ESPN Streak for the Cash

For those of you who don’t know, ESPN Streak for the Cash is a fantasy game created by ESPN. Basically, you pick teams to win their games on a certain day. The goal is to rack up enough correct picks (predictions) in a row so you can win lots of $$. This game is incredibly fun, and although I’m pretty sure I won’t win the money, it’s a lot funner than risking your money on the lotto.  Go check it out if you like to make predictions for games already!

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

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

NBA Lockout in 4th Month

With the NBA Lockout in its 4th month, things are rapidly getting worse. David Stern has already cancelled the first two weeks of the season; how much more time will be missed? The players certainly don’t look too concerned.

According to NBC News, some NBA players such as Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire have set up pickup games in places like New York, Miami, and Boston. Even though the players don’t get paid, they still get to play against each other and entertain local fans. I can safely say that if there is no 2011-2012 season, none of these players are going broke. Besides, most of them can just get jobs at normal stores (Walmart, Stop & Shop) if they need money bad; reason being that they are so well-known. This is especially true in cases where the player looking for a job grew up in the surrounding area. In addition, I’ve heard rumors that the players are looking to organize their own league. Now, I’m not sure how they’d get paid, but I’m sure their pockets wont be empty by year’s end.

When will this stupid lockout end? Photo cred 4.bp.blogspot,com

On the other side, David Stern and the owners might be in trouble. I’m sure the majority of NBA fans think the owners should get less than a 50/50 split of the revenue. Those same people also think that the owners are greedy.

Which side are you on?

Till next time:

@TheSportzGuru

#SportsBlogMovement

NBA Lockout update; Detroit wins 5-2

NBA Cancels First 2 Weeks of Regular Season

Because the players and the owners were unable to reach a deal by Monday, commish David Stern has cancelled the first 2 weeks of the season. The situation is not looking good for NBA fans; the talks are happening, but no progress is being made whatsoever. Maybe the players can start their own league in case the 2011 season doesn’t happen? It’s a possibility, although I’d rather watch NBA basketball because….it’s the NBA. It looks like the owners want a 50/50 split, but it’s the players that are not cooperating with it. While this might seem fair, when you consider that the players are the guys on the court entertaining us and there are 300 players to 30 owners, I think the players should get like a 52/48 split. However, the owners are not going past that 50/50, which is why they can’t currently agree. Will David Stern cancel more games?

Detroit Wins 5-2

Last night, the Tigers beat the Rangers 5-2 in Game 3 of the ALCS. This slashes the Rangers’ lead in the series to 2-1. With Justin Verlander pitching in Game 5, I think Detroit has a chance to come back and at least make this series competitive. According to ESPN, ” Miguel Cabrera homered and had a run-scoring double to help the Tigers claim their first win in the ALCS.” I also think with Cabrera as their spark plug, they can explode one game and even the series up to 2-2 or 3-3, the latter forcing a Game 7. Who will win Game 4 of this exciting ALCS?

NBA Lockout update, MLB news and more in this edition!

Hello everybody, it’s @TheSportzGuru back again with another update. I’ve got some homework to do and my corn dogs are almost done in the over, so I’ll try to be short and to the point.

Going back to my Week 4 picks, I went 11-5 which I think is not bad at all.

NBA LOCKOUT UPDATE

Yesterday, the players union and the owners had a meeting to discuss a new CBA for next season. It was reported late last night that the players union was offered a 50/50 split in revenue starting next season. They rejected it, with president Derek Fisher saying, “…the owners gave us an opportunity to back down. We refused” (nytimes.com). This indicates that they want more than 50% of the total revenue, and I don’t blame them for it. These players dedicate themselves to practicing and performing at the highest level possible night in and night out. They shouldn’t be denied the money that they deserve. Besides, don’t the owners already have enough money? If the two sides can’t agree on a 50/50 split, I have no idea what they can agree on. It seems that these two sides are getting farther apart (from a deal) as opposed to closer. To all you die-hard NBA fans, good luck and may God bless you.

5-time NBA Champ Derek Fisher serves as the NBPA President. (lakers.topbuzz.com)

Terry Francona Offered Job

When it was announced that the Red Sox released Francona from his contract, everybody was left wondering where he will coach next. It seems a collegiate team has took the initiative to send him a job offer. From hardballtalk.com: ” The Laconia Muskrats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League faxed a job offer to Francona’s agent immediately after he was released from his contract with the major league club last week, but haven’t heard back.” I heard the offer was $6 grand a year for Francona, which would be a huge step backwards from his $12 million (guaranteed) contract with the Sox. Do you think he would go this low to coach a team again? Comment and tell me what you think.

Will Francona take the job as the Muskrats coach? (sox1fan.com.)

