43-12-8. Those were LeBron's numbers today against a very good Magic team. And those are becoming typical numbers for LeBron every day. On top of that, he hit a game-clinching 3 at the end to seal the deal. Recently he had a 50+ point game and before that had 3 straight games with triple doubles. The Cavs are 54-13 and are leading the East and as of today, the entire league. This to me is a MVP resume if there ever was one.
One of the hottest topic in all of sports right now is who's the MVP of the NBA? LeBron, Kobe and Wade are all playing at an extremely high level and all 3 are legitimate candidates. I don't think there has ever been such a strong MVP field in recent years. In fact, some people may argue that even the dudes who won the award in some of the recent years don't deserve it (Nash and Nowitzki). I don't agree with those doubters, but this year, all 3 are deserving candidates and you can't complain if any one of those guys get it.
But LeBron is still the king. LeBron is carrying his team more than Kobe, who has a tonne of talent around him. May be Wade is working with less, but he has not carried his team all that far. Thanks to Wade, Miami is 36-30, but they are still a solid 17.5 games behind LeBron and the Cavs, Cavs excellence needs to be rewarded and what better way to do it than to give LeBron the MVP. It's a 3-way race right now that might go all the way to the last game of the season, but as of today, it's LeBron's award to lose. Wade is second and Kobe is third.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Much ado about nothing
There was a lot of noise surrounding the Suns and the trade deadline. It turned out that the Suns did nothing player-wise and stayed put, but lost Amare anyways to an eye surgery. The trade deadline was a big snooze-fest as none of the big names around the league changed addresses. Just when the team and the fans thought Amare was all set to be a productive Sun the rest of the season, he is out with an unexpected eye surgery. This guy has impeccable timing as far as his injuries and surgeries go. He signed a multi-year deal a few years back and had a knee surgery before he played the first game of the very next season. This year he was part of all kinds of trade speculation and just a day or two after the deadline, he is done for the season. Now Suns are in a bigger hole than ever as far as this season goes.
The Amare speculation was all over the place, but the most intriguing trade rumor was Shaq going to C-town. Wow! As much as I like the Suns to do well and come out of any trade with value on their side, I wouldn't have had a problem seeing Shaq alongside the King even if it meant the Suns had to take back garbage. That would have been awesome theater to say the least. He would have helped the King too given how good he has been this season. Shaq is in good shape and is doing fairly decent in the low post and on defense. In that half-court offense they run in C-town, he would have been a valuable piece for the stretch run. How ironic would it have been if he helped LeBron win a ring after having helped Kobe to 3 rings, and then gravy-trained Wade for one more? Thats three of the best wings in the game today and Shaq would have played, won and tried to steal the credit from all of them.
Kerr came out of the All-Star weekend and promptly fired Coach Terry Poter. I rarely support firing coaches after just 4 months, but this was one of those rare cases I guess. Porter didn't do much for this team and he had to go. Running selectively, or to be more precise, running randomly on a whim, and throwing the ball into Shaq on every half-court possession is not great coaching. May be Porter could have gotten away with it in 2001 when Shaq was Shaq. Plus the whole thing seems to have alienated Amare more than he would like to admit. So Kerr turned over the keys to the car to Alvin gentry and Gentry is driving it at full-speed again. The run-and-gun is back and the Suns have scored 140+ points in 3 straight games.
Of course these wins were against the Clippers (twice) and Thunder, but at least it shows that Gentry is indeed committed the to the run-and-gun and the Suns players are still alive and awake. This is no guarantee the Suns are going to be great again in the West. I mean even the Gonzaga bulldogs can probably drop 100 points on the paper-clips and the Thunder, but 140 points is still huge in the NBA and I was curious to see what happens to the Suns under the new-old regime the rest of the way. We may not get the answer we need this season because Amare is out for the rest of the season with that eye surgery. Typical Suns. One step forward, but two steps backwards.
The Amare speculation was all over the place, but the most intriguing trade rumor was Shaq going to C-town. Wow! As much as I like the Suns to do well and come out of any trade with value on their side, I wouldn't have had a problem seeing Shaq alongside the King even if it meant the Suns had to take back garbage. That would have been awesome theater to say the least. He would have helped the King too given how good he has been this season. Shaq is in good shape and is doing fairly decent in the low post and on defense. In that half-court offense they run in C-town, he would have been a valuable piece for the stretch run. How ironic would it have been if he helped LeBron win a ring after having helped Kobe to 3 rings, and then gravy-trained Wade for one more? Thats three of the best wings in the game today and Shaq would have played, won and tried to steal the credit from all of them.
Kerr came out of the All-Star weekend and promptly fired Coach Terry Poter. I rarely support firing coaches after just 4 months, but this was one of those rare cases I guess. Porter didn't do much for this team and he had to go. Running selectively, or to be more precise, running randomly on a whim, and throwing the ball into Shaq on every half-court possession is not great coaching. May be Porter could have gotten away with it in 2001 when Shaq was Shaq. Plus the whole thing seems to have alienated Amare more than he would like to admit. So Kerr turned over the keys to the car to Alvin gentry and Gentry is driving it at full-speed again. The run-and-gun is back and the Suns have scored 140+ points in 3 straight games.
Of course these wins were against the Clippers (twice) and Thunder, but at least it shows that Gentry is indeed committed the to the run-and-gun and the Suns players are still alive and awake. This is no guarantee the Suns are going to be great again in the West. I mean even the Gonzaga bulldogs can probably drop 100 points on the paper-clips and the Thunder, but 140 points is still huge in the NBA and I was curious to see what happens to the Suns under the new-old regime the rest of the way. We may not get the answer we need this season because Amare is out for the rest of the season with that eye surgery. Typical Suns. One step forward, but two steps backwards.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Mediocrity in Phoenix
The mediocrity that surrounds the Phoenix Suns this season seem to have gotten to the All-Star Saturday today in Phoenix. I personally prefer the Saturday festivities to the game on Sunday, but this one was not all that. The 3-point shootout was weak and the slam-dunk contest had it's moments, but nothing more. I like that the guys are getting creative and are using all kinds of props from phone booths to all-green outfits that signify kryptonite, but the dunks themselves were not as good as last year.
There were a few good ones. I liked Nate Robinson's jump over Dwight Howard. That was incredible. I like the one where Howard dunked the ball off the edge of the side-board and didn't even need more than one attempt to nail that. The Rudy Fernandez dunk was also good, but he needed 200 attempts to make it work. The best part of that dunk was Kenny Smith's funny comments about Rudy's choice of Pau Gasol and J.R.Smith's choice of Sonny Weems to throw these passes. They are not exactly Steve Nash or CP3, though Pau Gasol did a decent job with those passes.
The rookie-Soph game happened yesterday night and I am glad I didn't watch even a second of it. That game should easily be the worst basketball game of the year. It's just like the All-Star game with no defense and everybody trying extra-hard to put on a show, but it's much worse because the talent, experience and the maturity level is ten times worse than that of the All-Stars. No wonder, tickets were available for 5 bucks each for this game on Stubhub. All that remains now is the All-Star game tomorrow. It has some potential to be interesting given how good LeBron, Kobe and Wade are playing and competing these days, but it's still just an All-Star game.
Phoenix is at the center of the NBA world right now for both the right and wrong reasons. It's hosting the All-Star game and is front-and-center in all trade deadline talk. Plus the Arizona Republic is reporting the Suns are going to fire the coach Terry Porter. I support that decision. He has not had any significant impact on the defense - may be he can't, given this Suns personnel. But the bottom-line is , this defense still sucks. So his only contribution has been confusing and derailing the offense. All Porter does is go to Shaq and Shaq has been decent, but this is not the Shaq of 2001. You got to have a better offense than just going to Shaq every time especially if you have talent like Nash, Amare, J-Rich and Barbosa. I hate coaches getting fired too soon, but I don't see an option in this case.
As for the trade deadline, there are a lot of rumors out there about Amare. It's funny how he is saying things like "I have no idea why the Suns would like to trade a super-star who is also still getting better". They want to trade you because you don't play defense, you don't rebound and you just disappear for long stretches of the game. This guy was an unstoppable monster a few years back, now I don't even think it's a bad idea to trade him away. He is the youngest asset the Suns have and I would hate for him to become a monster again somewhere else, but still it kinda makes sense the Suns are trading him. I like that the Suns seem to consider Nash untouchable, though I am a little surprised given his age and Amare's age. Amare still thinks Kerr is a good GM, but has accused the owner Robert Sarver of being money-minded.
Kerr should be a smooth-operator if he is still able to be in the good books of Amare and Shaq. But he has not distinguished himself as a GM yet. One bad decision after another starting with getting rid of Marion for an old Shaq. I was half hoping he would trade Amare to the Heat and get Marion back. But Marion has now ended up in Toronto with the Heat getting Jermaine O'Neal. That trade makes no sense for the Heat given O'Neal's track record of injuries. Pat Riley is saying he has cleared a lot of cap space for 2010 with this trade. For what, I don't know given that Wade is their own player and is one of the prized free agents of 2010. I guess at least he is trying to do something and if O'Neal is healthy, this could work. I think Toronto might trade Bosh next and I wouldn't mind swapping Amare for Bosh.
There were a few good ones. I liked Nate Robinson's jump over Dwight Howard. That was incredible. I like the one where Howard dunked the ball off the edge of the side-board and didn't even need more than one attempt to nail that. The Rudy Fernandez dunk was also good, but he needed 200 attempts to make it work. The best part of that dunk was Kenny Smith's funny comments about Rudy's choice of Pau Gasol and J.R.Smith's choice of Sonny Weems to throw these passes. They are not exactly Steve Nash or CP3, though Pau Gasol did a decent job with those passes.
The rookie-Soph game happened yesterday night and I am glad I didn't watch even a second of it. That game should easily be the worst basketball game of the year. It's just like the All-Star game with no defense and everybody trying extra-hard to put on a show, but it's much worse because the talent, experience and the maturity level is ten times worse than that of the All-Stars. No wonder, tickets were available for 5 bucks each for this game on Stubhub. All that remains now is the All-Star game tomorrow. It has some potential to be interesting given how good LeBron, Kobe and Wade are playing and competing these days, but it's still just an All-Star game.
Phoenix is at the center of the NBA world right now for both the right and wrong reasons. It's hosting the All-Star game and is front-and-center in all trade deadline talk. Plus the Arizona Republic is reporting the Suns are going to fire the coach Terry Porter. I support that decision. He has not had any significant impact on the defense - may be he can't, given this Suns personnel. But the bottom-line is , this defense still sucks. So his only contribution has been confusing and derailing the offense. All Porter does is go to Shaq and Shaq has been decent, but this is not the Shaq of 2001. You got to have a better offense than just going to Shaq every time especially if you have talent like Nash, Amare, J-Rich and Barbosa. I hate coaches getting fired too soon, but I don't see an option in this case.
As for the trade deadline, there are a lot of rumors out there about Amare. It's funny how he is saying things like "I have no idea why the Suns would like to trade a super-star who is also still getting better". They want to trade you because you don't play defense, you don't rebound and you just disappear for long stretches of the game. This guy was an unstoppable monster a few years back, now I don't even think it's a bad idea to trade him away. He is the youngest asset the Suns have and I would hate for him to become a monster again somewhere else, but still it kinda makes sense the Suns are trading him. I like that the Suns seem to consider Nash untouchable, though I am a little surprised given his age and Amare's age. Amare still thinks Kerr is a good GM, but has accused the owner Robert Sarver of being money-minded.
