The Lone Mock Draft

Draft Order as of 12:23 ET:

1. New Orleans Hornets: F Anthony Davis - Kentucky

2. Charlotte Bobcats: F Thomas Robinson - Kansas

3. Washington Wizards: G Bradley Beal - Florida

4. Cleveland Cavaliers: F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - Kentucky

5. Sacramento Kings: F Harrison Barnes - North Carolina

6. Portland Trail Blazers: G Damian Lillard - Weber State

7. Golden State Warriors: G Dion Waiters - Syracuse

8. Toronto Raptors: G Austin Rivers - Duke

9. Detroit Pistons: C Andre Drummond - UCONN

10. New Orleans Hornets: F Jeremy Lamb - UCONN

11. Portland Trail Blazers: C Tyler Zeller - North Carolina

12. Houston Rockets: C Meyers Leonard - Illinois

13. Phoenix Suns: G Kendall Marshall - North Carolina

14. Milwaukee Bucks: F John Henson - North Carolina

15. Philadelphia 76ers: F Terrance Jones - Kentucky

16. Houston Rockets: F More Harkless - St. John's

17. Dallas Mavericks: F Perry Jones III - Baylor

18. Houston Rockets: F Terrence Ross - Washington

19. Orlando Magic: F Jared Sullinger - Ohio St.

20. Denver Nuggets: G Marquis Teague - Kentucky

21. Boston Celtics: F Royce White - Iowa St.

22. Boston Celtics: F Arnett Moultrie - Mississippi St.

23. Atlanta Hawks: G Tony Wroten Jr. - Washington

24. Cleveland Cavaliers: C Fab Melo - Syracuse

25. Memphis Grizzlies: F Andrew Nicholson - St. Bonaventure

26. Indiana Pacers: F Draymond Green - Michigan St.

27. Miami Heat: F Jeffery Taylor - Vanderbilt

28. Oklahoma City Thunder: G Evan Fournier - France

29. Chicago Bulls: G Will Barton - Memphis

30. Golden State Warriors: F Quincy Miller - Baylor

Just cause:

31. Charlotte Bobcats: G John Jenkins - Vanderbilt

1. Can't wait to see how wrong I am.

2. Sure the draft order will look totally different when the night is over.

3. Let's Go 'Cats!!!

1st Of Important Off-Seasons For Bobcats

Well before the 2011-2012 NBA season concluded for the Charlotte Bobcats, team officials knew the summer of 2012 would be the 1st of many important off-seasons for the Bobcats. When Charlotte hired Rich Cho to become the GM a year ago the club found a mutual interest in beginning the "5 Year Plan" the Oklahoma City Thunder executed flawlessly under their GM Sam Presti which resulted them being in the NBA Finals this June. For the first 3 years of that plan, Rich Cho was the Assistant GM for the Thunder and Presti's right-hand man. The Bobcats and Owner Michael Jordan hope Cho can bring some of that execution and luck to an organization that has struggled in drafts and free agency. The Bobcats have the 2nd overall pick in Thursday's NBA Draft and are $21 million under the salary cap, two things teams rarely have at the same time. It's Cho and President of Basketball Operations, Rod Higgins, job to execute the 1st year of this plan perfectly and below are the possibilities Cho and Higgins are looking at.




NBA Draft:


The 2012 NBA Draft is this Thursday and is the 1st time the Bobcats have had a Top 3 pick since blowing the Adam Morrison selection. Now I would love to see NBA free agency take place before the NBA Draft in June and July, and move the draft back to late-July or August and have the NBA Summer League leading right into team's training camp so teams have a better idea of what they need heading into the dradft but that's beside the point. The Bobcats have the 2nd overall pick but their are a number of trade options rumored to be out there for the Bobcats. Here they are:


Charlotte's 2nd overall for Cleveland's 4th & 24th.
Charlotte's 2nd overall for Cleveland's 4th & F Anderson Varejao.
Charlotte's 2nd overall for Cleveland's 4th, 33rd, and 34th (33rd & 34th being 2nd Rounders).
Charlotte's 2nd overall and G DJ Augustin for Sacramento's 5th and Tyreke Evans.
Charlotte's 2nd overall for Portland's 6th and 11th.
Charlotte's 2nd overall for Toronto's 8th and F Andrea Bargnani.
Charlotte's 2nd overall and G DJ Augustin for Memphis' 25th and F Rudy Gay.
Charlotte's 2nd overall, G DJ Augustin, G Gerald Henderson(or 31st) for Oklahoma City G James Harden and cash.
Charlotte's 2nd overall and G DJ Augustin for Atlanta F-C Al Horford.


