Archive for December 16th, 2010

WATERCOOLER CHAT: LEBRON OVER CLEVELAND, KNICKS HEARTBREAKER, BIG EAST NEW COACHES

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, it was Round 2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. LeBron James.  But this time, it was in LeBron’s (new) house.  Round 1 was such an onslaught that the Vegas sports books had the Heat at -18 points.  This means that the Heat have to win the game by 18 points in order for anybody who bet on the Heat to win the bet.  That is one of the highest spreads in many years.  The Cavs had their pride on the line and they came to play.  Daniel Gibson, a guy who was talking trash about LeBron’s departure to Miami, put up 26 points.  In fact, the Cavs were even up at the half.  But, in the second half, Miami turned things around.  Wade led the scoring with 28 points, while LeBron put up 21 of his own to win the game.  Now it’s LeBron 2, Cleveland 0.  Sorry Cleveland fans. Miami 101, Cleveland 95.

Elsewhere in the NBA, the New York Knicks are actually good this year.  They’ve been on a tear lately and that would be put to the test as they hosted the best team in the East:  The Boston Celtics.  And you can believe that Madison Square Garden was packed for this one.  New York is a basketball town, and they are excited that the Knicks are actually good again.  This is largely due to the phenomenal MVP type play of Amar’e Stoudemire. He’s had 8 games in a row of scoring more than 30 points.  Amazing!  The Knicks were ready for the Celtics.  They got out to a big lead, and even led by 7 at half.  In the second, the Celtics came surging back.  Paul Pierce had 32 points on the night, and even hit a terrific shot to put the Celtics up 2 with just 0.4 seconds left.  New York had one last chance.  They inbounded to Amar’e, he launched an off-balance 3, and… GOOD!!!!!!  The crowd went crazy!!!  Unfortunately, the ball didn’t leave his hands until after the buzzer, and it was fairly ruled… NO good.  The Knicks lost a heartbreaker, but on the bright side — these guys can definitely play and compete with the best of them.  Boston 118, New York 116.

FOOTBALL

Finally, in college football, two Big East teams have new coaches.  Two of the powerhouses in the conference, West Virginia and Pitt, were both looking for new captains, and yesterday they found solid ones.  Pitt has tapped Miami of Ohio coach Mike Haywood.  Haywood took a horrible 1-11 Miami (OH) team and turned them around this year to finish 9-4.  They even went 8-1 in conference.  Their losses were at the hands of much stronger teams (like Ohio State).  Given a better recruiting class at Pitt, Haywood should definitely be able to do some damage.  West Virginia was looking for all offense (typically their school has been known for it’s lightning quick offensive game play).  They hired Oklahoma State’s offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen.  Oklahoma State had one of the most explosive offenses this season, and with Holgorsen at the helm in West Virginia, look for them to start putting up 50 point games again.

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