Man Down....Again

I will try to do my best to post a highlight everyone time someone falls this year. This makes is the second time for Stephen Curry, the boy has brittle ankles.

Historic Night

Anyone that knows me, knows I'm a Minnesota Timberwolves fan. Anyone that watches the NBA knows it can't be easy supporting the Timberwolves. This is true...at times its a little depressing but with a roster full of young talent, I just look forward to the future.

Last night, I was a very proud Timberwolves fan. In a game that started like most (Wolves down double digits), something strange happened. The Wolves showed a little resilience! A second half charge led by underachieving Michael Beasley and a motivated Kevin Love. The Timberwolves were down 65-51 to the New York Knicks at halftime. Playing in front of a home crowd at the Target Center in Minnesota, my boys decided to play with a little pride. They rallied back and ultimately ended up winning 112-103.

Michael Beasley led the team in scoring with 35 points. He also contributed six rebounds and four assists. On most nights that stat line would steal the show in a Timberwolves box score, but those numbers were completely over shadowed by Kevin Love's 31 points, 31 rebounds, and five assists. No, trust me...that is not a typo. Kevin Love's historic night, clearly set career highs for him but also made him the first player to have 30+ points and 30+ rebounds in a game since 1982, when Moses Malone had 32 points and 38 rebounds. What makes this story even more amazing is that Love had 25 points and 22 rebounds in the second half alone.

This is truly a remarkable story and it probably won't receive as much publicity as it deserves because it wasn't done by a marquee star and it happened in Minnesota.

Regardless, congrats Kevin Love. Enjoy it and get ready to go back to work. The Timberwolves will need you to play at a high level every night.

A little friendly trash talk

Every NFL team has that one player who appears to do everything the right way. He works hard, he's never a distraction, he's usually a veteran and naturally a fan favorite. These are the guys who have all the right answers in interviews, they are generalized as a class act and a model citizen. Whatever team you root for, you can think of that one guy. In Pittsburgh, its Charlie Batch, in Indianapolis its Peyton Manning, in Tampa Bay its Ronde Barber and the list goes on.

In Baltimore, that guy is 14-year veteran, Derrick Mason. At the age of 36, Mason is still a very productive wide receiver. He is a professional, lead by example type of guy, which is why he is one of the Ravens team captains. With that being said, I was a little shocked at his comments following a victory against the Miami Dolphins last week.

Apparently, Ravens fullback Le'Ron McClain and Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder were on the verge of fighting each other, before teammates broke them up. It is hard tell what was said, but what we do know is that the two locked face mask, and had a few words for one another.

After the game, Channing Crowder was in rage and very few people knew why. In a post game interview, he said, "Le'Ron McClain spit in my face. He spit in my face. That's some real ho s---. So if you talk to him, go tell him. And if he ever comes to Miami, he's got to see me." Those are very strong words, leading me to believe that maybe Le'Ron McClain really did spit in his face. Naturally, McClain denied the accusation and didn't fire back at Crowder.

Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason was interviewed after the game and asked what he thought about the accusations. This is the shocking part of the story. In response to Crowder calling Mason "the old man," Mason astonishingly responded out of character. He said, "Crowder was still peeing on himself when I was playing football." He later followed that with these harsh words...

"You have to be able in this sport to be able to back up what you talk, and for some reason this guy every time he says something he doesn't back it up...He's not a marquee player. I don't think they even want him on this team, but they have no one to replace him. So he has to be there...He's in the game, and he's getting knocked down. He's getting pushed out of the way. The guy is horrible. Honestly, the guy is horrible. He's probably a good guy. Not taking that away from him, but he's horrible. He's not a good football player. Honestly, he needs to go back and watch the film and humble himself and not say anything."

Wow, I would have never expected Derrick Mason of all people to have that reaction to a conflict, that really didn't concern him. I'm surprised that someone that has built such a class act reputation would waste his time and trash talk to Channing Crowder (who is historically known, for talking trash and not backing it up). I know trash talking is part of the game, but off the field you don't demean another mans career. If Le'Ron McClain didn't care enough to give a response, why did Mason? I found this whole situation comedic and eye-opening. Two lessons have been learned...never spit in a mans face and maybe these athletes aren't exactly who we think they are.

Teach Me How To Dougie

Washington Wizards rookie, John Wall, has moves on and off court. Here is his rendition of the popular hip hop dance "The Dougie."

Detroit...Why?

I love Detroit Lions rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, but this is why there are no 300 lb kickers in the NFL.

Deadly Crossovers

We are just two weeks into the much anticipated NBA season and there are already unforgettable highlights. Here are two must see plays:

Chris Paul showing us why Miami Heat forward James Jones should never guard him.