Tigers @ Yankees, Game 5

Tonight at 8 o’clock the Tigers travel to the Bronx to take on the New York Yanks in a deciding Game 5 of the ALDS. Doug Fister and Ivan Nova will be squaring off against each other, competing just to stay in the playoffs. Winner goes on to face the Rangers in the ALCS, loser goes home. Who do you think will win? Comment your pick. In my humble opinion, I believe Ivan Nova and the Yankees will win this game using their explosive bats and Nova’s dirty pitching. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this guy, so I guess he’s gotta be pretty good.

Final score: NYY 6, DET 3

Ivan Nova will look to advance his team to the ALCS with a win tonight in the Bronx. (itsabout.server304.com).

NBA Lockout Threatens Season; Yanks top Tigers.

NBA Lockout Threatens Season

Lets start out with some NBA news. Commish David Stern says if a deal isn’t struck by the end of this weekend, the 2011-2012 season will be cancelled. He might be using this as a bluff so the players can settle for less money, or he could be serious and both the players AND the fans would be royally screwed until next year. Judging by he way the players union is handling the lockout/negotiations, I think the former isn’t likely to happen. They feel they deserve more money than the owners, and considering there are 300 players to 30 owners AND the players are the ones actually entertaining us, I also feel they should get at least a 50/50 split, if not more. I will keep you updated as the talks progress.

Is he bluffing? You tell me.

Yanks top Tigers

Now lets talk some baseball. The New York Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers 9-3 yesterday to take the first game of the series. Second Baseman Robinson Cano drove in six of the Yankees nine runs, four of them coming on a grand slam given up by Al Alburquerque in the fifth. Tigers ace Justin Verlander is slated to only pitch one game in this series. Game 2 is happening right now as we speak.

***Credit for David Stern ‘bluff’ info, Yanks win, and Verlander info goes to my friend Alexander Sheeckutz, his Facebook profile is http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002635232468.

Big man Yao Ming retires; NBA news from around the league

Now I know this news is a bit late (sorry I’m on vacation), but Yao Ming has decided to retire from the NBA. He’s only 30, so this kinda came as a surprise to me. He had a decent 4 or 5 years in the league before injuries plagued the last 3 years of his career. How did he make the all-star game last year while only playing like 10 games? That baffled me, he wasn’t even that good… Anyway, he’ll certainly be missed 🙂

Sources say Deron Williams struck a deal with a Turkish basketball club on Friday, ensuring that he’ll get paid even if there’s no NBA season next year. This move by D-Will surprised me a bit, however I can understand why he’d do it. He plays for the worst franchise in the league, AND he plays in New Jersey. What else do you need? Knicks guard Landry Fields says that some NBA players might follow D-Will’s decision to go overseas. Sounds logical: why risk not getting paid for a whole year when you can be the best player on another team, thus getting paid the big bucks?

Off to go swim, comment and tell me what your thoughts are.

No football? No basketball? No problem.

As I sit here at 12:40 in the morning, I think about the NBA and NFL Lockouts. The NBA Lockout is technically still *pending*, but it’s gonna happen one way or the other. The NFL Lockout situation looks ok; both sides seem to be doing well negotiating their issues including the rookie wage scale, the length of schedule, and how to split the damn $9 billion. Just thinking about all that money makes me bite my fingers as I try to stay awake writing this…

At first, I’d be hard to live without the NFL or NBA, even if it was only for one season. I think all NFL/NBA fans definitely need to come up with back-up plans for these lockouts, just in case they go deep into their respective seasons. So, instead of watching the NFL, I can watch the MLB instead, specifically the New York Mets. Yes, I know what you’r gonna say, they suck, whatever. They’re not that bad this year! Jose’s really carrying them, and him being healthy the whole year has made it fun to watch them again! In addition, I can focus more on my studies and my schoolwork, as I am now going into my sophomore year in high school.

However, the NBA situation is a bit different. You see, from November to February I play for my HS’s basketball team. So, I’ll need to devote my time to that as well as my schoolwork. I’d spend a combined 80% on those 2 things, and save the other 20% for a social life :). By the way, the sports blogging counts as schoolwork, so I’ll be spending lots of time on that.

I can live without the NFL or NBA, but I don’t wanna have to.

So please, Goodell and Stern, shut up, let the players play, let the coaches coach, and lets get a deal done!

