stepping up in the void left by Jordan and winning two titles
Michael Jordan’s 2nd Three Peat
Popeye Jones, Sam Cassell and Tyrone Hill (the 3 ugliest NBA players ever)
Lakers Three Peat
An Underrated Spurs Dynasty
Tim Donaghy
Celtics return to the top
The beginning of a LeBron vs. Kobe rivalry
Through all of this, he feels like the 2010-11 season is going to be the most successful and greatest NBA season ever. You may be asking yourself why. Well I am here to tell you. David Stern is entering his 26th NBA season as Commissioner, so in honor of this, here are 26 tidbits of information about the 2010-2011 season.
1. Miami Heat vs. Los Angeles Lakers- Could we start anywhere else? No matchup is more anticipated than Miami and LA. They play in Miami on March 10, a game I will most likely be going to, which will be legen…wait for it… dary! And they play in the City of Angels on Christmas Day. By the way, thank you Santa. That is exactly what I wanted for Christmas! Now if you also give me one day of snow in Florida, you’re covered. I’ll just put it this way, 3 of the top 5 and 5 of the top 15 players in the league are going to be playing at the same time. That’s 60% of the top 5 and 33% of the top 15. Yeah, it’s going to be on like Donkey Kong! Plus, this matchup doubles as a potential NBA Finals preview, which triples as the most watched NBA Finals ever. Speaking of which, the five most watched NBA Finals of all time are:
1. Chicago vs. Utah 1998
2. Chicago vs. Phoenix 1993
3. Chicago vs. Utah 1997
4. Chicago vs. Seattle 1996
5. Los Angeles vs. Boston 1987
The top five of the 2000’s are:
1. Los Angeles vs. Philadelphia 2001
2. Los Angeles vs. Indiana 2000
3. Detroit vs. Los Angeles 2004
4. Los Angeles vs. Boston 2010
5. Los Angeles vs. New Jersey 2002
Take a look at the top five from the 2000’s. With the exception of LA vs. Boston, is there one matchup there that is anywhere close as intriguing as a potential LA vs. Miami series? Not close.
2. Adam Morrison- LeBron James taking his talents to South Beach was the most talked about move of the off season. Perhaps no move was more important however than Adam Morrison taking his talents to the team in the nations capital. Let’s not forget that Adam Morrison is a two time defending NBA champion. He was a key contributor to the Lakers, offering a number of back pats and chest bumps, along with awkward white guy high fives with Luke Walton. Can the Lakers deal with the loss of Morrison? And what kind of impact will he have on Washington? Will he start carrying around gats and doing the John Wall dance? Only time will tell.
3. Josh Childress- The Dr. J look alike of the 2000’s makes his way back to the NBA after spending a few years playing overseas… that’s all I got considering Childress isn’t really that good. As long as he keeps the afro I’m happy.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers- Is there anything for Cavs fans to be excited for? To answer that question I’m going to revert back to being a Cavs fan. (Gulp) Here we go.
Question: Sonny, what’s the outlook on your Cavaliers this year?
Answer: Well, we lost the greatest physical specimen and one of the best NBA players in the last decade. Not only does that move devastate the team, but it also destroys the city. Our next best guys are Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams, who are proven pants crappers come playoff time, but that doesn’t matter because we won’t even sniff the playoffs. For the first month of the season the fans might be united and loud and try to show everyone LeBron didn’t mean too much. But by Christmas time when the Cavs are hovering around 13th in the eastern conference, the attendance will slowly dwindle and the city will officially start their upcoming 50 year slump. That’s right, it might be 50 years before there is sunshine is Cleveland again. Translation: There is nothing to be excited about. It looks bleak.
5. Charles Barkley- How fat is Chuck going to be this upcoming season? It’s definitely something that needs to be mentioned. Remember the Taco Bell commercial? You know, “the five buck box, it rocks it rocks.” He could barely make his way out of the phone booth in the commercial. I think he got to sample several thousand five buck boxes before he signed the contract to film the commercial. He brings a lot to the table for TNT’s pre-game show… and a lot of food to the dinner table as well.
