NBA Finals

Tonight, a rivalry is renewed as the Boston Celtics and the Los Angles Lakers square off for the NBA championship for the first time since 1987. When the playoffs started, this was the match-up that most basketball fans wanted to see. They were the two best teams in their respective conferences, and this will be the first time that both number one seeds meet in the championship game since 2000. The Celtics have the best defense in the NBA holding playoff opponents to 87 points per game, and we all know as the mantra says, "defense wins championships". The Celtics also have the leagues best road record during the regular season, and that is important also. Although it took the Celtics until the eastern conference finals to win a game on the road, I believe that trend can and will continue in this series. The Celtics also have some intangibles slanted in their favor. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen all have never been nor won an NBA title. They are hungry for it, and anything short of a championship would be a failure for this season.
In come the LA Lakers. They have been scorching the nets averaging 107 points per game in the playoffs. The Pau Gasol steal...I mean, trade has clearly put them over the top creating that inside-out game with he and Kobe Bryant. Don't forget about the rest of the bench and role players such as Lamar Odom, Joran Farmar and company who have been lights out. Unfortunately for the Lakers, the Celtics also have a deep bench and can match up pretty well with the Lakers. The Celtics have the better team in this series but, it will not be enough to stop Kobe Bryant. Yes, basketball is in fact a team game however individual superstars can take over games and win it on their own. I watched Dwayne Wade, who's team was down 0-2 in the series to Dallas and losing by 12 with two minutes to go in game three before he made up his mind that the Heat would win the Championship. He proceeded to score the rest of his team's points that game, and he lead the way to the title. Last season I watched Lebron James send the Detroit Pistons home by himself, despite Detroit having the better "team". That's before we even get to Michael Jordan and his six NBA titles. Which all bring us to this years' MVP Kobe Bryant. If he wants this championship and want to vindicate himself without Shaq, he will do just that. He has all the weapons in his arsenal to single handily defeat an opponent, and he will do just that. Even if his team goes down 0-2 such as the 2006 Heat did. NBA series don't truly start until the home team loses and when that happens, it will be because Kobe Bryant made it that way. I am taking the LA Lakers in seven games for the title.

NBA Playoffs Round 1

Its playoff time in the NBA and I could not be more excited. The Western Conference has had one of the most exciting races in history and the eastern conference is much deeper than people give it credit for. The Atlanta Hawks made the playoffs despite having a sub .500 record, and the Golden State Warriors missed the playoffs despite having a record above .500. Let's take a quick look at the match ups in the first round...

Eastern Conference
Boston Celtics vs Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks are an exciting team with youth and enthusiasm. They traded for Mike Bibby just before the trade deadline in hopes that he would be the missing piece to put them in the playoffs. He did just that, and the Hawks are an exciting, explosive team. Unfortunately for them their reward for getting into the playoffs is facing arguably the NBA's best team in the Boston Celtics. The Celtics are hungry for a title and are lead by my defensive player of the year Kevin Garnett. Boston is also very deep, outside of the top three (Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen) especially after adding clutch performer Sam Cassel. I just don't see how Atlanta can win this series, they would be lucky to win a game. Celtics win 4-1

Detroit Pistons vs Philadelphia 76ers: Detroit has had the same core of players for seven years. They know each others tendencies and are the definition of team basketball. They are always right in the thick of things when you talk basketball contenders year after year. They are taking on the 76ers who surprised everyone in making it this far. Many picked them to finish dead last in the eastern conference, and they have done a great job getting things turned around. Point Guard Andre Miller has been the catalyst for this team, and Andre Iguodala has proven to be the new star in Philadelphia. Although I would not be surprised for Philly to steal a game or two, I see the Pistons winning this series in 6 games.

Orlando Magic vs Toronto Raptors: With the addition of Rashard Lewis and new head coach Stan Van Gundy, the Magic are emerging as a power in the Eastern Conference. Dwight Howard is the best big man in the NBA, and there is no one that can stop him. Not even Toronto's star Chris Bosh. Bosh is a great player, no doubt. However he just is not husky enough to be able to do anything against Howard. Van Gundy has got the Magic playing great defense, and that will be key in the playoffs. The Magic will win this series in 5 games.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Washington Wizards: The Wizards have been bashing Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers leading up to this series and that is not in the Wizards' best interest. The last thing anyone should do is make King James upset, as he has a tendency to be untouchable when he gets that kind of motivation. The Cav's traded for Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, and others with the idea to put them back in the NBA Finals. I don't think they will get quite that far, but it will be good enough to get them past Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and the Wizards in 5 games.

Western Conference
LA Lakers vs Denver Nuggets: After an off season that seemingly had Kobe Bryant headed out of Los Angeles, the Lakers are on their way back to the top of the basketball world. As Andrew Bynum started to get his act together, so did the Lakers. Then, they stole Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies and the rest is history. Although Bynum is hurt, Gasol more than makes up for his absence. Even though the Nuggets are in the playoffs they have not lived up to expectations this year. Denver can score with anyone in the NBA, but that is not how to win games in the playoffs. Unless Allen Iverson, Carmello Anthony, and company miraculously start stopping people, they have no shot in this series. I do however believe that they will steal a game or two by scoring 120 points or more. The Lakers win this one in 6 games.

New Orleans Hornets vs Dallas Mavericks: MVP candidate Chris Paul and the Hornets have been the surprise of the season. No one expected them to be in this position, and they have continued to disprove doubters all season long. The Dallas Maverick's made a blockbuster move in trading for Jason Kidd, believing he is the missing piece in their championship puzzle. The problem with that is, Kidd is not the defensive stopper he once was and he cannot keep up with Chris Paul. Another issue with Dallas is despite Dirk Nowitski's greatness, when it has come down to crunch time he does not have the confidence in himself to get it done (2006 NBA Finals). If Dallas is going to win this series, it is going to be on the shoulders of Josh Howard. Dallas will have to go back to the drawing board after this season, I like New Orleans to squeak out of this series in 7 games.

Phoenix Suns vs San Antonio Spurs: This is the series everyone wants to watch. After a controversial ending last year to this series, the Suns are looking for revenge. This time the Suns are diesel powered, and anything less then a championship would be a failure. If the Suns don't get that title, the window of opportunity for them to win one has effectively closed. The Spurs may not be the most exciting team but they flat out get it done. They play great defense, they are unselfish, and by the way they have Tim Duncan. The Suns were hoping to counteract Duncan with Shaq but, Shaq is not Shaq anymore. Pat Riley will be smiling at the end of this series, when San Antonio wins in 6 games.

Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz: Houston has impressed a lot of people with the way they played during the regular season. Yao Ming went down, and the Rockets went on a 22 game win streak. However, this is not the regular season. This is where Yao will certainly be missed. His presence inside was not enough to defeat the Utah Jazz last year, and without him the results will be the same. Despite Tracy McGrady's all star status, he will not be able to defeat Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, and a healthy Utah team by himself. The Jazz will win this series in 6 games.

Men's National Chamionship

And then there were two...Memphis continues to dominate opponents and in the process makes them look like high school teams. I just cannot say enough about Derrick Rose. The Miami Heat have their eye on him, and given then chance may snag him with the first pick in the draft this year. Rose and Chris Douglas Roberts (aka CDR) combined for 53 points against UCLA, however Rose's stomach has been giving him problems, causing him to miss Sunday's media session. Kansas' back court has also been lighting it up during the tournament. Brandon Rush is the headliner, scoring 25 points against UNC. Let's not forget about Russell Robinson and Mario Chalmers who have a reputation of being defensive stoppers and solid distributors. It will be their job to contain Derrick Rose and stop him from embarrassing people the way he did to DJ Augustine and Darren Collison. Chalmers is leading Kansas in three point shooting, making close to 48 percent of his shots.
When it comes to the front court players of these two teams, neither gets much on the offensive end of the floor. That is exactly why both of these teams boast lineups featuring three guards. Kansas' Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson both have gone more than 10 games without double digit rebounds. Memphis' Joey Dorsey had 15 rebounds against UCLA and is a great shot blocker. However, he shoots a pathetic 38% from the free throw line, so don't be surprised to see a hack-a-Joey game plan to help Kansas slow things down.
The depth of Kansas must not be underestimated. They have guys coming off the bench like speedster Sherron Collins who averages 9 points and can shoot the three pointer. The Jayhawks also have solid front court players coming off the bench in Sasha Kaun and Cole Aldrich who combined for 12 points against UNC. Memphis does not dabble too far down their bench, with 6'10" Shawn Taggart the only bench player who got more than six minutes on Saturday.
The way Memphis has been dominating people, it is no wonder why many people have them winning this game. That being said, I picked Kansas to win the championship at the beginning, and I have no reason to go against them now. The depth of this team is what will allow them to cut down the nets and reign as National Champions.

