Archive for June, 2011

WATERCOOLER CHAT: MAVS TIE SERIES, PISTONS NEED MAKEOVER

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, Game 4 of the Finals between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks.  Miami led the series 2-1, and the Mavs needed a win if they wanted to have any chance of extending this series, for falling behind 3-1 would pretty much do them in.  They needed a big game from Dirk Nowitzki, except he had the flu and a 101-degree temperature.  Not exactly the best physical condition for your marquee player in a do-or-die game in the championship.  The game started out neck and neck, then saw the Heat pull away behind an outstanding night from Dwayne Wade.  He finished with 32 points.  The Heat got out to a 9 point lead late, but, as we’ve seen, the Mavs do NOT go away.  They rallied back and even took the lead.

Then, with just under a minute left, the Mavs led 82 to 80 and had a chance to pretty much ice the game.  DeShawn Stevenson took a 3 but missed, Lebron rebounded and hit a wide open Dwayne Wade on the other end.  But, just before he dunked it, Jason Kidd came flying to foul him and make him earn those points.  Wade is typically a guarantee from the line, but he missed a clutch free throw to remain trailing by 1.  The Mavs got the ball into Dirk’s hand, needing a key bucket to put them up by 3 points.  The Heat were expecting him to hold the ball until the end of the shot clock, but Dirk tricked them.  He held it for just a few seconds before darting to the hoop and hitting a tough off-balance layup.  Wow!  That gave them a 3 point lead.  Wade got a quick dunk on the other end to bring it within one, but Jason Terry iced two free throws to give them the 3 point lead again.  The ball was inbounded to Wade to try and hit the mandatory 3-pointer, but he essentially fumbled the ball and messed up the play.  He was able to save it to Mike Miller, but he had too many defenders and threw up an air ball.  And with that, the Mavs have tied the series at 2-2.  Game 5 is of paramount importance for the Mavs.  Dallas 86, Miami 83.

And elsewhere in the NBA, the Detroit Pistons are in major need of a makeover.  This season, the players basically quit on their coach which led to his dismissal.  Now, they’re looking for some key free agents, but also a new face of the team.  And where better to look then to bring in their best player in franchise history:  Isiah Thomas.  Now, they haven’t said they’re hiring him, but they are interested.  The Knicks have said they wouldn’t be hiring Thomas back as president or GM (pretty much because he was horrible), and who knows how much longer Isiah plans to coach in college basketball (he’s at FIU in Florida).  It’s also been reported that the Pistons may want Bill Laimbeer as head coach.  That was Isiah’s teammate in the late 80s, who built a reputation for being the dirtiest player in the NBA.  They just want a guy who would get their fan base talking.  It’s important.

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WATERCOOLER CHAT: BRUINS BACK, BAD NEWS FOR USC, GOLDEN STATE HAS NEW HEAD COACH

HOCKEY

The Vancouver Canucks have had one of the best seasons in NHL History.  They are a force!  They stumbled in the first few rounds of the playoffs, even being pushed to the brink once in a Game 7, but they bounced back and learned from those close calls.  Going into last night, they had a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Boston Bruins and everybody was calling a sweep.  Nobody believed that the Bruins had the talent to even keep up with the Canucks.  Boston took that to heart as the game got to their home ice, and put an absolute shallacking on Vancouver.  The Canucks simply didn’t know what hit them.  They put up 8 goals against an incredible team, and only gave up 1!!!  They are now back in these Finals in a major way, and have all the momentum.  Clearly, Vancouver got caught sleeping, and we can expect a very exciting Game 4.  Boston 8, Vancouver 1.

FOOTBALL

In college football, more bad news for the USC Trojans.  They’ve already been banned from post-season play this season, lost a healthy number of scholarships for recruiting, and even were stripped of Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy (because he received gifts throughout his college experience).  Now, the NCAA has taken USC out of the history books.  They have erased their 2004 National Championship from the record.  It’s as if it never happened.  For those that can’t remember, USC destroyed Oklahoma in that game 55-19, but it’s because they were stacked with the nation’s best players — most of whom were receiving illegal gifts as a form of luring them to the school.  It’s going to take a few years to turn this program around, but they sure were fun to watch this decade.

