GREATEST?

During the 2007 NFL regular season The New England Patriots were undefeated until they faced the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. That year many thought the Patriots were the greatest team of all time because of their immaculate record and dominant performances. This year the Green Bay Packers tried to stake their claim as the NFL’s greatest. With a regular season record of 15-1 the Pack stormed through the regular season only to be upended by… the New York Giants. Interesting. Is it possible that the 2011 Giants are the greatest team of all-time? Sounds ridiculous, I know, but consider how they got to where they are.

Big Blue won its second Super Bowl in four seasons, coincidentally against the Patriots again. The Giants fought their way into the playoffs by beating the Jets and Cowboys in their last two regular season games and finished 9-7. That’s ties the worst record for any team to ever make the Super Bowl — the 79 L.A. Rams and 09 Arizona Cardinals are the others. New York won its first playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons at home and then went on the road to beat the 1 seeded Packers and the 2 seeded 49ers. Keep in mind this a team that lost four starting defensive players to injuries before the season started. The same team that lost four straight games in the middle of their season to the top three seeds in the NFC.

You might be asking yourself how that makes them great or even good for that matter. Many skeptics say the Giants were lucky or “got hot at the right time”. Wrong. The Giants overcame adversity in nearly every game they played this year. They had six comeback wins in the regular season and one in the NFC Championship game. Their fourth quarter comebacks were symbolic of their season. Some call that getting hot at the right time, but the fact is they were just better than the teams they played when it mattered.

Go ahead and call me crazy. Say I’m a homer. Say I know nothing about sports. I still say that the Giants 2011 season was arguably the greatest season of all-time. They didn’t go undefeated; they just came back. Again and again. They were the Rocky Balboa’s of the NFL. Their greatness lies in the fact that they never gave up and came back when no one saw coming. And everybody loves a comeback.

2012
02/08
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NUTTIN’ BUT LOVE

Tim Tebow

I have a confession. I like Tim Tebow. Not in a man crush kind of way. But purely as a football player — notice I said football player, but we’ll get to that.

Let’s go back in the story first. I used to hate Tim Tebow. Praying after every touchdown, always smiling winning championships with jump passed. In my head I would think “I hope somebody really hits this guy”. And they did, but he just got back up and kept playing and winning. Which made me even more angry! It definitely didn’t help when he made “The Speech“. To top it off he’s playing in the SEC which people seem to think is the NFL of college football. In my eyes Tebow was overrated and lucky, but he just kept winning.

Then comes the NFL combine process. After a terrible showing is the senior bowl Tebow is being told he has to learn to throw the football all over again. A two-time National championship winning quarterback, who also has a Heisman trophy has to learn how to throw? Pathetic. I actually felt sorry for him. But, Tebow did it anyway. He worked hard on his mechanics and threw at his pro-day. While some thought it was a great improvement, others said he delivery was still too long. Me? Well I was just trying figure out why his Pro-day was on TV.

Then in a surprise move he goes to Denver in the first round. (I’m purposely skipping over the hair cut, although it did bother me that people jumped to give him praise for being a team player) Then he sits on the bench and nobody really hears anything about him for a while. But on December 19, 2010 he gets his first start at quarterback against the Raiders. He puts up modest numbers, but the Broncos lose. His next is a 17 point comeback win over the Texans, scrambling into the endzone to tie the game.

It was respectable, but I still didn’t like the guy. Then came the lockout. This is where my disdain turned to the Roger Goodell NFL and it’s owners. All that time with no football made me appreciate the game much more. And on that glorious day when the NFL opened it’s doors to players who else shows up first to Broncos training camp? Tim freakin Tebow. Rumors where swirling that Kyle Orton was going to be traded and there was Tim Tebow was waltzing in trying to a head start on learning the new offense.

Unfortunately Orton wasn’t traded, which set up a QB battle. Eventually Tebow got his chance to prove it on the field, but lost out to Orton in a head to head battle. But the fans wanted Tebow. The fans knew what many including me didn’t want to admit: This guy can win.

Fast forward to the fourth quarter against Miami. The Dolphins are up 15-0 thinking the game is in the bag, and then it happens. Tebow throws two touchdown passes and scores on the tw0-point conversion to in the last 2 minutes to tie the game. The Bronco’s go on to win it in overtime. Wow! But it’s the Dolphins so how much can you read into it..right?