Kerr should be a smooth-operator if he is still able to be in the good books of Amare and Shaq. But he has not distinguished himself as a GM yet. One bad decision after another starting with getting rid of Marion for an old Shaq. I was half hoping he would trade Amare to the Heat and get Marion back. But Marion has now ended up in Toronto with the Heat getting Jermaine O'Neal. That trade makes no sense for the Heat given O'Neal's track record of injuries. Pat Riley is saying he has cleared a lot of cap space for 2010 with this trade. For what, I don't know given that Wade is their own player and is one of the prized free agents of 2010. I guess at least he is trying to do something and if O'Neal is healthy, this could work. I think Toronto might trade Bosh next and I wouldn't mind swapping Amare for Bosh.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
A-Fraud
It's funny that just few days into the whole "Joe Torre called A-Rod, A-Fraud in his book" controversy, A-Rod has indeed been exposed as a fraud. Sports Illustrated has broken the story that Alex Rodriguez was tested positive for not one, but two different steroids in 2003. This was when MLB was doing anonymous testing for God knows what. He was apparently one of 104 dudes who tested positive then and this was one of the reasons MLB and the union eventually adopted more comprehensive testing. It turns out the testing was not very anonymous after all. I am sure the other 103 players should be very happy knowing that. It was hidden from George Mitchell and his report too, but suddenly it's leaking like a sieve now.
This was the hottest sports news of the weekend because A-Rod is the biggest name in the sport of baseball. It's another blow to the credibility of this era and all the great numbers from this era. A-Rod has great numbers and MLB was hoping he would be the guy who leads MLB and it's records in to the new, supposedly cleaner era. But now, he is just another cheater and MLB has to live with him and his records for the next several years just like they did with Bonds and his tainted numbers. And of course, the inevitable "does he belong in the hall of fame?" question is already coming out. The only positive in all this for A-Rod is that, if he weathers the storm, he has many years to recover from this. He would really be in trouble legacy-wise if he retired in a year or two.
Am I surprised? Not really. I had no specific doubts or opinion on A-Rod and I always liked him as a player. But are any of us stupid enough to trust anybody in this game anymore? I always had a problem when experts like Peter Gammons came out and said things like "clean" players like Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey want more testing because they don't want to be looked at as cheaters. My reaction was always why use any names? How do you know those are "clean" players? They will say they want more testing, but how does Gammons know they are not lying? For all we know, they could be the biggest "roiders" ever. Same with A-Rod or any other name you want to insert in that Gammons comment. It turns out A-Rod is not clean after all though many people assumed he was and he is done now.
If A-Rod thought he had issues with the fans and was already called A-Fraud for no apparent reason, I can't imagine what he has to endure the next couple of years. Of course, he has refused to comment on the controversy as of now and that pretty much means he is guilty in my book. Now he can deny it all or come clean and for some reason, America likes the guys who come clean. I don't understand the psychology of it, but thats been the history so far with Jason Giambi and Andy Pettite and Giambi wouldn't even tell us what he was apologizing for! Now A-Rod has to face the music and he is going to get killed until he wins a championship. But I think he minimizes the damage by accepting it, apologizing for it and claiming he stopped roiding up in 2003 and has never done it again. Lets see how this thing plays out.
Now I want to know the other 103 names. That will make this more fun.
This was the hottest sports news of the weekend because A-Rod is the biggest name in the sport of baseball. It's another blow to the credibility of this era and all the great numbers from this era. A-Rod has great numbers and MLB was hoping he would be the guy who leads MLB and it's records in to the new, supposedly cleaner era. But now, he is just another cheater and MLB has to live with him and his records for the next several years just like they did with Bonds and his tainted numbers. And of course, the inevitable "does he belong in the hall of fame?" question is already coming out. The only positive in all this for A-Rod is that, if he weathers the storm, he has many years to recover from this. He would really be in trouble legacy-wise if he retired in a year or two.
Am I surprised? Not really. I had no specific doubts or opinion on A-Rod and I always liked him as a player. But are any of us stupid enough to trust anybody in this game anymore? I always had a problem when experts like Peter Gammons came out and said things like "clean" players like Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey want more testing because they don't want to be looked at as cheaters. My reaction was always why use any names? How do you know those are "clean" players? They will say they want more testing, but how does Gammons know they are not lying? For all we know, they could be the biggest "roiders" ever. Same with A-Rod or any other name you want to insert in that Gammons comment. It turns out A-Rod is not clean after all though many people assumed he was and he is done now.
If A-Rod thought he had issues with the fans and was already called A-Fraud for no apparent reason, I can't imagine what he has to endure the next couple of years. Of course, he has refused to comment on the controversy as of now and that pretty much means he is guilty in my book. Now he can deny it all or come clean and for some reason, America likes the guys who come clean. I don't understand the psychology of it, but thats been the history so far with Jason Giambi and Andy Pettite and Giambi wouldn't even tell us what he was apologizing for! Now A-Rod has to face the music and he is going to get killed until he wins a championship. But I think he minimizes the damage by accepting it, apologizing for it and claiming he stopped roiding up in 2003 and has never done it again. Lets see how this thing plays out.
Now I want to know the other 103 names. That will make this more fun.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
MSG is home sweet home
Madison Square Garden has become home to anybody and everybody except the New York Knicks. The Knicks have been bad for a few years, but now with Mike D'Antoni coaching them, the defense is even worse and the pace is more up-tempo resulting in increased scoring and more fun for the visitors. Superstars always want to do well in MSG because it's New York and the arena has a lot of history and tradition and they want to leave their mark in the Big Apple. I think Michael Jordan set the precedent through his numerous performances against the Knicks at the garden. This week saw both Kobe and LeBron go into the Garden back to back and put on a show.
First Kobe went nuts and scored 61. It was an amazing performance as Kobe scored efficiently on not that many shots. Kobe even got MVP cheers on the road in NYC. The next game brought LeBron to the city and people were expecting big things from him even before the game because of what Kobe did 2 days back. These two are the best in this business and it's only natural for LeBron to try and outshine Kobe. But still I was very impressed by how LeBron stepped up tot he challenge. I was curious to see how he responds because in the past, he may not have had the drive to out-perform Kobe. But he is a different man these days. This game was another step in his evolution as a great superstar in this game.
LeBron not only almost matched Kobe, but he was even more impressive doing it his way. He scored 52 points, but played his usual complete floor game for a 52-10-11 night. Those are ridiculous numbers. Thats almost 72 points via the shots and assists combined. LeBron is the man! Great back-to-back games for the Knicks season ticket holders. It should have been a lot of fun watching Kobe and LeBron light up the scoreboard. New York welcomes the Celtics tomorrow and that will get ugly for the Knicks as well, especially since the Celtics lost to the Lakers today in a great game that went to overtime.
The season is heating up and the top 4 teams are the Lakers, Magic, Cavs and the Celtics in that order. The Andrew Bynum injury slows down the Lakers significantly. How significant it is, time will tell. His toughness and defense will be sorely missed. But the Celtics couldn't bully the Bynum-less Lakers in to a defeat today. There's a weird rumor out there that the Lakers might even be interested in getting Shaq in a trade. That would be big - no pun intended, because of all the history there. I can't believe Buss will pay Shaq so much money now since he refused to pay him back in the day when Shaq was actually good.
I wouldn't be surprised if it happens because Shaq is right now playing very well, he can fill in for Bynum, he can give them the toughness against the Celtics and his massive salary comes off the books next year. It could happen. If I was Kobe, I don't want him because he will get a lot of credit if they win the championship and Kobe would rather win one without Shaq to cement his legacy and stop Shaq from singing stupid lyrics like "Kobe couldn't do it without me!". This could be an interesting trade deadline with some big names moving. Keep an eye on Amare Stoudemire. Something is cooking with Amare and the Suns.
First Kobe went nuts and scored 61. It was an amazing performance as Kobe scored efficiently on not that many shots. Kobe even got MVP cheers on the road in NYC. The next game brought LeBron to the city and people were expecting big things from him even before the game because of what Kobe did 2 days back. These two are the best in this business and it's only natural for LeBron to try and outshine Kobe. But still I was very impressed by how LeBron stepped up tot he challenge. I was curious to see how he responds because in the past, he may not have had the drive to out-perform Kobe. But he is a different man these days. This game was another step in his evolution as a great superstar in this game.
LeBron not only almost matched Kobe, but he was even more impressive doing it his way. He scored 52 points, but played his usual complete floor game for a 52-10-11 night. Those are ridiculous numbers. Thats almost 72 points via the shots and assists combined. LeBron is the man! Great back-to-back games for the Knicks season ticket holders. It should have been a lot of fun watching Kobe and LeBron light up the scoreboard. New York welcomes the Celtics tomorrow and that will get ugly for the Knicks as well, especially since the Celtics lost to the Lakers today in a great game that went to overtime.
The season is heating up and the top 4 teams are the Lakers, Magic, Cavs and the Celtics in that order. The Andrew Bynum injury slows down the Lakers significantly. How significant it is, time will tell. His toughness and defense will be sorely missed. But the Celtics couldn't bully the Bynum-less Lakers in to a defeat today. There's a weird rumor out there that the Lakers might even be interested in getting Shaq in a trade. That would be big - no pun intended, because of all the history there. I can't believe Buss will pay Shaq so much money now since he refused to pay him back in the day when Shaq was actually good.
I wouldn't be surprised if it happens because Shaq is right now playing very well, he can fill in for Bynum, he can give them the toughness against the Celtics and his massive salary comes off the books next year. It could happen. If I was Kobe, I don't want him because he will get a lot of credit if they win the championship and Kobe would rather win one without Shaq to cement his legacy and stop Shaq from singing stupid lyrics like "Kobe couldn't do it without me!". This could be an interesting trade deadline with some big names moving. Keep an eye on Amare Stoudemire. Something is cooking with Amare and the Suns.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Super Game!
America is still celebrating the greatness of the game that was the Super Bowl. But was it the greatest Super Bowl ever? There's some argument over that and I have not seen all 43 Super Bowls to answer this definitively. My first question when the game ended was whether this game was even better than last year's Super Bowl. People forget that last year's game featured a great comeback and a huge upset. What has put this game ahead in a lot of people's eyes is that if featured 2 comebacks and 2 "game-winning" drives if thats even possible! Personally, I might also be looking at this game through the tinted lenses of a Cardinals fan. Classic games don't feel that great for the losing teams or their fans.
The game did have everything. The clutch execution, big plays in the late fourth quarter and the high-level of QB play made this a game for the ages. Kurt Warner was on fire the entire second half and Larry Fitzgerald went from one catch in the first half to 7 catches and 127 yards for the game. That 64 yard pass to Fitz with 2 minutes and change to go was a beauty. It was amazing to watch Fitz accelerate and just separate from the 3 guys who were chasing him. I have not seen the short-slant pass go the distance like that in a while, though this was not technically a slant. It was an incredibly exciting play and everybody thought that was the game winner.
Big Ben had other ideas as he started driving the Steelers on that last possession. Big Ben had not looked that good in the second half though the Cards didn't seem like they were capable of stopping him in the first half. I am not a Big Ben fan, but he definitely converted me with this performance. The Cads looked like they got to him many times, but he always escaped. The guy is so slippery and is so strong. A unique combination and a frustrating one if you were a Cards fan. His escapability and his ability to make plays was very much on display in this game. And that play to score the game-winning TD was just as incredible as the Warner-Fitz TD. Ben just missed Santonio Holmes on the other end of the end zone the previous play, but hit him perfectly the very next play. Only this time he put it at the right corner and above 3 defenders.
