NFL- No real news to report regarding the NFL and the impending lockout that the league is facing, most of the experts continue to predict that the league will have some short of work stoppage. It kind of makes you wonder what these players will do if there is a lockout and if they will be able to survive money wise. The NFL players are much worse off in a lockout than the NBA players, who also are bracing for the possibility of a lockout, due to the fact that there really isn’t an overseas market for professional football. Basketball does offer this, as seen by Josh Childress and Brandon Jennings defections to club teams that offered lucrative contracts. NFL players would really have nothing to go to besides Brandon Marshall who insists that he could make it in the NBA (doubtful). I maintain that commissioner Goodell will get it done due to my insistence that I must win my fantasy football league next year. Seriously this has to happen, I have way too much pride riding on next season after this past seasons catastrophic run.
NBA- It was a short week of games leading up to an All-Star weekend that I found slightly disappointing, then again I really didn’t watch too much of it. I’ll start off with the celebrity game which will now be renamed the Justin Bieber game in his honor after that majestic performance. Really ESPN, Justin Bieber? I must have forgotten that your main audience was thirteen-year-old girls. Not that I was really going to watch the game but once I saw them interviewing Beiber pregame I decided there were about a million better things for me to do. I must have been missing something special because the next day I saw on ESPN that he won MVP, maybe the Cavaliers can use him. Didn’t watch any of the Rookie vs. Sophomore game and really don’t care to say anything about it besides the John Wall bounce alley-oop pass to Blake Griffin was pretty great. Next up on the events that I somewhat care about menu (sorry team hot spot and skills competition) was the three point shooting contest which James Jones (who?) won. Jones was a great shooter for the Blazers way back when and in his mind felt he got snubbed from the three-point contest in his final year as a Blazer so I can’t say I’m upset he won. Funny comment overheard somewhere was the comment that he’s usually more open during games due to the attention paid to his Heat teammates. I might be able to shoot at a thirty percent clip if I had those teammates but I don’t think Pat Riley is going to sign me anytime soon (obviously I’m way to expensive due to my play on the Wet Bandits). Unfortunately I was unable to watch the one event that I actually wanted to watch, the Dunk Contest, but I decided that I needed to get off the Top Ramen diet so I accepted an invitation to grab some food with the roommate’s parents. I’m not quite sure if this goes in questioning my manhood category for missing this but really you have to understand that eating free real food rates much higher than any sporting event. Of course it’s always nice to watch the highlights without the actual missing of a million dunks, looking at you JaVele McGee and Blake Griffin, and overall I was pretty impressed with all of the contestants. Of all places I wouldn’t put the all star game as the place where home court advantage would play a huge role but this has to be the only reason he won the event. He had some great dunks in round 1 but DeMar DeRozan was much more deserving of a berth in the finals than him. Serge Ibaka didn’t put in a bad showing either but he really didn’t have a shot with the dunks that DeRozan and McGee put up and Griffin’s hometown edge. Griffin ended up winning to the surprise of no one, but the real surprise was McGee who shocked me with his dunks. When the picks were announced way back who knows when, I remember my initial reaction was how much did McGee pay to get in the contest but he definitely proved me wrong with some amazing dunks. I’m still confused as to the Ibaka pick but that’s an argument for some other time. Somehow commissioner David Stern missed the memo that the actual All-Star game coincided with our intramural game (more on that later) so I was unable to watch most of the second half but don’t worry I’m not crying over it. It’s kind of funny to me when people say that certain players don’t deserve to make it to the all-star game because they don’t play any defense (Andrea Bargnani). I may be wrong but does anyone actually play defense in the all-star game? I’m pretty sure that Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, and possibly Carmelo Anthony had a running bet on who could exert the least amount of effort in the All-Star game. I would lean towards Duncan on this one just because of his one possession in which he got an offensive rebound under the basket and then passed it back to the three-point line. I know he doesn’t want to get hurt and such but its not like anyone was going to try and foul him hard. Props to Doc Rivers for his Celtic four substitution, I was waiting to see Kobe and Pau Gasol stay out on the court with Derek Fisher and Ron Artest subbing in for the West but unfortunately Artest somehow got snubbed from the game (he’s been on a tear recently if you hadn’t heard). Kobe Bryant deserved the MVP as one of the few players that actually cared, it really only came down to him, LeBron, and Kevin Durant. For all Blazer fans still clamoring (facebook news feed) about Aldridge making the game, shocking statistic Blake Griffin and Kevin Love both had a plus minus of negative nine. If anyone actually says this to me I will just laugh, yes Aldridge had a good first half but really Love and Griffin were more deserving, get over it. On another note I understand the goodwill gesture to get Duncan in the game but if he’s playing not to sweat can we get someone else in there? Last note from the All-Star game, the Carmelo Anthony fast break ending in a layup was pathetic; did he forget he’s six foot eight and playing in an all-star game? Really, really weak stuff I would give him more grief but at least he doesn’t have any off court distractions like some other players (if you didn’t get that sarcasm stop reading).
