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Posted by Dan on June 13, 2008
Thursday night’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals was not only a strange and entertaining game to watch, but it was an indication of what the NBA is becoming. What am I talking about? Defense.
The Celtics were down by about 20 points in the third quarter last night…however, when you’re defense is as good as theirs, it’s never over. Mounting one of the best comebacks I’ve ever heard of in an NBA Finals game, defense led the way for Boston. They held the Lakers to 15 points in the third quarter and 18 in the fourth. I don’t know about anyone else, but if you can hold Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and the deepest roster in the NBA to 33 points in a half, that is impressive and not to be forgotten…especially since they did it on the road when they were down by 20 at one point!
Why am I bringing this up? Two reasons:
1) It was absolutely amazing to me that being up 2-1 in the series and down 20 points that they didn’t just give up…like most NBA teams would do. Instead they fought back with defense (and a little offense) holding the Lakers to 91 total points.
2) Defense really does win championships! Now I know the series isn’t technically over, but all Boston has to do is win one of three games now…something they could complete in Game 5 in LA. At any rate, I have never truly and completely believed that statement. Yea it sounds nice and maybe in college it works to some degree because teams can play great zone defenses and presses, which leads to many easy baskets for them (the whole “defense is the best offense” bull-oney). However, the Celtics are actually proving it can work in a league with ego-maniacs and millionare players. Their commitment to getting it done defensively is showing the rest of the league that defense can really win championships. Now I know some might be thinking about San Antonio and the championships they’ve won based on defense. My response: they weren’t playing the Lakers in the Finals!!! This Boston team is shutting down the MVP and his offensively gifted cohort! I thought the Lakers would score too many points for the Celtics offensively challenged squad to overcome. Thankfully, I was wrong. If Boston wins, this year could mark an official turning point in the NBA, and we could see more teams turning to defense in order to reach supremacy. Detroit did it in ‘04, San Antonio has done it pretty well over the past few years (even though their Big 3 on offense carries them), and now Boston is leading the way. Who knows, maybe the Suns will start practicing some defense… That might be what it takes from now on to win an NBA Championship.
Posted in Basketball, NBA, Sports | Tagged: Basketball, Boston Celtics, Finals, Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers, NBA, Sports | No Comments »
Posted by Dan on June 11, 2008
Almost every sports fan knows about the NFL and its issues with players testing positive for banned substances such as steroids and illegal drugs like marijuana. Several policies have been put into place to test players throughout the season, which must not be a very easy task.
I say this because I recently discovered that the NFL has a “reasonable cause” testing program that is part of the overall testing policy. This plan basically consists of testing for a certain list of players that may be more likely to test positive. Players who have missed tests in the past are also subject to being placed on this list.
To be honest, this is ridiculous. How can you be more sure about some players testing positive than others? Sure, if they have tested positive in the past then you want to test them again quite frequently. But, how could you determine who should be on this list from the vast majority of players who haven’t tested positive? Those guys are probably just as likely to use an illegal substance than guys who have already been caught once. Are more linebackers and linemen going to be on this list because they are the biggest guys and need the most strength and body mass? Quaterbacks could use steroids too for their arms…look at baseball and how many pitchers juice in that sport. Are they going to test more black players because those players have recently had more frequent marijuana inicidents? This would be like if at the airport the security people only randomly searched people of a darker skin color than white…poor judgement. I can’t believe the NFL would even risk missing some players who are using illegal drugs and substances, especially after what happened in the MLB and how much flack Bud Selig is getting from it. It’s not enough to have random testing plus this “reasonable cause” list. Every player should be subject to testing more frequently, even if they know it’s coming. If testing happens enough, they’ll know they can’t do that stuff because they’ll get caught eventually. If professional sports leagues are really that serious about cleaning up the problem with steroids, enhancers, and drugs, then they should take a more critical approach, even if it costs some extra money. Otherwise, they might as well legalize everything…that would make it easier. I suggest the initial thought: clean up the league now before the problems get any worse. You never know, maybe grown men will respond to a harsh policy and it will eventually be regarded as normal protocol. It’s worth a try.
Posted in NFL, Sports | Tagged: NFL, Sports, steroid testing, steroids/drugs in sports | No Comments »
Posted by Dan on June 6, 2008
On the eve of the Belmont Stakes, much ado is being made about Big Brown and his chances of completing the Triple Crown. While this would be something incredible to witness, I can’t say I really want it to happen.
Horse Racing is one of the oldest sporting practices of this country and has usually been about which horse is the fastest on a given day. That version of the sport is quite fun to watch because the unpredictability is riveting. However, the sport now has become about which horse can perform, and live, while being treated with steroids and other harmful performance enhancing medications.