Holmes made a great catch and landed in-bounds to seal the deal. He also won the MVP that some people think should have gone to Ben. I thought either of them would have been a great choice. Poor Warner should have felt like Holmes stole his MVP trophy. Great day for Big Ben all around. We all knew he wanted to have a great game because he didn't feel too good about his first Super Bowl performance despite the ring he won. Not only did he get the opportunity to do something special in this game, he nailed it. He couldn't have written a better script for this game except that, for some reason, the wide recivers keep getting the MVP whenever he wins the Super Bowl. Many people think he still doesn't get the credit he deserves because he runs around like a chicken and doesn't look too smooth as a passer. There is some truth to that. Plus he is too big for a QB and doesn't put up huge numbers like a Peyton Manning or a Drew Brees. But he is an accurate passer and a great QB and hats off to Big Ben.
As for Warner, I did say he needs to win this one for a hall of fame spot, but not anymore. His 377 yards against this defense in this game and the great play in the fourth quarter puts him in the hall in my opinion. He is statistically one of the best Super Bowl QBs ever and his clutch play in this one was impressive. I sure hope he comes back next year to lead the Cards again. Not to sound like a broken record, you give him time in the pocket, he is one of the best QBs ever, period. But Warner might have also lost the game for the Cards with that interception at the end of the second quarter. It was a 14 point turnaround right there and you have to wonder how the game would have turned out if the Cards were leading 14-10 at the half instead of trailing 7-17. I personally thought that it was a big play, but it happened early enough in the game and I knew Warner can overcome it, that I was ready to accept it as just "part of the game".
This may sound like a boring simplification of a game this great, but the real reason the Cards lost this game was due to the penalties. As simple as that. Warner and Fitzgerald were the only reason that they could overcome the 106 penalty yards against a defense this good. The game was not free of controversies either. I am not sure why the last Warner fumble was not reviewed, though I think it was too close to call and I was fine with whatever was called. But Santonio Holmes used the football to do the LeBron James powder thing to celebrate his TD and that should have resulted in a 15 yard penalty. If Warner's fumble was reviewed and over-turned, and if you added another 15 yards for a steeler celebrating that fumble by removing his helmet, you are looking at Arizona with the ball at around the Pittsburgh 15 yard line. You are telling me you wouldn't want to see that one play with 5 seconds on the clock, 15 yards to go, Warner with the ball and Larry Fitzgerald in the end zone?
Well. one can only imagine.
The game did have everything. The clutch execution, big plays in the late fourth quarter and the high-level of QB play made this a game for the ages. Kurt Warner was on fire the entire second half and Larry Fitzgerald went from one catch in the first half to 7 catches and 127 yards for the game. That 64 yard pass to Fitz with 2 minutes and change to go was a beauty. It was amazing to watch Fitz accelerate and just separate from the 3 guys who were chasing him. I have not seen the short-slant pass go the distance like that in a while, though this was not technically a slant. It was an incredibly exciting play and everybody thought that was the game winner.
Big Ben had other ideas as he started driving the Steelers on that last possession. Big Ben had not looked that good in the second half though the Cards didn't seem like they were capable of stopping him in the first half. I am not a Big Ben fan, but he definitely converted me with this performance. The Cads looked like they got to him many times, but he always escaped. The guy is so slippery and is so strong. A unique combination and a frustrating one if you were a Cards fan. His escapability and his ability to make plays was very much on display in this game. And that play to score the game-winning TD was just as incredible as the Warner-Fitz TD. Ben just missed Santonio Holmes on the other end of the end zone the previous play, but hit him perfectly the very next play. Only this time he put it at the right corner and above 3 defenders.
Holmes made a great catch and landed in-bounds to seal the deal. He also won the MVP that some people think should have gone to Ben. I thought either of them would have been a great choice. Poor Warner should have felt like Holmes stole his MVP trophy. Great day for Big Ben all around. We all knew he wanted to have a great game because he didn't feel too good about his first Super Bowl performance despite the ring he won. Not only did he get the opportunity to do something special in this game, he nailed it. He couldn't have written a better script for this game except that, for some reason, the wide recivers keep getting the MVP whenever he wins the Super Bowl. Many people think he still doesn't get the credit he deserves because he runs around like a chicken and doesn't look too smooth as a passer. There is some truth to that. Plus he is too big for a QB and doesn't put up huge numbers like a Peyton Manning or a Drew Brees. But he is an accurate passer and a great QB and hats off to Big Ben.
As for Warner, I did say he needs to win this one for a hall of fame spot, but not anymore. His 377 yards against this defense in this game and the great play in the fourth quarter puts him in the hall in my opinion. He is statistically one of the best Super Bowl QBs ever and his clutch play in this one was impressive. I sure hope he comes back next year to lead the Cards again. Not to sound like a broken record, you give him time in the pocket, he is one of the best QBs ever, period. But Warner might have also lost the game for the Cards with that interception at the end of the second quarter. It was a 14 point turnaround right there and you have to wonder how the game would have turned out if the Cards were leading 14-10 at the half instead of trailing 7-17. I personally thought that it was a big play, but it happened early enough in the game and I knew Warner can overcome it, that I was ready to accept it as just "part of the game".
This may sound like a boring simplification of a game this great, but the real reason the Cards lost this game was due to the penalties. As simple as that. Warner and Fitzgerald were the only reason that they could overcome the 106 penalty yards against a defense this good. The game was not free of controversies either. I am not sure why the last Warner fumble was not reviewed, though I think it was too close to call and I was fine with whatever was called. But Santonio Holmes used the football to do the LeBron James powder thing to celebrate his TD and that should have resulted in a 15 yard penalty. If Warner's fumble was reviewed and over-turned, and if you added another 15 yards for a steeler celebrating that fumble by removing his helmet, you are looking at Arizona with the ball at around the Pittsburgh 15 yard line. You are telling me you wouldn't want to see that one play with 5 seconds on the clock, 15 yards to go, Warner with the ball and Larry Fitzgerald in the end zone?
Well. one can only imagine.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Billion Dollar Game
The Super Bowl weekend is almost here and America is getting ready for the biggest sporting event of the year. Like Allen St. John explains in his interesting book "The Billion Dollar Game", the economic impact of this game is far-reaching. The most obvious economic impact of this event is apparent on the television screens. The TV ratings for this game this year will be huge as always and the cost of the advertisement spots have only gone up. It's going to cost the companies 3 million dollars for a 30 second spot. Thats a lot of cash especially in this brutal economic climate. Still there are enough companies that are lining up to advertise on super sunday. Some usual suspects have dropped out but new ones like the restaurant chain Dennys have come on board. As always, you can expect a significant contingent watching this game just for the new and funny ads. Las Vegas is hoping to be the other big beneficiary on super sunday as millions of dollars will be wagered on this game. Vegas didn't quite appreciate the New York Giants' stunning upset of the New England Patriots last year as the sports books lost a lot of money.
As for the game itself, it should be a good one. The Pittsburgh Steelers and their top-ranked defense is playing the Arizona Cardinals and their fourth ranked offense. A classic defense versus offense match-up that I think is going to be a lot closer than people think. Very few experts are giving Arizona any chance as they expect the better team Pittsburgh from the superior conference AFC to win it all. But the neutral site, good weather and the corporate Super Bowl crowds blunts the Steelers defense a little bit and plays right into the hands of the Arizona offense. This game would be a lot tougher for the Cardinals if it was played in the cold Pittsburgh weather with it's rabid crowds waving the terrible towels and screaming at the top of the lungs. Though the tradition and the history of the Steelers will pull in way more fans than the relative anonymity of the Cardinals franchise, it'll still be a fairly docile crowd by NFL standards that a veteran quarterback like Kurt Warner should be able to handle.
Speaking of Kurt Warner, he has had a tremendous season and he deserves all the credit for steering this lowly Cardinals franchise to such great heights. He is a classy guy who is easy to root for and even at the ripe old age of 37, Warner is way better than the guy he was supposed to backup - Matt Leinart. One of the major discussion all week has been about whether or not Warner belongs in the hall of fame. As much as I like Warner, I still think he needs to win this game to cement his spot in the hall of fame. This is his 3-Rd Super Bowl with his second team and thats quite impressive to say the least. But still he has been quite inconsistent in his career and he needs this second championship to erase all doubts about his hall of fame credentials. He is going up against Big Ben Roethlisberger who is also working on his second ring and is very motivated to get it. Big Ben didn't play well in his previous Super Bowl and the Steelers won that one in spite of him and not necessarily because of him. One of the interesting stats of this Super Bowl is that it features opposing quarterbacks who were born more than 10 years apart. Thats unusual. They are both very good and they will both be ready to play on Sunday.
It's common for everybody to spend a lot of time talking about the quarterbacks in any football game, but the most important player in this Super Bowl is clearly Arizona's stud receiver Larry Fitzgerald. He is a true freak of nature with incredible size, jumping ability and a pair of great hands that seem to pull in all passes Warner throws in his vicinity. His ability to elevate over his defenders and catch the ball at it's highest point and bring it in safely is just amazing to watch. It should be fun to watch this guy play against a great defense like the Steelers. Pittsburgh strong safety Troy Polamalu is one of the best athletes on the other side and I can't wait to see Fitzgerald and Polamalu go up against each other in this game. If the Cardinals can keep the pressure off of Kurt Warner, he will find a way to get the ball to Fitzgerald and thats how Arizona has been winning throughout these playoffs. This is easier said than done against a tough defense like the Steelers, but if Warner is in rhythm, he is hard to stop and beautiful to watch. Steelers better get after him and disrupt his rhythm if they want to win this game.
For most fans watching the Super Bowl on TV, the game almost doesn't matter. Super Bowl is just a great event when they get to meet friends, drink some adult beverages and have a good time. A good game is just a bonus and I expect this Super Bowl to give us a great game. We have had enough time to slice and dice all angles of this match-up and now it's almost time for the real game. The constant hype for two weeks on TV channels like ESPN can sometimes be tiring even to the die-hard football fans, but thats the reality of this day and age with 24 hour sports TV and radio channels. Thankfully the two week wait is almost over and the kickoff is almost here. Tampa Bay and it's 70 degree weather should provide the perfect setting for this game. I am so ready for this Super Bowl.
As for the game itself, it should be a good one. The Pittsburgh Steelers and their top-ranked defense is playing the Arizona Cardinals and their fourth ranked offense. A classic defense versus offense match-up that I think is going to be a lot closer than people think. Very few experts are giving Arizona any chance as they expect the better team Pittsburgh from the superior conference AFC to win it all. But the neutral site, good weather and the corporate Super Bowl crowds blunts the Steelers defense a little bit and plays right into the hands of the Arizona offense. This game would be a lot tougher for the Cardinals if it was played in the cold Pittsburgh weather with it's rabid crowds waving the terrible towels and screaming at the top of the lungs. Though the tradition and the history of the Steelers will pull in way more fans than the relative anonymity of the Cardinals franchise, it'll still be a fairly docile crowd by NFL standards that a veteran quarterback like Kurt Warner should be able to handle.