Well after a 35 point drubbing to the Lions the Broncos do it again. After a win over the Raiders and Chiefs, Tebow single handedly wills his team to a win over the Jets in the 4th quarter. Now I’m really starting to pay attention. Four wins, two which were fourth quarter comebacks with Tebow as a starter. And Only one interception at that point. Ridiculous.

Three fourth quarter comebacks later — two which came in overtime — Tebow has the Broncos in first place, John Elway looking foolish for not believing in him and John Fox looking like the coach of the year.

How can I hate a guy like that? Any player that good deserves to be loved by everybody. Forget whether he’s a devout christian or a Bible Belt-way Republican or a missionary who build churches with his bare hands and then hand writes Bibles for the whole village. None of that factors into him playing football. And if it does than more power to him.

Bottom line is Tebow wins games. Sure the Defense and running game help. It’s football. Football is a team sport. But the Defense and running game weren’t getting the team spectacular comeback wins in the beginning of the season. It’s Tebow. I can’t explain how he does it. Some of his passes are way off and he has a lot to improve on as a passer. But when you need a score he has Tom Brady’s arm and Peyton Manning’s accuracy.

Maybe he is just a flash in the pan. Maybe defenses will catch up to him in the future. It happens. As far as right now. All I see is a guy who puts it all out there and wins.

And it’s hard not to like a guy like that.

2011
12/14
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THE NUMBERS GAME

Lockout continues as the NBA cancels regular season games

There have been a lot of numbers thrown around as far as the NBA lockout goes, but as of Monday night the most important number is two. That is the number of weeks in the regular season that Commissioner David Stern has canceled after the league and players union left the negotiating table with no deal.
The next number fans will probably see is 103, which is the number of days the players have been locked out as of Tuesday. The two sides have yet to come to an agreement on issues regarding the salary split, luxury taxes and contract lengths. Stern told reporters he believed what was being proposed was fair and he is sad to see that both sides cannot agree. Union head Billy Hunter doesn’t see it that way at all.
“I’m convinced that this is all just part of the plan,” Hunter told reporters on Monday. “I think everybody’s waiting for the players to cave. They figure that once a player misses a check or two, it’s all over. I’m saying … that would be a horrible mistake if they think that’s going to happen, because it’s not going to happen. The players are all going to hang in.”
With the two sides significantly apart from each other in negotiations and no signs of an end in sight players are starting to put their eggs in other baskets. Several European born players like Rudy Fernandez (Spain) and Danilo Gallinari (Italy) have already signed up to play for their home countries. All-star point guard Tony Parker made headlines signing with a French team for less than $2000 a month. Deron Williams made his stunning announcement earlier this year by deciding to play in Turkey.
Meanwhile players stateside are keeping busy doing celebrity basketball tournaments for fans. LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony were just a few of the big names to play in the latest charity basketball game in Miami. But everyone involved, including the fans, knows that these are only temporary distractions. If the “significant gap” that has kept the players and owners from making a deal doesn’t close soon the next number we will see is 2012 as in the next time we will see NBA basketball.

 

Information from an ESPN.com report was used in this story.

Photo credit: Getty Images

2011
10/13
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SWAG ME OUT!

LeBron James and Dwayne Wade are two of the more stylish players in the NBA. When they decided to join forces apparently they had it written into their contracts that they would only do press conferences together.

LeBron and Wade during the season.

Now press conferences are like the red carpet and these two compete every night to be the “Bell of the Ball”. Here are some of their most recent appearances:

Shortly after game one of the NBA Finals.

James sporting his Liverpool jacket..(He owns a part of the soccer club)

 

2011
06/02
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J. Cole’s Baseball Tonight Remix

Click the picture..

J. Cole make s a dope remix to ESPN’s Baseball Tonight theme song

2011
06/02
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WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?

Last year Mike Brown lost his job as a head coach. He was tossed away like a kid throws away the crust of the bread on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Coaching vacancies were filled and Brown’s name wasn’t called. He was the kid who didn’t get pick to play ( the kid theme is coincidental). Now after a year away from the game and the departure of the NBA’s most accomplished head coach, Brown has been summoned to coach the NBA’s signature franchise, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Sidenote: For those of you who are thinking what about the Celtics..The Lakers have won more rings in the modern NBA era (80s and 90s).

