Archive for May, 2014

WATERCOOLER CHAT: HEAT & SPURS TO FINALS, VAN GUNDY TO PISTONS & KERR TO WARRIORS

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, it was Game 5 between the Brooklyn Nets and the Miami Heat.   The Heat led 3-1 and were hoping to close out the series on their home court.  But a team stocked full of veterans like Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Deron Williams, and Kevin Garnett were not going to go down easy.  They led most of the way, and grabbed a 7 point lead with under 4 minutes to go.  But you simply can not count out LeBron and the Heat.  They know how to win games like this.  They played perfect defense, hit clutch 3’s, and grabbed the lead.  The Nets had one more chance to tie it up, but thanks to LeBron’s tenacious defense, they couldn’t even get a shot off.  The Heat win, and easily move on the to the Eastern Conference Finals.  They will face the winner of Pacers/Wizards.  Miami 96, Brooklyn 94.

Then, it was Game 5 between the San Antonio Spurs and the Portland Trailblazers.  Portland is hanging on by the skin of their teeth, but they have a rejuvenated energy after their win at home.  San Antonio, however, isn’t a team that is intimidated by motivation or momentum.  They are a methodical team that knows how to win championships.  And they came out and pummeled the Blazers, putting a definite end to their brilliant season.  The Blazers should be very proud of their efforts this year.  They are a team on the rise, and will likely compete for a top spot in the West next year.  San Antonio 104, Portland 82.

Finally, in NBA coaching news, some major signings.  First, the Detroit Pistons have found their new man in ex-Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy.  Van Gundy is a great coach who knows how to win, and the Pistons need that type of leadership with their young talent if they want to get to the next level.  Then, in the major surprise of the day, after a month of musing that Steve Kerr will become the new head coach of the New York Knicks, he has spurred the Knicks at the last minute in favor of the Golden State Warriors.  Kerr will also do well with those young guys, and it begs an interesting question as to who will take the reigns of the Knicks — a very coveted position in sports.

Share
No comments

WATERCOOLER CHAT: LEBRON SCORES 49 POINTS FOR WIN, PORTLAND GETS A WIN, MANZIEL WON’T START

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, it was Game 4 between the Miami Heat and the Brooklyn Nets.  The Nets grabbed Game 3 and hoped to even up the series before it heads back to dangerous Miami.  Miami, however,  had no interest in making this series interesting in any capacity, and LeBron turned on the jets to get the job done.  He scored a whopping 49 points to help the Heat win.  He could have easily had over 50, but he knew that the key to winning this game was getting his teammates involved at the end.  The Heat now lead 3-1 with the series headed back to Miami.  Miami 102, Brooklyn 96.

Then, it was Game 4 between the San Antonio Spurs and the Portland Trail Blazers.  The Spurs have the Blazers on the ropes right now, as they have absolutely dominated this series.  But, you can’t count out a young team that has nothing to lose. With that said,  Portland handily beat the Spurs.  The series now heads back to San Antonio, with the Spurs leading 3-1.  Portland 103, San Antonio 92.

FOOTBALL

Finally, in the NFL, the Cleveland Browns may have made Johnny Manziel one of their first round picks.  And sure, it’s true that their season ticket sales have been going through the roof since making the pick.  And, yes, Manziel is one of the top selling NFL jerseys right now.  However, the Browns have made it clear to Manziel that he is at the bottom of the totem poll.  Coming into mini-camp, Bobby Hoyer is the starter, not Manziel.  Hoyer actually played well for the Browns before getting injured for the season.  Manziel will have to earn the spot as the starting QB.

Share
No comments

WATERCOOLER CHAT: DRAFT EXCITEMENT, MCCARRON GOES TO CINCY, MICHAEL SAM A RAM, WIZARDS TRAIL PACERS, SPURS WANT A WRAP UP, CLIPPERS COME BACK