Speaking of Kurt Warner, he has had a tremendous season and he deserves all the credit for steering this lowly Cardinals franchise to such great heights. He is a classy guy who is easy to root for and even at the ripe old age of 37, Warner is way better than the guy he was supposed to backup - Matt Leinart. One of the major discussion all week has been about whether or not Warner belongs in the hall of fame. As much as I like Warner, I still think he needs to win this game to cement his spot in the hall of fame. This is his 3-Rd Super Bowl with his second team and thats quite impressive to say the least. But still he has been quite inconsistent in his career and he needs this second championship to erase all doubts about his hall of fame credentials. He is going up against Big Ben Roethlisberger who is also working on his second ring and is very motivated to get it. Big Ben didn't play well in his previous Super Bowl and the Steelers won that one in spite of him and not necessarily because of him. One of the interesting stats of this Super Bowl is that it features opposing quarterbacks who were born more than 10 years apart. Thats unusual. They are both very good and they will both be ready to play on Sunday.
It's common for everybody to spend a lot of time talking about the quarterbacks in any football game, but the most important player in this Super Bowl is clearly Arizona's stud receiver Larry Fitzgerald. He is a true freak of nature with incredible size, jumping ability and a pair of great hands that seem to pull in all passes Warner throws in his vicinity. His ability to elevate over his defenders and catch the ball at it's highest point and bring it in safely is just amazing to watch. It should be fun to watch this guy play against a great defense like the Steelers. Pittsburgh strong safety Troy Polamalu is one of the best athletes on the other side and I can't wait to see Fitzgerald and Polamalu go up against each other in this game. If the Cardinals can keep the pressure off of Kurt Warner, he will find a way to get the ball to Fitzgerald and thats how Arizona has been winning throughout these playoffs. This is easier said than done against a tough defense like the Steelers, but if Warner is in rhythm, he is hard to stop and beautiful to watch. Steelers better get after him and disrupt his rhythm if they want to win this game.
For most fans watching the Super Bowl on TV, the game almost doesn't matter. Super Bowl is just a great event when they get to meet friends, drink some adult beverages and have a good time. A good game is just a bonus and I expect this Super Bowl to give us a great game. We have had enough time to slice and dice all angles of this match-up and now it's almost time for the real game. The constant hype for two weeks on TV channels like ESPN can sometimes be tiring even to the die-hard football fans, but thats the reality of this day and age with 24 hour sports TV and radio channels. Thankfully the two week wait is almost over and the kickoff is almost here. Tampa Bay and it's 70 degree weather should provide the perfect setting for this game. I am so ready for this Super Bowl.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Time to rebuild?
This was the first Sunday since August without a football game. It does feel weird and you realize how much this country has become a football nation. There was NBA to fill the void, but you did feel a void for sure even if you are a NBA fan. ABC had the Celtics-Mavs followed by Spurs-Lakers and both games turned out to be one-sided. The Mavs got blown out by Boston much like the Suns last week. This was after they got blown out by Milwaukee and they blew out the Detroit Pistons themselves.
It's interesting to see how both the Suns and the Mavs seem to be in the same boat. Both used to be at the top of the Western heap, but now are fighting for a playoff spot. Both teams are very inconsistent and up and down. Both teams routinely get blown out on the road. It's clear both these teams are just due for a make-over. Given that the talent differential is not that high in professional sports and especially with good teams like the Mavs and Suns, there can be only one reason for frequent blowouts - a lack of effort.
It's clear what's happening with both these teams. They are veteran teams bored with mediocrity. They have been close to the mountain top and they don't feel all that excited about their inevitable slide down. Young, up and coming teams get excited about making the playoffs and clinching the 7-Th or 8-Th spot, but the Suns and the Mavs obviously cannot be motivated by just that after headlining the playoffs the last 5 or 6 years and making multiple Western conference finals. Now these vets don't see themselves going that far and are not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. So when they get down by 10 in a game, they just give up. No energy or enthusiasm to fight back.
All this means is that the GMs of the Suns and the Mavs have to start looking at rebuilding. It's not going to be easy given the age and salary of stars in these teams, but it has to be done sooner or later - better sooner than later. If you are not going anywhere, you can either grab a snickers bar or start wheeling and dealing and re-building on the fly. I think both these teams have to cross that bridge. They may have to go the Miami route where the Heat held on to Wade and are re-building around him. They can't be afraid to take a step back for a year or two for future greatness.
Mavs and Suns can't just tweak this roster here and there and catchup with the Lakers, Celtics, Cavs or even the Hornets of the World. I would say the Mavs hold onto Dirk and Suns hold onto Amare and look at gutting the rest of their roster. I am a Suns fanatic and I love nothing more than watching Steve Nash in a Suns uniform, but even I have to say, the Nash trade rumors make sense. He is one of the guys on the Suns roster with some trade value and the new Suns don't use all of his skills anyways. He is a defensive liability who probably can be hidden well in a defensively superior roster. I wouldn't be surprised if Kerr pulls the trigger.
The straight-up Nowitzki for Amare trade rumors are also out there. I don't see the point in these except that it'll shake-up both the teams I am talking about. It's obvious everybody thinks these two teams need to do something drastic to get back in the game. Lets see what happens. Who knows, Nash might be throwing alley-oops to LeBron in a month or so. Speaking of the King, dude has been amazing. He hit the first buzzer-beating game winner of his career on Friday against the Warriors. Then he had another monster game on the road against the Jazz. This guy is on a clear-cut MVP pace this season. He is dominating on all fronts and is unstoppable.
The other unstoppable team in the NBA are the Lakers. Today, they pummeled the Spurs at home. Bynum has been awesome the last week and this guy can put the Lakers over the top. Bynum is coming into his own after his return from injury and getting used to playing with Pau and the new alignment, Add his defense and offense to Kobe and Pau and that ridiculously loaded bench, the Lakers are a scary team. I sure hope the Celts, Cavs or the Magic stop the Lakers. I don't see anybody in the West touching them.
It's interesting to see how both the Suns and the Mavs seem to be in the same boat. Both used to be at the top of the Western heap, but now are fighting for a playoff spot. Both teams are very inconsistent and up and down. Both teams routinely get blown out on the road. It's clear both these teams are just due for a make-over. Given that the talent differential is not that high in professional sports and especially with good teams like the Mavs and Suns, there can be only one reason for frequent blowouts - a lack of effort.
It's clear what's happening with both these teams. They are veteran teams bored with mediocrity. They have been close to the mountain top and they don't feel all that excited about their inevitable slide down. Young, up and coming teams get excited about making the playoffs and clinching the 7-Th or 8-Th spot, but the Suns and the Mavs obviously cannot be motivated by just that after headlining the playoffs the last 5 or 6 years and making multiple Western conference finals. Now these vets don't see themselves going that far and are not seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. So when they get down by 10 in a game, they just give up. No energy or enthusiasm to fight back.
All this means is that the GMs of the Suns and the Mavs have to start looking at rebuilding. It's not going to be easy given the age and salary of stars in these teams, but it has to be done sooner or later - better sooner than later. If you are not going anywhere, you can either grab a snickers bar or start wheeling and dealing and re-building on the fly. I think both these teams have to cross that bridge. They may have to go the Miami route where the Heat held on to Wade and are re-building around him. They can't be afraid to take a step back for a year or two for future greatness.
Mavs and Suns can't just tweak this roster here and there and catchup with the Lakers, Celtics, Cavs or even the Hornets of the World. I would say the Mavs hold onto Dirk and Suns hold onto Amare and look at gutting the rest of their roster. I am a Suns fanatic and I love nothing more than watching Steve Nash in a Suns uniform, but even I have to say, the Nash trade rumors make sense. He is one of the guys on the Suns roster with some trade value and the new Suns don't use all of his skills anyways. He is a defensive liability who probably can be hidden well in a defensively superior roster. I wouldn't be surprised if Kerr pulls the trigger.
The straight-up Nowitzki for Amare trade rumors are also out there. I don't see the point in these except that it'll shake-up both the teams I am talking about. It's obvious everybody thinks these two teams need to do something drastic to get back in the game. Lets see what happens. Who knows, Nash might be throwing alley-oops to LeBron in a month or so. Speaking of the King, dude has been amazing. He hit the first buzzer-beating game winner of his career on Friday against the Warriors. Then he had another monster game on the road against the Jazz. This guy is on a clear-cut MVP pace this season. He is dominating on all fronts and is unstoppable.
The other unstoppable team in the NBA are the Lakers. Today, they pummeled the Spurs at home. Bynum has been awesome the last week and this guy can put the Lakers over the top. Bynum is coming into his own after his return from injury and getting used to playing with Pau and the new alignment, Add his defense and offense to Kobe and Pau and that ridiculously loaded bench, the Lakers are a scary team. I sure hope the Celts, Cavs or the Magic stop the Lakers. I don't see anybody in the West touching them.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Suns lose to Knicks
Suns went into New York and lost today like they have been prone to do lately. They didn't get embarrassed like the other day at Boston, but this was bad enough considering they were playing against their old friend and ex-coach Mike D'Antoni. Nash gave him a hearty hug before the game, but his 19 assists were not enough to secure a Suns win. Nash has been raining assists lately, but the Suns are still a mediocre team. Some days they look real good beating the Mavs or nearly-beating the Spurs, but then on other days, they lose to the Knicks.
Terry Porter has made some changes and some people say the Suns are better for it, but things are still not significantly better. The ball goes into Shaq a lot more and they run a lot less, but the defense is nowhere near where it needs to be, Nash gets exposed every night and the others in the team are not much better either. They just don't have the right personnel for defense. For instance, how can David Lee have a 25-16 night with Shaq and Amare in the paint? Amare had a grand total of 4 boards today. I am sure D'Antoni loved how the Lee-Shaq/Amare match-up turned out today. The Suns are nowhere near the class of the Lakers or the Celtics and and with all the changes, this team is still searching for an identity. So I don't know where they are headed, but I would have to guess not too far.
The Suns are really riding one of the most under-rated curses in all of sports. The "Lew Alcindor curse" is now 40 years and counting and it would stick out like a sore thumb in Phoenix if the Cardinals win the Super Bowl. Even Sportscenter referred to Phoenix as a NBA-town last week. Phoenix quite frankly is not the greatest sports-town period these days, but it used to be a hard-core NBA market in the 90's before the influx of all the new franchises. Nobody cared about the Cards back then and the DBacks, Coyotes and Jake Plummer where not in town yet. DBacks got their championship within a few years and if the Cards get theirs next week, the Suns will be left all alone. I hope the Cards win, but I want the Suns curse to end soon too.
In other news, Jeff Kent is retiring. He is the most under-rated baseball player of all time. He is one of the best ever to play at second base, but few people realize that. Dude is not the best human being - who can forget his motor-cylce lie, but he never got credit for all of his baseball exploits. He put up great numbers and it was always credited to him either protecting or playing in front of Barry Bonds. He then went to Houston and now his success was all because of Biggio, Bagwell and Berkman or it was because of the small juice box out there for a baseball park. But Kent went to LA and still put up decent numbers until he got too old the last couple of season. He never got along with Bonds or for that matter with anybody, but Bonds was the only guy who wanted the Giants to re-sign him. Bonds is no fool and he knew how good Kent was and Bonds also knew that the Giants would not spend the money to replace him in the lineup with an equivalent bat. But the fans had no appreciation and thats been Kent's story everywhere. Now he is retired and I would definitely put him in the Hall of Fame.