The horse with the most on the line tomorrow at Belmont is indeed one of the horses being given a performance enhancing substance. While the substance in question, Stanozolol, is legal in the sport, it’s hard to believe it has a completely positive affect on Big Brown. This drug, more comonly known as Winstrol, is meant to improve muscle growth and can be used to stiumulate apetite among weak animals. Something tells me that after his wins at the Kentucky Derby and The Preakness Big Brown must be feeling great fatigue in his body. So, how can it be seen as legal to induce apetite changes and enhance muscle growth on an animal that might not even be healthy enough to race again so soon? How can a sport in which athletic ability is the most important aspect of its players allow anabolic steroids to be legal?
Aside from the fact that it may be putting undue hardship on an animal and the obvious ethical concerns, performance enhancing drugs in horse racing makes the sport so much more predictable and wrogly entertaining. I enjoy watching the major horse races because the long-shot usually has a fair chance of winning…assuming he, and the other horses, are not doped up. However, this time around, the favorite, and Triple Crown hopeful, is pubicly known to be on steroids. And the worst part, if he wins tomorrow, most people will be so caught up in the moment that they won’t realize the Triple Crown was achieved unethically. I compare it to when Barry Bonds broke the homerun record; most people thought it was a great thing to see but would have put an asterisk in the record book next to the number. The difference though, is Big Brown is known to be on steroids and Bonds is only thought to be. This is all the more reason I need to say performance enhancing drugs should be outlawed in horse racing, like all other major sports, especially since the competitor himself, the horse, has no say in whether or not they’re used. It annoys me to know that trainers and owners of these horses will drug them in order to earn some money and chase a sacred feat, like the Triple Crown. If Big Brown wins tomorrow, I move to have an asterisk placed next to the entry in the record books…which is tough to say because Big Brown could have been a special enough horse to win a Triple Crown without having steroids forced upon him. I guess we’ll never know.
Posted in Horse Racing, Sports | Tagged: Belmont Stakes, Big Brown, Horse Racing, Sports, Triple Crown | No Comments »
Posted by Dan on May 21, 2008
THe UEFA Champions League Championship game was a hard fought 120 minutes of futbol and showcased some of the best talent in the world. Manchester United eventually came out on top, but really didn’t prove they were the better team.
After the second overtime period, it was one to one on the scoreboard. I was prepared to grab a snack and come back to watch the third overtime. Instead, I was shocked, utterly shocked, when the teams were lining up for a shootout! What the hell kind of a way is that to end the championship game in the world’s most popular sport? It basically just shows which team is going to be more lucky on that given day. Man U only won because the 5th and final shooter for Chelsea slipped and fell while he was attempting to shoot the winning goal and the ball hit the wrong side of the post and didn’t go in. A couple shooters later the Man U goalie stopped a shot and it was all over.
To me, this is so ridiculous that this game went into a shootout. What is the point to having a shootout when for 120 minutes both teams have competed so strongly. If the game hasn’t been decided in 120 minutes, let them keep playing! These elite athletes don’t want to kick from a few yards from the goalie five times and see who makes more goals. Instead, they’d probably rather fight it out on the whole pitch until someone finally scores another goal. This is even worse than the PGA Players Championship where the first playoff hole was the 17th, which has the island green. A sporting even of such stature, like the Champions League’s last game, should be played out until the best team emerges victorious.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted by Dan on May 19, 2008
On Monday night a young Boston RedSox pitcher threw his way into the record books after pitching a no-hitter on 130 pitches with nine strikeouts and just two walks.
No hitters are always impressive whenever they happen, and it takes a special performance on a special night to ever accomplish this task. Monday night’s situation, however, is extra special because Lester, a 24 year-old left hander, battled and beat cancer in 2006 and 2007. And, while the fight against cancer and the long road to rejuvenating your life after it never ends, this young man is able to play baseball at the highest level throwing mid-90 mph fastballs!
This is a fantastic story and accomplishment for Lester and in the MLB, but in the realm of cancer patients and survivors it serves as a tale of inspiration that is sure to give some patients the strength to figher harder to overcome a dyer situation. In my opinion, cancer fighters and their families are some of the toughest people in the world. Just think if the general population, most of whom don’t have a life-threatening illess, worked that hard in everyday life…what a great world in which we’d live. After seeing someone, Lester, rise from that illness to become an elite athlete, it puts a lot of things in perspective. His no-hitter might be one of the most important sporting occurences ever, especially when you think about the off-field influence it may have.
Posted in MLB, Sports, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted by Dan on April 22, 2008
The Washingon Wizards made it widely known that they were excited to be playing Cleveland in the first round of the playoffs. They also talked extensively about how they were going to knock LeBron James around in an attempt to shut him down. How’s that working out for you, Wiz?