Buried Bonds

Opening day, opening week or whatever you would like to call it has come and gone. The one thing I missed the most, was Barry Bonds. I miss the circus surrounding him, I miss the press conferences, and most of all I miss long ball that he hit like no one else has in the history of Major League Baseball. Say what you want about him, this guy was a first ballot hall of fame player before his head swelled up like a hot air balloon. No matter how you feel about steroids and HGH, Barry Bonds was no more than a product created by Bud Selig and MLB. Had the commish decided to crack down on performance enhancing drugs when the problem first arose, there would be none of this nonsense going on. Although there will always be a way to beat the system, in this case the system simply did not care. Owners knew what was going on, players knew, coaches knew, even the bat boy could tell something was not right. It is impossible for the commissioner of the league not to have at least heard the whispers of what was taking place in locker rooms across the county. But hey, baseball was as popular as ever, the dollars were pouring by the millions so who cares what the players were actually doing to themselves? Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were setting the country on fire and the commish could not be happier.
Then, reality happened. McGwire was spotted with 'roids in his locker, although not illegal at the time. The trickle down effect happened, and places like Balco were exposed. Slowly but surely the names started coming out, Sosa, McGwire, Palmerio, and Bonds. By some accounts there were more players on performance enhancers then there were players doing it the "natural way". Most recently, it was the Mitchell report and the name the shocked the world, Roger Clemens. The most dominating pitcher of his era, along with the greatest hitter of that same era Barry Bonds were named. Barry Bonds and everyone else who used simply leveled the playing field. The pitchers could throw faster, and the hitters could hit farther so let's just forget about these damn asterisks once and for all.
This all falls on the lap of the commish that swept it all under the rug, the one that allowed the players union to run the show, the one that saw the signs of it occurring right under his nose and chose to do nothing. However, that is all in the past now and no ones wants to move past it faster than Bud Selig. So what does he decide to do? He decides not to let Barry Bonds play baseball. He does not allow the man who broke Hank Aaron's (a close friend of Selig) home run record to add anymore homers to the collection. Selig has decided to get the finger out of his face, and point it in the direction of Barry Lamar Bonds. If he can make sure Bonds just disappears, maybe everyone will not notice what is really going on. Selig is colluding with the rest of the owners to keep Bonds out of baseball.
There are many reasons why teams say they are not interested in Barry Bonds, and all of them imply that these reasons are out of morals, and principles. I beg to differ. One may say that Bonds' age and health concerns are why they will not sign him, however the New York Mets picked up Moises Alou's 7.5 million dollar option to play left field, Alou is 42 years old. The past two seasons, Alou has played in 185 games, Bonds has played in 285 games. The National League teams claim to pass on him because he would be a DH, but if Alou can play left field why not Bonds? The San Diego Padres elected to have Jody Gerut play left field, a guy who has not been in the majors since 2005, and had a batting average of .253, an on base percentage of .330 and had a slugging percentage of .347 in only 170 at bats that year. In 2007 Bonds hit .276, .480, and .565. You are telling me its not worth it to give Bonds a shot?
Some make the argument that Bonds has an acidic personality and would be oil to the water in the clubhouse. However, in 1999 the Mets decided to pay off the poison in their locker room Bobby Bonilla (who had a bad season that year) and Bonilla still caught on with two other teams (Atlanta in 2000, and St.Lois in 2001). There are also those teams that say Bonds is too much of a financial risk at 10 million per year that is allegedly is asking. However, the Milwaukee Brewers gave a one year ten million dollar contract to a 32 year old pitcher who has seen the surgical knife more times than Joan Rivers, and was also named in the Mitchell Report. That pitcher....Eric Gange. Gagne is less of a risk than Bonds?
For every argument there is against signing Bonds, there is an example that counters each point. The teamless, free agent Bonds is looking for work and the timing works out perfectly for Selig. He can hide his tactics behind the camouflage of all of these so called "moral,ethical, and financial" reasons for keeping Bonds where Selig wants him, out of baseball.

Final Four

Ladies and gentlemen, Cinderella has left the building. The dress, shoes, carriage, and chauffeur have turned back intro rags, slippers, a pumpkin, and mice. As much as everyone outside of Kansas was rooting for Stephen Curry and the Davidson Wildcats, the clock has struck midnight. The silver lining in this cloud is that this should be one of the greatest Final Four's ever. All four of these teams have been dominating college basketball not just all season, but for years. This year, all of these teams have won conference titles and are riding double digit winning streaks. Memphis and Kansas have won eleven straight games, UCLA has won fourteen, and North Carolina has won its past fifteen games. None of these teams have lost consecutive games this season. Memphis, who is the least accomplished of the four teams, has appeared in the elite eight the past two years and now is in the final four. This is also the third Final Four for the Tigers in the past three decades, with a third different coach.
The success of these teams comes as no surprise considering the talent and athleticism on all four teams. There are twelve high school McDonald's All-Americans between the four teams. Three of the four teams also have college All-Americans on their team (UCLA's Kevin Love, Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts, and UNC's Tyler Hansbrough).
So the million dollar question is, who of all these great teams will prevail in San Antonio? Let's start with Memphis vs UCLA. The Memphis Tigers are going to looking for revenge after UCLA ended their season two years ago in the elite eight. Memphis plays great defense, and has dominated just about everyone who stood in their way this year. Freshman point guard Derrick Rose has been averaging 20 points and 6 assists in the tournament, and is drawing comparisons to former Wake Forest standout and current New Orleans Hornet Chris Paul. His ability to make plays for his teammates along with creating shots for himself, has put him head and shoulders above every other point guard in the country (especially after embarrassing All American point guard DJ Augustine last week). It also appears that Memphis is overcoming their free throw shooting woes. During the regular season Memphis was dead last in this statistic (59%), they have shot in the 70-80% range the past two games, but I'm not sure how the Tigers will do in a close game. For Memphis, it may come down to Joey Dorsey's ability to shut down UCLA's fantastic freshman center Kevin Love (18 points, and 11 rebounds per game) for Memphis to move on to the championship. Love has been doing it all for the Bruins in the tournament and all year long. He steps out and shoots the three pointer, he plays hard in the post, and has been crashing the boards like a man possessed. But, when you talk UCLA you cannot forget about their defense either. Point guard Darren Collison is the son of former track star parents, and has the speed and quickness to keep up with anyone. He and the rest of the Bruins have been holding opponents to a meager 53 points per game in the tournament (Memphis has been scoring 83 points per game). This game will be decided in the final three minutes, with the Bruins prevailing because of their defensive abilities.
The Kansas Jayhawks and the North Carolina Tar Heels are the deepest teams in the country. This is the clash of the titans, the heavyweight bout of this semifinal round. When it comes to Carolina, you can't say enough about Tyler Hansbrough. He seems to improve with every passing moment. He has added the 15-18 foot jump shot to his arsenal, making him almost impossible to guard. Let's not forget about Hansbrough's partner in crime, Ty Lawson. Lawson was out for six games in February due to an ankle injury, but has come back full force. His injury forced backup Quentin Thomas and the rest of the Tar Heels to step up and as a result, Lawson returned to a more complete team when he had healed.
The Jayhawks have had seven different players lead the team in scoring in games this season. The depth of this team is unmatched in all of college basketball. They have supreme guard play with Brandon Rush,Mario Chalmers, and Sheron Collins. They also have a fantastic front court lead by Darell Arthur. Arthur vs Hansbrough could be the determining factor in this one, as both will try to avoid getting into foul trouble. This game will be a physical one, featuring great defense on both sides, leading to a low scoring game. Although North Carolina has been solid all year long, Kansas will prevail in this one, setting up a championship game of the Jayhakws versus the UCLA Bruins.