Anyway, some fans and analysts think Brown to the Lakers is not a good move and they couldn’t be more wrong.

Here are a few reasons why..

1. They’re the Lakers:Mike Brown is going to a team that is loaded with talent and has already won two NBA championships together. The Lakers may have lost to the Dallas Mavericks this year, but they have played 100 plus games for the last three seasons. Not only do they get to rest, but they also get to have the “chip on their shoulder” driving them back to the finals. And Mike brown, who also has a few Lays on his shoulder, will drive that point home.

Former Cleveland Cavaliers coach, Mike Brown, will become the next head coach of the LA Lakers.

2. DE-fense: Everyone knows that Mike Brown’s specialty is defense. He was an assistant coach under Greg Poppavich — coincidentally the only other Western Conference coach to win a title during the 2000 era — and while he coached the Cavs he had his team in the top ten defensively every year. People criticized Brown for being too defensive minded and not knowing how to coach offense, but that’s where point number one comes into play.

3. He’s a winner: This is where many will disagree, but it’s the truth. 272 wins in his career, 42 playoff wins, two trips to the Eastern Conference finals and one finals appearance. He won coach of the year during the 08-09 season when his team had 66 wins. Of course people will say “Well he didn’t win a ring”, but that isn’t the only way to measure a coach’s success. Taking the Cavaliers to NBA finals with only one superstar and beating the Detroit Pistons to get there was an amazing accomplishment. Losing to the Spurs doesn’t mean he isn’t a good coach, it just means he got out-coached by his mentor.

Brown has done more with less in his career. He should have taken his team to two or three finals appearances, especially in the 08-09 season, however he still has time to prove to the league that he is a good coach. Remember nobody thought Doc Rivers was a good coach until he won with the Celtics. Brown is in a similar position to prove his doubters wrong and by the end of the 2012 season he could be LA’s golden boy.

2011
05/26
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THE REAL MVP?

The term Most Valuable Player (MVP) is one of the most debated and argued topics in sports especially in a sport where one player can dominate individually. Some say it means the best player on the best team, others say it’s the best player in the sport and some say it’s the person who has the worst supporting cast, but still puts up good numbers. The consensus definition is that an MVP is the player most responsible for their team’s success (whatever that means).

The 2011 NBA MVP was Derrick Rose. The youngest player to ever win the award and the first to win it for the Chicago Bulls since..that’s right “His Airness” Micheal Jordan. Rose went from middle of the pack to the top of the league in one year and took his team from the 8th seed in the eastern conference to number 1. He did it with two of his starting big men — Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah — missing about 50 games between them. He averaged 25 ponts and 7.7 assists per game during the regular season the only player to be in the top 10 for both categories. He’s soared over defenses, made opposing players look foolish trying to stay in front of him and given Chicago fans a reason to believe that there is life after Jordan. And with all that said, he’s still not the MVP.

The best player in the NBA during the regular season was LeBron James. He’s been the best player for the past few years and was the MVP two years in a row before Rose won it this year. After leaving Cleveland to go to Miami and play with two other superstars, the perception of James changed drastically. His expectations also went through the roof because of the team he would have around him. Rose, on the other hand, didn’t have expectations this high.

Most expected Rose and the Bulls to become a top four team in the east, but not the best. So James never had a fair chance to be considered the best player because he had “too much help”. And even with all the help that James had he still averaged what he averages for his career 27 points 7 rebounds and 7 assists. He was named to the NBA’s all defensive team and he is the only player to be unanimously voted First Team All-NBA.

Now that we are coming up on game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals Jame’s has proved that he is the best player on his team and on the floor against the Bulls. He has done all of the little things writers and analysts have criticized him for all season. He closed out game 2 against the Bulls scoring nine of the Heat’s 14 fourth quarter points. He’s made 26 of 33 free throws during this series and he’s played smothering defense on every opposing player on the court including the MVP Derrick Rose.

Some may say that what James is doing in the playoffs doesn’t matter because the MVP is regular season award. I say the playoffs have forced people to look at James and remember just how good he is. And if you’ve really been watching, you have to agree.

2011
05/25
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MELLOW ON MELO..

Melo says "Dueces" to Denver as he makes his way to the Garden.