BASKETBALL

And the Golden State Warriors have found their new head coach.  This past season, the Warriors came under new ownership.  And last week, they brought in Jerry West to make some key executive decisions for the franchise.  There was a lot of speculation as to whom their new coach would be.  Many thought it would either be Rick Adelman or Lakers assistant Brian Shaw.  But, the Warriors decided to go with a fresh face from the sidelines, selecting Mark Jackson as the new head coach.  Jackson is a much revered figure in NBA circles.  He had a reputation as a very smart player for both the Knicks and Pacers, and has been a spectacular analyst on television.  They thought with him running the ship, it would give the Warriors a fresh identity (as opposed to going with one of the journeymen coaches in the NBA).  This is Jackson’s first time as a head coach, and sometimes not being jaded by other head coaches leadership style gives coaches an opportunity to truly create a special strategy for a team.  The Warriors have a lot of young talent, a dedicated fan base (when good) and are even located in a big, rich market (Norther California/San Fran).  They might be the surprise team in the West next season.

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WATERCOOLER CHAT: HEAT UP 2-1, PLAXICO LOOKS FOR JOB, NADAL TRIUMPHS OVER FEDERER

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, it was a pivotal Game 3 between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks.  The Mavs had all the momentum after their incredible comeback in Game 2, rallying from a 15 point deficit to beat the Heat in the last seconds of the game.  Now, the series has shifted back to Dallas for the next 3 games. The Heat came out fierce from the get go, and got a solid night from Dwayne Wade (29 points, 11 rebounds).  The Heat are now experienced veterans who know not to get rattled by a bad performance (i.e. their game 2 skid).  They had the Mavs playing from behind almost the entire game.  But, late in the 4th quarter, you simply can not stop Dirk from doing what he wants to do.  Dirk had 34 points on the evening and caught a brilliant back-door pass and got the bucket to tie the game at 84.  Fortunately for the Heat… they have LeBron James, and he hit a clutch jumper to put the Heat up 2.  The Mavs would have one last chance, they went to their man Nowitzki, he threw-up a fade-away shot from around the foul line, and… not this time.  The Heat narrowly escaped another Mavs comeback and take a 2-1 lead in the series.  Miami 88, Dallas 86.

FOOTBALL

Elsewhere, in the NFL, there might be a lockout right now, but that isn’t keeping Plaxico Burress from looking for a job.  Burress used to be a premeire receiver in the NFL just 2 years ago.  He was even a key component in capturing a Super Bowl title for the New York Giants against the undefeated New England Patriots.  Plax was arrested and sent to 2 years in prison for illegally carrying a concealed weapon, but he’s free now, in what he says is the best shape of his life, and ready to wreak havoc again on the field.  His agent, the almighty Drew Rosenhaus, thinks that Plax will be in high demand once the lockout ends.  There are a bunch of teams out there who could use such a big, tall, talented receiver (i.e. Redskins, Raiders, Chiefs, etc…) and Plax will don an NFL jersey in the fall (assuming there is a season).

TENNIS

And finally, Sunday saw the finals of the French Open in Tennis.  And it was a match of rivals between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.  It was a close match, and most think that Federer played Nadal harder than ever before.  But an improved Nadal was able to beat his foe this time around and capture his sixth French open title.  That gives him 10 Grand Slam Championships and puts him into the record books tying the great Bjorn Borg.  Over the past few years, everybody declared that Federer was the greatest player of all time, but in the past year or so, that opinion is slowly shifting to Nadal.  While Federer is easing into his twilight playing days, Nadal still has a way to go, and there’s a very good chance that we can expect many more Grand Slam wins and possibly declare HIM the best of all-time.

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WATERCOOLER CHAT: MAVS OVERCOME DEFICIT, STEPS IN NFL LOCKOUT, SI ARTICLE WRONG

BASKETBALL

Game two of the NBA Finals, on Thursday night, looked as though the Miami Heat were going to run away with not only the game, but the series as well. Dirk Nowitzki, however, wasn’t going to let the Dallas Mavericks go quietly into the night. Even with his injured finger and slow start, Dirk led the Mavericks on a 22 – 5 run to end the game. With dunk after dunk until the seven-minute marker in the fourth quarter, it appeared that Miami would run away with the game. But, the Heat got a bit overly confident and with their 15-point lead,  started settling for jump shots. Dallas became the first team to overcome a 15 point deficit in the fourth quarter since the 1992 Chicago Bulls (led by none other than Michael Jordan). Dirk, however, is not the only Maverick to deserve credit. Shawn Marion helped keep Dallas in the game with 20 points and 8 rebounds. Now the series is tied up at one game apiece, heading back to Dallas. Dwayne Wade had, a game high, 36 points on the night and Lebron James had only 20 points. The next game is Sunday night and with the Mavericks momentum, it will be interesting to see how the Heat will handle it. (Dallas Mavericks 95, Miami Heat 93)

