With all three remaining first round series being possibly decided tonight, I figured I should weigh in on the match-ups and predict their outcomes. At the risk of looking really good or really bad, here goes nothing...
Let's start out east with the Milwaukee Bucks hosting the Atlanta Hawks. The Bucks take a 3-2 series lead back to the Bradley Center in an attempt to knock of the disappointing Hawks. The Bucks went on a late 14-0 fourth quarter run to take game 5 in Atlanta. This series, which I thought would be very boring to watch, has actually been fascinating. On one hand you have the improbable "Fear the Deer" gang from Milwaukee led by rookie phenom, Brandon Jennings. Jennings, never short of confidence, has been spectacular throughout and plays with the poise of a veteran. Speaking of veterans, Jerry Stackhouse and Kurt Thomas?! Add to the mix the gritty play of Carlos Delfino and Ersan Ilyasova as well as the secondary scoring of John Salmons and the Bucks have been more than formidable. That being said, I cannot see them eliminating the Hawks tonight. Call me stupid, but I struggle to get past the fact that Atlanta is the more talented team, the deeper team, the higher seeded team. I know Atlanta has a sub .500 regular season road record and has lost both games in Milwaukee this post-season, but I just do not see Joe Johnson and Al Horford, two All-stars, going down easily. I think they will bring it tonight and force a deciding game 7 back in the ATL.
Heading west and to game 6 in Oklahoma City for the game between the Thunder and defending NBA Champion, Los Angeles Lakers. Coming off his 13 point performance, Kobe Bryant stated it was one of his best games in the series. I fully agree with him. I actually would like to take it one step further and say it was his best. People talk about how Dwight Howard controls games with his defense and Kobe to me was no different in game 5. Kobe requesting to guard the speedy Russell Westbrook, who was absolutely annihilating Derek Fisher, was and is the turning point in the series. As Kobe focuses on his defending of Westbrook, which has disrupted the flow of the Oklahoma City offense, it has also allowed him to become more of a facilitator on offense and really get his bigs (Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum) more involved. Oklahoma City has no match for the height and skill of the LA front court. Game 5 was a blowout in LA and I see game 6 being a little closer due to it being played in Oklahoma, but I still see the Lakers ending it tonight because that is what champions do. The veteran Lakers need the rest and do not want to play another game. Kobe will make sure it happens.
The late game on tap for Friday will be in Salt Lake City, Utah where the Jazz try and close out the Denver Nuggets in six games. The Nuggets will be without starting center Nene', who is out with a knee injury. Towards the end of last game I could not help but notice how Chris Andersen and Kenyon Martin were also hobbling along. This is bad news for a Denver front court already struggling to cope with Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap and the surprising Kyrylo Fesenko ("Fes" from here on out on this blog). Not to mention Deron Williams...I am in awe of Deron Williams. He is the best point guard in the NBA. He is the first person in NBA history to have five straight 25 point, 10 assist games. He is big, he is quick, he is one of the most entertaining players in the NBA. Anyways, this series ends tonight. It has to. The Denver players are bickering more than ever without George Karl there babysitting them. Utah has one of the biggest home court advantages in the NBA and you can be assured the place will be rocking on a Friday night elimination game. Jazz win by 15.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Alexander Not So Great...
Throughout the first round series between the President's Trophy (highest regular season point total) winning Washington Capitals and the eighth seed Montreal Canadiens one thing really stuck out to me in respect to Alexander Ovechkin; he is NOT the best player in the world. Personally, I do not know how anyone can argue he is.
What makes great players great? A question for the ages which always boils down to one thing: Championships. Mr. Ovechkin has not won anything in the NHL other than personal, regular season awards. This past February he had a chance to lead the talented Russian national team to Olympic glory, but that ship crashed and burned before even leaving the boat yard, but that is for another day.
So let me get this straight... The best team in the league, with the supposed best player, headed home for game 5 with a 3-1 series lead in a best of 7 and five days later they are out of the play offs?! Whaaat?!?!
Capitals fans will point to the fact that Jaroslav Halak, the Canadiens goaltender, stood on his head for the final three games of the series. Halak is a professional goaltender and is in the rubber stopping business. He did his job. Quit pointing the finger and look at your main man, Ovechkin.
When teams are up against it and they need something special to turn their fortunes around, they turn to their leader. Alexander Ovechkin is the unquestioned leader of the Washington Capitals. I do not care if Halak was guarding a goal 1' by 1' you find a way to beat him because that is your job as the leader of your team. You do the impossible and rally your teammates around you. That is why you are the highest paid player in the NHL. If your shot is not finding its way to the back of the net through your finesse, then you get dirty and scrum it up in the corners and in front of the net and do absolutely everything you can to make a difference. Ovechkin did not do this. He floated most of the time, waiting for others to get him the puck in his preferred spots and then got his shots blocked because the Canadiens are smarter than a bunch of 10 year olds playing hockey and they knew what was up. The Capitals, despite their 134 shots over the final 3 games played just how Montreal wanted them to.