After months of speculation and rumors flying the basketball world, the “trade of the century”, has finally been completed. Brooklyn born Carmelo Anthony, one of the NBA’s premiere scorers and notable icons, is headed to The Big Apple to team up with friend and fellow superstar, Amare Stoudemire – just as Stoudemire predicted at Anthony’s wedding. Coming along with Melo from the Denver Nuggets are point Chauncy Billups, former Knicks forward Renaldo Balkman, forward Sheldon Williams, and the young swing man Corey Brewer from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

What New York gave up is the problem I have. The ‘Bockers gave up three starters; point guard Raymond Felton, forwards Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Anthony Randolph (to Minnesota) and centers Timofey Mozgov and Eddy Curry.

Originally reports stated that the Knicks’ front office was only willing to part with Randolph, Curry and either Chandler or Gallinari, because they didn’t want to “gut the roster”. However, as the deadline moved closer, Denver kept demanding that more pieces be added to the deal. There were even rumors that the Nuggets threatened to trade Anthony to the New Jersey Nets if their demands were not met.  But Denver was never going to trade with New Jersey because they had already tried twice and rumor has it that Carmelo would not have signed his 3-year $65 million extension with anyone but New York.

With all of that said, New York overpaid for Melo. Sure he’s a top 5 player and a dynamite scorer, but the other pieces don’t add up to what the Knicks had. Especially at point guard. Billups is more experienced, but he’s much older and may not be on the team beyond next season, which means the Knicks have to go out and get another point guard.

Carmelo Anthony..The Newest Knickerbocker

The other problem I have is the Isiah/Dolan factor. Donnie Walsh built this team from the ground up and James Dolan forced the issue to get Melo instead of trusting Walsh’s gut. Somewhat of a slap in the face to the man who ressurected the franchise.

The move could turn out to be a huge success and the Knicks could go on to win a championship within the next 3 years. But they could also under-achieve severely and that is the cardinal sin in NYC. We’ll just have to wait and see what Carmelo Anthony does in a Knicks uniform. One thing can be said for sure, all eyes will be on NY from here on out.

2011
02/23
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JUST MIGHT BE CRAZY ENOUGH TO WORK!

Bare with me for a minute. Disregard all the reports from ESPN and all of these “insiders” who swear on the Bible that they know football and use your brain for one second.

Matt Leinart won a championship and a Heisman at USC. Pete Carrol was the coach at USC. Matt Leinart was just released from the Arizona Cardinals. Pete Carrol now coaches one of the rivals of that team — The Seattle Seahawks. The current quarterback of the Seahawks is 34 and has a bad back and knee. Did I mention Matt Leinart used to play for Pete Carrol?

If you haven’t caught on basically the idea is Matt Leinart is perfect for Seattle. Leinart strongly believes that he should be a starter right now and not too many teams believe that, except maybe his former college coach. It is very possible that Leinart is just another pretty boy posing as an NFL QB and can’t play the position at this level. I just can’t see that. People don’t just win Heisman trophies without having some kind of talent. And Leinart was never given a fair shot to get the job. The Cardinals brought in a different coach and quarter back and

sat Leinart on the bench.

With Pete Carrol Leinart has a great chance to succeed. In fact it may be the only place he can succeed because most teams are looking at him for back-up purposes. I’m no “insider”, but I know for a fact this would be a good move.

2010
09/05
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The Good Ole Loophole

This week Jeremiah Masoli, the former QB for the Oregon Ducks, was allowed to play after he appealed the original decision the NCAA gave him earlier in the week. Originally Masoli was supposed to sit out a year because he transferred to Mississippi University to play football. Masoli basically used a loophole in the NCAA’s system to transfer from Oregon where he was kicked off of the football team for his involvement in a robbery. However, because he did graduate from the school and still had a year of eligibility, Masoli was able to transfer and use an academic rule to play this season.

This is great news for Ole Miss because they have no back-up QB on the roster that come close to Masoli in talent. Masoli was one of the biggest reasons that Oregon was on top of the Pac-10 last year. His dual-threat abilities at QB will definitely be an asset to Ole Miss. Not to mention the SEC is a little easier this year now that Superman Tim Tebow is gone and Reigning Heisman winner Mark Ingram is out early in the season.

The only thing that bothers me about this is that Masoli, head coach Houston Nutt, and everyone else who followed the situation knows that he didn’t transfer for academic reasons.

I do think Masoli is trying to change his life around, as does his coach, but technically there is no lesson learned here. Except maybe, if you can get over, do it!

2010
09/04
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