It's no secret the Bobcats want multiple young players coming out of this draft. Cho wants to pull a deal out like he and Presti did in the 2008 draft where OKC had 2nd choice coming out of the lottery and traded back with Miami to get their 4 and 24(weird, right). The Thunder used those picks on G Russell Westbrook and F Serge Ibaka, both key pieces to the Thunder's recent success. The first 3 deals with Cleveland resemble that 2008 deal the most and are the easiest deals to complete money wise because, well two of those three deals involve zero money. From what I've heard and read, the deal Charlotte wants is the 1st one (4th and 24th) but the deal Cleveland wants is the 2nd (4th, 33rd, 34th). Will the deal completely fall through if they can't reach an agreement? Who knows, but Cleveland covets G Bradley Beal and with the rumors of the Bobcats taking F Thomas Robinson then the Wizards jumping on Beal at #3, the Cavs would love to hop the Wizards and grab Beal. Ryen Russillo said today that he hears that 25 of the 30 teams in the NBA have Beal rated as the number 2 player in the draft. Do the Bobcats? Doesn't seem like it. The Bobcats are high on F Thomas Robinson and G-F Harrison Barnes. Charlotte trading back to 4 could be exactly what they want because it could leave them still with the player they want, Robinson or Barnes, and more picks in this year's draft. I think the Bobcats covet Thomas Robinson over Barnes which could work out perfectly because there's very little chance the Cavs or Wizards take a forward because if anything Harrison Barnes wouldn't be there at #4. I don't mind any of those top 3 deals and to be honest I think we should pull the trigger on one of them. Here is how I see Thursday night going down for the Bobcats:


If the Bobcats keep the #2:


2nd overall: Kansas F Thomas Robinson
         - I wasn't a huge fan of TRob when the draft chatter started but I have grown to like him more, especially after seeing him workout and dominate C Andre Drummond at the Bobcats workout. I would be fine with Harrison Barnes to be honest but the Bobcats need a PF and Robinson would be an instant upgrade with great character.


31st overall: Missouri G Kim English
          -Bobcats Head Coach Mike Dunlap said today that one thing he wants the Bobcats to acquire this off-season is "more and better 3-point shooting". English is just that, a sharp-shooter from behind the arc. English worked out against Vanderbilt G John Jenkins, who is quite the shooter in his own right, on Monday and came away as the better shooter in the eyes of Bobcats officials.


If the Bobcats trade the #2 to the Cavaliers:


4th overall: UNC G-F Harrison Barnes
          -From what I gather from Bobcats officials is that they really, really, really like Barnes and everything he showed in his workout but not enough to take him at #2. However, even though it's only 2 picks of difference, I think the Bobcats feel comfortable taking Barnes and his risk at #4 Thursday night.


For possible picks #24, #31, #33, or #34, I think the Bobcats address their frontcourt if they grab the #24 with C Fab Melo and English with the 31st but if the Cavs are only willing to give up the 33rd and 34th, well I see the Bobcats go frontcourt at #31 and then add two shooters at #33 and #34.






Free Agency:


Charlotte needs help everywhere, plain and simple. Honestly though, what the Bobcats really need is an athletic power forward and backcourt scoring. Bobcats officials see F-C Bismack Biyombo being an undersized 5 patrolling the paint while possibly having a bigger 4 that takes along the offensive burden while contributing on defense. The Bobcats have $21 million this off-season that they could spend and could have more if they chose to amnesty F Tyrus Thomas, which I am a HUGE fan of doing. Will they? History says no but Jordan and Bobcats President Rod Higgins say that the team will spend this off-season. Here's how the Bobcats own free agent list looks:


Unrestricted Free Agents: G-F Matt Carroll (Team Option), F Eduardo Najera.


Restricted Free Agents: G DJ Augustin, G Corey Higgins, F Derrick Brown, F DJ White.


The Bobcats will take up the team option on Carroll because although he had a poor season shooting the ball, he has proven he can in the past, the Bobcats love his leadership and Dunlap is adamant about having shooters on his roster. They will also extend a qualifying offer to G DJ Augustin because they believe he and Kemba work well relieving each other during games. They will also more than likely extend an offer to G Corey Higgins because he's President Rod Higgins' son, which I think is just ridiculous his kid is allowed on a basketball court. As for Forward's Derrick Brown and DJ White, both have expressed that they want to remain with the Bobcats but I see the Bobcats offering Brown, whom they like, but not White. Resigning those 3 players will barely take away from the $21 million of cap room the Bobcats have so nothing to worry about.


As I said before the Bobcats need backcourt scoring and a legitimate power forward, or at least more frontcourt depth. These are the free agents I think the Bobcats should bring in for workouts and try to lure to Charlotte:


Unrestricted Free Agents:F Ersan Ilyasova, G Lou Williams, F Carl Landry, G Gerald Green, and G Brandon Roy.


Restricted Free Agents: __________________.........Wait till 2013.