A powerplay spearheaded by Ovechkin went 1 for 33 in the series. The highest scoring team in the Eastern conference was predictable offensively, hence the high number of blocked shots for the Canadiens. The Capitals all began to play like their Captain and failed to move the puck east to west and became very predictable and individualistic.
The fact is the Capitals had 3 chances to finish the pesky Canadiens, twice in the own arena, and failed to do so. They scored 3 goals in the final 3 games. Ovechkin was MIA. His record now stands at 1-3 in the deciding game 7. Great players play great under pressure and a win percentage of 25% in such crucial games is not going to cut it.
Before people start anointing him the next Great One and face of the NHL, it is high time Ovechkin won some trophies that matter. I am not talking about the individual scoring trophies from the regular season, which he has a nice collection brewing, but rather I am talking about Stanley Cups and Olympic medals. Greatness is defined by championships. Just ask Wayne Gretzky and Steve Yzerman. Or Joe Thornton...
What makes great players great? A question for the ages which always boils down to one thing: Championships. Mr. Ovechkin has not won anything in the NHL other than personal, regular season awards. This past February he had a chance to lead the talented Russian national team to Olympic glory, but that ship crashed and burned before even leaving the boat yard, but that is for another day.
So let me get this straight... The best team in the league, with the supposed best player, headed home for game 5 with a 3-1 series lead in a best of 7 and five days later they are out of the play offs?! Whaaat?!?!
Capitals fans will point to the fact that Jaroslav Halak, the Canadiens goaltender, stood on his head for the final three games of the series. Halak is a professional goaltender and is in the rubber stopping business. He did his job. Quit pointing the finger and look at your main man, Ovechkin.
When teams are up against it and they need something special to turn their fortunes around, they turn to their leader. Alexander Ovechkin is the unquestioned leader of the Washington Capitals. I do not care if Halak was guarding a goal 1' by 1' you find a way to beat him because that is your job as the leader of your team. You do the impossible and rally your teammates around you. That is why you are the highest paid player in the NHL. If your shot is not finding its way to the back of the net through your finesse, then you get dirty and scrum it up in the corners and in front of the net and do absolutely everything you can to make a difference. Ovechkin did not do this. He floated most of the time, waiting for others to get him the puck in his preferred spots and then got his shots blocked because the Canadiens are smarter than a bunch of 10 year olds playing hockey and they knew what was up. The Capitals, despite their 134 shots over the final 3 games played just how Montreal wanted them to.
A powerplay spearheaded by Ovechkin went 1 for 33 in the series. The highest scoring team in the Eastern conference was predictable offensively, hence the high number of blocked shots for the Canadiens. The Capitals all began to play like their Captain and failed to move the puck east to west and became very predictable and individualistic.
The fact is the Capitals had 3 chances to finish the pesky Canadiens, twice in the own arena, and failed to do so. They scored 3 goals in the final 3 games. Ovechkin was MIA. His record now stands at 1-3 in the deciding game 7. Great players play great under pressure and a win percentage of 25% in such crucial games is not going to cut it.
Before people start anointing him the next Great One and face of the NHL, it is high time Ovechkin won some trophies that matter. I am not talking about the individual scoring trophies from the regular season, which he has a nice collection brewing, but rather I am talking about Stanley Cups and Olympic medals. Greatness is defined by championships. Just ask Wayne Gretzky and Steve Yzerman. Or Joe Thornton...
Video Replay in Soccer is now a MUST
I woke up this morning anticipating a great Champions League semi final between two outstanding teams. Barcelona, the champions of Spain and current holder's of Europe's elite competition against Inter Milan, the Italian champions.
After a historic 3-1 result for the Nerazzurri at their Stadio Giuseppe Meazza just one week ago, the stage was set for a scintillating 2nd leg at Barcelona's Camp Nou. In the press conference's leading up to the match, Thiago Motta, a former Barcelona player now plying his trade in the Inter midfield, called for the referee to be strong and not give in the the play antics he anticipated the Spanish team would indulge in knowing they have to win by two goals to advance.
The match started with Barcelona dominating possession. However, the alarming thing to me was the rate at which players on both sides would go down in an attempt to con the referee into awarding a free kick or a card to the opposing team. This is a huge problem in soccer. I am a firm believer that more people would watch soccer if it were not for the diving. The things these players can do with a ball at their feet is simply irresistible. Even for me though, the skill was not enough to keep me watching past 42 minutes.