Terry Porter has made some changes and some people say the Suns are better for it, but things are still not significantly better. The ball goes into Shaq a lot more and they run a lot less, but the defense is nowhere near where it needs to be, Nash gets exposed every night and the others in the team are not much better either. They just don't have the right personnel for defense. For instance, how can David Lee have a 25-16 night with Shaq and Amare in the paint? Amare had a grand total of 4 boards today. I am sure D'Antoni loved how the Lee-Shaq/Amare match-up turned out today. The Suns are nowhere near the class of the Lakers or the Celtics and and with all the changes, this team is still searching for an identity. So I don't know where they are headed, but I would have to guess not too far.
The Suns are really riding one of the most under-rated curses in all of sports. The "Lew Alcindor curse" is now 40 years and counting and it would stick out like a sore thumb in Phoenix if the Cardinals win the Super Bowl. Even Sportscenter referred to Phoenix as a NBA-town last week. Phoenix quite frankly is not the greatest sports-town period these days, but it used to be a hard-core NBA market in the 90's before the influx of all the new franchises. Nobody cared about the Cards back then and the DBacks, Coyotes and Jake Plummer where not in town yet. DBacks got their championship within a few years and if the Cards get theirs next week, the Suns will be left all alone. I hope the Cards win, but I want the Suns curse to end soon too.
In other news, Jeff Kent is retiring. He is the most under-rated baseball player of all time. He is one of the best ever to play at second base, but few people realize that. Dude is not the best human being - who can forget his motor-cylce lie, but he never got credit for all of his baseball exploits. He put up great numbers and it was always credited to him either protecting or playing in front of Barry Bonds. He then went to Houston and now his success was all because of Biggio, Bagwell and Berkman or it was because of the small juice box out there for a baseball park. But Kent went to LA and still put up decent numbers until he got too old the last couple of season. He never got along with Bonds or for that matter with anybody, but Bonds was the only guy who wanted the Giants to re-sign him. Bonds is no fool and he knew how good Kent was and Bonds also knew that the Giants would not spend the money to replace him in the lineup with an equivalent bat. But the fans had no appreciation and thats been Kent's story everywhere. Now he is retired and I would definitely put him in the Hall of Fame.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Supreme Bowl
This is going to be a great Super Bowl. As an Arizona Cardinals fan, obviously I am excited after last weekend. The Cards took it to the Eagles and showed everybody they are very legitimate. Once again, Warner was back in the year 2000 and Larry Fitzgerald was as good as Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce combined. This post season has been the official coming out party for L-Fitz. I mean football people and fantasy geeks always knew how good he was, but he was still not a household name primarily because the Cards are never on national TV. But all that might have changed in that first half against the Eagles. He had three TDs including a beautiful flea-flicker that Fitz caught, stumbled and still took it to the house. Warner and Fitz killed the Eagles time and again. Eagles knew where the ball was going and they still couldn't stop it.
Eagles came back in the second half with a more aggressive blitz package and stopped the Cards offense a couple of times. Phily's offense was also better and they took the lead to shock the home crowd. But Warner and the Cards were ready on this day. That drive in the heart of the fourth quarter that took 8 minutes was just a thing of beauty. The Cards did everything right and scored on a screen play to seal the deal. Suddenly, it felt like we were seeing a entirely new franchise with new players and coaches. This was a new feeling to go through as a Cardinals fan and we should thank Warner for all this. The only downer in the whole thing was Anquan Boldin arguing on the sideline with his coach. That took away from the feel-good story a little bit, but it's par for the course and no big deal in the big picture.
The Steelers made it from the dark side as expected. The Ravens D kept the game close, but the Steelers were in control for sure. Finally, the Steelers intercepted the rookie and put the game away. It was an ugly game and was aesthetically nowhere near as good as the Cards-Eagles game earlier. Despite all the hype for defense and toughness, would anybody actually prefer the Steelers-Ravens game to the Cards-Eagles beauty? I don't think so. Give me Kurt Warner's flea-flicker over a 5 man gang tackle after a 3 yard run any day of the week and twice on Sundays. But this sets up the ultimate Super Bowl match-up - good passing offense against a great defense. We have 2 weeks to break it all down, but all I would say is do not count the Cardinals out.
Eagles came back in the second half with a more aggressive blitz package and stopped the Cards offense a couple of times. Phily's offense was also better and they took the lead to shock the home crowd. But Warner and the Cards were ready on this day. That drive in the heart of the fourth quarter that took 8 minutes was just a thing of beauty. The Cards did everything right and scored on a screen play to seal the deal. Suddenly, it felt like we were seeing a entirely new franchise with new players and coaches. This was a new feeling to go through as a Cardinals fan and we should thank Warner for all this. The only downer in the whole thing was Anquan Boldin arguing on the sideline with his coach. That took away from the feel-good story a little bit, but it's par for the course and no big deal in the big picture.
The Steelers made it from the dark side as expected. The Ravens D kept the game close, but the Steelers were in control for sure. Finally, the Steelers intercepted the rookie and put the game away. It was an ugly game and was aesthetically nowhere near as good as the Cards-Eagles game earlier. Despite all the hype for defense and toughness, would anybody actually prefer the Steelers-Ravens game to the Cards-Eagles beauty? I don't think so. Give me Kurt Warner's flea-flicker over a 5 man gang tackle after a 3 yard run any day of the week and twice on Sundays. But this sets up the ultimate Super Bowl match-up - good passing offense against a great defense. We have 2 weeks to break it all down, but all I would say is do not count the Cardinals out.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Go Cards!
It's going to be a great Sunday tomorrow. I have to make sure I watch the Cards-Eagles game one way or the other. It might be another 70 years before the Cards get this far. For all we know, they might be Oklahoma City Cardinals by then. The only thing more intriguing than watching the Cards in the NFC conference game is that they have a shot - a very legitimate shot, at going to the Super Bowl. It is a surprise that they made it this far, but let's not forget this was a weak NFC league this season and I can't see why the Cards can't represent the conference in the big game. The Eagles are not that good either. Both the Cards and the Eagles have only 9 regular season wins and I don't think there's a whole lot of talent differential between the two.
Eagles just have "name recognition" because they have been to many of these games, they have stars like Donovan McNabb, they were expected to be good this year and they started the season strong. But after watching them all season, I would say they are over-rated. So I pick the Cards at home in this one. In any case, the real Super Bowl is probably going to be played in Pittsburgh tomorrow. That game between the Steelers and the Ravens is going to be off the hook. I want the Ravens to win, but I am afraid that Pittsburgh at home is going to win. I grudgingly pick the Steelers at home and either of these 2 teams should be prohibitive favorites in the Super Bowl.
Basketball is fun too these days. Arizona State finally has a team to talk about this season. They won at UCLA today behind a great performance from super-soph James Harden as always. This was ASU's first road win over a top-10 team since 1998. Thats an ugly stat, but in James we trust and today he came through for my Devils in front of LA celebs like Pat Riley and Kevin Love. The story of the day was Jonathan Xavier, the brother of Providence's Jeff Xavier calmly walking onto the court and all the way to the free-throw line to confront the refs after Jeff Xavier's hard fall. That was not even a foul, but the brother was upset I guess. It's kinda scary how easy it is for people to get to the court like that. If people have not seen it yet, they should find it on youtube.
In the NBA, the Magic are on a roll. They walked into LA and punched the Lakers on the face yesterday. Three things stood out for me from this game. It was impressive to see the Magic win on the road in LA and establish themselves as a legitimate contender. They are for real. The second thing was, Dwight Howard showed the national audience how dominant he has become. I almost got a new appreciation for interior defense and strong "big-man" play just looking at him do his thing. It's amazing to see how many shots he changes in the paint and how he patrols the paint. Thats over and above all the rebounds and blocks he is credited with everyday on the stat-sheet.
Last but not the least, Kobe showed us he can still go knuckle-head, good-ole Kobe on us anytime. I can't believe what he was doing the last minute of this game. He followed one bad shot with another and got completely carried away by his drive to one-up his friend Dwight Howard. He took some horrible shots on Dwight when Dwight was on Kobe on a switch or when he was helping with the double team. Kobe had a triple-double but shot a horrible 10 of 26. LeBron looked a lot better than Kobe yesterday dominating the Hornets at home. When LeBron shoots the jumper like that, there aint nobody that can even come close to stopping him. But both the Cavs and the Celtics better be careful with the Magic. They are coming hard and they spanked Denver on the road today.
Eagles just have "name recognition" because they have been to many of these games, they have stars like Donovan McNabb, they were expected to be good this year and they started the season strong. But after watching them all season, I would say they are over-rated. So I pick the Cards at home in this one. In any case, the real Super Bowl is probably going to be played in Pittsburgh tomorrow. That game between the Steelers and the Ravens is going to be off the hook. I want the Ravens to win, but I am afraid that Pittsburgh at home is going to win. I grudgingly pick the Steelers at home and either of these 2 teams should be prohibitive favorites in the Super Bowl.
Basketball is fun too these days. Arizona State finally has a team to talk about this season. They won at UCLA today behind a great performance from super-soph James Harden as always. This was ASU's first road win over a top-10 team since 1998. Thats an ugly stat, but in James we trust and today he came through for my Devils in front of LA celebs like Pat Riley and Kevin Love. The story of the day was Jonathan Xavier, the brother of Providence's Jeff Xavier calmly walking onto the court and all the way to the free-throw line to confront the refs after Jeff Xavier's hard fall. That was not even a foul, but the brother was upset I guess. It's kinda scary how easy it is for people to get to the court like that. If people have not seen it yet, they should find it on youtube.
In the NBA, the Magic are on a roll. They walked into LA and punched the Lakers on the face yesterday. Three things stood out for me from this game. It was impressive to see the Magic win on the road in LA and establish themselves as a legitimate contender. They are for real. The second thing was, Dwight Howard showed the national audience how dominant he has become. I almost got a new appreciation for interior defense and strong "big-man" play just looking at him do his thing. It's amazing to see how many shots he changes in the paint and how he patrols the paint. Thats over and above all the rebounds and blocks he is credited with everyday on the stat-sheet.
Last but not the least, Kobe showed us he can still go knuckle-head, good-ole Kobe on us anytime. I can't believe what he was doing the last minute of this game. He followed one bad shot with another and got completely carried away by his drive to one-up his friend Dwight Howard. He took some horrible shots on Dwight when Dwight was on Kobe on a switch or when he was helping with the double team. Kobe had a triple-double but shot a horrible 10 of 26. LeBron looked a lot better than Kobe yesterday dominating the Hornets at home. When LeBron shoots the jumper like that, there aint nobody that can even come close to stopping him. But both the Cavs and the Celtics better be careful with the Magic. They are coming hard and they spanked Denver on the road today.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Warner is the man!
This NFL season might end up being a truly inspirational one for me personally! The impossible might just happen and that means I can make such things happen in my life too. The Arizona Cardinals have a legitimate shot at making it to the Super Bowl. Yeah, thats right. The team that won it's first home playoff game in 51 years last week, which of course means they have never won a playoff game in Arizona, can now go all the way to the Super Bowl. The Cards can definitely beat Phily. Eagles are over-rated and they have almost the same record as the Cards. Plus the Cards got embarrassed on Thanksgiving day in Phily. I am hoping that gives some extra "oomph" for the Cards, just in case being in the NFC conference championship game is not enough motivation for a perennially down-trodden team. I am personally pumped up to beat Phily because that game in Nov cost me quite a bit. I was vacationing in Veags and lost all of the 5 bets I placed on that game.