Elite Eight

What a crazy tournament it has been thus far! Plenty of upsets and many are having their brackets busted early in the tournament with teams like Duke, UConn, and USC making early exits. The other side of that is, Cinderella has been all over, but has especially taken form in the way of the Davidson College Wildcats. They have been lead by sharpshooter Stephen Curry who has scored at least 30 points in every tournament game thus far. Unfortunately for the Wildcats though, tonight they run into Kansas (my pick to win the whole thing). Kansas has six or seven players that could lead them in scoring on any given night, and they have elite guards in Brandon Rush, and Mario Chalmers. All of which will lead to the carriage turning back into a pumpkin by the time the last buzzer sounds.
The other team trying to make it to San Antonio as a non traditional powerhouse is the Xavier Musketeers. If they are going to make it, they are going to need to shoot the lights out and play solid defense. Xavier has played excellent defense all the way through the tourney, but they will be facing Kevin Love, Darren Collison and the rest of the UCLA Bruins who have their eye on the national championship. The Musketeers simply don't have the personnel to get past the mighty Bruins, as UCLA will be in the final four.
The upset special of the sweet sixteen was supposed to be Michigan State knocking off Memphis. It was quite the opposite, the Spartans were ran off the floor as the were routed by Memphis. Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts, and Joey Dorsey were too much, and this game was over not long after it got started. Memphis will be facing the Texas Longhorns in the Elite Eight, and this is where the Tigers' run will end. First off, this is a home game for the Longhorns with the game being played in Austin, Texas. Second, DJ Augustine is the best pure point guard in the country and he will be able to shut down Derrick Rose. Texas also has the defense and athletes to bang with Joey Dorsey, and run with Chris Douglas Roberts. This is going to be a close game, one that is going to be decided at the free throw line, the Tigers' biggest weakness ( they have the worst free throw percentage in the country). This will lead to Memphis exiting the tournament in the elite eight for the third straight year.
This next game is one of teams that have been dominating college basketball for quite some time. Both lead by Hall of Fame coaches, making this the most exciting game of the weekend. The North Carolina Tar Heels, are poised to add another National Title to their list of accolades. The Heels have won 16 conference titles, when they do that they have made it to the Final Four in 11 of those years, a staggering statistic. Although if it comes down to a single play or strategic move, Rick Patino is they guy I want making that call, the Cardinals are still going to have to execute, and they will not be able to do it. David Padgett has been great this season, but how will he match up with possible player of the year Tyler Hansbrough? Louisville will have to out rebound and out hustle North Carolina, but Tar Heels coach Roy Williams will not allow that to happen. North Carolina will squeak out a win in this one, and stamp their ticket to the Final Four.

NCAA MEN's TOUNEY PICKS!!!

Its time for the big dance, so short and simple here are the picks for round one!
EAST

North Carolina over Mount St.Mary's
Indiana over Arkansas
Notre Dame over George Mason... no Cinerella story for George Mason this year.
Washington State over Winthrop
Oaklahoma over St.Josephs
Louisville over Boise State
Butler over South Alabama
Tennesse over American

MIDWEST

Kansas over Portland State
UNLV over Kent State
Clemson over Villanova
Vanderbilt over Siena
USC over Kansas State... OJ Mayo has much more talent around him than phenom Mike Beasley
Wisonsin Over Cal State Fullerton
Conzaga over Davidson
Georgetown over UMBC

SOUTH

Memphis over UT Arlington
Mississippi State over Oregon
Michigan State over Temple
Pittsburgh over Oral Roberts
Marquette over Kentucky.... This is the year Kentucky's first round victory streak ends
Stanford over Cornell
Miami over St.Mary's
Texas over Austin Peay

WEST

UCLA over Mississippi Valley State
BYU over Texas A&M
Drake over Western Kentucky
UConn over San Diego
Purdue over Baylor
Xavier over Georgia
Arizona over West Virgina.....upset special!
Duke over Belmont

There we have it...round one, book it!

March Madness

Welcome to one of the most exciting times in college basketball...March Madness! Which means, its conference tournament time, and right here you have a winner for each conference along with some small side notes. Let's jump right into it starting with....

ACC
Winner: North Carolina. Of course, arch rival Duke may have something to say about it, however I am not sold on the Blue devils. They rely too much on three point shooting, and in the tournaments, that is just not going to cut it. Carolina is lead by player of the year candidate Tyler Hansbrough, who averages 23 points, 10 rebounds and is shooting 55% from the field. He put the team on his back when injured captain Ty Lawson was out. Now that Lawson is back, the Tar Heels are not simply looking to win the conference, they are eyeing a national title.

Of Note: The University of Miami has been the surprise team in the ACC this year. They play excellent defense, and they beat Duke for the first time ever in a victory on February 20th. The hurricanes will make some noise in the conference tourney.

BIG 12
Winner: Texas. The conventional thinking is that Kansas will win this conference, but I'm not buying it. Everyone knows how good PG DJ Augustin is, averaging almost 20 points and 6 assists per game. What everyone doesn't know is that the Longhorns have lots of other speed and athleticism in guard AJ Abrams (16.4 ppg) and forward Damon James (13ppg, and 10.5 rpg).

Of Note: You cannot talk about the Big 12 without mentioning Kansas State freshman Michael Beasly who is averaging 27 points and 12 rebounds per game. He broke Carmello Anthony's freshman record for double-doubles, and is set to be the number one pick in the NBA draft. He alone is going to be good enough for an upset or two throughout this tournament.

BIG EAST
Winner: Louisville. The Cardinals are lead by David Padgett as one of the most well-rounded teams in the country. They have four players who average double figures in scoring each game, and could be bound for the Final Four.

Of Note: This is the most wide open conference in the country. The Georgetown Hoyas are tied with Louisville for best in the conference before the tournament, but they seem to be lacking the hustle and tenacity to win it. Next in line is where it gets sticky. Notre Dame, UConn, Marquette, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh all are talented teams that can play with anyone. This is going to be fun to watch.

BIG 10
Winner: Indiana. This has been the year of the freshmen, and the Hoosiers have a good one in guard Eric Gordon (21ppg). He has great backup in forward DJ White (17ppg/10rpg) and they are playing inspired basketball. They have had an emotional year and lost coach Kelvin Sampson. They have Sampson's initials on their shoes and have been playing in his honor since he left. They use this as motivation and will use it in this tournament, and the big dance.

Of Note: Although currently Wisconsin is atop the standings in the Big Ten, they seem very vulnerable. They lost both games against Purdue and could have easily lost a handful of others. Although they did not actually lose those games, the way they have been winning will not be good enough to win the conference title.

C-USA
Winner: Memphis. No conference opponent has been able to knock off the Tigers this season, and the tournament will be no different. Memphis is the only team in the conference that will have multiple players playing in the NBA (Chris Douglas-Roberts, Derrick Rose, Joey Dorsey). They use their superior talent to impose their will on every conference team.

Of Note: UAB is the only team to come close to a victory over Memphis, when they lost in the final seconds 79-78 after a traditional three point play by Chris Douglas Roberts. The Blazers are lead by guard/forward Robert Vaden, he averages 22ppg. Memphis only shoots free throws at a pathetic 58%, and also appears a bit immature. Although UAB could pull the upset, they won't.

SEC
Winner: Tennessee. Honestly, the SEC is having a down year overall and Tennessee was the number one team in the country...for one day. After winning a huge game against Memphis in Memphis, they lost to Vanderbilt. That being said, Bruce Pearl has quite possibly his best team ever since he has been the coach on the Rocky Top. Guard Chris Lofton will lead his team to a SEC championship.

Of Note: Kentucky is 11-4 in conference play this season after a rocky start to the season. Vanderbilt is also looking to make some noise in this tournament. The Commodores have 25 wins this season, and have Shane Oliver averaging 20.6ppg. Both these teams have struggled at times, but are still very capable of making a run.