Let’s just say the Cavs have dominated the first two games of the series and will probably end up sweeping or winning in five. The fantastic beat-down strategy of Washington’s coach Eddie Jordan has yet to pay off as LeBron has torched them twice now.
I don’t know what anyone else thinks but Eddie Jordan needs to be fired, especially if this is the best he can do. You know the team isn’t going to win a playoff series when their strategy is to hit and hurt the other team’s players. Jordan obviously has no confidence in his players to go out and beat a mediocre Cavs team. Congratulations for looking like the biggest idiot in the league right now for not being able to 1) come up with a feasible strategy to stop ONE player; 2) control your players and keep them from flagrant fouls; and 3) not being able to win, or come close to winning, with what was the ‘best’ Big Three all of last season! Sure it doesn’t help that Agent Zero has done zero thus far, but something tells me Butler and Jamison have some confidence in their abilities after what was a respectable regualr season.
To reflect, the Wizards are embarassing themselves, Eddie Jordan is an awful coach, and the Cavs look like stars. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t exactly like the Cavs or LeBron but when a 7-foot Center intentionally shoves him from mid-air into the first row, something has to be said. Hopefully the Cavs get the sweep so we don’t have to watch this pathetic Wizards team. Hey, Washington’s GM, I hope you’re reading me and do something about it…you know your team’s in trouble when an NBA fanatic like me can’t stand watching your team anymore. Do the right thing.
Posted in NBA | Tagged: Lebron James, NBA, NBA Playoffs, Wizards | No Comments »
Posted by Dan on April 17, 2008
The NBA is split up into two conferences…the Eastern and Western. Each conference has its own divisions and own standings. This seems simple enough…and harmless. However, when one conference has nine teams that are 14 games over .500 or better there must be a problem.
The Western Conference is far superior depth-wise than the Eastern. This year, nine teams are 14 games over .500 as compared to the East which only has five teams over .500 at all. And, only three of which are 14+ games over .500. My point: there should be no conferences in the NBA.
At first thought this sounds like a crazy idea. Afterall, conferences help develop travel schedules for teams and create some good rivalries. However, the six different divisions in the NBA do the same. So, if conferences were eliminated all together, teams could just play division rivals more often and all other teams at least once or twice throughout the season. This would allow the playoffs to be purely a 16-team bracket as opposed to two 8-team brackets. Also, there wouldn’t be an eight-team limit to how many teams from a conference can make the playoffs. For example, in this season, Golden State wouldn’t be left out with their 48-34 record, which is better than all but three teams in the Eastern Conference! Furthermore, this would enable a better seeding process as it would be based soley on record regardless of where your city is located or what conference or division you’re in. In that case, the 55-27 Suns wouldn’t have to play the 56-26 Spurs on the road in the first round, which is absolutely ridiculous in the first place! What an awful reward for Phoenix after a season in which they were 28 games over .500.
All in all, it would do the NBA good to get rid of the conferences and go to a 16-team playoff bracket. Aside from the benefits for teams and players and being rewarded on a good season, the fans might enjoy this more as well. We’ve seen how successful and popular the NCAA Tournament is with its 65-team draw…so why not take a page out of their book and make the NBA more interesting with a bigger bracket? If David Stern is seriously looking into developing the NBA in Europe and having some European teams in the NBA, he might want to think about conference play first. What is he going to do, put all those teams in the Eastern Conference? Maybe he should perfect the NBA in the U.S. before he does anything too dramatic in another country. Just a thought, Commish; take a look at my suggestion first.
Posted in NBA | Tagged: Conferences, NBA, Playoffs | No Comments »
Posted by Dan on April 13, 2008
The NBA season is just about ending, and the MVP race is more undecided now than ever. The Celtics have the best record in the NBA, the Lakers, Hornets and Rockets are all tied in the loss column in the West, and Detroit is still the most experienced team in the league. All five of these teams have a major all-star who without him, would be nothing more than an average NBA team.
The Boston Celtics have improved more than any team in NBA history over the course of one season and many wonder how they did it. Well, to me, it’s obvious. Kevin Garnett is quite possibly the best all around player in the NBA and has brought that team a unity that is second to none. His ability to teach and mentor several young players has been proven as the Celtics are the best all-around NBA team right now.
The Lakers have perhaps the most well-known player in the NBA, Kobe Bryant. Not much needs to be said about him other than he can single handedly beat almost every team in the NBA. On any given night, he could score 70 points while shutting down the other team’s best offensive threat. He is the favorite right now to win the MVP award this year.