The Cards have to truly thank Kurt Warner. It's his team, it's his playoff run. Plus it frees Matt Leinart to focus on what he truly cares about - cheerleaders and other hot chicks. There's no way the Cards get here with Matt. As a matter of fact, I think Ken Whisenhunt is over-rated too. Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin have carried this team on their shoulders. Warner's jump-balls to Fitz is what defines this team. L-Fitz is amazing. He routinely out jumps his double-team and comes down with the ball. I always find an in-form, in-rhythm Kurt Warner to be the most fun QB to watch outside of Peyton Manning. Of course he has many flaws and anything can happen any given week with this guy, but if you give him some time in the pocket, and if he is in rhythm, he can make it rain out there on the field like nobody. He has always been fun to watch since his Rams days. Just don't let the defense touch him, because if they do, the chances are, he is going to fumble the ball or throw it to the wrong team. And he holds on to the ball a little too long at times inviting the defense to get to him often. But with all that said, you give him time, you give him L-Fitz and A-Bold, fun will be had by your fans.
Jake Delhomme is a poor-man's Kurt Warner himself and he had one of those real bad nights which Warner is known to have too, only Jake's was much worse. I felt bad for the birthday boy as he kept completing a pass to the Cards for every 3 he completed to his own teammates. Steve Smith caught 2 balls and the AZ cardinals caught 5. Of course it felt like L-Fitz caught all of Smith's passes and Anquan's too as he ended up with 8 catches for 166 yards. 33-13 was the final score. Bring on the Eagles! The Eagles beat the Giants rather easily. Both the QBs looked lost in the first half, but McNabb and the Eagles offense looked much better in the second half. Giants and Eli have looked horrible ever since Plaxi-glass Buress shot himself out of this season. Now the Manning brothers can completely focus on the Oreo cookie Double Stuf Racing League.
In the AFC, Baltimore and Pitssburgh got it done like I expected them to. The Baltimore game was a little surprising to me. Tennessee actually moved the ball rather easily against the Ravens D, but they kept turning the ball over. The turnovers are no coincidence with the Ravens. They hit hard! I mean they land some blows like they are looking to separate the ball and even some body parts from thje player. This defense can easily carry the Ravens to their second championship in recent years. San Diego went into Pittsburgh and came back empty-handed. Another tough off-season for the Chargers. They need to figure out a few things. I feel sad to even say this, but LT is definitely aging. Rivers looks like he is the real deal, but Norv might be on the hot-seat again. Baltimore at Pittsburgh is going to be insane! If the weather is good, I think the Ravens and the rookie can get it done. Flacco has a rocket for an arm. He didn't do much this weekend, but might have to step up next week for the Ravens to win.
The Cards have to truly thank Kurt Warner. It's his team, it's his playoff run. Plus it frees Matt Leinart to focus on what he truly cares about - cheerleaders and other hot chicks. There's no way the Cards get here with Matt. As a matter of fact, I think Ken Whisenhunt is over-rated too. Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin have carried this team on their shoulders. Warner's jump-balls to Fitz is what defines this team. L-Fitz is amazing. He routinely out jumps his double-team and comes down with the ball. I always find an in-form, in-rhythm Kurt Warner to be the most fun QB to watch outside of Peyton Manning. Of course he has many flaws and anything can happen any given week with this guy, but if you give him some time in the pocket, and if he is in rhythm, he can make it rain out there on the field like nobody. He has always been fun to watch since his Rams days. Just don't let the defense touch him, because if they do, the chances are, he is going to fumble the ball or throw it to the wrong team. And he holds on to the ball a little too long at times inviting the defense to get to him often. But with all that said, you give him time, you give him L-Fitz and A-Bold, fun will be had by your fans.
Jake Delhomme is a poor-man's Kurt Warner himself and he had one of those real bad nights which Warner is known to have too, only Jake's was much worse. I felt bad for the birthday boy as he kept completing a pass to the Cards for every 3 he completed to his own teammates. Steve Smith caught 2 balls and the AZ cardinals caught 5. Of course it felt like L-Fitz caught all of Smith's passes and Anquan's too as he ended up with 8 catches for 166 yards. 33-13 was the final score. Bring on the Eagles! The Eagles beat the Giants rather easily. Both the QBs looked lost in the first half, but McNabb and the Eagles offense looked much better in the second half. Giants and Eli have looked horrible ever since Plaxi-glass Buress shot himself out of this season. Now the Manning brothers can completely focus on the Oreo cookie Double Stuf Racing League.
In the AFC, Baltimore and Pitssburgh got it done like I expected them to. The Baltimore game was a little surprising to me. Tennessee actually moved the ball rather easily against the Ravens D, but they kept turning the ball over. The turnovers are no coincidence with the Ravens. They hit hard! I mean they land some blows like they are looking to separate the ball and even some body parts from thje player. This defense can easily carry the Ravens to their second championship in recent years. San Diego went into Pittsburgh and came back empty-handed. Another tough off-season for the Chargers. They need to figure out a few things. I feel sad to even say this, but LT is definitely aging. Rivers looks like he is the real deal, but Norv might be on the hot-seat again. Baltimore at Pittsburgh is going to be insane! If the weather is good, I think the Ravens and the rookie can get it done. Flacco has a rocket for an arm. He didn't do much this weekend, but might have to step up next week for the Ravens to win.
Friday, January 09, 2009
King's World
LeBron James owns the NBA right now. What we are seeing this year is another step in his evolution. Post-Olympics, his attitude, approach and commitment has gone to an whole another level. Defensively, he is probably 10 times better than he was in the past. It's amazing to see him come flying in for a block from the weak side. Tonight, against Boston, he showed the World who the king is. He killed them systematically and his defense on Paul Pierce was stifling to say the least. LeBron is an amazing player. He looks like a cross between MJ, Magic and Malone - an unique combination of speed, athleticism, court vision and strength. Sky is the limit for him. He has the opportunity and the talent to be a bigger name in all of sports than MJ and Tiger in a few years. I am very interested to see where his career goes from here. He might win a championship as early as this season. The Cavs are tied for the best record in the league with the Lakers and they ain't got no Big-3 or Pau Gasol or a Lamar Odom coming off the bench. It's all defense and LeBron.
The Suns won impressively today. They pulled one of those Mike D'Antoni quarters as they shot 17/21 and scored 40 points in the 3-Rd. Shaq had a 25-10 night. He is actually having a great season. It's not quite 2001 for Shaq, but he looks closer to the 2004 version than the 2007 version and thats a good thing. He hit all his free throws much to everybody's surprise. Nash and the Brazilian Blur had great games too. Actually everybody did for the Suns and nobody except Josh Howard looked good for the Mavs. Both the Suns and the Mavs are in that cluster of teams separated by 3.5 games in the West holding the 2-Nd to 9-Th slots. It's brutal out there. These teams look like a contender some of the days, but in reality, they can miss the playoffs altogether.
NFL playoffs are back tomorrow and I expect Baltimore to beat Tennessee and want Arizona to beat Carolina, but it'll probably be Carolina. Arizona can pull it off though, especially if Anquan Boldin is in full strength and they don't get scared of the East coast like they have been all year. These games can get out of hand in a hurry on the road and sometimes Warner lets that happen, but if they keep it close, they can definitely beat this Carolina team. in the other game, the Baltimore D should get the job done. How good is Ed Reed? I think he is a better receiver than half of the receivers in the league. It's amazing how he catches the ball almost every-time unlike defensive backs in the other teams who get their hands on the ball only to drop it on the ground. Tennessee is no joke though. The Ravens need their A-game to beat them for sure and the rookie better show up tomorrow.
The Suns won impressively today. They pulled one of those Mike D'Antoni quarters as they shot 17/21 and scored 40 points in the 3-Rd. Shaq had a 25-10 night. He is actually having a great season. It's not quite 2001 for Shaq, but he looks closer to the 2004 version than the 2007 version and thats a good thing. He hit all his free throws much to everybody's surprise. Nash and the Brazilian Blur had great games too. Actually everybody did for the Suns and nobody except Josh Howard looked good for the Mavs. Both the Suns and the Mavs are in that cluster of teams separated by 3.5 games in the West holding the 2-Nd to 9-Th slots. It's brutal out there. These teams look like a contender some of the days, but in reality, they can miss the playoffs altogether.
NFL playoffs are back tomorrow and I expect Baltimore to beat Tennessee and want Arizona to beat Carolina, but it'll probably be Carolina. Arizona can pull it off though, especially if Anquan Boldin is in full strength and they don't get scared of the East coast like they have been all year. These games can get out of hand in a hurry on the road and sometimes Warner lets that happen, but if they keep it close, they can definitely beat this Carolina team. in the other game, the Baltimore D should get the job done. How good is Ed Reed? I think he is a better receiver than half of the receivers in the league. It's amazing how he catches the ball almost every-time unlike defensive backs in the other teams who get their hands on the ball only to drop it on the ground. Tennessee is no joke though. The Ravens need their A-game to beat them for sure and the rookie better show up tomorrow.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
It's Florida again
How good is life down there at Gainsville? Florida is just winning NCAA championships like it's nothing. Urban Meyer has won 2 championships in his 4 years there. He probably owns the state right now. For all the hype that the Ol'e ball coach Stever Spurrier got, he just won one championship at Florida. Meyer has already won 2. While the first one was mostly Ron Zook's recruits, this team is all his. Of course I am sure recruiting in Florida is much easier now with both FSU and Miami struggling, but for him to come in all the way from Utah with a new offensive system, and make Florida a better program than it ever was under the ball coach is indeed amazing. Even his opponent on the other sideline, Bob Stopps, has just one ring and the media treats him like he is some kinda God.
It's good the season is over now. I got a little tired of the Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford hype. Tim came on top as Oklahoma lost it's 5-Th BCS game in 6 years. Thats a lot of losing, but thats lot of money for the University too. The real loser in all this in has always been Texas. They beat Oklahoma and still ended up with nothing to show for it this year. Big-12 wouldn't even let them play for their championship. At least the Fiesta Bowl let them play! There is talk now that USC might share this championship. Thats amazing to me. Isn't the BCS supposed to put an end to all the sharing? Anything can happen with BCS if you lose a game. BCS works well only with unbeaten teams. And that too if there are just 1 or 2 of them. But I love this year though. After all the East coast crap about how bad the Pac-10 is and how great the SEC is, I guess they have to respect USC now after the impressive showing of the Pac-10 teams in the bowls. Plus Alabama lost to Utah. Are you kidding me? If Utah can beat Alabama, how far fetched is to imagine USC beating Florida?
We can now close the book on this year's football season and focus on the NFL and the NBA. Cavs-Celtics and Mavs-Suns tomorrow. Good times!
It's good the season is over now. I got a little tired of the Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford hype. Tim came on top as Oklahoma lost it's 5-Th BCS game in 6 years. Thats a lot of losing, but thats lot of money for the University too. The real loser in all this in has always been Texas. They beat Oklahoma and still ended up with nothing to show for it this year. Big-12 wouldn't even let them play for their championship. At least the Fiesta Bowl let them play! There is talk now that USC might share this championship. Thats amazing to me. Isn't the BCS supposed to put an end to all the sharing? Anything can happen with BCS if you lose a game. BCS works well only with unbeaten teams. And that too if there are just 1 or 2 of them. But I love this year though. After all the East coast crap about how bad the Pac-10 is and how great the SEC is, I guess they have to respect USC now after the impressive showing of the Pac-10 teams in the bowls. Plus Alabama lost to Utah. Are you kidding me? If Utah can beat Alabama, how far fetched is to imagine USC beating Florida?
We can now close the book on this year's football season and focus on the NFL and the NBA. Cavs-Celtics and Mavs-Suns tomorrow. Good times!