Back to the NBA and what actually happened, which was relatively nothing besides the Cavaliers beating the Lakers. I’m almost sure that the Lakers tanked this game so the front office is forced to make a move that or the Cavaliers are much, much better than their recent twenty six game losing streak suggests (not likely). I really don’t think that there’s anyway to logically explain losing to a team that you beat by fifty-five points a month earlier. Check that there actually is no way to justify this loss but I still maintain the Lakers will be there in the conference finals. The Utah Jazz continued their graceful descent from a top seed in the West to a team contending for a playoff spot. Absolutely shocking how bad they have been this past month but maybe I drank too much of their Kool-aid early in the season. The Blazers continued their recent hot-streak (thank you schedule makers) but no matter how hot they get I can still guarantee they won’t make it out of the first round (great fan aren’t I?). The Carmelo Anthony trade talks continued for the three hundredth straight week nearing the mythical Brett Favre status for news that everyone is sick about. Side note I’m not quite sure where Tiger Woods scandal ranks but I think it’s behind Favre. The news this week revolved around the Knicks (surprise) and the Nets and possible meetings with Melo in Los Angeles during the All-Star break. The Nets did meet with Melo and their owner left saying that it went “fantastic”, unfortunately this is just posturing by Melo to force the KnickerBoxers to up their trade offer. The Knicks on the other hand are apparently about to implode once again with the news that owner James Dolan might be angling to get Isiah Thomas back into a managerial or executive role in the future. This is completely baffling considering current general manager Donnie Walsh is still struggling to rid the Knicks of Thomas’s disastrous run as general manager. I actually find myself impressed with either the stupidity of Dolan (how does he have so much $$$$?) or the ability for Thomas to blame his last run on other people. It’s probably a combination of both, but the person in the worst situation besides the Knicks fans (forever miserable), is Donnie Walsh who will watch all his work cleaning up the Knicks go to waste if Thomas comes back into power. I have no idea how the Melo situation plays out but as of now it appears that the odds are that Melo will not be playing basketball in Denver past Thursday at the latest. Of course if Melo doesn’t get traded that means were subjected to the last third of the season with the constant question of where will Melo sign with at the end of the season (so exciting!!!).
MLB- Jamie Moyer remains unsigned for some weird reason. I mean what does he have going against him? Most pitchers pitch up until their fifty right? Next week and in the future of the MLB sections I’ll start breaking down each division leading up until the season, just too tired after such a tough game tonight (look below for the recap).
NCAA Basketball- Ducks swept the Beavers in the Civil War, I don’t think anyone outside of Oregon cares (not really sure that much people even in the state of Oregon care) but still another good win for the Ducks under new coach Dana Altman. Way too many top five teams lost this past week, of course St. Johns took part in this because they upset a top ten team every week, which reinforces the thought that there really isn’t a dominant team this year. I disagree with this to some degree, if Kyrie Irving ever recovers from what I’m sure is a debilitating foot injury (still have no clue how he's been out forever) I think Duke is a dominant team. Unfortunately once again there is no word on if and when Irving will return.
Wet Bandits victory by forfiet over The Tropics- Apparently our reputation is preceding us at this point because the opposing team didn’t even bother to show up for this tilt. I can’t say I’m that surprised this happened considering our teams ability and too be honest I’m a little shocked other teams didn’t forfeit to us like this team did. Regardless we remain playoff bound, unfortunately for the fans (that would be you) I don’t know when, where, and against whom our next game is. Don’t worry I’m sure SportsCenter or whatever channels you people watch will have a breaking news announcement whenever our teams next game is finalized. No autograph session this week, I have to start focusing on the playoffs, I’m sure you understand.
The Week Moving Forward
NFL- The NFL combine is this upcoming week, which basically means that it ‘s Christmas for Mel Kiper Jr. Every prospect will get over-analyzed on how fast he runs the forty yard dash or how many bench press reps he can do. Every single year there is some player that wows all the scouts in attendance and shoots up the draft boards only to bomb out in the NFL because he has no idea how to play the game. Best draft story is former USC kicker David Beuhler’s combine back in 2009 in which Beuhler put up 25 reps on the bench press (at 225 pounds) and ran the forty yard dash in 4.56 and 4.63 seconds. His forty-yard dash times were good for first among tight ends and linebackers. His bench-press efforts consisted of more reps then fellow USC linebacker Rey Maualuga and two offensive linemen (Michael Oher and Eugene Monroe) who ended up becoming first round draft picks. The point I’m trying to get at is combine results should mean something but they are ridiculously over hyped for the most part.