We toss around the term "broken ankles" a lot in basketball, but this was almost legit.

Lebron James Nike Commercial 2010

It doesn't take much for Lebron James to receive criticism these days. His new Nike commercial will definitely generate buzz. It is a little surprising that he did a commercial like this, considering his image is tarnished in most peoples eyes. When your the villain, you don't have to worry as much about what people will say or think, so Lebron is free to be himself. I love the concept of the commercial and believe he is reminding us all, he is still in control.

NBA Preview

With the NBA kicking off next week, it is time for my 2010-11 NBA season preview. I can't think of another season that has been as anticipated as this year. Obviously, there has been a major shift in power from the West to the East. Just to name a few names...Carlos Boozer left Utah for Chicago, the Celtics added Shaq O'Neil, Delonte West and Jermaine O'Neil, Amare Stoudamire left Phoenix for the big apple,and the Miami Heat acquired Chris Bosh and Lebron James. We are coming off a summer that paid Joe Johnson over 120 million dollars over 6 years, Hakeem Warrick 18 million dollars over four years, Channing Frye 30 million dollars over five years,Rudy Gay roughly 82 million dollars over five years and Darko Milicic 20 millions dollars...so you get the point. For the last two years we have been hearing about a possible lockout season in 2011 and how crappy teams finances are but GM's had no problem dishing out these contracts. Funny how that works...

Anyway, without seeing a game yet, I'm going to assume we are about to witness some of the best basketball since Michael Jordan was with the Bulls. Without further ado, here are my season predictions...

MVP: Lebron James

A lot of people are assuming Kevin Durant is ready to take the NBA MVP crown. I would like to give everyone a reality check. Lebron James is the best basketball player on the planet. Please do not confuse that with the best winner on the planet. In terms of statistics on a night in and night out basis, there is no better player in the world. Kevin Durant is a great player and a rare talent but he does not have the all-around game that Lebron James has. Lebron will have better stats and a better record.

Defensive Player of the year: Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard will own the defensive player of the year award until he gets injured or old. He consistently is in the top of the rankings in rebounds and blocks. He is also a big name so he will always get the nod over players like Gerald Wallace and Josh Smith. The only hope is if one year Rajon Rondo steals it from him. If Howard could ever get his offensive game together, he would be a serious contender for the MVP award.

Rookie of the year: John Wall

This was a tough one. I love John Wall as a point guard and I also love his former teammate DeMarcus Cousins has a dominant big man. It should also be mentioned that Blake Griffin is entering his rookie season. The three of them will dominate the rookie of the year race but Wall will come out on top for two reasons. He plays point guard, which is the NBA's most popular position to date and he also plays on a team where he was handed the keys to the city. DeMarcus Cousins is a great talent but he will share minutes with the full front court the Kings have. Blake Griffin will dominate at the power forward position but he is surrounded by Chris Kaman, Baron Davis and Eric Gordon(had a breakout summer with USA team). John Wall will play with an uninterested Gilbert Arenas and a decent supporting cast of guys who wouldn't start on more than half of the teams in the NBA. Not to mention he is the point guard so he runs the show.

Most Improved Player: Michael Beasley

Call me biased but I think Michael Beasley will have a breakout season. All the pressure he has had is officially off his shoulders. When the Heat traded him, he was written off as a top young NBA talent. He was shipped to a confused franchise with no leader or franchise player. If anything, he will flourish just because there will be more shots available and he doesn't have to worry about Dwyane Wade giving him disgusted faces after every mistake.

Now for my NBA team rankings by conference. By no means is this how I think the playoff picture will turn out but it is how I rank the best teams in each conference. As we know from last year, the Celtics were the best team in the East but they did not play that way during the regular season. So keep that in mind...

Eastern Conference

1.Miami Heat
2.Boston Celtics
3.Chicago Bulls
4.Orlando Magic
5.Atlanta Hawks
6.Milwaukee Bucks
7.New York Knicks
8.New Jersey Nets
9.Charlotte Bobcats
10.Washington Wizards
11.Indiana Pacers
12.Philadelphia 76ers
13.Cleveland Cavaliers
14.Detroit Pistons
15.Toronto Raptors

Western Conference

1.LA Lakers
2.Oklahoma City Thunder
3.Utah Jazz
4.San Antonio Spurs
5.Portland Trailblazers
6.Dallas Mavericks
7.Houston Rockets
8.Memphis Grizzlies
9.LA Clippers
10.Phoenix Suns
11.Sacramento Kings
12.New Orleans Hornets
13.Denver Nuggets
14.Minnesota Timberwolves
15.Golden State Warriors

There you have it. Only time will tell what really happens.