Thiago Motta, he of the request to ask the referee to be strong, was sent off after 30 minutes for an innocent hand to the neck of Sergio Busquets, who made the most of it. With Busquets chasing him from behind, it should not have even been a yellow card with the amount of contact made. I have been playfully punched harder by my 18 month old nephew than what Busquets was hit by Motta. I thought Busquets had been shot by an Inter supporter the way he went down. I was surprised someone had been able to sneak a gun in to such a high profile event. After seeing the replay I realized that he had not been shot, but rather he produced a performance worthy of an Emmy and got his counterpart in the Italian midfield sent off. This could well effect the outcome of the tie as Barcelona will be playing the remaining hour with a man advantage.
I love watching all sports. Earlier in the year I saw Ian Laperriere, a hockey player for the Philadelphia Flyers, get struck in the face with a slap shot going 90 mph and he didn't act the way Busquets acted. Laperriere had seven teeth knocked out, a broken jaw and a cut requiring 100 stitches from his mishap. He came back to play in that game. And he played the next day. Yes, Laperriere may have a few screws loose, but the fact that he respects his profession and the game itself speaks volumes for the integrity of hockey players in general.
The integrity of soccer players worldwide has been in question for numerous years. I think back to Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup. Maradona, one of the greatest soccer players of all time, openly admits to intentionally handling the ball which made its way into the back of the England net and booked Argentina's place in the semi final.
It is time for professional soccer players to respect the game they are fortuitous enough to make a handsome living through. Obviously, the players do not have enough integrity themselves to make the change on their own, so FIFA must step in and do it for them. Cards should be given or rescinded via video replay throughout the match by the fourth official or a team of FIFA official's overseeing the match. As player's will soon find out, their antics will no longer work and they will have to showcase only their God given talent for the world to enjoy. At the moment that seems a big ask, but no doubt it will be better for the game.
PS, would someone let me know who won the game?!
After a historic 3-1 result for the Nerazzurri at their Stadio Giuseppe Meazza just one week ago, the stage was set for a scintillating 2nd leg at Barcelona's Camp Nou. In the press conference's leading up to the match, Thiago Motta, a former Barcelona player now plying his trade in the Inter midfield, called for the referee to be strong and not give in the the play antics he anticipated the Spanish team would indulge in knowing they have to win by two goals to advance.
The match started with Barcelona dominating possession. However, the alarming thing to me was the rate at which players on both sides would go down in an attempt to con the referee into awarding a free kick or a card to the opposing team. This is a huge problem in soccer. I am a firm believer that more people would watch soccer if it were not for the diving. The things these players can do with a ball at their feet is simply irresistible. Even for me though, the skill was not enough to keep me watching past 42 minutes.
Thiago Motta, he of the request to ask the referee to be strong, was sent off after 30 minutes for an innocent hand to the neck of Sergio Busquets, who made the most of it. With Busquets chasing him from behind, it should not have even been a yellow card with the amount of contact made. I have been playfully punched harder by my 18 month old nephew than what Busquets was hit by Motta. I thought Busquets had been shot by an Inter supporter the way he went down. I was surprised someone had been able to sneak a gun in to such a high profile event. After seeing the replay I realized that he had not been shot, but rather he produced a performance worthy of an Emmy and got his counterpart in the Italian midfield sent off. This could well effect the outcome of the tie as Barcelona will be playing the remaining hour with a man advantage.
I love watching all sports. Earlier in the year I saw Ian Laperriere, a hockey player for the Philadelphia Flyers, get struck in the face with a slap shot going 90 mph and he didn't act the way Busquets acted. Laperriere had seven teeth knocked out, a broken jaw and a cut requiring 100 stitches from his mishap. He came back to play in that game. And he played the next day. Yes, Laperriere may have a few screws loose, but the fact that he respects his profession and the game itself speaks volumes for the integrity of hockey players in general.
The integrity of soccer players worldwide has been in question for numerous years. I think back to Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup. Maradona, one of the greatest soccer players of all time, openly admits to intentionally handling the ball which made its way into the back of the England net and booked Argentina's place in the semi final.
It is time for professional soccer players to respect the game they are fortuitous enough to make a handsome living through. Obviously, the players do not have enough integrity themselves to make the change on their own, so FIFA must step in and do it for them. Cards should be given or rescinded via video replay throughout the match by the fourth official or a team of FIFA official's overseeing the match. As player's will soon find out, their antics will no longer work and they will have to showcase only their God given talent for the world to enjoy. At the moment that seems a big ask, but no doubt it will be better for the game.
PS, would someone let me know who won the game?!
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