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Happy New Year!
New Year means one important thing - we are ready for the NFL playoffs. And I am excited for this year's version more than usual. The main reason for it is how the regular season ended in an absolute perfect way for me. Dallas got annihilated in Philly. They lost 4 fumbles and Romo wanted to give back even more to the Philly community. He threw an interception too. A 44-6 drubbing kept Dallas out and also let Philly in to the playoffs. Both results I definitely can live with. I have always maintained Donovan McNabb is kinda overrated, but I like him as a person and I have a lot of sympathy for him. He had to deal with all the crap TO brought to his life in addition to those Philly nut-jobs. Too much for a dude who has a lot to deal with to begin with being a black QB.
The next best result on Sunday was Miami beating the Jets. Nothing against the Jets and Brett Favre, but Miami's win meant New England was out of the playoffs. Sweet! Plus I am fan of Chad Pennington. Another decent guy who is very accurate and always plays under control. How ironic is it that he was let go in New York in favor of Favre and he comes back to rip their hearts out. Of course I don't blame New York for getting rid of him. His shoulder was indeed shot after the surgery. Even with all that, I always felt like Pennington was one of the few athletes who was relatively comfortable in New York. It should have had something to do with the way he handled himself. Even with a Super Bowl ring, Eli Manning seems overwhelmed by New York on a weekly basis. I am very happy that Chad is taking Bill Parcells' team to the playoffs and they both eliminated the Patriots on the way.
San Diego took Denver to the woodshed Sunday night and clinched a playoff spot which looked impossible just a few weeks back. This led to the shocking firing of Mike Shanahan. I would rather have LT, Philip Rivers and Norv Turner in the playoffs instead of Shanahan, Jay Cutler and their 8-Th string running back. I think the Chargers will give the Colts a run for their money though I expect the Colts to win the game. That game also happens to be the best match-up of the wild-card weekend. Couple of other reasons I love this playoffs is of course because of the presence of Arizona after a loooong time. And they are playing Matty Ice and the Atlanta Falcons. What a turnaround for the Falcons and how great is it to have 2 rookie QBs lead their teams to the playoffs? Ice and Joe Flacco with the Ravens. Finally these teams have some hope at the QB position. Matty Ice seems like the real deal. Lets see what he does in the playoffs against our Cards.
The College Bowl Season is also heating up after 3 bowl weeks and the first 190 bowl games. How many bowl games do they actually have these days? More importantly, how many companies are out there in the World? I heard the names of some companies for the first time ever through the stupid bowl games they sponsor. After all the early season bowl games like the KFC chicken bowl played in the parking lot of the new Yankee stadium in front of 7 construction workers that featured the 11-Th ranked team from the Big-10 and some team from the ACC with a robust 2-8 conference record, now we can watch some real bowl games. I am talking about the USC-Penn state Rose Bowl match-up. I want to watch it for sure to start 2009 in style.
The next best result on Sunday was Miami beating the Jets. Nothing against the Jets and Brett Favre, but Miami's win meant New England was out of the playoffs. Sweet! Plus I am fan of Chad Pennington. Another decent guy who is very accurate and always plays under control. How ironic is it that he was let go in New York in favor of Favre and he comes back to rip their hearts out. Of course I don't blame New York for getting rid of him. His shoulder was indeed shot after the surgery. Even with all that, I always felt like Pennington was one of the few athletes who was relatively comfortable in New York. It should have had something to do with the way he handled himself. Even with a Super Bowl ring, Eli Manning seems overwhelmed by New York on a weekly basis. I am very happy that Chad is taking Bill Parcells' team to the playoffs and they both eliminated the Patriots on the way.
San Diego took Denver to the woodshed Sunday night and clinched a playoff spot which looked impossible just a few weeks back. This led to the shocking firing of Mike Shanahan. I would rather have LT, Philip Rivers and Norv Turner in the playoffs instead of Shanahan, Jay Cutler and their 8-Th string running back. I think the Chargers will give the Colts a run for their money though I expect the Colts to win the game. That game also happens to be the best match-up of the wild-card weekend. Couple of other reasons I love this playoffs is of course because of the presence of Arizona after a loooong time. And they are playing Matty Ice and the Atlanta Falcons. What a turnaround for the Falcons and how great is it to have 2 rookie QBs lead their teams to the playoffs? Ice and Joe Flacco with the Ravens. Finally these teams have some hope at the QB position. Matty Ice seems like the real deal. Lets see what he does in the playoffs against our Cards.
The College Bowl Season is also heating up after 3 bowl weeks and the first 190 bowl games. How many bowl games do they actually have these days? More importantly, how many companies are out there in the World? I heard the names of some companies for the first time ever through the stupid bowl games they sponsor. After all the early season bowl games like the KFC chicken bowl played in the parking lot of the new Yankee stadium in front of 7 construction workers that featured the 11-Th ranked team from the Big-10 and some team from the ACC with a robust 2-8 conference record, now we can watch some real bowl games. I am talking about the USC-Penn state Rose Bowl match-up. I want to watch it for sure to start 2009 in style.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
New Day, Same Result
Christmas day was as usual a big day in the NBA today. ABC kicked off it's season with 2 great games. Unfortunately for the Suns, it was a new game, but the result was the same. They played as well as they can against the Spurs and lost at the buzzer to a 3 pointer. Lately the Suns are losing to the Spurs via the dagger 3. Who can forget the stupid 3 that Timmy hit last playoffs. But then again, the dagger 3's have killed the Suns since the days of Mario Elie. This time it was someone called Roger Mason. Pop put him and other 3 point shooters in and the Suns should have played it safe with the 3-point line. Instead J-Rich left Mason to help Grant Hill on Parker's penetration and Tony found Mason for the open 3. Amare was as always ready to let Finley hit a open 3 too, but the ball went to Mason instead. You could say it was bad D, but it does take more than one guy to stop Parker and what are you gonna do? It is what it is and just another loss for the Suns.
The prime-time game was Lakers-V-Celtics. ESPN has been pimping this game forever and I guess it lived up to it. The Lakers team and the fans were ready for revenge after the Celtics embarrassed them in the Finals last season. It was a lot more important for the Lakers to win this one, especially since they were at home. But give them credit. They did win and stopped the 19 game winning streak of the Celtics. Thats no joke. Kobe was great and he repeatedly setup Pau for basket after basket at the end of the game. Of course Pau's ability to score and finish is really what has put this team over the top since his arrival. He is probably the only guy Kobe trusts on offense. Pau even got a key block, which is really not his deal. This is probably a finals preview and it should be a better series this year given that both teams are even better than they were last year. Lakers might have closed the gap, but the Celtics are still better. But of course you need a body or two to guard Kobe.
Cleveland won again at home against the weak Wizards team. They are 15-0 at home. They are a legit contender and the Celtics-Cavs games this season should be as good as the Celtics-Lakers. The Cavs can definitely hang with anybody. LeBron didn't have a great game, but he is a load. It's amazing how many 3-point opportunities he gets in a game. Like Barkley says, when something that big and strong comes at you at full speed, you can't kiss it, you have to hit it! A lot of fouls are like somebody kissing him and has no impact on his shot. Dallas won the night-cap on TNT at Portland. Dirk was impressive, but it's amazing to watch little J.J.Barea do so much for this team. That guy killed the Blazers late in the game. Brandon Roy ran out of magic finally and this was a tough loss for the Blazers. Looks like the Mavs are back to being the Mavs of old. Interesting Christmas day overall. It started with Roger Mason and ended with J.J.Barea.
The prime-time game was Lakers-V-Celtics. ESPN has been pimping this game forever and I guess it lived up to it. The Lakers team and the fans were ready for revenge after the Celtics embarrassed them in the Finals last season. It was a lot more important for the Lakers to win this one, especially since they were at home. But give them credit. They did win and stopped the 19 game winning streak of the Celtics. Thats no joke. Kobe was great and he repeatedly setup Pau for basket after basket at the end of the game. Of course Pau's ability to score and finish is really what has put this team over the top since his arrival. He is probably the only guy Kobe trusts on offense. Pau even got a key block, which is really not his deal. This is probably a finals preview and it should be a better series this year given that both teams are even better than they were last year. Lakers might have closed the gap, but the Celtics are still better. But of course you need a body or two to guard Kobe.
Cleveland won again at home against the weak Wizards team. They are 15-0 at home. They are a legit contender and the Celtics-Cavs games this season should be as good as the Celtics-Lakers. The Cavs can definitely hang with anybody. LeBron didn't have a great game, but he is a load. It's amazing how many 3-point opportunities he gets in a game. Like Barkley says, when something that big and strong comes at you at full speed, you can't kiss it, you have to hit it! A lot of fouls are like somebody kissing him and has no impact on his shot. Dallas won the night-cap on TNT at Portland. Dirk was impressive, but it's amazing to watch little J.J.Barea do so much for this team. That guy killed the Blazers late in the game. Brandon Roy ran out of magic finally and this was a tough loss for the Blazers. Looks like the Mavs are back to being the Mavs of old. Interesting Christmas day overall. It started with Roger Mason and ended with J.J.Barea.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Yankees are making it rain
The Yanks signed Mark Teixeira today to a eight-year, 180 million contract. Thats looks a bargain if you compare it to C.C.Sabathia's 7 year, 161 million contract and it's an outright steal next to A.J.Burnett's 5 year, 82.5 mill. Between the 3 players, the Yankees have spent more than 420 mill this off-season. Amazing. I like AJ, but has he ever pitched more than 2 consecutive starts without getting injured? CC is good, but why overpay the guy when they knew he didn't have many options? Plus they are assuming a huge risk signing a fat pitcher to such a long-term deal. Considering this and other deals the Yanks have signed over the last few years, I would say Teix is probably one of the better signings for them. He is still young and is a very reliable bat.
Even though I understand the business of new stadiums and why every team wants them, I am still amazed at the amount of money the real big market teams generate out of these mega-stadiums. There are two stadiums thats making a lot of news right now. The new Yankees stadium and the Cowboys stadium in Dallas. These 2 teams are just minting money and I don't understand how people and/or corporations are paying 100 K+ for seat licenses in Dallas. That too in this economy. This whole stadium business is getting out of control. Pretty soon, only the millionaires are going to be able to attend games in person in most parts of this country.
The RedSox are again looking like the Kansas City Royals in front of the Yankees after few years of near-parity in the expense department. You better believe that their ownership group is going to start complaining pretty soon. They were not happy even when they spent 180 mill a year and the Yanks spent 200 a year or something while the rest of the league averaged a robust 60 mill or whatever. Now the Yanks might double the Sox payroll at this rate. The MLB might as well cancel the Yankees V Royals and the Yankees V Baltimore games starting next year. There should be a payroll differential law in Sports. If a team spends more than 3 times the other team, they can't play against each other. That might pretty much mean the Yankees and the Sox have to play each other 162 times a year. ESPN will be happy for sure if that happens.
Speaking of Boston, it's amazing what the Celtics are doing. They keep on keeping on and they are becoming almost as big as the RedSox in Beantown. This team is just too good and I can't wait to see them play the Lakers on Christmas day.
Even though I understand the business of new stadiums and why every team wants them, I am still amazed at the amount of money the real big market teams generate out of these mega-stadiums. There are two stadiums thats making a lot of news right now. The new Yankees stadium and the Cowboys stadium in Dallas. These 2 teams are just minting money and I don't understand how people and/or corporations are paying 100 K+ for seat licenses in Dallas. That too in this economy. This whole stadium business is getting out of control. Pretty soon, only the millionaires are going to be able to attend games in person in most parts of this country.