6. Rondo vs. Rose- Don’t you think Rondo’s exit from Team USA this summer had a little bit to do with Coach K deciding Derrick Rose would be starting, and Rondo wouldn’t? Two years ago these two squared off in an epic first round matchup where we established two things: 1. Rajon Rondo was the best player on the Celtics (this was hammered home by his superb play in last year’s series versus Cleveland) and 2. Derrick Rose was on his way to being really, really good. Possibly the best point guard in the league (which was hammered home by his superb play in last year’s series versus Cleveland.) In the last 11 games these two played against each other (seven playoff games and four regular season games) these were their averages:
Rondo: 15.7 ppg, 11.3 apg, 7.8 rpg, 6 wins
Rose: 20.3 ppg, 5.9 apg, 5.9 rpg, 5 wins
Pretty close right? I see Rose playing with a lot of confidence due to some big minutes with Team USA this summer, and Rondo playing with a bit of an edge because he was slighted by that same team for his rival. They play four times, all on television. I advise tuning into one of the best rivalries in the NBA. This rivalry leads me to…
7. The Golden Age of Point Guards- The last time there was a golden age in the NBA was during the late 1990’s to early 2000’s when we saw a golden age in power forwards (Malone, Duncan, Garnett, B. Wallace, R. Wallace, J. O’Neal, Webber, Nowitzki, Rodman and Horry.) Right now, the NBA’s crop of point guards is absolutely outstanding. There are twelve quality point guards in the league right now which are one of the two best players on their respective team. Rose and Rondo obviously, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Russell Westbrook, John Wall, Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans, Aaron Brooks and Darren Collison are all on that list. Not to mention you have guys like Raymond Felton, Mo Williams, Jason Kidd, Derek Fisher, Jameer Nelson and Tony Parker all leading playoff teams. Almost every team can confidently say “at least our point guard isn’t a disaster.” Most teams have at least one position that is a major question mark, and rarely is it the point guard.
8. Lorenzo Mata Real- I had to bring him up since I mentioned Popeye Jones, Sam Cassell and Tyrone Hill. Mata-Real, or as I affectionately call him, Lorenzo Mata-Really Ugly, has been playing in the Mexican league LNPB. If he somehow makes an NBA roster this year, he will immediately bring himself to the top of the list of ugliest NBA players ever. Keep your fingers crossed. On second thought, do we want this atrocity making his way to the USA? If you feel like having fun, do a Yahoo! Image search for all four of these guys and decide for yourself who is the ugliest.
9. LeBron’s Mental Notes- So far my count of who is on the list of people who questioned LeBron is Charles Barkley, Skip Bayless, Dan Gilbert along with most of Ohio, the Orlando Magic Organization, Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest and Michael Jordan. I wish LeBron would announce what the mental notes are. Who are the people that the King feels crossed him? Will he tell us at some point and if he does will it be another one hour special on ESPN? That would be way more exciting than the release of the Mitchell Report.
