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NCAA Tournament
Which NCAA Tournament matchup are you most excited to watch today? Personally, I’m excited to see the Harvard/ Vanderbilt game. The former hasn’t been in the Big Dance since 1946. Vanderbilt is the higher seed (5), but we know that 12 seeds upset their 5 seed counterparts many a times. In my bracket, I chose Harvard to upset Vanderbilt and advance to the Round of 32, who we already know will face Wisconsin.
Who do you think will win the Harvard/Vandy matchup?
Who’s your upset pick (s) in the round of 64?
[Related: Preview of Vandy/Harvard]
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Does the drama ever stop in New York?
I don’t know where to start with this. At the beginning of the season, Knicks fans had really high hopes for this team. They were ready to send this team to the Eastern Conference Finals with players like Carmelo, Stoudemire, and Chandler. I guess teamwork is more important than individual talent, because the Knicks struggled mightily at times. Most recently, they’ve gone on a 2-8 losing streak. Just one month ago, we were stunned with Linsanity and the energy he brought to the team. That was back when Carmelo was out with the injury. In that span, I believe the Knicks won 6 games in a row. With Carmelo on the floor, the Knicks aren’t nearly as efficient than without ‘Melo.
So why is D’Antoni to blame here? Isn’t ‘Melo the guy who’s jackin up stupid 3 pointers and expecting to get foul calls (see Derrick Rose)? To be honest, the Knicks have too many guys who want huge minutes: Melo, Chandler, Amare, JR Smith, and Lin all demand a ton of minutes. I always rant about LeBron, but you never hear him complaining about minutes right? That’s because he’s on a team where HE and Dwayne Wade are the go-to guys.
A couple of years ago, a fan would say the Knicks didn’t have enough talent. Well, know it looks like they have too much talent. It’s impossible to spread minutes out correctly when you have a team like the Knicks have.
And that, folks, is why D’Antoni resigned yesterday.
I know you guys are still gonna say ” His system didn’t fit the team he had” and I understand that. It’s a valid argument. However, regardless of the system you have in place, the minutes crunch couldn’t be resolved at all.
Let’s see what interim coach Mike Woodson has in store for us in the final quarter of the season.
Dwight Howard, make up your mind already!
The NBA season started out with a bunch of questions such as “Will there be a season at all?” and “How are they going to fit all the games into a compressed schedule?” Obviouslym the NBA was able to get a deal signed by the players. But, we started off the season with one huge question:
“Will Dwight Howard be in Orlando by season’s end?”
We still don’t know the answer to that question. Last week, Howard said that he didn’t want to be on the team anymore. Now, after the Magic beat the Heat in OT, Howard wants to stay in Orlando for the rest of the season.
In fact, Howard has an opt-out option for the 2012-2013 season. It was reported that he will not take this opt-out option. This means that he will be in Orlando for at least the rest of this year and all of next year. What he essentially doing is buying the Magic time to find a star to pair with Dwight.
[Related: Dwight will not take opt-out option]
Dwight’s first choice of team? The Miami Heat.
How can you go from being the superstar in a great city to Miami? Could you imagine how terrible it would be to have LeBron, Wade, and Dwight on the same team? There’s something that makes this league run, and it’s not money. It’s competition!!
If Dwight were to hit the free agency market this coming offseason, he would look into the Heat, Clippers, and the Nets.
The Nets have been reported as a popular pick for the Orlando superstar, but it doesn’t look like it will happen (this year) with Howard’s latest announcement.
My take: I think it’s alright that he’s looking for a winner to sign with, but the Miami Heat? I hate when these basketball players try to alter the fate of the league by teaming up to create these unfair matchups.
I think many people would be upset if Dwight went to Miami, because he’s been with the Magic for so long. He’s also been very loyal to them (much like LeBron was in Cleveland). You need competition in any sports league in order for it to be successfull.
Question: how come you only see this type of “Dream Teams” in basketball, not in football or baseball?
Ball-hog Rose fined $25K for whining
Monday night’s game against the Knicks showed us that it’s Derrick Rose or bust for the Chicago Bulls. Rose scored 32 points on 12 of 29 shooting to lead the Bulls to a 5 point win over the slumping Knicks.