PAC 10
Winner: UCLA. The Bruins have a fantastic freshman in big man Kevin Love (17ppg/11rpg) and also have a great guard in Darren Collison. The Pac 10 has a few good teams, but none good enough to knock off the Bruins. They have been road warriors this season, with and astounding 9-1 record on the road. Their controversial victory over Stanford shows me that the ball is bouncing their way, and they will ultimately come through.

Of Note: It can be said that the refs beat Stanford instead of UCLA but, the calls were bad on both sides throughout the game. Washington State plays great team basketball, and USC has OJ Mayo. But none can top the combination of Love and Collison.

NBA Trades....Western Conference

The trade deadline has passed today at 3pm, so let's take some time to review the big name trades that have come to fruition over the past few weeks. The western conference has been having an arms race to see who is top dog and prepare themselves for the post season. I'll start things off with the "Big Acquisition", aka Shaquille O'Neal:
After watching last night’s game when the Phoenix Suns battled the L.A. Lakers in the debut of the big fella, the Suns were missing Shawn Marion. Yes, Shaq had a decent game scoring 15 points and collecting 9 rebounds and his presence opened things up for others, resulting in a 37 point 15 rebound performance for Amare Stoudamire. However the Suns gave up 35 points in the fourth quarter in route to a 130-126 loss. The Suns brought in Shaq to rebound, block shots and play defense and at this stage of his career that is not what he is equipped to do. The Suns will not make it to the NBA finals, as the window of opportunity will continue to close on their hopes for a championship.

Jason Kidd to Dallas:
This was an excellent trade for New Jersey, but for Dallas.... not so much. Bringing in a new point guard at this point in the season is like bringing in a new Quarterback to your football team at week 10. It will require a bit of time for all parties to become acclimated with each other and get used to how everyone plays. Jason Kidd is one of the best point guards of his era and he will definitely makes life easier for Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, and Josh Howard, but it will be his defense that will be his undoing. In the playoffs, defense is what matters. Teams that run up and down the court, and run people out of the building in the regular season, magically cannot do that come playoff time. Jason Kidd was once a great defensive player, but at 34 years old he is going to need help playing against the point guards out west. This was proven in Kidd's debut when Chris Paul went off for 31 points, 11 assists, 9 steals, and 5 rebounds. It won't get any easier for Kidd, he will play against other point guards like Baron Davis, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, and Tony Parker. Devin Harris, who was traded to New Jersey had the youth and foot speed to match up against all of those players. Dallas also sent DeSagana Diop to New Jersey, which is another player they need in the playoffs. His presence will be missed when the Mavericks will need someone to bang with Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Pau Gasol. The pressure will be on Dirk to help in that category, and that is something he does not want to do, and is not capable of doing. Dirk is a finesse player and cannot hang with the true big men of the NBA.

Pau Gasol to LA:
This was more like grand theft than it was a trade. The Lakers sent off Kwame Brown to Memphis and got back a star. Pau Gasol has made the Lakers one of the favorites to make the NBA finals. With him, the Lakers now have a front court of three seven footers in Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom (ok, Odom is just 6'11" but I'll count it). Kobe Bryant said everyday is like Christmas after previously demanding to be traded. The Lakers are 6-1 since the acquisition of Gasol, and as long as Kobe Bryant's finger holds up, we could very well see them hoisting the O'Brien trophy at seasons end. This trade sent the entire western conference into a panic. If it were not for this trade, the Dallas and Phoenix trades would never have happened. With this one move, the Lakers have forced everyone else to play catch up.

Really Roger???

After watching the hearings with Brian Mcnamee and Roger Clemens it becomes obvious that there is no innocent party. It is true that Mcnamee was not truthful in earlier proceedings. It is true that we are talking about someone who illegally obtained, distributed, and administered steroids and HGH to athletes he trained. However, most of those lies were to protect Roger Clemens, and he is a small fish in a large pond when it comes to the HGH and steroids distribution. It is also true that some of the people injected by Mcnamee are close friend and teammate of Clemens, Andy Pettitte along with Clemens’ wife and Chuck Knoblauch. The only doubt seems to be about round of golf, and parties at which Clemens may or may not have been. Aside from that, Knoblauch and Pettitte are backing what Mcnamee has said. This is of particular importance because of Pettitte's relationship with Roger Clemens. Pettitte grew up idolizing Clemens and ended up become great friends with him during their time together in New York and Houston. This is someone who would be one of the last people he would ever want to defraud. However, Pettitte submitted a sworn affidavit saying that Clemens spoke with him about taking HGH. This is the smoking gun. A person with nothing but his conscience to fear speaks out against his hero. When Clemens was asked why Pettitte would say these things if they were not true Clemens responded, "I believe he misremembers". Really? Really?? That’s the explanation we get? That is not even a word! What’s worse is Clemens said on three separate occasions that Pettitte "misremembers". That goes in the same category with words like "chalant" and "irregardless". Clemens tried to bully around congress the same way he bullied around hitters. At one point attempting to argue with one of the congressmen, which then drew the gavel being slammed down to maintain order. After which Clemens was reminded that this was not his place to argue. The next step the federal government will take is to try to convict Roger Clemens on perjury charges. However perjury is going to be tough to prove, and Clemens has the resources to be able to fight hard enough to create reasonable doubt and escape jail time. I do expect that when the dust settles, Clemens will try to be incognito, and try to stay out of the public eye. It is a shame to see someone once high and mighty fall so fast and violently.

Diesel Heading to the Desert

It's official, Shaquille O'Neal is heading to Phoenix to join the Suns. This was a surprising move, but one that was made in response to the Lakers trading for Pau Gasol. The word was that the Dallas Mavericks were trying to put together a package to acquire the services of the aging center. However, the Suns got word of this and put together a trade package of their own. They decided to send SF Shawn Marion and PG Marcus Banks to south beach for the big fella. This is definitely a high risk, high reward move for the Suns. They already have the best record in the Western Conference, and sending off one of their core players is questionable at best. However, Suns General Manager Steve Kerr is thinking the Diesel just needs a change of scenery and a chance for another title to get Shaq's motor going strong once again. This season, Shaq is averaging 14 points and eight rebounds per game when he is healthy. Health seems to be the biggest question mark in this deal. If he is indeed healthy, can Mike D'Antoni get Shaq motivated? This year Shaq has been playing on arguably the NBA's worst team, so it is hard to get motivated to play and play hard when there is nothing to play for. Also, now that he is back out west, he will get another chance to stick it to the Lakers and Kobe Bryant. Playing for the Suns, there is a realistic chance the Lakers and Suns will meet in the Playoffs. Those playoffs are exactly the reason Shaq is still playing. At this point in his career, he is paying for championships and it became clear that was no longer a possibility in Miami. So, Shaq is be no means disappointed to be heading back out west.
On the other side of the equation, Shawn Marion is happy to be leaving Phoenix. After hearing his name in numerous trade rumors over the past few years he became tired of it and demanded a trade at the beginning of this season. This is a fantastic move from the Heat's point of view. Although the Heat are too far behind in the standings to make a playoff push this year, now that they no longer have Shaq's twenty million per year contract, they are poised to make moves starting this off season. Shawn Marion can opt out of his contract at seasons end if he so chooses, which would make the Heat an immediate candidate to add a big name free agent. The Heat also should have a top five pick in this year's draft where they can add a player to make an immediate impact (perhaps one of the diaper dandies such as Kansas State Forward Micheal Beasley or Memphis Point Guard Derrick Rose). Even if Shawn Marion decides he wants to stay in a Heat uniform next season, that is good news for the Heat. Marion is one of the leagues most versatile players. He can score, rebound, defend, and can play four of the five positions on the floor. Having him on the floor will turn the Heat into more of a fast pace running team, and he and Dwayne Wade will mesh well together. Dwayne Wade has been trying to do it all himself this year, and he finally has a reliable All Star caliber player to play along side him. Also, by getting Marcus Banks out of this deal , it will ease the transition from Jason Williams since his contract is expiring and is not expected to be retained. This is a win-win for the Heat, and has brought a silver lining to the cloud that has been hanging over this season.