10. Carmelo Anthony- CAUTION: The following paragraph was written before any Carmelo Anthony trade.
I don’t know who Carmelo thinks he’s fooling. For a month all we heard about was how Melo wanted out of Denver. Then it comes time for the start of training camp and Melo is still in a Nuggets uniform. Now all of the sudden, he never wanted to leave. He loves Denver. He thinks it’s happening place. He loves Aspen too! What a crock. Listen, if Chris Broussard and J.A. Adande are telling people that you demanded a trade, you demanded one. Those men do not lie and they are not misinformed. I find it ironic that Carmelo wants out of the Mile High City so bad considering he has been caught with pot before and he must be smoking it again if he actually thinks anyone buys the fact that he wants to play for Denver. Carmelo wants exactly what his buddies LeBron, Wade and Bosh got: A bunch of attention and a chance to play with other superstars. All of the sudden Birdman, Earl Smith and Chauncey “we have a 3 on 2 fast break so I’m going to kill it with a pull up three that will brick off the side of the rim” Billups aren’t looking so promising. Apparently, Carmelo wants to play with…
11. Chris Paul- Who has also made it pretty obvious he wants out of his current situation. Can you blame him really? Three years ago CP3 looked like the modern day Isiah Thomas, but better. Now due to some injuries and a crap team, he might waste away his career unless he makes a move. Can we really blame Melo and Paul for wanting out of their current situation? Why not want to play in Madison Square Garden? It’s clear that they both want to end up in New York, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of. And frankly, Melo might be there sooner than later.
12. Three Promising Rookies
1. John Wall- As an Evan Turner fan this past college season, I didn’t really appreciate John Wall so much during his one soon-to-be-named illegal season at Kentucky. However, Wall has every quality you want in a point guard dominated league. Fast, strong, athletic, confident and he is a playmaker. In five years we may look at John Wall as the cream of the point guard crop.
2. Blake Griffin- The way I look at Blake Griffin has changed over the last year. Griffin was as close to a sure thing as you could’ve asked for, until he broke his knee which we can solely blame on the Clippers. Now, I see Griffin as a bundle of potential. He can be the super athletic power forward that Charles Barkley was in his prime before he ate several thousand five buck boxes. He can dominate like no power forward has. I’m excited to find out if he will.
3. DeMarcus Cousins- Cousins might be the biggest sure thing of any player from this draft. He is a guaranteed 20-10 guy for a number of seasons. Just wait, when the Kings are a top five team in the west within the next five years, Cousins will be leading the charge.
13. NBA on NBC- This hasn’t showed up on the radar of any type of NBA discussion in quite some time, but God I miss NBA on NBC. Is the pain ever going to go away? There has to be someone who wants this back as much as I do, right? I mean it was only the single greatest sports theme ever, with bright/flashy graphics during a period when the NBA’s greatest player was at his best. I think you need a reminder of NBA on NBC as you get ready to read part 2 of this NBA preview tomorrow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UooitEU6AtE&feature=related
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Week 7 Football Picks
I never thought that not writing would benefit me so much. Two of the last three weeks, I haven’t submitted any football picks. That was the best choice I made relating to football all season. Week 5 I was 4-6 picking college football, bringing my record to 25-15 (yikes) and 7-7 picking NFL which brings my NFL record to 36-26 (WTF!) Goodness that is pathetic. Someone was on their high horse before the season saying he was going to pick 75% of the games correct. I said last week if I didn’t turn things around I might need a pep talk from Dr. Lou. If I don’t put up a good week this week, it’s time for that pep talk.
I think there are two main reasons my picks have been atrocious.
Reason One: I’ve been working tirelessly on an NBA preview which is without question the best thing I have ever written in my blog, and most likely my entire life. You are in for a serious treat two days from now.
Reason Two: The NFL and College Football seasons have been more unpredictable than ever. To illustrate this, I raise a point about each. The last remaining undefeated team in the NFL was the Kansas City Chiefs, who were 3-0 at the time. A Kansas City Chiefs team which was nowhere close to the playoffs last year. In college football, the two teams who most experts predicted would play in the BCS Championship (Oh crap, I forgot! No mentioning BCS. I broke my own rule) have gone down in back to back weeks (Alabama to South Carolina and Ohio State to Wisconsin.) Those aren’t the only instances. Underdogs are having a field day considering in the NFL there are only two truly crappy teams, Buffalo and Carolina. The saying “Any Given Sunday” or Saturday, applies more this year than ever.
So how do I possibly decide who is going to win this week? Well, I’m going to pick college games as usual. But for NFL, I want to talk out what I feel about each game. Think of it as a self-help pep talk. And if worst comes to worst, we bring Dr. Lou in next week.