Phoenix Suns Looking to Trade Nash to T-Wolves

Sources say that the Phoenix Suns are looking to draft Derrick Williams. He is slated to be selected with the 2nd pick. The owners of that pick are the Minnesota Timberwolves. To get the 2nd pick, the Suns are willing to trade their best player (Steve Nash) to get Derrick Williams. How stupid is that? Stoudemire is gone, Marion is gone, now Nash is gonna be gone. Remember in like 2008 when the Suns had all those players? They were pretty good with them right? I don’t understand the logic; trade a proven All-Star for a prospect…I realize that Nash is a bit old (37 to be exact), so now I can kinda see where they’re goin with this. Still, I don’t like this deal at all. If this deal really were to go down, the T-Wolves would be royally ripped off. They’re giving away the chance to draft a great playmaker, leader, and scorer for Steve Nash aka the Brett Favre of the NBA. I don’t mean Favre as in never wants to retire, I just compared the two because they’re both old, yet they both produced late in their careers.

Game 6, Dirk looks for Revenge and a Ring

The NBA season is the longest season in professional sports. You could say golf or tennis, but they don’t have seasons (correct me if I’m wrong). It’s from the end of October to the middle of June, about 8 months. In order to win the championship in June, you need to be better than 14 teams (to make playoffs), then win 3 series, which will then take you to the Finals. The Mavs have worked hard to get to the Finals. The Heat? Well, their Big 3 have worked hard… The series has gone back and forth, first it was Miami, then Dallas, etc.. The series has certainly been exciting, particularly because of the storyline surrounding it. LeBron, Wade and Bosh teaming up on one team to win some rings, paired up against the vet Dirk and his supporting cast of Kidd, Terry, Marion, Chandler and the like. This storyline has certainly created friction between these two teams, possibly motivating them a bit more than any other series in the Playoffs.

Dirk will be on Top of his Game, I promise you that

During Game 5, Dirk came down with a sickness. He was coughing and sneezing for most of the game. Even thought the Heat lost, D-Wade and LeBron still had the nerve to mock the Almighty Dirk. During the post-game press conference, Nowitzki called this act “Childish, a little ignorant” (Courtesy to Yahoo.com). Many people say this act of childishness by D-Wade and LeBron will result in a more focused Dirk Nowitzki, which will lead to him shooting lights out, playing great D and getting some assists and rebounds along the way.

10 Bucks says LeBron's gonna choke in the 4th Quarter of Game 6

Here are my thoughts on the Heat: I have some respect for Wade. He’s been there for about 5 or 6 years, and even in tough times he stayed with the Heat. I hate LeBron’s guts. I can’t stand the man; he has no class! If he loses, he’ll cry like a baby and blame it on D-Wade, Bosh and the Heat bench. Possibly Erik Spolestra too. I don’t like Bosh either, but I am impressed that he didn’t mock Dirk;s illness. For that, I gained some respect for Boshosaurus Rex. I’m looking forward to the most exciting game of the year (so far). What’s your take on Game 6?

Heat Take 2-1 Series Lead Over the Bulls

In Game 2, we saw that the Bulls could not finish at the rim or drive to the basket at all, forcing them to take jumpers. I guess they realized they needed to be more aggressive, because they did a much better job picking up fouls in Game 3.

Bosh Scored 34 In the Heat's Game 3 Victory Over the Bulls

However, whenever they did take jumpers, they missed most of them, which really hindered their ability to produce on the offensive side of the ball. In addition, I saw a much more aggressive offense in the Miami Heat then in the Chicago Bulls. The Heat shot 25-29 from the charity stripe (86.2%), while the Bulls shot 16-21 (76.2%). This really helped them close out at the end of the game. There was one surprise for

the Bulls in this game: Carlos Boozer shot 8-19, scored 26 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. The MVP Derrick Rose scored 20, and had an off night just like in Game 2. in order for the Bulls to win the series, they need Rose to hit his shots, get to the line, and make great passes. In addition, nobody on the Bulls can create their own shot except for Rose. So, by driving to the basket and making his layups, he is planting a seed in the defenses mind that says, “We need to cover Rose more when he drives to the hoop.” This will cause the Heat to crash to the inside, creating open 3-point opportunities for Deng and open jump shots for

Rose Needs to Play Better if the Bulls Hope to Win the Series

everyone else. However, the huge surprise was Chris Bosh, who shot 13-18 and scored a team-high 34 points. I’m sure nobody was expecting this out of Bosh. Maybe out of LeBron or Wade, but definitely not Bosh.  After Bosh missed his first 3 shots, he exploded and hit 8 in a row. Right after his 3rd miss, Taj Gibson was taunting him, trying to get in Bosh’s head and intimidate him. Obviously, Bosh used that to “fuel his fire” and score 16 straight points.The sad part is, the Bulls out-rebounded the Heat 41-32, and they still lost….That’s a +9 margin. I don’t think they should be losing when they have the rebound advantage. Final score: Heat over the Bulls 96-85. Game 4 is scheduled for Tuesday in Miami.