NBA- The trade deadline will come and pass, hopefully bringing with it the news that Carmelo Anthony has signed an extension somewhere and will no longer be featured daily on SportsCenter. It only makes sense because were getting close to the point that Brett Favre begins to ponder whether he will return for another season of football. The Nuggets have to move Melo because I still have serious doubts of whether he would sign an extension in Denver. Ultimately the Knicks are probably going to gut their team to trade for Melo, which is stupid because they could probably get him over the summer for nothing or next to nothing. A team consisting of Stoudemire, Anthony, Chauncey Billups, and ten other scrubs isn’t going to get it done in the East this year and not in the future unless they can draft smart (never easy for the Knicks). The Hornets need to make a move to acquire a legitimate wing scorer but I’m really not sure that they have the assets to make this happen. As I’ve said here before if they can snag Stephen Jackson they become a scary team. Another team that could use a shooting guard would be the Chicago Bulls and there has been chatter about trading for O.J. Mayo of the Grizzlies. I like this fit even though Mayo wouldn’t exactly help out their team defense he would certainly be an upgrade over incumbent starter Keith Bogans. I’m trying to set up a tryout with the Bulls to prove that I actually might be a better starter than Bogans but unfortunately school obligations keep getting in my way. Acquiring a shooting guard of Mayo’s caliber would put the Bulls on the level of the Celtics, Heat, and Magic (they might be there now anyway), but I’m opposed to any deal that sacrifices backup power forward Taj Gibson. Once Joakim Noah gets healthy the Bulls could arguably have the deepest frontcourt in the league behind the Celtics and come playoff time their going to need this depth when battling against the Dwight Howard’s, Kevin Garnett’s, and Chris Bosh’s of the East. Lastly there is the Blazers who are in an interesting situation leading up until the deadline. This team is playoff bound but is not nearly good enough to contend for a title as currently constructed. They have significant assets in expiring contracts and multiple first round picks but I’m not to sure if they should be buying or selling at this deadline. A month ago I was in the selling category and I think that this is the direction that I would still lean. I can understand why Rich Cho would go out and make a deal that strengthens the team for a playoff run but ultimately I think that this would be the wrong move. It’s time to move on from this team and rebuild around Aldridge. I would say that Cho should explore the trade market for Andre Miller, Marcus Camby, and Joel Pryzbilla at the deadline and if the right offer comes up for more first round picks and or developmental players he has to take it. Realistically the Blazers need a franchise point guard but this isn’t something that can be acquired at the trade deadline. If the Blazers remain quiet at the deadline that would be fine as well but at the latest the Blazer’s should start remaking this team this current summer. It won’t be an ugly rebuilding project as the team can still contend for the playoffs but they are going to get much younger at certain positions namely point guard and center.
MLB- I’m super stoked for the first pre-season game this Thursday between Florida State and the Philadelphia Phillies. Obviously I won’t be watching this but you have to wonder does this really make the Phillies any better? Why don’t they just play their AA (not Alcoholics Anonymous) or AAA team? The Mariners continued their push to secure the award for most boring offseason of all time, if I was on the voting panel I would have already mailed in my vote for the Mariners to win this award. The Mariners are also in contention for worst offseason of all time considering their big move was signing utility infielders Adam Kennedy and Brendan Ryan. I understand they were handcuffed by money, but give me one reason why I should watch this team when King Felix isn’t pitching. I’m not sure which fan base has lower expectations for the upcoming season the Mariner fan base or the Pittsburgh Pirate fan base (not really sure if the Pirates have a fan base but for the sake of this argument they do). I would give a slight edge to the Pirates as of now but with me leading the charge the Mariners are making up ground.
Wet Bandits (-3) over Unnamed opponent- No clue who were playing but we have to win so I can get the free intramural t-shirt that comes with winning the championship. I decided to put the spread at us as three point favorites because we could be slightly rusty coming off of this unexpected bye week. Then again word is probably going to get out once again about how dominant our team is so don’t be shocked if the other team forfeits again. Remember their will most likely be a SportsCenter reminder once our game will be finalized so stay glued to ESPN until there is a breaking news announcement.
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