College Football
Michigan St. over Northwestern
Notre Dame over Navy
Auburn over LSU
Wisconsin over Iowa
Nebraska over Oklahoma St.
Clemson over Georgia Tech
Kentucky over Georgia
Miami over North Carolina
Missouri over Oklahoma (It's a stretch, but I say 3 weeks in a row number 1 goes down)
TCU over Air Force
NFL
Atlanta at Cincinnati- Okay, this one is easy for me. I haven’t felt strong about Cincinnati all year long. Carson Palmer is as mobile of a quarterback as Y.A. Tittle would be, right now. It’s about time people start realizing the guy stinks. Then we have Atlanta who has lost to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, which makes me both question if Atlanta is actually that good and if Philadelphia is better than I thought. In the end, I’ll take Atlanta.
Washington at Chicago- Two more consistently inconsistent teams. Washington looks terrific some games, but then get handled by the Rams. Chicago takes out Green Bay, but then goes down to Seattle. These are two teams I cannot figure out. One thing I know for sure is Chicago cannot protect Ed Norton’s brother at all. That is a major problem. However, I have faith in my team and I’m not totally sold on Washington yet. I’ll reluctantly pick Chicago.
St. Louis at Tampa Bay- Hey, what do you know? Two more teams that I can’t figure out. I like this Tampa Bay offense, even though against Pittsburgh and New Orleans they’ve been less than impressive. St. Louis, like every other team in the league looks good some weeks (wins over Washington, Seattle and San Diego) and awful other times (losses to Arizona, Oakland and Detroit). The common trend with St. Louis is their inability to win on the road. I’ll take Tampa Bay.
San Francisco at Carolina- San Francisco. Since this game doesn’t mean anything, let me give you my UFC 121 predictions.
Lesnar over Velazquez
Shields over Kampman
Thiago over Sanchez
Hamill over Ortiz
Gonzaga over Schaub
Buffalo at Baltimore- Baltimore. Sing it with me Bills fans, “Hey ay ay ay! Let’s Go Buffalo!” You’re half the season away from making history as the worst team ever.
Philadelphia at Tennessee- Alright let me break this one down real quick. Philadelphia losses to Green Bay, then win with Vick at QB at Detroit and at Jacksonville. Then they go down to Washington. And the last two weeks they get wins over San Francisco and Atlanta. Now, we look at Tennessee who beat Oakland, New York Giants, Dallas and Jacksonville and lost to Pittsburgh and Denver. What do I gain from these results? Tennessee beat Jacksonville 30-3 and Philadelphia beat Jacksonville 28-3. Tennessee is two points better than Philadelphia. Tennessee gets the win.
Jacksonville at Kansas City- For some reason I really like Kansas City. They aren’t flashy, but they do things right. They have the best rush offense in the league (hard to believe right) and the fifth best rush defense. They’ve dropped two straight, but they were both on the road and were to quality competition (Indy and Houston) and really they played both games very competitively. Jacksonville on the other hand doesn’t give me too much to be excited about, especially since Trent Edwards had to come in for David Garrard last week. Kansas City wins, and goes to 4-2.
Pittsburgh at Miami- Miami is undefeated on the road, winless at home. And Pittsburgh, who now has Big Ben back, could be considered the best team in the league. Pittsburgh wins and Miami stays winless at home.
Cleveland at New Orleans- I know New Orleans has looked far from a Super Bowl contender, but there is no cause for concern in a home game versus Cleveland and their rookie quarterback Colt McCoy. New Orleans wins big.
Arizona at Seattle- Seattle proved last week they could win on the road. Arizona proved two weeks ago they could win a fluke game at home. I hate to say it, but I kind of like this Seattle team. Not in an actual contender way, more like a “whoa, they could actually get 9 wins” way. Seattle wins at home, as expected.