FOOTBALL

In the NFL, the weekend continued to give us non-stop draft excitement.  Everybody wanted to know where the most notable names in college football were going to try and build professional careers.  So here is a run-down.  The Tennessee Titans were the first to take a running back, selecting Washington’s Bishop Sankey.  And the Jacksonville Jaguars gave their new QB Blake Bortles some weapons right out of the gate, selecting USC’s Marquis Lee and Penn State’s Allen Robinson.
As for the quarterbacks, the Patriots made a very interesting selection, grabbing Eastern Illinois’ Jimmy Garapolo with their second round pick.  That is the highest Bellichick has taken a QB since the Tom Brady era.  It must mean they are planning for Tom Brady’s departure.  Ryan Mallett has been Brady’s back-up, but perhaps they are planning to move Mallet as trade bait.  Then, the QBs started to slide.  Finally, the Houston Texans grabbed their man:  Pittsburgh’s Tom Savage.  And later that round, AJ McCarron (Alabama’s golden boy) went to the Cincinnati Bengals, and Georgia’s Aaron Murray found a home with the Kansas City Chiefs, and he will hope to become the replacement for Alex Smith when his contract runs out.

But the main pick of the draft came towards the end of the 7th round, when the St. Louis Rams made history by selecting Michael Sam, the first openly gay athlete to be drafted into the league.  ESPN showed Sam crying tears of joy, and even kissing his boyfriend.  It was a great moment in sports history.

BASKETBALL

Finally, in the NBA, the Wizards completely blew their home court advantage, dropping both games on their own floor. They now trail the Indiana Pacers 3-1 with the series headed back to Indy.  The Heat dropped a game in Brooklyn, but still lead 2-1.  San Antonio continues to clobber the Blazers, and are looking to wrap up the series Monday night, while the Clippers staged one of the best comebacks in the NBA history, coming back from over 20 points to beat the Thunder and even the series.  It’s been a great playoffs.

Share
No comments

WATERCOOLER CHAT: CLOWNEY SELECTED #1, JOHNNY FOOTBALL AND BRIDGEWATER FINALLY GET SELECTED, HEAT & SPURS EASY GAMES

FOOTBALL

In the NFL, after 5 months of speculation and mock drafts, the first round of the NFL Draft is officially in the books.  Houston ended all the suspense by selecting South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney with the top overall pick.  If he works out, they are going to have one mean defensive line with Clowney on one side and J.J. Watt on the the other.

Then, everyone wanted to know where the coveted quarterbacks would land.  Who would get drafted first among them?  At #3, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected UCF’s Blake Bortles as their quarterback of the future.  Hopefully the Jags have more success with Bortles than they did with Blaine Gabbert a few years ago.

So where would Johnny Manziel go?  Soon after right?  Wrong.  Manziel began to spiral, as all the teams that needed quarterbacks didn’t take him.  Clemson superstar wide receiver went to the Buffalo Bills, and LSU’s clutch wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. will be a New York Giant.  He will be the replacement for Hakeem Nicks.  Johnny Football just kept sitting in the green room, his face starting to turn red wondering if he was even going to be picked in the first round.  Remember, there was a time when people thought he might be the top pick.  Then finally, the Cleveland Browns traded up a few spots, and selected Johnny Manziel.  Browns fans went crazy!  This will draw immediate attention to their franchise.

And to round out the night, the Minnesota Vikings traded with the Seattle Seahawks to select another guy who was projected to go #1 overall:  Teddy Bridgewater.  So Manziel and Bridgewater did wind up going to teams that needed quarterbacks, just not when we thought they would.  The draft continues tonight and throughout the weekend.

BASKETBALL

In basketball, we saw a couple of forgettable Game 2’s.  First, the Miami Heat easily beat the Brooklyn Nets, who clearly can’t hang with LeBron.  Then, San Antonio simply overran the Portland Trailblazers.  The Spurs seem to have found their mojo again, and it’s looking unlikely that the young Blazers will stand a chance.  Miami 94, Brooklyn 82.  San Antonio 114, Portland 97.

Share
No comments

WATERCOOLER CHAT: PACERS, OKC WIN NEEDED GAMES, NFL DRAFT TONIGHT!

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the Indiana Pacers are a bit on the ropes right now. They don’t look particularly good and were in danger of dropping both of their opening home games to the Washington Wizards.  They absolutely, positively needed a big game from their big man Roy Hibbert.  He has completely disappeared this post-season for the Pacers.  Not played poorly — DISAPPEARED.  He literally has no points and he was an all-star this season.  Fortunately for Pacers’ fans, Hibbert battled back in Game 2 and put up nearly 30 points.  That’s what they needed from the big guy, and the series is now even at a game a piece heading back to Washington.  Indiana 86, Washington 82.