This is how you become famous over night

Hit of the year

Austin Rivers

High school basketball star Austin Rivers recently signed with Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke Blue Devils. Rivers' name may be familiar to you because he is the son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers. Rivers is currently the number one ranked player in the class of 2011 by ESPN. He has plenty of highlight videos on youtube but if you haven't seen any, this one will make you an immediate fan:

G.O.A.T

If your a fan of sports video games I'm sure you know NBA 2k11 hit the shelves yesterday, October 5th. There has been a lot of early hype about this game, so of course I reserved my copy and purchased it yesterday. I'm here to tell everyone to believe the hype. The game is awesome and easily the best sports game I have ever played (I've been playing sports games for over 10 years). This was not just an updated version of last years game with a few gimmicky features added like in most games. This is truly a brand new version of the 2k series with all the things fans loved in the previous versions plus more to love. If your a fan of basketball you will love the game. This is as close to real as a sporting game gets to date. If your more of an arcade style kind of person, don't buy this. This is not your type of game, trust me. I have found myself getting mad because little tricks I used to do in the past don't work anymore (like passing through two defenders to my man standing under the basket). Then I come to my senses and remember that wouldn't happen in real life. I'm not going to talk about the game anymore because no words I say can do it justice. Just go buy it!


And if your still not sold, I forgot to mention Michael Jordan is in the game...Enough said

I'm Back!!!

After a brief absence from the blogging world, I have returned with more personal insight on the sports world. Check back frequently because I will be posting new material several times a week.

I Don't Know If This Is Cool Or Creepy

My two cents about Lebron

It has been a couple of weeks and the smoke is finally starting to clear. If you thought you were dreaming, you weren’t. Lebron James really did take his talents to South Beach and join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Throughout his career I have been a loyal Lebron supporter, and I will continue to support him. No, I’m not an unreasonable fan that chooses to blindfold myself when it comes to his faults. I have no problem calling out LBJ, but in the end I will support him. With that being said, here is my two cents on Lebron’s departure from Cleveland and his arrival in Miami.

First, “The Decision.” It was a bad idea. Everyone knows it. No one outside of Lebron’s camp knows what the real intentions of the one-hour special were, and to be honest, I don’t want to know. It was nice that the money raised was donated to the Boys and Girls Club, but in my opinion, that was a bullsh*t attempt at covering up how egotistic the whole spectacle was. I’m sure the money they received was legitimate, but why bother with the cover-up? If you are convinced that you need a one-hour special to announce your plans for the future to the world, just do it. No need for a cover up.

All that said, I have no problem with Lebron doing something special to announce his decision. Although, I’m convinced that a half-hour special would have been much more appropriate.

Anticipation for “The Summer of Lebron” or “Lebron Free Agency 2010” has been building up for the last two years. In a year when names such as Dwyane Wade, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Rudy Gay, Joe Johnson, David Lee, Dirk Nowitzki and more were all free agents, Lebron was singled out and put above everyone else. Many people will argue that Dwyane Wade is the third best player in the NBA, but no one was calling this the “Dwyane Wade Free Agency” or even the “Lebron and Dwayne Free Agency.” This whole time all eyes were on Lebron. So of course, Lebron and his camp soaked that up and did what they thought would create the most publicity.

Athletes and agents announces their signing decisions through sports media informers and team informants. Lately, people have been announcing their decisions on Twitter, but that is getting old. Too many people have done it. So, if you’re a sport’s biggest name why not do something different, something new, something that will be remembered?

In comparison, if you are a follower of college football recruiting and high school football, you know that ESPN shuts down one of its channels for about 4-6 hours for a national signing day special. For all the top-150 players who have not yet signed with a team, they announce what school they will be playing for on national television. I understand that this is a bunch of future prospects and not just one person, but if athletes that haven’t proven anything past the high school level get to go on television and announce where “they are taking their talents,” why can’t arguably the world’s best basketball player have a one-hour program announcing where he is going?

Moving on to another part of the criticism I disagree with, many ask how could he do that to Cleveland? Why would he do that to Cleveland? After all Cleveland has done for him how could he do that? I think the one-hour program may have been a bit harsh for Cleveland fans to watch, but I don’t think it was the end of the world. Whether he announced it on TV, through Chris Broussard or Twitter, Cleveland was going to be hurt. Also, why should he feel bad for Cleveland or treat Cleveland any different then all the other teams that recruited him? He doesn’t owe Cleveland anything. He didn’t ask to play there, he was drafted. He gave Cleveland some of the best years of basketball it has ever seen, even bringing hopes of a championship. He brought business and revenue to the city, and gave out-of-towners a reason to visit. For anything Cleveland and the Cavaliers organization did for him, he did just as much (if not more) for them by becoming a basketball icon. Yes, he is leaving Cleveland behind and the city will most likely suffer dramatically from his departure, but he is his own man and the city shouldn’t rely on one person, especially an athlete.