New England at San Diego- Could San Diego’s time at the top of the AFC West be coming to an end? It’s not like they’ve lost to teams that are real contenders (Kansas City, Seattle, Oakland and St. Louis) and they haven’t beat anyone good either (Jacksonville and Arizona.) Their offense is dynamic, but they can’t find ways to win games like good teams should. I love the Randy Moss trade that New England made. In fact, I think getting rid of Moss and signing Deion Branch makes them better than they were with Moss. A bit of a throwback to the Patriot teams that won multiple Super Bowls in the early 2000’s, minus the good defense. I know San Diego is good at home, but I think New England continues to roll.
Oakland at Denver- Denver is a tough place to play (despite their 1-2 record at home this year.) That is solely what I’m basing this pick on. Denver beats Oakland.
Minnesota at Green Bay- This game is a win-win for me. If Chicago wins, we gain a game in the division no matter what. Minnesota is 1-1 since the Randy Moss trade, and won the Panic Bowl last week. Green Bay should be just as panicked as Minnesota. Things are going south quick for the pre-season NFC favorite. Injuries have plagued them and they just don’t look as good as expected. If Minnesota vs. Dallas was the panic bowl, then Minnesota vs. Green Bay is Panic Bowl II. I think Minnesota continues to turn things around.
New York Giants at Dallas- No logic goes into this one. Dallas was my pre-season NFC Super Bowl representative, and if they have any chance of getting there, they must win this game. Dallas wins or their season, and Wade Phillips job effectively crumble.
I think there are two main reasons my picks have been atrocious.
Reason One: I’ve been working tirelessly on an NBA preview which is without question the best thing I have ever written in my blog, and most likely my entire life. You are in for a serious treat two days from now.
Reason Two: The NFL and College Football seasons have been more unpredictable than ever. To illustrate this, I raise a point about each. The last remaining undefeated team in the NFL was the Kansas City Chiefs, who were 3-0 at the time. A Kansas City Chiefs team which was nowhere close to the playoffs last year. In college football, the two teams who most experts predicted would play in the BCS Championship (Oh crap, I forgot! No mentioning BCS. I broke my own rule) have gone down in back to back weeks (Alabama to South Carolina and Ohio State to Wisconsin.) Those aren’t the only instances. Underdogs are having a field day considering in the NFL there are only two truly crappy teams, Buffalo and Carolina. The saying “Any Given Sunday” or Saturday, applies more this year than ever.
So how do I possibly decide who is going to win this week? Well, I’m going to pick college games as usual. But for NFL, I want to talk out what I feel about each game. Think of it as a self-help pep talk. And if worst comes to worst, we bring Dr. Lou in next week.
College Football
Michigan St. over Northwestern
Notre Dame over Navy
Auburn over LSU
Wisconsin over Iowa
Nebraska over Oklahoma St.
Clemson over Georgia Tech
Kentucky over Georgia
Miami over North Carolina
Missouri over Oklahoma (It's a stretch, but I say 3 weeks in a row number 1 goes down)
TCU over Air Force
NFL
Atlanta at Cincinnati- Okay, this one is easy for me. I haven’t felt strong about Cincinnati all year long. Carson Palmer is as mobile of a quarterback as Y.A. Tittle would be, right now. It’s about time people start realizing the guy stinks. Then we have Atlanta who has lost to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, which makes me both question if Atlanta is actually that good and if Philadelphia is better than I thought. In the end, I’ll take Atlanta.
Washington at Chicago- Two more consistently inconsistent teams. Washington looks terrific some games, but then get handled by the Rams. Chicago takes out Green Bay, but then goes down to Seattle. These are two teams I cannot figure out. One thing I know for sure is Chicago cannot protect Ed Norton’s brother at all. That is a major problem. However, I have faith in my team and I’m not totally sold on Washington yet. I’ll reluctantly pick Chicago.