And in Oklahoma City, the Thunder found themselves in the same position.  They got obliterated by the Clippers in Game 1, and needed to come back strong.  Wednesday night, OKC’s Kevin Durant was awarded the MVP so there was even more reason to play well. Thankfully for Thunder fans, Durant posted 31 points to help win the game.  The series is tied headed back to LA.  OKC 112, LAC 101.

FOOTBALL

Finally, today is the day that many NFL fans are waiting for:  The Draft.  Now more than ever the draft has become THE story of the NFL off-season.  They have been talking about this draft non-stop since early January.  Every single sports website has had mock-draft after mock-draft.  All the experts weigh in, explaining exactly why each team will choose each specific player.  Everyone thinks they have it all figured out, although there’s still a big question as to the number one pick.   Will it be Jadeveon Clowney, Johnny Manziel, or will Houston trade the pick to a team needing multiple picks?  Either way, the most exciting part about this is that this year the NFL is allowing each draftee in attendance to select their own draft music.  This means that they get to choose what’s played over the speakers when they take the stage.  It’s going to be quite the show.

Share
No comments

WATERCOOLER CHAT: WIZ ON TOP, CLIPPS ON FIRE, RAPTORS REJUVENATED FANS

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, it was the start of Round 2.  First up, the Indiana Pacers hosting the Washington Wizards.  The Pacers had a putrid start in Round 1, but muscled up and managed to escape. The Wizards are red hot right now, playing as a team, and believe they can beat anyone.  That’s a bad recipe for the Pacers:  a team that is having serious chemistry problems.  This game was all Wizards from the opening tip.  These guys can really score!  The Wiz stayed on top. Game 1.  Washington 102, Indiana 96.

Then, it was Game 1 of the highly anticipated Los Angeles Clippers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder.  The Thunder looked fantastic against Memphis on Saturday, and the Clippers have suddenly become America’s team after the Donald Sterling scandal.  Plus, these are two of the most potent offenses in the NBA.  Unfortunately for the Thunder, they just were not prepared for the wrath of a now ferocious Clippers team.  This game was over before it started, as the Clips built a 20-point lead and never looked back.  OKC will have to truly rethink their strategy for Game 2.  LA Clippers 122, OKC 105.

Finally, even though the Toronto Raptors were eliminated from the playoffs, they completely rejuvenated the Canadian fan base around the team.  This team was so popular that hundreds of people gathered outside the stadium for games.  It was a big party!  They love their Raptors up there, and even coined the slogan “We The North!”.  Thus, Raptors management rewarded head coach Dwane Casey with a 3-year deal.  If this team adds some pieces, they could be competitive in the East for years to come.

Share
No comments

WATERCOOLER CHAT: 2ND ROUND NBA SET, CALIF CHROME WINS KENTUCKY DERBY

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the 2nd round is set after a grueling weekend.

The Clippers had a Game 7 on their home court against the Golden State Warriors.  The Clips have become America’s team after the fiasco situation with Donald Sterling.  The players used the angry fuel triggered by Sterling’s racist comments to rally in this series.  Game 7 was no piece of cake, but, in the end, the Clippers did just enough to come out on top.  LA Clippers 126, Golden State 121.

And over in Oklahoma City, the Thunder had to play their Game 7 against a feisty Memphis Grizzlies team that they can’t seem to shake.  Fortunately for the Thunder, the NBA suspended the Grizzlies best player, Zach Randolph, for shoving OKC’s Steven Adams.  This was a controversial call, as his shove wasn’t that violent and it seems unfair to sideline a team’s best player in Game 7.  Well, it mattered as Kevin Durant and the Thunder went off and took advantage of the Grizzlies’ weakness.  The Thunder took the game and will now face the Clippers in the 2nd round.  OKC 120, Memphis 109.

San Antonio also dominated Dallas in Game 7 and will now take on the Portland TrailBlazers in Round 2. The Trailblazers ousted the Rockets on Friday night with a gutsy last second 3-point shot to win the game on their home floor.  This one will be a battle.  It’s the aging Spurs’ vets versus Portland’s young guns.