New Orleans is definitely a fan-favorite team this season as they kept up their success from last season to become one of the best teams in the NBA. Chris Paul is the engine that makes that team go. Without him, the Hornets would be somewhere between 12th and 14th in the West. I don’t mean to discount the play of key role players like David West and Tyson Chandler, but Chris Paul makes those guys so much better. They get open shots and easy dunks all game long because of the superiority of Paul’s point guard skills.
Houston has been the most interesting story thus far. They now hold the second longest win streak in NBA history…and got to that point without their best player. When Yao went out, nearly everyone wrote off the Rockets’ playoff chances. Well, Tracy McGrady had a different thought in mind as he put all those young role players on his back and has taken them to the top of the Western Conference. He showed a consistency and confidence that most players never possess. His versatility on the offensive end always means they have a shot to win big games.
The Pistons have been one of the best teams for the past several years. Chauncey Billups is without doubt the most important player on that team. He has tremendous offensive skills as no other point guard in the leage can stop him. He also possesses the toughness and defensive determination with which the Pistons team has won an NBA championsip.
My pick: Chris Paul. He has been the best player in the NBA throughout the entire season and makes his somewhat average supporting cast and weak bench the best team in the Western Conference. While Kobe and KG have incredible teams, they have other help on a nightly basis. Paul has to show up in all-star form on every night in order for his team to win…and he has done that.
Posted in NBA | No Comments »
Posted by Dan on April 8, 2008
On this Tuesday, a day after Kansas won the National Title game in surprising fashion, Coach Bill Self is having to answer questions about whether or not he’ll entertain offers from Oklahoma State about their Head Coaching vacancy. He has strong ties with OSU, and it is widely known how much money one particular booster might donate if Self were to become the next coach. He may just cross that street between Kansas and Oklahoma in a move that would surely warrant an arrest, in my opinion.
While there is nothing but speculation at this time, Self would be making the biggest mistake a coach has ever made in college basketball history if he leaves Kansas. Not only does Kansas have just about as much history as Kentucky-type schools, but Self has everything he’s ever wanted at Kansas. He has complete control of the program, great facilities, one of the strogest fan bases in the country, and now a National Title! The only thing Oklahoma State could offer would be more money in terms of salary…but when Self is already making over a million a year at one of the best programs in all of basketball, it would hardly be worth it.
Last year we almost saw the Florida Gator’s Billy Donovan take the money and run from a back-to-back national champion. He wised up, backed out, and remained at a program that isn’t nearly on the same level in terms of history and consistency as Kansas.
My point: Bill Self would be leaving a top five program for an average program all for some extra coin. Maybe Self is up for the challenge of turning a mediocre OSU program around… He should still pass because even if he goes there, recruits will more likely choose history (Kansas) over a coach starting fresh at a different program. Not to mention the obviousness that Kansas would just replace Self with another top coach or young coaching prosect. In sum, if Self were to cross the border into Oklahoma to take over the program at OSU, it would mark the worst case of jay-walking sports has ever seen.
Posted in NCAA Basketball | No Comments »
Posted by Dan on April 7, 2008
With the last week of the NBA season upon us, the playoff picture is starting to become clear. The East is fairly boring because we all know that Boston and Detroit will meet in the Conference Final eventually. The West, on the other hand, is so much up for grabs. There are about three games that seperate the top six teams, and Golden State and Denver are tied for the 8th and final spot in the playoffs.
Then, there is the seven seed: Dallas. I can say this because they are three games behind the six seed and two games ahead on the eight seed. So, they should feel pretty comfortable that they’re in the playoffs but will probably have to play San Antonio or New Orleans. However, I’d like to take this time to excavate the Mavericks from the grave in which Scott previously placed them.
What brought this to my attention was the game last night at Phoenix. Dallas overcame a 13 point fourth quarter deficit to win, holding the Suns to only nine points in the last frame. This is incredibly impressive to me because defense is what wins championships, and they shut down the best offensive team in the league when it mattered. Not to mention, Nowitzki and Kidd are gelling together on offense and Josh Howard is fantastic on both ends of the floor. Also, don’t forget about young Brandon Bass who is big, physical and versatile and will provide great minutes off the bench.
We’ve seen, in recent years, the Spurs and the Pistons win championships based on defense. Dallas has shown that type of great defense recently. Couple that with the offensive prowess of Dirk, who is sure to show up this year, and the Mavs just might be the sleeper team to come out of the West. Come playoff time, I wouldn’t want my team in the two seed position having to play Dallas in the first round, especially an offensively challeged team like the Spurs. That would be such an intriguing first round matchup as either team could win it all.
Posted in NBA, Playoffs | No Comments »
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