Last Shot

Don't know if you noticed, but I didn't post anything last week. And in the span of two weeks, LeBron James has renewed his title as "Most Hated Talent in the NBA" (even if he is having arguably the greatest statistical season in the history of the league.

What did he do?

He passed the ball. Twice.

First, in a meaningless All-Star game where he made an (admittedly stupid) inexcusable play where he launched a cross-court pass in the final seconds that was intercepted by Blake Griffin. Of course, he should have taken the shot.

Or at least, that's what they say.

I don't see the big deal. I could understand if this was a game that, I don't know, counted. But it's an exhibition. And playing on a team comprised of players who aren't his teammates. Seems like nothing to me.

Secondly, two night ago, the Heat were playing the Jazz and, down by one with seconds remaining, James made a pinpoint, perfect pass to Udonis Haslem for a wide open 15-footer at the buzzer.

Heat lose, James' fault.

James should have taken the shot. I could understand if this was a game that, I don't know, meant something. But it's a regular season game against a Western Conference bottom-feeder with Miami holding a comfortable lead in the East. It was a good basketball play and it didn't go down. Seems like nothing to me.

Sound familiar?

I'll wait to unleash about LeBron eventually (I keep saying that), but I couldn't keep my mouth shut about these. The overreaction was palpable.

I think all of us need to sit back and appreciate the season to which we are all "witnesses".

(Sorry, Cleveland).

Life Span of a Cinderella

That didn't take long. Since my last post, the meteoric rise (and subsequent plateau) of Jeremy Lin has come full circle. I'll spare the details of rehashing the entire story so I'll limit it to simple bullets;

1. Unknown basketball player comes from out of nowhere to lead a team in the country's biggest media market to an improbable seven game winning streak.
2. Player and team loses.

Seems simple, right? And that's ignoring the details of analysts anxiously waiting for him to fall back to Earth, thousands of Taiwanese people all of the sudden becoming NBA fans, Lin being elected to participate in the All-star festivities, and Lin trying to trademark the term "Linsanity".

That's alot to happen to a guy in a week. Still, it's the reflection of how antsy sports fans are sometimes. Granted, Lin had the best first seven starts of anyone in NBA history, but it's still only a span of a few games. I think we should all relax on molding the bust for the Hall of Fame.

Sound familiar?

I'm not saying his story isn't a great one, it definitely is reminiscent of the (Tim) Tebow-mania the NFL saw. All I'm saying is remember how that mania ended; Tebow and the Broncos were absolutely crushed by the Patriots. The meteor crashed to Earth...hard. I wouldn't be surprised if there was still a smoldering crater in Denver to this day.

I can't say for sure that this is the future for Lin, but...I wouldn't be surprised if he disappears just as quickly as he appeared. He came strong out the gate and gave us all a huge thrill, but his game isn't sustainable. Numbers never lie and Lin has turned the ball over WAY too much. And I'll leave my analysis there because if you consume sports media, you will hear about every nook and cranny of his game for the next few weeks.

They say that if you can make it in New York then you can make it anywhere. Let's see if this kid can stay afloat.

Hate to Say I Told You So....

...but I did. The Tiger Woods we knew the grow and love is gone. Will he ever come back? I, personally, doubt it. We can't expect the same production from this guy because, honestly, he is not the same person.

Look at Tiger as a whole. Since that fateful day two years ago, everything about him has changed. He is divorced. He got a new swing coach. He is out of his top world ranking. He has a Twitter account. This isn't Tiger, anymore. This is Eldrick. And it doesn't seem like anyone is afraid of Eldrick anymore.

Sure, other players will say all of the right things (he is still a great player and always a threat), but man how times have changed. You used to tune in the golf on Sundays for the drama that Woods brought. Now, the causal golf is tuning out on Saturday. Parity is good, but I'm sure the PGA would love to have Tiger firecely competitive, instead of being trampled (by his standards) by the other golfers.

I'm not saying he won't ever win again, but I think that Jack Nicklaus' major wins record is in good shape.

Swan Song

It's finally here; the LAST football game for months. We have made it a long way. From the potential lockout, the whirlwind free agency/rookie signings, shortened preseason to a record-breaking regular season, we have arrived at our destination: Super Bowl XVI.

And let me be the first to say...I couldn't be more disappointed. This matchup, despite the hype, is about as lackluster as you can imagine. Let me say this, I think this has the potential of being a close, tightly contested game, but the teams and the stories surrounding it couldn't be more bland, in my opinion. Not only is this a rematch of the Super Bowl from four years ago (a great game), but it's a rematch of a game from earlier this season (not as good). Ask LSU (or Alabama) how much fun a rematch is. It's REALLY hard to beat a team twice in the same season, but it's hard to get fired up as a fan (who doesn't have a horse in the race) when the game has already been played.

Don't feed me the whole, "brand new team" angle because, as mentioned before, it's difficult to beat a team twice in the same season.

The problem I keep finding with this game is the familiarity. We KNOW Eli Manning. We KNOW Tom Brady. We know both coaches. Been there, done that.

The wild cards are the on the Giants, though. The receivers (Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks) were not around in 2008, but they will probably play a huge role on Sunday. For better or worse, if you hear either or those guys' names, best to pay attention.

Much has been made about the defensive line of New York. I don't see them playing as big a role, solely because Brady gets rid of the ball so quickly, pressure has a hard time getting to him.