After the game, Rose felt that the referees weren’t giving him enough calls to send him to the stripe, and he displayed that when talking to the press. In a post-game interview, Rose said: ” I’ve gotta be the only superstar in the league that’s going through what I’m going through right now, but I can’t say too much about it (espn.com)” For proclaiming his anger towards the refs, the reigning MVP was fined $25K by the league. This is Rose’s first fine since coming into the league in 2008.
[Related: Derrick Rose fined for criticizing officiating]
Rose did just enough in this game to push the Bulls past the Knicks. Before this loss, they had a streak of 5 losses in a row.
Here is what I don’t like about Derrick Rose: He is a shoot-first PG. That is enough for me to say I like Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul’s game better, regardless of how little they score. Rajon and Chris both can definitely score the basketball, but their passing ability is extremely coveted in this league.
I mean, the Bulls do great with Rose, but could you imagine if Rose learned to pass the ball more? Granted, he doesn’t have Blake Griffin or 3 future HOF’s on his team, but he’s got players like Noah, Boozer, Korver, and Deng who can score the ball if given a good look. If you’ve ever watched D-Rose play, his gameplan is to attack the basket. However, the difference between him and Rondo is: Rondo will pass the ball off to an open player off the penetration, while Rose just takes the layup and expects a foul to be called.
Also, if you watch closely, you’ll notice that Rose is initiating the contact with the defensive player (most of the time), which should be called a charge as opposed to a blocking foul.
I’m not trying to rant and “hate” on the MVP here, but if he can find a way to make plays for his team, THEN they have a good shot at beating Miami.
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Fab Melo deemed ineligible for NCAA Tourney
Since the end of their season, Syracuse was projected to have a number 1 seed in the Big Dance. They achieved that goal, and now they’re looking to run all the way to New Orléans. However, they’ve just had a major setback. Fabricio Melo, the sophomore center hailing from Brazil, has been deemed ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. Yahoo! Sports initially broke the story. Melo was deemed ineligible by the university, not by the NCAA.
When I first saw the headline, I was shocked. How is Syracuse going to fight through this? Many bracketeers have them getting to the Final Four. Despite their high seed and 31-2 overall record, I don’t think they will get farther than the Elite Eight. When you add this “Melo drama” to the mix, it becomes a cloud over the university.
Syracuse has fought off adversity with no problems this year. The Bernie Fine allegations, the Jim Boehiem suit, and now this. They have the talent to get through this tournament, but can they do it without their spark? Melo is the guy on that team that provides the energy, thus with him out they will need to find replacement energy either off their bench or in their starters.
Do you think the Orange can go far in this tournament without Melo?
Check back tomorrow at 9 a.m for a post on reigning MVP D-Rose.
March Madness is here!
On Sunday, the NCAA Selection Committee announced the field of 68 for this year’s Division 1 tournament. The bubble teams that made the tourney include BYU, USF and NC State.
Every year, there are some bubble teams rejected by the Committee, usually based on their weak SOS (strength of schedule) This year, Drexel is a perfect example of that. Although they went 27-6, they failed to get in the tournament because of their SOS (213). While Drexel did not make it in, Iona College did…Who would’ve guess Iona would be in the tourney? 90% of analysts didn’t even have them as their First 4 Out. Iona did just as good as Drexel (25-7) but with a SOS of 144. I guess now I can see why they were chosen over Drexel.
The Gaels will look to make a run in this year's NCAA Tournament (1.bp.blogspot.com)
To be honest, the Committee did a great job this year with the bubble teams. The biggest snubs were Drexel and Washington, and you can make a case for them being in or out of the tourney. Usually, the Committee completely misses a team that truly deserves a spot.
I think the field this year has some great teams, ut the real strength lies in the bubble teams. Iona, Ohio, Vermont, and NC State all have great chances to knock a top seed out f the tournament. Can they get all the way to the Final 4 like VCU did last year? I’d love to see that happen.
What do you think of the field? Any huge surprises?
