January 31, 2011
As the NBA season approaches the All-Star break, the league’s top teams are starting to distance themselves from the rest of the pack. Here are perhaps the top five teams vying for the NBA title through the midway point of the season.
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs have been the class of the league so far this season. San Antonio owns the NBA’s best record at home and on the road and would be the odds on favorite to win any series right now. At 34, future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan is clearly on the downside of his career. The All-Star center is averaging career lows in points (13.6) and rebounds (9.5) this season, but he’s getting plenty of help – most notably from one of the best backcourts in the NBA. Guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are scoring more than 36 points and dishing out 12 assists per contest. The Spurs’ bench is also getting the job done and is led by guard George Hill, who contributes more than 11 points per game. Another reason the Spurs can win the title is because much of the core of this year’s team was also around for the Spurs’ three titles last decade.
Los Angeles Lakers
The two-time defending champs haven’t always looked unbeatable as they did at times in the past two years. But the Lakers won’t go quietly and any team with Kobe Bryant, arguably still the league’s best player, has a distinct advantage. The Lakers also have experience on their side as Bryant, Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom have all played key roles on those title teams each of the past two seasons. Los Angeles is a veteran team but some believe that their age has hurt them defensively this season. The Lakers have looked sluggish at times and have endured some uncharacteristically difficult stretches this year, losing three in a row in both November and December. Still, Los Angeles should be ready to go and will be motivated by the opportunity to go for another three-peat.
Boston Celtics
Boston was a few baskets away from winning the NBA championship last year, falling to the Lakers in a close Game 7 in the Finals. The Celtics have reloaded and are looking like they could be the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. Boston has made up for its rebounding deficiencies with its defense, currently ranked number two in the NBA. The Celtics are one of the most balanced teams of any title contender with six players scoring in double figures each game and none averaging more than 20 points per game. Health may be the biggest factor with this team when it comes to determining its chances to win the title. Center Kendrick Perkins has missed most of the season with knee troubles and other stars Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, and Shaquille O’Neal have all missed several games this year. If Boston can stay healthy, they could be headed to their second consecutive trip to the NBA Finals.
Miami Heat
The Heat’s trio of stars, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, were the trendy pick at the beginning of the season to win an NBA championship this year. After a pedestrian 9-8 start to the season, Miami reeled off 12 straight wins, establishing themselves as a true contender. The Heat were 15-1 in December and seem to be figuring things out. With any of their three stars capable of stepping up any given night, the Heat have the most star power of any team in the league. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always translate into titles and of the three, only Wade has been an NBA champion. The Heat will have to battle through more experienced teams if they are to bring home the franchise’s second title, but they’re more than capable of doing so.
Orlando Magic
Viable arguments could be made for several other teams for this fifth spot including the New Orleans Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, or Chicago Bulls, but the Magic have a few things in their favor. Unlike the Bulls or Hornets, they’ve been to the finals in recent memory. And while the Mavericks were there a few years back, they’ve been struggling as of late, losing six in a row in January. The Magic have also recently welcomed back forward Hedo Turkoglu, who helped lead them to the Finals two years ago. With Turkoglu, Dwight Howard, Gilbert Arenas, and Jason Richardson, the team could be even more explosive offensively and put up a ton of points in the playoffs.
January 26, 2011
The Seattle Seahawks chalked up an improbable win in the first round of the Playoffs, silencing many critics who felt Seattle didn’t belong there with a losing regular season record. While they couldn’t overcome Chicago in the Divisional Round, the Seahawks played hard to the very end, scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter, all of which began with an interception by Seattle’s second year linebacker, Aaron Curry.
We caught up with Aaron online a few days after the loss to play a game of “Who Would Win?” The premise is simple: we just asked Aaron to tell us which of his Seattle Seahawks teammates would win various hypothetical events. See his answers below in bold.
“Aaron Curry, of your Seahawks teammates, who would win…
1. …a hot dog eating contest?” Will Herring seems like he’d enter a contest and win it!
2. …a trash-talking contest?” Matt Hasselbeck always has some very sarcastic trash talk. It’ll leave you like, “What did he just say?”
3. …a game of Trivial Pursuit?” David Hawthorne has a ton of off-field knowledge.
4. …a car race?” Chris Baker. He’s got a Bentley GT Coupe that has more torque and power than anything on the market.
5. …a political election?” Chester Pitts. He is just really good with people and being firm in what he believes in.
6. …a singing contest?” Justin Forsett would win off effort alone, not that he can really sing. LOL.
7. …an arm-wrestling tournament?” Dexter Davis. He’s got arms like Arnold.
8. …a stand-up comedy contest?” Cam Morrah. He’s got really sneaky jokes. LOL.
January 25, 2011
This year’s Super Bowl will feature two of the NFL’s most successful franchises of all time in the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers. Both the Steelers and Packers have not only won a significant amount of regular season and playoff games, but they’ve been to the pinnacle as well and have a history of winning the Super Bowl.
The Steelers are making their eighth trip to the Super Bowl and have won six – the most titles in the game’s history. The Packers, on the other hand, will be appearing in the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl and have won three. And if you count Green Bay’s nine previous NFL Championships before the game was officially called the Super Bowl, this game will pit the league’s two most dominant franchises in history against each other.
AFC Conference Championship Analysis
Both teams reached this game after winning close AFC and NFC championship games. The Steelers raced to a 24-0 first-half lead against the New York Jets, thanks in part to short touchdown runs by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and running back Rashard Mendenhall, and appeared to have the game well in hand. The Jets didn’t give up, however, and a long pass play from quarterback Mark Sanchez to former Steeler Santonio Holmes brought the Jets to within two touchdowns. A safety and another Sanchez touchdown pass later, this time to receiver Jericho Cotchery, brought New York to within five points and thinking upset. But that’s as close as they’d come as the Steelers connected on two first-down plays late in the fourth quarter to run out the clock and win the game.