FOOTBALL

The NFL made some news during the lockout. The NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA leader DeMaurice Smith brought representatives of the players and owners together to ‘secret meetings’ in Chicago. Judge Arthur Boylan cancelled next week’s mediation session because of these meetings. It is being said by people from the meeting that steps were taken toward getting out of the lockout. Approaching the 80th day of the work stoppage on Friday, the NFL will need to get a deal done soon before the lockout really hurts teams by shortening training camps.

 

In college football, Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor and his mother were interviewed on Thursday by an NCAA investigator about Pryor’s many cars. Pryor’s attorney Larry James, who is based out of Columbus, said Pryor doesn’t have the seven or eight cars that Sports Illustrated has reported. He added that 90 percent of the article was wrong.

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WATERCOOLER CHAT: CANUCKS UP ONE, SHAQ RETIRES

HOCKEY

On Wednesday night, Robert Luongo and Tim Thomas made a combined 69 saves, in the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals. The goaltending was off the charts, but Vancouver Canucks left wing, Raffi Torres, beat the Bruins goalie Tim Thomas with less than 20 seconds in the final period of regulation, for the only goal of the game. Going into game two, there is a possibility that Canucks forward Alex Burrows will be suspended because it appeared that he bit the gloved finger of Boston’s Patrice Bergeron. (Canucks 1, Bruins 0)

BASKETBALL

Wednesday was the end of a great career in the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal. He may very well be the last great big man in the NBA. The dominating force that Shaq was finished with an MVP trophy, four NBA Titles, 28,596 points, and multiple NBA Finals MVP trophies. But as great of a player as he was, he will also be remembered  for his big contagious personality. The man with a million nicknames was looked at as playful with the media, a man with a good sense of humor, a rapper, an actor, and all around good person. He finished his career as the  highest paid basketball player of all-time in combined salary. The nineteen years that Shaq played in the NBA came to an end with a tweet on Twitter. The man, who may have been the first athlete/celebrity to embrace social media, used it to announce his retirement.

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WATERCOOLER CHAT: DIRK HURT, PRYOR’S LAST SNAP, STANLEY CUP

BASKETBALL

Tuesday night was the night that Lebron James and Dirk Nowitzki have been waiting for all season. They both are two of only seven MVP winners that don’t have an NBA title and this series will only allow one of them to get off that list. And right now, it looks like Lebron will be that guy. With Miami’s bench outscoring Dallas’ 27 – 17, the Heat just played better than Dallas down the stretch. Miami has arguably the best player in the NBA in Lebron, who had 24 points, going 4 – 5 from three-point range, and the best closer in the NBA in Dwayne Wade, who took over the 4th quarter.  But even Wade’s double-double (22 points and 10 rebounds) and tremendous defense during the fourth quarter leading to the Heat’s 1 – 0 series lead, isn’t the story of the night. The story of the night is Nowitzki’s health. The Mavericks’ star player, who had 27 points on the night, in a press conference after the game announced that after he stripped the ball from Chris Bosh in the 4th quarter, he tore a tendon in his middle finger on his left hand. X-rays came back negative, but the injury will force Dirk to wear a splint for the rest of the series. And with Dirk injured, if his shot is altered even slightly, the Mavericks don’t seem to stand a chance. (Heat , 92, Mavs 84)

FOOTBALL

In college football, the Ohio State football scandal is becoming even more unraveled than before. But now the focus has moved on from Jim Tressel to Terrell Pryor. The star quarterback, who is already, suspended the first five games of the season, looks as though he has taken his last snap for the Buckeyes. Ohio State is going to distance itself as far away as possible from the situation.

HOCKEY

Wednesday night, the Vancouver Canucks go against the Boston Bruins in the Stanly Cup. And as big as the Stanley Cup is to hockey, it seems as though another NHL organization has stolen some of the spotlight away from these two teams, the Atlanta Thrashers. The Thrashers will not be calling Georgia their home state or the the U.S. their home country. True North Sports and Entertainment completed a deal to purchase the Atlanta Thrashers and move them to Winnipeg. The move is great for hockey because they take a struggling team in an ok hockey town, and move them to a potential first class hockey town and give them a fresh start. The deal is worth $170 million.

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