The RedSox are again looking like the Kansas City Royals in front of the Yankees after few years of near-parity in the expense department. You better believe that their ownership group is going to start complaining pretty soon. They were not happy even when they spent 180 mill a year and the Yanks spent 200 a year or something while the rest of the league averaged a robust 60 mill or whatever. Now the Yanks might double the Sox payroll at this rate. The MLB might as well cancel the Yankees V Royals and the Yankees V Baltimore games starting next year. There should be a payroll differential law in Sports. If a team spends more than 3 times the other team, they can't play against each other. That might pretty much mean the Yankees and the Sox have to play each other 162 times a year. ESPN will be happy for sure if that happens.
Speaking of Boston, it's amazing what the Celtics are doing. They keep on keeping on and they are becoming almost as big as the RedSox in Beantown. This team is just too good and I can't wait to see them play the Lakers on Christmas day.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Dallas Lose
Good game this NFL Saturday. Baltimore at Dallas to close down the Texas stadium. The Ravens running backs spoiled the party for the boys singlehandedly. The game was close late in the fourth quarter with the Ravens leading 19-10. The Cowboys scored to make it 19-17 and the crowd was all pumped up for a Romo-powered comeback. But within 18 seconds, the Ravens scored a 77 yard rushing TD. Romo answered back with just 1:36 left in the game to make it 26-24. But guess what. The Ravens scored again in 18 seconds with Le'Ron McClain rushing for a 82 yard TD to put the game away and suck the air out of Dallas. This is not like the Bartimore Ravens at all. They usually don't score this much or this fast. I guess the Dallas D is this bad. This game puts the Cowboys in a tough spot as far as making the playoffs go.
If the Ravens can do this even semi-consistently, I won't be surprised if they go all the way and win the Super Bowl. There are many teams that seem to be coming on late this NFL season. The Indianapolis Colts and the Carolina Panthers come to mind as 2 other teams that may be legitimate contenders after a shaky start to the season. Peyton is in full form right now. He threw for 364 yards and 3 TDs on Thursday to take care of the Jacksonville. I am not sure if anybody wants to play the Colts in the playoffs especially if they get their running backs in gear. The Panthers are another interesting team. Their game tomorrow against the other 11-3 team in the NFC, - the Giants, should tell us more about where both these teams are headed. This is a fun time of the year as we try and get the playoff lineups all figured out.
If the Ravens can do this even semi-consistently, I won't be surprised if they go all the way and win the Super Bowl. There are many teams that seem to be coming on late this NFL season. The Indianapolis Colts and the Carolina Panthers come to mind as 2 other teams that may be legitimate contenders after a shaky start to the season. Peyton is in full form right now. He threw for 364 yards and 3 TDs on Thursday to take care of the Jacksonville. I am not sure if anybody wants to play the Colts in the playoffs especially if they get their running backs in gear. The Panthers are another interesting team. Their game tomorrow against the other 11-3 team in the NFC, - the Giants, should tell us more about where both these teams are headed. This is a fun time of the year as we try and get the playoff lineups all figured out.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Deja Vu
It's good to be back blogging again after a short break. I have just been busy with a couple of random things. Many interesting and weird things happened while I was away, but there are 2 things that I find very odd. I could have gone away for 3 years and it's like nothing has changed. I am talking about TO fighting with his QB, offensive coordinator, WR coach and anybody else who comes his way in his own locker room. This is like a flashback of what happened in Philly, which was a flashback of what happened in San Francisco. I feel like TO has been single-handedly keeping the sports media busy for 30 of the last 60 months. ESPN should send him a paycheck instead of sending Screamin' A Smith to ask him some dumb questions. On the bright side, at least TO will not be calling Tony Romo gay like he did Jeff Garcia. Or at least lets hope so because if he did do that, he would be implying Jessica Simpson is a man !! That would be stupid even by TO standard.
The other deja-vu story of the day is Brett Favre starting to talk about retirement again. Enough already !! Shut up and play, make the playoffs and throw an interception to end that playoff game like you always do. I have no use for his retirement story - not until 3 games into the season after the supposed retirement. Unless he stays retired 3 games into the next season, I don't consider Brett Favre gone. He can come back any time to any team and would any of us be surprised? This guy is worse than the poor 60 year-olds who thought they were retiring this year and thanks to the financial meltdown, they can't for the next 8 years. Brett has been trying to retire for 5 or 6 years now. Somebody check what's going on with his 401 K or something! May be he should stop going to Mississippi during the off-season. Of course he wants to get out of there after 6 months and he wants a job in "big cities" like Green Bay. But to be fair to him, he has played really well and I can't believe the Jets can potentially keep the Patriots off the playoff. Thats impressive.
In the NBA, the Suns got J-Rich from the Bobcats for Boris Diaw and Raja Bell. I love the trade for the Suns and I have no idea what MJ is doing there in Charlotte. This gives the Suns some much-needed athleticism and scoring power. They lose the defensive prowess of Raja Bell, but the returns have been diminishing on that front anyways given Raja's advancing age. He'll always be fondly remembered for clotheslining Kobe and may be his jersey should go up on the rafters just for that, but he has not done much in a couple of years. Even his trey was not falling at the same frequency last season. I think Kerr pulled off a good one with this trade and apparently these guys were causing some trouble for the new coach Terry Porter. The Suns defense, if anything, is worse now than it was under Mike D'Antoni and thats a clear indication that the cats are not trying hard enough. There was stretch couple of weeks back when every guard and his mother came into Phoenix, scored 40+ and went back home a winner. I am sure Kerr wants to fix this culture with some new bodies. I like J-Rich. He is a true professional who has gotten better every year he has been in the league. I wish him good luck. Hopefully he can be at the business-end of some of them alley-oops from Nashty!
But the league as a whole is on a roll with the Lakers, Celtics and the Cavs. These 3 teams just don't lose.
The other deja-vu story of the day is Brett Favre starting to talk about retirement again. Enough already !! Shut up and play, make the playoffs and throw an interception to end that playoff game like you always do. I have no use for his retirement story - not until 3 games into the season after the supposed retirement. Unless he stays retired 3 games into the next season, I don't consider Brett Favre gone. He can come back any time to any team and would any of us be surprised? This guy is worse than the poor 60 year-olds who thought they were retiring this year and thanks to the financial meltdown, they can't for the next 8 years. Brett has been trying to retire for 5 or 6 years now. Somebody check what's going on with his 401 K or something! May be he should stop going to Mississippi during the off-season. Of course he wants to get out of there after 6 months and he wants a job in "big cities" like Green Bay. But to be fair to him, he has played really well and I can't believe the Jets can potentially keep the Patriots off the playoff. Thats impressive.
In the NBA, the Suns got J-Rich from the Bobcats for Boris Diaw and Raja Bell. I love the trade for the Suns and I have no idea what MJ is doing there in Charlotte. This gives the Suns some much-needed athleticism and scoring power. They lose the defensive prowess of Raja Bell, but the returns have been diminishing on that front anyways given Raja's advancing age. He'll always be fondly remembered for clotheslining Kobe and may be his jersey should go up on the rafters just for that, but he has not done much in a couple of years. Even his trey was not falling at the same frequency last season. I think Kerr pulled off a good one with this trade and apparently these guys were causing some trouble for the new coach Terry Porter. The Suns defense, if anything, is worse now than it was under Mike D'Antoni and thats a clear indication that the cats are not trying hard enough. There was stretch couple of weeks back when every guard and his mother came into Phoenix, scored 40+ and went back home a winner. I am sure Kerr wants to fix this culture with some new bodies. I like J-Rich. He is a true professional who has gotten better every year he has been in the league. I wish him good luck. Hopefully he can be at the business-end of some of them alley-oops from Nashty!
But the league as a whole is on a roll with the Lakers, Celtics and the Cavs. These 3 teams just don't lose.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Somebody stop the Fakers!
It's amazing how good the Lakers are. In just over 13 months, the NBA power-structure has been turned upside down. The Lakers, who were barely making the playoffs for many years, have gotten to the top of the mountain over the course of just one season. They started the 2007 season as just another team and they ended up in the Finals in June. Now they can't lose this season. They are so good, Kobe is not even in the top 3 scorers in the league and they are still 13-1. Though, to be fair to Kobe, he is still jacking up the same number of shots :-) He is playing 5 minutes less per game, shooting less 3's and taking lesser number of free throws per game.
In any case, Mitch Kupcake has really built some team. He might have gone from the laughing stock of the league to a perennial Executive of the year candidate. It started with his commitment to Bynum and things really came together with the Gasol trade. Since that trade, it seems like the Lakers truly believe they can't lose to anybody. Goes to show you how much of the game is mental. The same guys have been playing much better since last year, though some of it is young guys getting better. Of course having a personality like Kobe on the team sometimes doesn't help the confidence of the kids, but ever since they started winning last season, this team has just been firing on all cylinders. I mean, Lamar Odom comes of the bench and Luke Walton doesn't even play much anymore. Thats how good this team is.
I can't believe I am saying this, but I don't think there is anybody in the West thats in the same class as the Lakers. The Champs are a robust 16-2 in the East and we may be looking at another Lakers-Celtics finals come June. The East is no longer the LEast and the other true contender may also be playing there. King James is the other big news of this season. Dude has been awesome and is probably a year or 2 away from overtaking Kobe as the best player in the league. I mean he may already be the best player in the league and if you were to draft one player for your team, he is the clear choice today. But it's hard to argue against the sheer scoring dominance of Kobe and you still have to say Kobe is the best player in the league. But the evolution of LeBron is going in the right direction for sure. And his exposure to superstars like Kobe in the Olympics has made a better defender and helped make him a more complete player. Cleveland is 14-3 and they may ride the King all the way to a championship this year. Thats how good he is.
Much like the MJ-era, I want to watch Sportscenter everyday just to see LeBron's monster blocks and nasty dunks.
In any case, Mitch Kupcake has really built some team. He might have gone from the laughing stock of the league to a perennial Executive of the year candidate. It started with his commitment to Bynum and things really came together with the Gasol trade. Since that trade, it seems like the Lakers truly believe they can't lose to anybody. Goes to show you how much of the game is mental. The same guys have been playing much better since last year, though some of it is young guys getting better. Of course having a personality like Kobe on the team sometimes doesn't help the confidence of the kids, but ever since they started winning last season, this team has just been firing on all cylinders. I mean, Lamar Odom comes of the bench and Luke Walton doesn't even play much anymore. Thats how good this team is.
I can't believe I am saying this, but I don't think there is anybody in the West thats in the same class as the Lakers. The Champs are a robust 16-2 in the East and we may be looking at another Lakers-Celtics finals come June. The East is no longer the LEast and the other true contender may also be playing there. King James is the other big news of this season. Dude has been awesome and is probably a year or 2 away from overtaking Kobe as the best player in the league. I mean he may already be the best player in the league and if you were to draft one player for your team, he is the clear choice today. But it's hard to argue against the sheer scoring dominance of Kobe and you still have to say Kobe is the best player in the league. But the evolution of LeBron is going in the right direction for sure. And his exposure to superstars like Kobe in the Olympics has made a better defender and helped make him a more complete player. Cleveland is 14-3 and they may ride the King all the way to a championship this year. Thats how good he is.
Much like the MJ-era, I want to watch Sportscenter everyday just to see LeBron's monster blocks and nasty dunks.
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