The Pacers knocked off the Hawks in Game 7, and they will take on a strong Washington Wizards team.  It remains to be seen which Pacers will show up for that series.  And in Toronto, the Raptors hoped to advance to the next round, but the experienced vets of the Nets were just to strong for them.  The Raptors had an amazing last minute comeback, and even had a chance to win the series with a last shot, but they couldn’t get a good look, and the Nets took the win.  The Nets now go on to face LeBron and the Heat, who have been resting up for a week.  Brooklyn 104, Toronto 103.

Kentucky Derby

Finally, this weekend was the Kentucky Derby, and this year it was a true underdog story.  The winner was California Chrome, a horse owned by blue-collar guys who just wanted to own a racehorse.  They scraped some money together to buy the $10,000 baby horse, then hired a veteran trainer to, well, make it a great race horse.  They never could have dreamed that their horse would win the Kentucky Derby, and put millions of dollars in their pocket.  Now that’s a great fairy tale story.

Share
No comments

WATERCOOLER CHAT: D’ANTONI RESIGNED, “MR. UNRELIABLE” LEADS OKC TO WIN, HAWKS LET GAME SLIP AWAY

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the major news of the day… Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni has resigned.  Something probably happened behind the scenes to cause this resignation, but the Lakers are ready to move on.  D’Antoni was brought in as a back-up in case Phil Jackson didn’t take the job, but he had a losing record with the Lakers, did not vibe well with Kobe, and was a major factor in Dwight Howard’s decision to leave for Houston.  So now the search is on for the next head coach.

It’s likely that the Lakers will interview 15 or 20 candidates, but there is a lot of speculation that they are very high on the two hottest coaches in college basketball right now:  Kentucky’s John Calipari and UCONN’s Kevin Ollie, who led an unranked team all the way to winning the National Championship. There are other quality candidates like George Karl and former Grizzlies’ coach Lionel Hollins, but the Lakers will probably want a name that will draw extreme interest and curiosity like Calipari or Ollie.  Stay tuned….

In basketball action, the Memphis Grizzlies had a chance to close out the Oklahoma City Thunder on Memphis’ home court.  This would have been a significant upset. And, on Thursday, an Oklahoma newspaper put a front page headline next to Kevin Durant’s picture that read “Mr. Unreliable”.  There was a huge protest about this, as Durant may have missed a free throw, but it’s hard to call the league’s MVP Mr. Unreliable.  Either way, this got into Durant’s head, and clearly helped him put on a great performance that saw the Thunder crush the Grizzlies.  It now heads back to OKC for Game 7.  OKC 104, Memphis 84.

Finally, in Atlanta, the Hawks were hoping to pull the big upset and knock off the #1 seed Pacers.  They even handed out old-school Hawks logo shirts to all the fans as a reminder of the better days of the franchise.  The Pacers led most of the way, but the Hawks got a lead late.  Unfortunately for Atlanta, the Hawks couldn’t hold the lead, and let the game slip away to the Pacers.  The series now heads back to Indiana for Game 7.  Indiana 95, Atlanta 88.

Share
No comments

WATERCOOLER CHAT: CELEBRITIES LINED UP TO OWN CLIPPERS, SAN ANTONIO AND TORONTO GRAB WINS

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, after commissioner Adam Silver announced that the NBA would try and force a sale of the Los Angeles Clippers, there is a long list of celebrities and billionaires lined up to buy the team.  The most notable and realistic names are a buyer’s group including David Geffen, Larry Ellison, and Oprah Winfrey.  Other names however have also surfaced like Donald Trump and even boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather.  It will be interesting to see who takes control, but it will likely be a while before we find out.

In NBA action, it was Game 5 of the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks.  This one was back in San Antonio, where the Spurs desperately needed a win to avoid facing an elimination game in Dallas.  The Spurs had the advantage most of the way, and Dallas never really got close enough to give the Spurs a scare.  The Spurs grabbed the win, and are now just one game away from advancing to Round 2.  San Antonio 109, Dallas 103.

And in Toronto,  Raptors thought they would cruise to an easy Game 5 victory against the Brooklyn Nets, however their 22-point lead in the 4th quarter wasn’t safe in any way.  The Nets came surging back and erased the deficit.  Fortunately for Raptors’ fans, the team managed to eek out a two-point win.  Raptors now lead 3-2 headed back to Brooklyn.  Toronto 115, Brooklyn 113.

Share
No comments

« Previous Page