A Letter to the Giants...

Dear Giants,
I would first like to say congrats on the big win yesterday. During that game, you proved the critics wrong. You were able to show that the Patriots are indeed human. You did it by proving the age old mantra true, "defense wins championships". Tom Brady could do nothing with your front seven harassing and beating him up all game long to the tune of five sacks. You were able to even rattle Bill Belichick. He was forced into making questionable decisions, like the decision to go for it on a fourth and thirteen instead of kick a 48 yard field goal. The play calling all night was effected. Tom Brady threw nearly fifty passes and the running game was non existent. The Pats had been winning in the playoffs by running the ball, and your defense set the tone and had the unstoppable looking like the unreasonable. Let's not forget about your offense. Eli Manning realized his potential in this game. When he was under duress, he eluded pass rushers and completed passes. I will never forget the pass he threw to David Tyree after it looked as though the Patriots had him in their grasp. Brandon Jacobs, although did not have a great game statistically, came up with a fourth and one conversion to keep the game winning drive alive. Then Plaxico Buress put the double move on a cornerback, and makes an easy target for Manning to find in the end zone. But it wasn’t over yet, Tom Brady had 35 seconds, and three timeouts. This was exactly what Brady is known for. He has ice in his veins, and he was poised and ready to come down the field and win his fourth Super Bowl. Not this time, you were able to make four straight stops to secure the victory. You violently threw the Pats out of the '72 Dolphins undefeated neighborhood. You brought smiles to the faces of many New Yorkers, but smiles were also had by south Floridians. I have never been so excited to be proved wrong in my weekly prediction. What a great win for you New York, thanks for the memories.
Sincerely,
Derek J. Segaloff

Super Bowl

It all comes down to one last Sunday. It is the best of times for football and it is the worst of times. The greatest spectacle of American sports today also signifies the end of the 07-08 season. There was a lot to talk about this season. It was filled with surprises, starting with the Cleveland Browns finally looking like they are on their way to being a good football team, Brett Favre having an amazing season at 37 years old, and of course the New England Patriots going for the second perfect season in NFL history (the first since the 16 game schedule) and "spygate". Before we get into what a great season the Pats are having, let's first have a look at the New York Giants. Before the season started, there were questions on how the team would respond after losing RB Tiki Barber to retirement and if Michael Strahan would even return to the field after missing all training camp contemplating retirement. There was definitely some talent still in NY, but only time would tell how good the Giants could truly be. When the Giants got into the playoffs it was said that the Giants were "the worst 10-6" team, and there were not too many believers in what they could accomplish. Eli Manning had another up and down season, his touchdown to interception ratio was an unimpressive 23-20, and had a QB rating of only 73.9. However, Eli has turned into Super-Manning in the playoffs. He has thrown no interceptions, four touchdowns, he is completing 62% of his passes for a QB rating of 99.1. The Giants have had some solid consistencies this season that were key. The pass rush kept them in games and WR Paxico Buress had a stellar season despite having a bum ankle that has kept him out of practices. He had 70 receptions for over 1000 yards and twelve touchdowns, a trend that has continued in the playoffs. He dominated Pro Bowl CB Al Harris in the freezing cold NFC championship game for 11 receptions and 151 yards. Harris and the rest of the Green Bay secondary tried to be physical with him, and he bull dozed, stiff armed, and trampled all over them by using his size to his advantage (6'5" 232 lbs). The Giants have also received an extra spark in the running game by rookie Ahmad Bradshaw, giving them a thunder and lightning combination with Brandon Jacobs that is similar to that of the last time the Giants went to the super bowl (Tiki Barber and Ron Dayne). Tom Coughlin may also have a better chance of keeping up with mastermind Bill Belichick since the both are the products of the Bill Parcells coaching tree.
But let's be real for a second, no one has been able to out-Belichick, Belichick. Last time I checked he has Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and a defense that despite being older has still more than held up its end of the bargain. Randy Moss has had a record setting season, but he is not even the leading receiver on his own team. Wes Welker leads the NFL in receptions this season with 112. In past years, the Patriots have grown a reputation for being versatile on defense. They lined up in unorthodox formations, with blitzers coming from all over the field. This year, its the offense that has proved to be most versatile. During the regular season, the run game was not existent and this was a flaw on the NFL's best team. When playoff time came around, they knew that had to change. Now the Pats are ranked second amongst playoff teams in rushing (the Giants are number one) . Against the Chargers, they went to two and three tight end sets and just let RB Laurence Maroney do his thing, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. Bill Belicheck has an extra week to prepare, and I expect the Pats to have a few things up their sleeves we haven't seen before (maybe Dan Marino will come out of retirement for one play so he can finally get his ring...ha!). All jokes aside, this will be a great super bowl. Plaxico Buress will get his numbers, over a hundred yards, a touchdown or two, but it will not be enough. The boys from Boston will force Eli to make a costly interception, and that spells doom for the G-men. I am looking forward to this high scoring affair, 38-36 New England.

Heat nothing more than a cloud of Smoke...

It all started Christmas day with a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. It continued last night with another loss to the same Cavaliers. There was once a day that Cleveland's supporting cast could not hold a candle to the supporting cast of the Heat. The Heat have the most dominant player of his era in center Shaquille O'Neal, quite possibly the most dominant player ever. They also have Dwayne Wade, the all star, finals MVP, and media darling. They also have one of the best coaches in the history of the NBA, Pat Riley. Riley is known for having teams that play ferocious defense, and having a knack for being able to motivate his players better than anyone else. Two years ago, it began with the saying "15 strong", and that resulted in the first championship ever for the Heat. Since then, the heat have been swept out of the playoffs by the Chicago Bulls, and appear headed for a lottery pick this year. With a record of only eight wins and an astounding thirty-two losses, a lottery pick could be just what this team needs to get back on track. In order to fix this team, a mid-season trade is not going to do the trick. Wade is doing everything he can to get this team back on its winning ways (despite not being 100% healthy), and because of that the Heat have been competitive in most games this year. Of the games decided by 6 points or less, the heat has lost 12/18. They have had numerous leads going into the fourth quarter (including last night's game), but always seem to let the victory slip out of their grasp. The Heat needs a solid player that can be paired with Dwayne Wade so they can be in contention every year. A trade will not accomplish that. However, this year's NBA draft is expected to be loaded with talent. Many diaper dandies are expected to come play at basketball's highest level. Players like USC's O.J. Mayo, Memphis point guard Derrick Rose, UCLA center Kevin Love, and Indiana guard Eric Gordon are expected to come out of college after their freshman year. But don't discount the upper class men either, with prospects like 7'2" 270 pound Georgetown center Roy Hibbert. If the Heat can draft one of these players, or another player of their caliber, the franchise will be ready for success for years to come. Without them, it will become a question whether Dwayne Wade will want to stick around Miami. He can elect to become an unrestricted free agent in two years, along with Pat Riley leaving the bench and heading back to the Heat offices. If those things happen, there will be many more of these down years in the Heat's future.