The big story is Rob Gronkowski, who won't be at 100% for the game, but will get 90% of the defensive attention. Outside of Wes Welker, who can be contained, the Pats offense has very little going for them. No real deep threat and a weak running game. If Brady isn't on his "A" game, then the outlook for the game is not so good.

I won't dwell too much on this game, because like I said, we have seen this game already. All I can hope for is a tight game that can keep me riveted.

My Final Pick: Patriots 20, Giants 13

Big Men on Campus

I try my best to keep to a relatively strict posting schedule, but I was thrown off this week. Because for the first time in months, there was no football. No picks. No stories. Nothing. I could talk about the Ravens' loss, but that still hurts way too much. I just got a new computer and I don't want to damage any of the circuits with my tears.

Still, I am undeterred. Because I still have NBA basketball to whet my sports appetite. I'll make it perfectly clear. I said NBA. Because the NBA is better than college basketball.

There I said it.

That's a bold statement considering March Madness is the gambler's Super Bowl (outside of the Super Bowl). Honestly, though, I can't imagine trying to make it through February and March without the NBA. College basketball is still around, but c'mon; part of the excitement of watching these guys for one or maybe two years, is pondering how they would look playing against the big boys in the league.

It's also hard to get into college basketball for that very reason. College basketball doesn't have stars, they have meteors; quick flashes of excitement that pass through the sports sky and disappear without a visible trace.

As a matter of fact, some of the young stars (think Derrick Rose) should still be in college. That's how quick the turnover is in college ball.

I'm a basketball fan and I'll watch anything that's on. Just don't try and convince me the kids can do it better than the adults.

NFL Picks - Championship Round

One more weekend. Then the big game.

(Winners in bold.)

Giants at 49ers

I am sticking to my guns, I think a Super Bowl appearance is too much for a rookie coach. Tom Coughlin is battle tested and been on this stage before. Jim Harbaugh, both in the NFL and college, has never sniffed a game with these type of title implications. His quarterback was practically left for dead a year ago and his offense was completely out of sync last year. Somehow he rallied the troops and kept them focused throughout the grind of the regular season. Right now, they are completely healthy and ready to take the stage. The problem is, they have a Manning in their way. With Peyton gone, this world needs a Manning to be successful in some capacity. Since Eli couldn't grab the MVP ( or won't, at least), this is the only way he can prove he is truly the real deal. He has too many weapons and the necessary big game experience to bring his team to yet ANOTHER win.

Ravens at Patriots

Undoubtedly, the most difficult week of my short 2012 came after the Ravens beat out the Texans. The following week has been full of posturing and pondering about how the Ravens COULD and possibly SHOULD get blown away by the awesome Patriot offense. Ten minutes later, the same game brings up a totally different conversation about how the Ravens are destined to harass Tom Brady and use Ray Rice to expose the Pats leaky defense. There are just as many reasons to believe either side of the argument. When in doubt, though, I will always go with the most recent past. I picked against the Ravens last week out of pure belief that I could reverse jinx them to a win. Better believe I'm doing it again. Monday is going to be an interesting day, nonetheless.


Best weekend in football, without a doubt.

NFL Picks - Divisional Playoffs

Last week pretty much went as expected; Giants showed muscle against a poor team, Saints put up a ridiculous amount of yardage and Tim Tebow buried yet another team in the late stages of a game. Same old, same old. I'm superstitious to a fault and come playoff time it's harder to pick a Ravens game. I want to use my head, but my heart always gets in a way. I'll explain later. Let's go straight to the games.

(Winners in bold).


Giants at Packers

The bandwagon pick is New York. For some reason, it's become a detriment to win 15 games and have a week off. Also, it seems as if beating a team a few weeks prior only makes your chances of beating them again slimmer. I don't understand the logic, but I have no reason to jump off of the Packers now.


Broncos at Patriots

I can't pick the Broncos to win for pretty much the same reason, I can't justify picking the Giants. You lose to a team (and Denver was embarrassed) and then you become the underdog (although not literally in this case). Tebow magic didn't work when they played last time, no reason to believe his magic wand has been fixed this quickly.

Saints at 49ers

Rookie head coaches have to make a mistake at some point don't they? Jim Harbaugh and the Niners have already far exceeded their expectations, but can they really make it all the way to NFC Championship? I don't think so. It's too much too soon. You can definitely make a case that they are the Cinderealla story of the NFL, but even she had to leave ball at some point. She didn't marry the prince right on the spot (have I taken this analogy too far?). I always say, for players and coaches, they can be successful their rookie season, but year two will tell us the truth. Too soon.

Texans at Ravens

Like I said earlier, I'm conflicted with this game. Every big Ravens game, I picked against them (both Steelers games and the No. 2 seed-clinching Bengals game). And they won. So how can I, in good faith, pick them to win this game, when it seems that my doubts equal wins. Of course I think they can and should win this game. This team does NOT lose at home, but isn't that just a recipe fora letdown. I've seen some duds from this team and this one would break my heart. The cards are stacked against Texans. They have a rookie, 3rd string quarterback, leading a franchise into their first divisional game ever against a team that they have NEVER beaten. I've seen a good amount of football this year and this one just smells fishy. But I hope I'm wrong.

Hopefully, my team won't send me to the hospital and I'll be back to make Championship weekend picks.