Happy March Madness!
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Should the star take the last shot?
For years, Kobe Bryant has demanded the ball at the end of close games. He’s one of the greatest players of all time, but does that mean he should take every “clutch” shot? Many fans (and coaches) think that the star player on their team should take the potential game tying/winning shot. However, an article written by Henry Abbott on ESPN states why the star should not be taking the final shots all the time.
Honestly, I don’t like to see isolation plays during crunch time. These plays have a very poor efficiency in clutch situations (the article goes into great detail about that efficiency for different plays). I like to see good team basketball, with the ball moving around like it would for any other moment in the game. I think pick n’ rolls and basic spot-up plays are the best for crunch time-situations.
But go ahead: read the article and decide for yourself==>http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7649571/nba-kobe-bryant-not-money-think-espn-magazine
Question: Should your star take every crunch time shot?
DeMarcus Cousins is Not that Good
We all know DeMarcus Cousins is a pretty good basketball player with a ton of potential. In fact, most fans would consider him a future All-Star.
Unfortunately, his temper tantrums led to the firing of coach Paul Westphal. Because Westphal was not able to control Cousins’ attitude on and off the court, he was fired. The Kings had a 2-5 record at the time of the firing.
My question is: why would you fire a head coach after only 7 games? Was DeMarcus Cousins really good enough to fire your head coach over? If it were up to me, I would’ve traded Cousins and gotten some picks and players out of it. That would have been a win-win situation because: 1) Cousins would’ve been happy on a different team and 2) the Kings would’ve gotten some picks and players in exchange for Cousins.
I almost forgot: 3) They wouldn’t have had to deal with Cousins’ temper tantrums anymore!
Wow I’m almost on a rant here… I just can’t believe how stupid the Kings’ executives are!
ESPN.com reports that Westphal was 51-120 with the Kings in his 2 years in Sac City.
Question: do you think the Kings did the right thing? Should they have kept Westphal and traded Cousins?
Related articles
- Demarcus Cousins – 1 Paul Westphal – 0 (ksfm.radio.com)
- Paul Westphal ousted as coach of Sacramento Kings (aol.sportingnews.com)
- DeMarcus Cousins & Paul Westphal (onlineupdaters.wordpress.com)
- NBA Rumors: Kings Lack Leadership to Develop a Player Like DeMarcus Cousins (bleacherreport.com)
Chris Paul wants out of New Orleans
Credible news sources are reporting Chris Paul requested a trade out of NO. His team of choice? The New York Knickerbockers. It looks like Paul is intrigued by the idea of playing with Melo and Stoutemire. My friend actually showed me the news on his iPhone during music rehearsal. Once I read the story, my mouth dropped and I was thinkin’ “Are you serious?” Paul, Melo, and Stoutemire would HONESTLY make a better team than LeBron, Wade, and Bosh. But that’s just my opinion. They have a better rapport just from being everyday friends, unlike the Heat’s Big 3.
See, that’s what’s wrong with the NBA today. If Paul really left NO for the Knicks, who would be the dominant teams in the East? The Heat, Celtics, and Knicks. Any other teams? What I’m trying to say is, the teams are not balanced. However, if we had gotten a hard cap in the new CBA, the teams would be a bit more balanced. I guess beggars can’t be choosers…
NBA Lockout finally over!
This post is a bit late in terms of “news”, I just haven’t had time to write it. Anyhow, by now you all heard that the NBPA and the owners struck a tentative deal early Saturday morning. But, the CBA has not been made official yet: if the two sides reach a majority vote on it, then the deal will become “legit.” Therefore, the lockout is not over until 15 of the 29 owners ratify the CBA. The deal is set for 10 years, with an optional opt-out in 2017.Wow…after 150 days of arguing and complaining, both sides agree to a deal that will likely start up the season. Speaking of the season, it’s been shortened to 66 games. The first day of NBA action will be on Christmas with a tripleheader of powerhouse teams:
The Celtics will travel to NY to face the Knicks
The Heat will travel to Dallas to face the Mavs (NBA Finals rematch!!!)