AFC Championship game... Chargers vs Patriots

The Chargers went into Indianapolis last week, and pulled off the upset over the Colts. They did so, by forcing turnovers, putting pressure on Peyton Manning, and making plays on offense when the opportunity arose. Unfortunately for the Chargers, that win came at a heavy price. The NFL's leading rusher Ladanian Tomlinson, along with QB Philip Rivers both were knocked from the game with knee injuries. Both say they expect to play this week against the Patriots, but they will clearly not be 100%. For the Chargers, the good news is that their backups played exceptionally well, and that is no fluke. Running back Michael Turner carried the ball 17 times for 71 yards with an average of about 4.2 yards per carry. Turner is the best backup RB in the NFL and would be the feature back for many NFL teams. The only thing holding him back is that he plays behind Ladanian Tomlinson. Veteran Billy Voleck, is a very capable and competent quarterback. He is accurate and will not make many mistakes, as demonstrated in his game winning, 78 yard drive that took 8 plays and was capped off with a QB sneak touchdown from the one yard line. When the Chargers get into the red zone, they must get touchdowns. If the are stuck settling for field goals, they will not be able to keep pace with the New England offense.
Let's not get too caught up with the offense however, it will be up to the San Diego defense if they expect to beat the Patriots. They lead the league in turnovers and they will need to force more. The Chargers have some extra motivation in this game. Besides getting spanked by the Pats early in the season, the Patriots also defeated the Chargers in the divisional round of the playoffs last year in San Diego. It was not exactly the best display of sportsmanship when several New England players were doing Shawne Merriman's "lights out" celebration on the field after the game.
All that being said, Bill Bellichick always finds a way to take opponents out of their game plan. He finds what you do best, and puts together a scheme to make sure you cannot do whatever that may be. In this case, it will be the run game. That will force Philip Rivers/Billy Voleck to win the game with their arm. Although Rivers is much improved from his early season struggles, without Antonio Gates being completely healthy the passing game will struggle in the cold in New England. The high temperature for Sunday is a frigid 27 degrees, and there will be winds of more than twenty miles per hour. Those winds will help slow down the Patriots and they will not get the 411 yards of offense per game that they average, but they will get just enough to squeak out a win. I like the Pats to continue their quest to join the '72 Dolphins in their neighborhood of undefeated super bowl champs. 23-19

NFC Championship... New York vs Green Bay

Last week, the Green Bay Packers demolished the Seattle Seahawks in convincing fashion. The frozen tundra of Lambeau was just that, and now the Pack are hosting the NFC Championship game. The New York football Giants allowed Marion Barber to rush for over one hundred twenty yards and a touchdown, but were able to overcome that and upset the Dallas Cowboys. For the Giants, "well-dressed" Amani Toomer has been playing lights out, and has certainly picked up the slack since the loss of TE Jeremey Shockey and the gimpy Plaxico Buress. He has caught a team high eleven playoff passes for three touchdowns and 154 yards. The defense has been solid, getting to the quarterback and playing well in the secondary despite injuries to Sam Madison and Aaron Ross (Ross will be back this week). Eli Manning has clearly turned the corner in his career and has solidified himself as the QB for the Giants after facing some harsh criticism early in the year. The question for this game will be, how much will the weather effect the play of both teams? Unfortunately, for the Giants the colder the temperature has been, the worse Eli's quarterback rating became. On the plus side, Brandon Jacobs is a big bruising runner who defenders don't like to tackle in warm weather, in the cold the hits hurt twice as much.
The temperature for the game will be around four degrees. Coincidentally, number four for the Packers is a living legend, and NFL icon Brett Favre. When the temperature goes down, the Mississippi native gets hot. When playing in Green Bay and the temperature is under 34 degrees, Favre has an astonishing record of 43-5. Even better for the Packers, they just played in a blizzard last week and RB Ryan Grant ran for over 200 yards despite fumbling twice in the early goings of the game. The Packers have one of the NFL's best receiving core featuring WRs Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones, and talented but troubled Koren Robinson. The Green Bay offense is explosive, no doubt. However it is the defense that has truly gotten the Packers to this point. They have an outstanding young linebacking core, a d-line that can stop the run and get to the quarterback, and a secondary that shuts you out, and forces turnovers. Cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson are pro bowlern type players, but the secondary has received an unexpected boost from former Central Florida Safety Atari Bigsby. He flies all over the field and is a fundamentally sound player who does not make many mistakes. All of these factors will add up to a victory for Green Bay, 23-17.

Tiny Tuna

I would like to be one of the first to welcome Tony Sparano aka "Tiny Tuna" to Miami. It has been speculated for the past few weeks that this move was going to happen. Sparano is a Bill Parcells guy, which is the main reason he was brought in. Parcells wanted a coach who will be an extension of himself, who coaches in a way that he did, and thinks the way he does. Parcells reputation for rebuilding franchises in a relatively short period of time will be on the line, and Sparano is the man he trusts to do the job. The question is, will Sparano be making his own decisions, or is he merely a puppet with strings attached to the hands of Bill Parcells?
Sparano will be his own man, however the word is that he is so similar to Parcells that the decisions he will be making, will be the same as if Parcells himself were making them. So, what should we expect from Tony Sparano and Pracells? Size. Expect to see big, nasty offensive lineman coming in to protect the QB and bulldoze anyone who is trying to stuff running lanes for Ronnie Brown. This fact makes it a possibility the Dolphins go after Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long in the draft (more on that another day). The offensive will be a physical one, it will start with Ronnie Brown and the run game opening things up for the pass, whoever the QB may be. Expect an attacking defense. This is one of the reasons Parcells himself is doing his best to make sure Jason Taylor stays in the aqua and orange. JT is the ideal player for this kind of defense. I expect to see him playing the Jack position, lining up all over the field. He will blitz from all linebacker positions, drop into coverage, along with putting his hand on the ground in the traditional DE position. This is where he played during the 2006-2007 season, where he earned defensive player of the year honors. Expect discipline. The one thing that irks coaches more than anything is mental mistakes. These are the little things that cost the team in big games. Last but not least expect improvement. Truth be told, when you are 1-15 it can't get much worse, and with new coach Sparano, general manager Jeff Ireland, and Pracells it can only get better from here.

Wild Weekend

On Saturday, things went exactly according to plan. The Seahawks showed that they are clearly not the same team playing away from home. Although they jumped out to a lead early, there is no way you can win a playoff game giving up two hundred yards to one running back (in this case, RB Ryan Grant). The snow was coming down, and the Packers stormed back to put a hurting on the Seahawks, in a way that showed why no one wants to go play in Green Bay this time of year.
In what started out looking like a fantastic game in the first half, the Jags and Pats were exchanging blows like it was a heavyweight fight. But in the end, the Pats offense proved to be too much and the defense stiffened in the second half.
Sunday came all the surprises. The first surprise, despite a sprained toe Antonio Gates took the field. Although in the second and fourth quarters it was apparent he was not himself. Then Ladanian Tomlinson was knocked from them game. Next it was Philip Rivers' turn to get bitten by the injury bug. All of these things would lead to a loss for the Bolts, right? WRONG! Billy Voleck came in to save the day and lead San Diego to a game winning drive and book them for a trip to New England for a shot at the Super Bowl.
Later in the afternoon, the Giants and Cowboys squared off in their third meeting of the season and it was a good one. Marion Barber came out of the gates running like he wanted to be the only RB in Dalls, finishing up with 129 yards and a touchdown. Tony Romo was not terrible but he could have been better. He completed 50% of his passes for 200 yards, one touchdown and one int. That was not good enough. The offense was stopped by penalties, and the defense gave the Giants extra chances by drawing even more yellow flags. It all ended with a Giants victory and Terrel Owens crying in the post game interview. I understand defending your teammate, but the crying was a bit over dramatic. Although the trip to Mexico was not the reason for the Cowboys loss, it is still up to Tony Romo to know that people are going to say these things, so he has to be watchful of his own actions. All of this leads us to what will be a great weekend of championship games, stay tuned for analysis and predictions later this week!

NFL Playoffs Round 2.... Giants vs Cowboys

This game has been the toughest one to predict a winner. As the Cowboys and Giants get ready to square off for the third time this season, it all comes down to an ankle. Terrel Owens has a high ankle sprain, which is typically a 4-6 week injury. This Sunday will be only three weeks since he initially injured the ankle. If he is unable to play, the Giants will be able to leave eight men in the box, and stop the run. Without Owens, it will also allow the Giants to double team pro bowl TE Jason Witten and force Tony Romo to find a new favorite target.
In addition, the Giants are playing very well. Eli Manning got the first playoff win of his career. The running game is very effective, utilizing Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw as a tandem.The defense is playing well, getting after the quarterback, and forcing turnovers. They are also on an eight game road winning streak including last weekend's victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But, consider the only road loss for the Giants was week one, to these Cowboys. Also, the Giants' best cornerback Sam Madison will not be playing. In the previous two meetings between this team, Tony Romo torched the Giants secondary for 592 yards, eight touchdowns, and only throwing two interceptions. Four of those touchdowns went to T.O. Many experts are picking the Giants to pull off the upset. They are saying no one can beat the same team three times in a season. The past two years, the home teams are only 4-4 in the divisional round of the playoffs. There is every reason to pick the Giants in this one, which is exactly the reason I am picking the Cowboys. Ultimately I believe Terrel Owens will play, and let's be honest, the Giants couldn't stop him when Sam Madison was healthy, so I don't see them stopping him without Madison. Final score, 24-23.