On to my next issue…Since the media is portraying Lebron’s, “The Decision,” as a complete debacle, people are now questioning those who Lebron has surrounded himself with, specifically his management team. However, for seven years Lebron appeared to have been doing all the right things. Many people jumped on him for not shaking hands or showing up to talk to the media after Orlando eliminated the Cavs two years ago, but even that was forgiven by most. So, with seven misstep-free years, why is it now ok to judge Lebron’s character and business team? Lebron has enjoyed the pedestal that the media themselves placed him on. So, big deal, we should blame ourselves for making him larger than life.

I’ve heard people say that Lebron isn’t who they thought he was. NEWS FLASH! Most of these athletes aren’t exactly how they are portrayed to be. We watch them play a sport and partake in a few interviews. Sometimes, we see an article with a few revealing quotes, but unless you actually hang out with these people, you don’t know them. Most of what you see is based on a public image created for the viewer, whether it be realistic or not. Lebron’s crew that everyone hates—they actually know him. His mom actually knows him, Chris Paul actually knows him, but we the fan do not. We know the super athlete that smiles a lot. In a professional environment do most people act the same way they do at home or with their buddies? Probably not.

On to my final issue…Why are people mad that Lebron chose to play with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh? For the last five years, everyone has been saying that he needs a better supporting cast. So what is wrong with leaving Cleveland (the city that no other top free agents wanted to go to) and joining two of his good friends who happen to be elite players as well? Why should he stay in Cleveland or go to Chicago or build something in New York? Outside of Chris Paul, ESPN has reported several times that Dwyane Wade is one of Lebron’s best friends. Who wouldn’t want to play with their best friend, someone who they already have chemistry with, someone that has a championship and knows how to win?

Many people say that he should have wanted to beat Dwyane Wade and Bosh rather than play with them. It’s not like he still doesn’t have to beat Kobe in L.A., or KG in Boston, or Dwight in Orlando, or Derrick Rose (who I think is a top-five point guard in the league) in Chicago. The team that Miami has put together has only guaranteed publicity, not a championship. If Miami happens to win four or five of the next six championships, good for them. I don’t think it will make basketball any less entertaining, and I don’t recall people complaining when the Bulls dominated basketball year after year. The Bulls won six championships in eight years, and it could have been more if Jordan didn’t take a break. So if Miami dominates, good for them. And if this doesn’t pan out the way most people think it will, then good for the rest of the league. I personally think that they will win at least four championships just because Wade and Lebron will run teams out of the gym by themselves. Also, because Lebron can play and match-up against four out the five positions on the court, Miami will be a match-up problem for most teams.

Ok seriously, my final issue…The stats. Everyone wants to know about the stats. Can Lebron or Wade handle their stats taking a hit? Who will take the last shot of the game? How will Lebron and Wade mesh when they have the same skill set? First, just because they are together doesn’t mean their stats will take a huge hit. No, Lebron and Wade both won’t average 30 points, but they can both average in the high 20’s and still fill the stat sheet the way they have been doing. Who will take the last shot? WHO CARES! There are two of some of the best finishers in basketball on the same team. They could do eany-meany-miney-mo, or just give the ball to whoever is open. Seriously, with Lebron, Wade, and Bosh on the same team, how many games are really going to come down to the last shot? I’d say not many, and when the time comes I’m sure they’ll figure it out. Lastly, how will Lebron and Wade mesh when they have the same skill set? That question is not valid because they don’t have the same skill set. They are both freakish athletes and are at their best when getting to the rim. But obviously, that isn’t all they do. Wade is lightning fast, hence the nickname “Flash,” and he has developed a jump shot from anywhere on the floor. Lebron is a great passer for someone his size, and can play on the wing and in the post. Both play above average defense, are unselfish and love to get out on the break. Where is the problem here? I mainly focused on Lebron and Wade because those two are scary enough by themselves, and the addition of Bosh only makes things worse for opposing teams. If you found yourself asking any of the questions I have brought up in this article, maybe you should just admit that you are mad that Miami assembled a team of super stars in their prime. As for Lebron, I don’t agree with everything he has done in this process, but I am happy that he made his own decision based on his own preferences instead of making a decision based on what would have looked best to the public eye. I’m not a Miami Heat fan, but I like what they have done and I learned quickly to enjoy it because once the season rolls around, this will be very entertaining. On top of that, who knows when we will ever get to see something like this again.

That’s my two cents.