The Bulls will travel to LA to face the Lakers
Sounds like a great day of NBA for a great Holiday. Although the NBA certainly lost some fans during this lockout, the die-hards will come back to watch their favorite team.
I’m still in shock that they came up with the deal. Remember, the deal is tentative, meaning it’s not “by the books” yet. Once the owners and players get majority votes, then the season will official start on Christmas and we will be back in business. The details of the NBA are not out yet, but at soon as it is made official I will update you. I’m certain the players will be getting between 49% and 51% of Basketball-Related Income (BRI) every year.
Unfortunately, I think both sides will opt out in 2017, which only guarantees us 5 good years of basketball. So enjoy it while you still can!
NBPA Reject Newest Deal, will Seek to Disband
Yesterday, the NBPA rejected the latest deal offered by David Stern and the NBA. When I read about it last night, I was heartbroken. All I thought about at that point was when the NFL decertified and it took forever for them to get a deal done. Luckily for us NFL fans, they decertified around March of last year. This gave them enough time before the season started (September) to get the deal done. Unfortunately for the NBA fans, they will start this process sometime this week or next week, which is already 3 weeks into the season as opposed to 6 months before. I’ve also heard that the decertification process takes at least 60 days, which means until mid-February we won’t be having basketball. The players union said they are planning on filing an antitrust lawsuit against the league. Personally, I don’t see them winning this lawsuit. They have no leverage over the owners and the lockout doesn’t seem to be illegal (I could be wrong here, however). Union president Derek Fisher said to ESPN: “This is the best decision for the players” (ESPN.com). Um, in what world? This is definitely not the best decision, most players can’t live if there isn’t a season! He’s only looking out for the high-profile players (10% of the league), which is really sad considering it’s his last year playin’ basketball. I’m happy and sad about this news at the same time. You must be thinking “Why is this guy happy about the lockout?”. I’m happy because I made a bet with my friend that there will be no NBA season this year. He’s a huge NBA fan and I took him up on the bet for $1. I see it as a win-lose either way for me and him, but you can’t go all in every time, can you? I certainly never have…
Photo: cdn.inquisitr.com
Getting back to the lockout, I don’t know who’s to blame. I guess it’s just like any argument: both sides are at fault. Both the NBA and the NBPA are too greedy and should’ve agreed on the 50/50 split offered by the owners last week. That was the fairest deal possible, yet Fisher and Hunter still declined it. To me, it seems like the union is only controlled by 2 guys: Hunter and Fisher, as opposed to the whole player body having a say. I’m not saying every single player in the league should have a vote. Doesn’t each team have a representative that attends these negotiations? It seems like they aren’t really voicing their opinion; it’s more like Fisher, Hunter, and some high-profile players jeopardizing the season for a few more $ millions.
For your viewing pleasure, I have attached a PDF file below. The file is a summary of the latest proposal the players just rejected. I found it on espn.go.com.
http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2011/1113/nba_proposal.pdf
Sincerely,
@TheSportzGuru
#SportsBlogMovement
Union rejects owners’ latest offer
Remember when the owners proposed a BRI last week to the players? The deadline was Wednesday (today) and the players had the nerve to decline it. The players said they want more talks to sort things out. For a secornd there, I honestly believed we would have a season starting soon.The proposed BRI would fluctuate between 49% and 51%, although union president Derek Fisher admitted that it won’t go up to 51%. He also said the current deal is “unacceptable”, and he won’t allow the players to agree to such bullsh*t. Now I’m very scared, because if they don’t accept 50%, how are they gonna accept 47%? This lockout could loom on for a while, which is not what anyone wants. After football is over, there’ll be a good 3 months of no sports! Football will be over, baseball starts in March, and basketball won’t start! Crazy stuff happening in the sports world this year. There will still be soccer and hockey, but for 3 months? I forsee a lot of comedies in my future…
One fan (bdiddyvb) on ESPN wrote: “Who needs the NBA when we got NBA 2K12!!!”. Is this what it comes down to? I just think it’s crazy that we need to satisfy our sports needs by playing a video game. Please don’t get me wrong, it’s a spectacular game, but we are bros. Bros need sports, not simulations of sports.