NFL Playoffs round 2...Jaguars vs Patriots

This is going to be an interesting one to watch. The Jacksonville Jaguars seem to have the right formula to pull off the upset in Foxboro, but can they really do it? The blueprint to beat the Patriots has been laid in place by the Eagles, Ravens, and Giants respectively. It all starts with the running game. The Jags must control the clock with Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. This is important for multiple reasons. First and foremost it wears down the defense and will make New England bring their safeties closer to the line of scrimmage. Rodney Harrison plays a lot on instinct and aggressiveness, especially in run support. This will end up leaving the secondary open for the play-action pass over the top. The most important aspect of having the running game going, is it keeps Tom Brady and company on the sidelines, where they can't score points. Jacksonville also has an excellent front seven lead by DT Big John Henderson, who can put pressure on you without blitzing. This also has helped others who have tried to defeat the Pats. You pressure Brady, he will try and force the ball to Randy Moss and the defense can force the interception. If Jacksonville can control the clock and get to Brady, I like their chances of pulling out a win.
All that being said, the so-called "blueprint" and "formula" to beat New England only took the teams that used it to the fourth quarter. That was when the light bulb went on above Brady's head as he thinks to himself, "wait a second, I have Randy Moss and the most potent offense the NFL has ever seen" and he then proceeds to work his way down the field and score the winning touchdown. The point here is that no one has been able to execute well enough to pull out the W against New England. When it has been crunchtime in each of the Pats games that were close, either the defense forces a turnover, or the offense does what it always does...score. I just can't take the Jags to win this one, I like New England, 34-20

NFL Playoffs Round 2...Chargers vs Colts

The Chargers and Colts will square off for the second time this season. In the first meeting, the blitzing San Diego defense gave Peyton Manning fits. He Threw a whopping six...that's right SIX interceptions. Yet somehow, the Colts were in position to win that game with a field goal in the final minutes, with Adam Vinatieri you figure he makes it. Somehow, he missed. But that was then and this is now. The Colts for the first time since early in the season have every player on the practice field. That includes WR Marvin Harrison and TE Dallas Clark. The Chargers on the other hand, will probably be without arguably the best TE in the league, Antonio Gates. The question for San Diego will be how much will the offense suffer without Gates? The answer...a lot. Antonio Gates is Phillip Rivers' favorite target, and the teams leading receiver with 75 receptions. Which means, that for San Diego to win, WR Chris Chambers must have a great game. The playoffs are the reason why San Diego pulled the trigger to bring in Chambers. The bad news is, they brought him in so he can have big games when defenses would double team Gates, not to fend off double teams by himself. Chambers is a very good receiver, however he does get alligator arms when trying to catch passes over the middle, and defensive player of the year, safety Bob Sanders will be looking to decapitate anyone who comes his way.
Indy is better in almost every major statistical category than San Diego. More overall yards on offense, more passing yards, on average they give up less yards both passing and rushing. The only category San Diego has an advantage is rushing yards per game with 127. However the leading tackler for the Colts is a DT, Gary Brackett with 116 tackles! Which means bad things for Ladanian Tomlinson, the NFL's leading rusher. This one will be closer than some people think, but I'm taking the Colts 27-21.

NFL Playoffs round 2...Seahawks vs Packers

Welcome to the frozen tundra of Lambeau field! The Packers are one of the NFL's surprise teams this season, and they are looking to make a run to the Super Bowl. However, the Seattle Seahawks are standing in their way. After defying my pick last week and beating the Redskins, the Seahawks are going to have to elevate their play from last week in order to defeat the Packers. Although the score was 35-14, that is not indicative of how Seattle played. The running game was non-existent, with Shaun Alexander their leading rusher with a meek 46 yards. So, again it will be up to Matt Hasselbeck to shoulder the load and do it by himself. It will be easier for him this week with the return of injured receiver Deion Branch. However, the Packers defense is nasty. They have a pro bowl CB in Al Harris, and the resurrected Charles Woodson at the other CB spot. Plus, the Packers front seven is young, energetic and plays with a lot of tenacity. They are lead by former Ohio State standout LB AJ Hawk, LB Nick Barnett, and DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. They will pressure Hasselbeck, and make it difficult for him to set his feet and make accurate passes. The Seahawks are only 3-5 on the road this season, and head Coach Mike Holmgren is only 1-2 against his former team at Lambeau Field.
In order for Seattle to win this game, two things must happen. The first is that they need to hope that the Packers, who field the NFL's youngest team, gets caught in the moment and don't play the way they are capable of playing. The second is to put enough pressure on Brett Favre that he starts throwing interceptions the way he did in 2006. In order to get him to do that, Seattle must make Favre feel like he has to do it all on his own. Which means they will need to shut down RB Ryan Grant, and Seattle must jump out to an early lead. I don't see either of those things happening, I like Green Bay in this one 29-20.

BCS title game...

This college football season can be summed up in one phrase, "expect the unexpected". Every week there was one or more top five teams that lost, setting up a national championship game that features two teams that lost games in their final few weeks. The LSU Tigers are the first two loss team to earn a spot in the title game, and after a loss to former Florida Gators coach Ron Zook and the fighting Illini, Ohio State had some good fortune to earn a trip to New Orleans.
On paper, these two teams are mirror images of each other. Both lead by stout defenses littered with athletes that will be playing on Sundays. LSU is lead by All-World defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, and stud safety Craig Steltz. On the other sideline, Ohio State has All-American linebacker James Laurinaitis, and cornerback Malcom Jenkins. With both defenses being so good, this game will be determined by which offense has the most big plays. Jacob Hester (RB-LSU) and Chris Wells (RB-OSU) are downhill style runners. They will not try to make defenders miss, but they will try to run the defender over. As far as the quarterbacks go, the Tigers have more versatility by using the two quarterback system Ryan Perrilloux and Matt Flynn. Flynn was injured in the final few weeks of the season, and Perrilloux shined as the starter. Flynn can scramble but it is Periloux who is more of the runner. OSU quarterback Todd Boeckman is best being a game manager. His job is to not make mistakes and to connect for the big play when it becomes available.
That being said, this is the National Championship. You cannot hide your QB and he will need to make plays. LSU will be in better position to do so, especially with WR Early Doucet and Matt Flynn back at full strength. I expect both defenses to come to play, but it will be the LSU offense that wins this game, 34-32

Fool's Gold... 24k changes his mind

Ever since Kevin Smith announced on December 18th that he would return to the Knights for his senior season, UCF was enamoured with the possibilities. After a ten win season, and a conference title the team was preparing for what was to quite possibly be UCF's best season ever, in 2008. Until Smith told the Orlando Sentinel he changed his mind stating, "When I had the press conference a few weeks ago, that's how I felt then." The question now becomes, what did he learn over the past three weeks that made him change his mind? The answer may be quite simple. When Smith made the initial announcement he had not yet heard back from the NFL advisory board. Once he had, he found out that some scouts have him ranked higher than Heisman runner up, Darren McFadden. If his initial prediction was that he would be drafted in the late first-second round range, this new information would change anyone's mind. The difference between being drafted in the low first- seccond round range, compared to being drafted in the top of the first round, is enormous. In 2006, the tenth overall pick was USC QB Matt Leinert , who signed a contract worth a maximum of over fifty million dollars over six years. While RB Deangelo Williams (another C-USA running back, Memphis) was drafted in the same draft at number twenty-seven overall and signed a 5 year, twelve and a half million dollar contract. I'm no Pythagoras, but that is a difference of more than thirty seven million dollars! He gave everything he had, in every game he played. He was a humble hero, always defering his succuess to his teammates, and never looking for attention.
Needlesstosay, it is a disappointment to see 24K leave but he did what was in his best intrest, and no one can blame him for doing so.