St. Louis at Tampa Bay- Hey, what do you know? Two more teams that I can’t figure out. I like this Tampa Bay offense, even though against Pittsburgh and New Orleans they’ve been less than impressive. St. Louis, like every other team in the league looks good some weeks (wins over Washington, Seattle and San Diego) and awful other times (losses to Arizona, Oakland and Detroit). The common trend with St. Louis is their inability to win on the road. I’ll take Tampa Bay.
San Francisco at Carolina- San Francisco. Since this game doesn’t mean anything, let me give you my UFC 121 predictions.
Lesnar over Velazquez
Shields over Kampman
Thiago over Sanchez
Hamill over Ortiz
Gonzaga over Schaub
Buffalo at Baltimore- Baltimore. Sing it with me Bills fans, “Hey ay ay ay! Let’s Go Buffalo!” You’re half the season away from making history as the worst team ever.
Philadelphia at Tennessee- Alright let me break this one down real quick. Philadelphia losses to Green Bay, then win with Vick at QB at Detroit and at Jacksonville. Then they go down to Washington. And the last two weeks they get wins over San Francisco and Atlanta. Now, we look at Tennessee who beat Oakland, New York Giants, Dallas and Jacksonville and lost to Pittsburgh and Denver. What do I gain from these results? Tennessee beat Jacksonville 30-3 and Philadelphia beat Jacksonville 28-3. Tennessee is two points better than Philadelphia. Tennessee gets the win.
Jacksonville at Kansas City- For some reason I really like Kansas City. They aren’t flashy, but they do things right. They have the best rush offense in the league (hard to believe right) and the fifth best rush defense. They’ve dropped two straight, but they were both on the road and were to quality competition (Indy and Houston) and really they played both games very competitively. Jacksonville on the other hand doesn’t give me too much to be excited about, especially since Trent Edwards had to come in for David Garrard last week. Kansas City wins, and goes to 4-2.
Pittsburgh at Miami- Miami is undefeated on the road, winless at home. And Pittsburgh, who now has Big Ben back, could be considered the best team in the league. Pittsburgh wins and Miami stays winless at home.
Cleveland at New Orleans- I know New Orleans has looked far from a Super Bowl contender, but there is no cause for concern in a home game versus Cleveland and their rookie quarterback Colt McCoy. New Orleans wins big.
Arizona at Seattle- Seattle proved last week they could win on the road. Arizona proved two weeks ago they could win a fluke game at home. I hate to say it, but I kind of like this Seattle team. Not in an actual contender way, more like a “whoa, they could actually get 9 wins” way. Seattle wins at home, as expected.
New England at San Diego- Could San Diego’s time at the top of the AFC West be coming to an end? It’s not like they’ve lost to teams that are real contenders (Kansas City, Seattle, Oakland and St. Louis) and they haven’t beat anyone good either (Jacksonville and Arizona.) Their offense is dynamic, but they can’t find ways to win games like good teams should. I love the Randy Moss trade that New England made. In fact, I think getting rid of Moss and signing Deion Branch makes them better than they were with Moss. A bit of a throwback to the Patriot teams that won multiple Super Bowls in the early 2000’s, minus the good defense. I know San Diego is good at home, but I think New England continues to roll.
Oakland at Denver- Denver is a tough place to play (despite their 1-2 record at home this year.) That is solely what I’m basing this pick on. Denver beats Oakland.
Minnesota at Green Bay- This game is a win-win for me. If Chicago wins, we gain a game in the division no matter what. Minnesota is 1-1 since the Randy Moss trade, and won the Panic Bowl last week. Green Bay should be just as panicked as Minnesota. Things are going south quick for the pre-season NFC favorite. Injuries have plagued them and they just don’t look as good as expected. If Minnesota vs. Dallas was the panic bowl, then Minnesota vs. Green Bay is Panic Bowl II. I think Minnesota continues to turn things around.
New York Giants at Dallas- No logic goes into this one. Dallas was my pre-season NFC Super Bowl representative, and if they have any chance of getting there, they must win this game. Dallas wins or their season, and Wade Phillips job effectively crumble.
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