If you want to read more about the current Lockout situation: read this
Till next time,
@TheSportzGuru
#SportsBlogMovement
NBA Lockout Update
The NBA Lockout isn’t looking good at all from any perspective. The owners reportedly offered the players 51% of basketball-related income. The players have until Wednesday to take it. David Stern said if they decline the 51%, the owners will drop down to 47% for their next offer, which puts a lot of pressure and stress on the players. Also, I’ve heard the players are starting to disband because some have different views than others i.e. some just want to play and don’t care about the BRI, while others couldn’t care less about the season, they would rather wait for a better offer. The problem with the latter is: I don’t think they’ll get a better offer. The fans would rather see a deal done now so they can salvage the season, but I don’t think the players are thinking about the fans at this point. They’re too busy worrying about exactly how many millions of $ they’ll make next year…
Till next time,
@TheSportzGuru
#SportsBlogMovement
Life is Boring Without Basketball
This is getting really frustrating. When I finally finish my homework (after 6 hours), take a shower, and sit down to watch NBA on ESPN, it’s not there! A real tragedy, it is. 
If you’re not an NBA fan, you are effing insane; how could you not like basketball? Or hearing this wonderful theme song every night? Just talking about it is making my mouth water. From what I’ve heard, the NBA and NBPA have no further negotiations scheduled. That is very bad news for us fans, especially considering now Stern just cancelled all November games. It looks like we’ll be without NBA basketball for at least 2 months, because even if they do get a deal signed mid-December, they still can’t start until some practices are done. I know some of my good friends on Twitter are dyin’ right now because of the Lockout. The players are losing money, the owners are losing money, the coaches are losing money, the fans are losing basketball.
I can’t really fault either side thought, both of them just want more money. Who can blame them? If I walked up to you today and told you: ” Would you like a $15,000 pay raise?”, I don’t think you would say no. If you said no to that offer, you might be the most humble person I’ve ever met.
Although I have previously stated that the owners have the majority of the fault, that is not true. When people see an opportunity to make more money (for NBA players, millions of $ more), they jump at it. That’s what both sides are doing, and I can’t blame them either way. If the players gave in, I think that would have an effect on the way they play the game; you would see less of an overall effort. I think that because they would feel “out of it” every time they went out and did their thing.
Let me relate that to an everyday-worker kinda thing. It would be like every day being Monday. <=== Read that again. Every Single Day is Monday. There is no hope. No yes moment.
And every time they collect their paychecks, they will be reminded of their failures in the negotiations room.
Till next time,
@TheSportzGuru
#SportsBlogMovement
Sources: NBA Lockout Causes Endless Boredom in Males
I’d love to find you some awesome sports stuff to write about, but there is none! Football’s finished until Saturday, basketball is locked out, college BB hasn’t started yet, and the WS just capped off the baseball season. In essence, college BB is the only thing to watch besides football. Granted, football is awesome (glad to have it back), but it’s only on 2 full days a week.
I mean, you could watch hockey. But do us Americans have to stoop that low to watch some sports? We have to watch this Canadian game of sticks and pucks? I mean, that’s like watching Major League Soccer! Just to be clear, I’m sorry if I offended any Americans that like hockey, but it isn’t exactly the biggest sport here. That normally takes over around March (when spring training starts and basketball is 3/4 done).
College BB is starting on the 7th, so I guess I could watch some of that until the NBA Lockout gets resolved. Maybe that would allow me to make better picks in my March Madness brackets lol.
I mean, I just feel so damn bored here on my computer. Isn’t it ridiculous that I have to wait until next Saturday to watch some sports? Now I’m missing that time spent last year on my den couch, watching NBA on ESPN. After I finished my homework, I used to take a nice hot shower, grab some milk, and turn on ESPN just in time for tip-off. That would just about round out my day very nicely. Now, I obviously can’t do that.
What should I do? Till tomorrow (Week 9 Rankings!),
@TheSportzGuru
#SportsBlogMovement
The Sportz Guru 