NFL playoffs... Jags vs Steelers

If there was an award for coaching move of the year, that award may just go to Jack Del Rio for deciding to go with David Garrard as his starting QB. When incumbent starter Byron Leftwich was released at the end of the preseason, a lot of people were scratching their heads, wondering what was going on in Jacksonville. As it turns out, there is a reason Del Rio is the coach. The result; Garrard has responded with a touchdown to interception ratio of 6 to 1, a quarterback rating of 102.2, completion percentage of 64, and a 9-3 record as the starter. Over the past few years, Jacksonville has developed a reputation for having a ferocious defense. It all starts up front with the big guys. Marcus Stroud and John Henderson wreak havoc up front, harassing quarterbacks and dominating runningbacks. But, do not forget about Rasheen Mathis. He only has one interception this year, but that is only because no one will throw at him. He is an elite cornerback who can shut down his entire side of the field.
The Jacksonville offense is fueled by the running game. Fred Taylor has ran for over twelve hundred yards, even though he splits carries with second year sensation Maurice Jones-Drew (who has chipped in almost 800 yards respectively).
Over on the Pittsburgh sideline, they are seeing what they once were in Jacksonville. Unfortunately for the Steelers, the only was to win this game is to get back to playing that smash mouth style of football that made them successful for all of those years. Even worse, their star runner Willie Parker is done for the season and they will have to rely on former Miami Hurricane, Najeh Davenport. Davenport is a downhill style runner who will try to run you over ever time he gets the ball. However, not being a starter for a full season at any point in his career will cause him to tire out in the fourth quarter, which is when the Steelers will need him most. Therefore, Pittsburgh will put the ball in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's hands and hope that he can win the game with his arm. Big Ben is best when rolling out of the pocket to his right, where he can make big plays. He can also scramble around out there, and can make big plays with his legs.
Pittsburgh is also 7-1 at home this season...the bad new is, the one loss was to Jacksonville. The Steelers would have a much better chance to win this game if they were completely healthy along the offensive line. But, with both starting left Tackle Marvel Smith and his backup Max Starks out with injuries, that Jacksonville D-line will be too overpowering and will be making plays in the backfield all game long. I like Jacksonville to win, 29-23.

NFL Playoffs.... Titans vs Chargers

Welcome to San Diego, where the temperature stays warm, the beaches are beautiful, and a monster of a football team awaits the Tennessee Titans at Qualcom Staduium. The San Diego Chargers, had some lofty expectations coming into this season after a posting a 14-2 regular season record in 2006. Despite that great record, they were booted out of the playoffs by New England on their home field, and left with a sour taste in their mouths. Norv Turner has taken over the reigns from Marty Schottenheimer and the expectation was to go deep into the playoffs. In order to do so, the first step is to defeat a pesky Tennessee team that plays fantastic defense, and does just enough on offense to beat you. These two teams played each other in week 14, a 23-17 overtime victory for the Chargers.
The big question mark for this game is the health of the Titans. Vince Young is going to be a game time decision, if he can't go it will be up to the veteran, Kerry Collins to get the job done. Either way, the offense will be without TE Bo Scaife, and WRs Roydell Williams and Brandon Jones. More importantly for the Titans, will be to lock down the San Diego offense. It will be up to defensive studs tackle Albert Haynesworth and linebacker Keith Bullock to do the heavy lifting. The bad news is Big Al has been having hamstring issues, and it will take away some of his explosiveness, and ability to stuff the run. After the Chargers had an early season slump, Norv Turner finally figured out, just give the ball to Ladanian Tomlinson and good things will happen. This game plan has resulted in a six game win streak, in which they are averaging 31 points per game. The Chargers also added WR Chris Chambers midseason, to provide another option when defenses double team TE Antonio Gates. That's before even mentioning the San Diego defense, which has playmakers at Linebacker in Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips, DT Jamaal Williams, and a stud in the making in former Florida State standout Antonio Cromartie. All of these things are bad news for Tennessee, who have never beat San Diego, and that trend will continue Saturday with the Titans having too many injuries to win this one. Final score 32-20 in favor of the Chargers.

Cameo over for Cameron

It is one and done for Cam Cameron after a tumultuous 1-15 season. Since the implementation of a seventeen week schedule, eight teams (including these dolphins) have gone 1-15 and six of those eight had their coach fired in the offseason. This is a fact that is not surprising, after such bad seasons, one would expect most teams to go in another direction. However one season is not enough to judge a first year coach. Was Cameron the perfect playcaller in the '07 season? No. There were several moments throughout the season that made everyone scratch their heads. There were squib kicks that gave up valuable field position, a spike on a first and nine in the closing minutes of the first half against New England (which could have worked out if the Dolphins didn't run down the clock before using a timeout two plays later). Along with a few questionable fourth down plays sprinkled throughout the season.
On the other hand, he was not close minded, he listened to the veterans on this team when they spoke. The vets lobbied for Cleo Lemon to finish out the season as the starting QB, and he listened. As a result, the Dolphins got their first (and only) win of the season against Baltimore. He was able to motivate Ronnie Brown, finally making Brown look like the number two overall pick in the draft. It looked as if Brown was headed for the Pro Bowl the way things started, until a torn ACL ruined his breakout season. Injuries were a common theme this season, with seventeen players on injured reserve. Before those injuries however, the Dolphins were averaging 21 points through the first seven games, five points more than in the 2006 season. That did not last, although it was not any fault of Cameron's. You have to expect a dropoff after losing your top QB, RB, and WR. The Dolphins started pulling running backs off the street as they had to use Brown, Ricky Williams, Jesse Chatman, Patrick Cobbs, Samkon Gado, and rookie Lorenzo Booker. That's before we even start talking about the defense, at one point Cam even called me to come play safety.... OK, that didn't really happen, but it could have! My point here is that Cameron deserved another shot. But, citing philisophical differences Jeff Ireland and Bill Parcells are going in another direction. I can't blame them, just like Parcells infamously said, " If they are going to let me cook the dinner, they should at least let me get the groceries". So, get the groceries he will. He will bring in one of his guys to run things his way. There is nothing wrong with that, this all could mean good things for the Dolphins, but as always only time will tell.

NFL Playoffs.... Redskins vs Seahawks

In the second of this Saturday's games, the big story is Joe Gibbs rallying the troops after the death of safety Sean Taylor and sneaking into the playoffs. Although there is no way the Redskins would have made the playoffs if they were an AFC team, they have put together some nice wins over the past few weeks. The have taken out the NY Giants, Minnesota Vikings, and Dallas Cowboys, all in convincing fashion. They have been winning the Joe Gibbs way, playing stingy defense and by utilizing the power run game. The defense has shut down Brandon Jacobs, rookie sensation Adrian Peterson, and pro bowler Marion Barber in three consecutive weeks, and if this trend continues, it does not look good for Seattle. Todd Collins has been the X-factor for the Redskins in their current win streak. He has been making accurate passes, and not making mistakes. He has a quarterback rating of 106.4, has thrown 5 touchdowns to zero interceptions, and has completed almost 64% of his passes. Plus the players and coaches have seemingly been brought closer together by a common cause...playing for Sean Taylor.
Seattle is a decent team playing in a weak NFC west, and is going to need a big game out of Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck in order to beat the Redskins. Hasselbeck will be looking to connect with Deion Branch and pick apart the Washington secondary. However he will not be able to do so. Washington will shut down Shaun Alexander who has been plagued by injuries all year long, and his back up Mack Strong is a nice running back to spell Alexander, but nothing more. Without that running game it will be all on Matt Hasselbeck to move the chains and win the game, and that is not his game. The only thing Seattle will have going for them is the home field advantage. I will not downplay this at all, it is one of the best home field advantages in the NFL and the Stadium was specifically designed so the acoustics of the building will result in a lot of crowd noise.
All that being said, the Redskins will win this football game. They will run the ball, play good defense and by doing so, will control the rowdy Seattle crowd. Final score, 28-24.