NFC Conference Championship Analysis
The NFC game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears was a similar story. The Packers held a 14-0 lead late in the third quarter when the Chicago Bears made their comeback. With starting quarterback Jay Cutler banged up and backup Todd Collins ineffective, the Bears turned to little-used third-string quarterback Caleb Hanie. Hanie led an eight-play drive and marched the team down the field to the Packers 1-yard where backup running back Chester Taylor gave the Bears their first points with a rushing touchdown. After giving up a defensive touchdown on a pick-six by the Packers B.J. Raji, Hanie threw a touchdown pass to Earl Bennett to make the score 21-14. The Bears had one more shot to tie the game, marching down to the Green Bay 29-yard line, but Hanie threw his second interception of the game and the Packers came away victorious.
What to Expect from the Super Bowl
Looking ahead to the Super Bowl matchup, this has all the makings for a good game. Both quarterbacks have played some of the best football of their careers this season. Aaron Rodgers has been a legitimate Most Valuable Player candidate in passing for nearly 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns without the benefit of a very good running game. And after a four-game suspension, Ben Roethlisberger has bounced back, throwing for more than 3,000 yards, 17 touchdowns, and only five interceptions in a short season.
The Steelers have a better running game with 1,200 yard rusher, Rashard Mendenhall while the Packers offense is a bit more lethal in the passing game. Pittsburgh may have the edge in defense and also experience, as several players on the team participated in the franchise’s two most recent Super Bowl wins. The key to the game may rely on the Packers’ ability to establish a ground game – something that is extremely difficult to do against the Steelers, one of the league’s toughest defenses against the run.
Either way, fans are in for a special game featuring the two most successful franchises in league history.
Who are you rooting for?
January 19, 2011
With the Super Bowl only a few weeks away, it’s time to take a look back at the NFL season and make some predictions for the league’s 2010 awards.
Most Valuable Player
This is likely a three-horse race between three quarterbacks – Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, Mike Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles, and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers.
It’s no surprise that Brady ended up here. He’s been one of the league’s best quarterbacks over the past decade and had some pretty good receivers to work with in Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Brady had to deal with the early loss of Moss (who was traded), but still found a way to excel. In leading the Patriots to a league-best 14-2 record, he passed for 36 touchdowns (second best in his career) and threw only 4 interceptions, by far the fewest he’s had in a 16-game season.
Mike Vick ending up in this discussion was a surprise, however. At the beginning of the season, Vick wasn’t even slated to be the team’s starter. But with an early injury to Kevin Kolb, Vick took over and never looked back. On the season, he threw for more than 3,000 yards and 21 touchdowns while rushing for 9 more scores. All of those numbers were career highs, and Vick managed to accomplish all of that playing in only 12 games. He not only looked like the Vick of old, he looked even better.
Aaron Rodgers also has a shot at landing the award. He threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns. The fact that he put up those numbers without a major running threat all season (after the early-season injury to Ryan Grant) and led his team to the playoffs will definitely help his campaign, and he should be a legitimate candidate.
This is a close race, but my vote goes to Brady because his team had the most success in the regular season.
Offensive Player of the Year
This is another tough one to call. In addition to the three quarterbacks mentioned above in the Most Valuable Player race, there’s Houston Texans running back Arian Foster, who led the league in rushing with more than 1,600 yards and 16 touchdowns and Atlanta Falcons’ wide receiver Roddy White, whose 115 receptions and nearly 1,400 yards receiving made him, statistically, the best pass catcher in the NFL.
Foster had the benefit of defenses needing to respect a great passing game, and White benefitted from the Falcons’ rushing game, so I’ll rule both of those players out. Vick did it all this season with his arm and his legs, having his best season ever. I’ll take him by a hair over Brady for this award.
Defensive Player of the Year
I see this as a race between Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware and Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews. Matthews’ numbers (13 ½ sacks, 60 tackles, and an interception) don’t quite equal those of Ware’s (15 ½ sacks, 66 tackles, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown), but the Packers had a much better season, and Matthews was a big part of that. My vote goes to Matthews.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
This award is probably coming down to a pair of Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookies – running back LeGarrette Blount and wide receiver Mike Williams. Blount had 1,007 yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry, and ran for 6 touchdowns, while Williams led the team’s passing attack, racking up 964 yards and, maybe more importantly, 11 touchdowns.
Williams gets the edge in my book due to his ability to find the end zone so frequently.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
Ndamukong Suh has a bit of competition from guys like Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap (24 tackles and 9 ½ sacks), Cleveland Browns strong safety T.J. Ward (2 INTs and 123 tackles), and New England Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty (7 INTs and 82 tackles), but Suh is probably the winner here.
Despite playing on the interior part of the defensive line, Suh was the only rookie to get into double-digit sacks (with 10), and he racked up 66 tackles. He didn’t stop there, though. Suh also added an interception and recovered a forced fumble for a touchdown. For his efforts, he was named as a starter to the Pro Bowl, but will not play due to injury.
Coach of the Year
Atlanta Falcons’ Mike White or Kansas City Chiefs’ Todd Haley will probably win this award. White led the Falcons to an NFC-best 13-3 record, while Haley took a Chiefs team that was 4-12 in 2009 and turned them into division champs, going 10-6.
While White had a team with several offensive weapons in Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, and Roddy White, Haley had a bit less to work with. For that reason, Haley gets my vote for turning a franchise around that was a laughingstock the year before.
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