Ilyasova had a great year once he finally got playing time for the Bucks and was a machine on the boards, he would add rebounding, toughness, and a bit of scoring to the Bobcats frontcourt. The Bobcats should bring in Sixers G Lou Williams for one thing and one thing only, his scoring ability. The kid can score and is exactly what the Bobcats want and need. Williams will chase the money so it will be interesting to see what kind of contract the Bobcats will throw at him. Green had flashes of brilliance last season for the Nets and if he can match his athleticism with a great work ethic, he could become a sure-fire starter in the NBA for years. Green is more than likely to resign with Brooklyn but I think Charlotte should take a look. The curious player I put in their obviously is former Portland Trail Blazer Brandon Roy. Roy has made it known that he wants back in the NBA after rehabbing his injured knee, that was believed to have ended his career. Roy traveled to Germany and had the same knee procedure Kobe Bryant had done that made Kobe say his knee felt like new again. I think Charlotte should take a chance on the 3-time All-Star, he will command little money, and what if he has a successful come back. What a story that would be.


Now this year's restricted free agent class isn't outstanding and most would require a sign-and-trade as most usually do. There are a few players I would like to see on the Bobcats roster, G Eric Gordon and C Roy Hibbert. Neither I like however enough to give up lots of cap room to and future draft picks to acquire. The restricted free agent class in the summer of 2013, I feel very differently about. It includes great young players James Harden, Josh Smith, and Tyreke Evans. I want Harden, Smith, and Evans in that order. Even though Harden had a not so great Finals, I still feel he will continue to blossom into a great NBA player. Smith would bring athleticism and intensity that the city of Charlotte would eat up and be just another piece to the puzzle in the Bobcats' 5-Year Plan. Evans is a classic bad-team, good stats player that I think would flourish playing alongside Kemba Walker.


I make the excuse "It's year 1 of a 5 year plan" a lot to defend my Bobcats horrific season but the truth is I think everyday is important if you are in the front office for the Bobcats and we shouldn't have wasted a season like we did this year. Look at your owner, maybe not as an executive but as a player he strived to get better each and every day and that's something the Bobcats should strive for everyday also. New Bobcats Head Coach Mike Dunlap said during his introductory press conference that he wanted to accomplish something new everyday. That's exactly the attitude everyone in the Bobcats organization, including the players, needs to have everyday. Maybe this year's draft may not gain us a Westbrook and Ibaka like Presti and Cho worked out in 2008, but it's the first piece to a very important puzzle for Charlotte.

South Carolina Football Preview: Wide Receiver

Wide Receiver


     Lesbi-honest, know one is going to replace Alshon Jeffery. As arguably the best receiver in school history (at least top four or five) Jeffery's production is going to be missed, but that does not mean the Carolina passing attack will stall in 2012.

Ace Sanders
     The second leading receiver on the 2011 squad, Ace Sanders had a break out year last year for the Gamecocks in his sophomore year.  Catching 29 balls for 383 yards and two touchdowns, Sanders was a good compliment to the deep threat of Jeffery and became a key target for the young Connor Shaw.  The 5'8" Sanders was also the main punt returner for the Gamecocks last season, amassing 149 return yards, and he even ran a punt back for a score against East Carolina.  Sanders also had a successful freshman season, making 25 receptions for 316 yards and two scores.
     In 2012, I look for Sanders to be a leader on the offense, being the returning receptions leader.  With the depth that the Cocks have at the receiver position I could see Sanders only recording about the same amount of receptions he had in 2010 and 2011, but expect him to make bigger plays in bigger situations and have a bigger impact in the return game.

D.L. Moore
     Okay, so I'm probably going out on a limb here by saying D.L. Moore will be the second best wide out for the Gamecocks in 2012, but just bare with me for a second.  At 6'5" and 198 pounds, Moore is the largest member of the receiving corps, and, having redshirted his first year on campus, this will be his fifth year on the team making him the veteran of the receivers.  Having only made 32 receptions in 38 games, Moore has never been the most productive receiver for the Gamecocks, but I believe his size and experience will separate him from the pack this year and I can see Shaw targeting number 82 many times a game.

Damiere Byrd
     Again, a lot of fans would say that I am going out on another limb here by saying that Damiere Byrd will be the third best receiver for the Gamecocks in 2012, but I have my reasoning.  Like Sanders, Byrd is under six feet (5'9", 168 lbs) and extremely fast (considered the fastest player on the team), both of which I think will be major factors this year.  The style of offense that SOS ran last year also means that Byrd could be a factor on reverses and get touches during the running game, utilizing his speed on the edges.

That's all I have on the receivers, mainly because Alshon's gone and I hope we run the ball 75% of the game.  If Moore and Byrd can be pleasant surprises on offense and Sanders can be the go to guy I think that Connor Shaw can end up having an impressive year through the air as I expect lots of passing lanes to open up due to the running threats USC has on offense.  I'll look at the O-Line and Tight Ends later this week, go get them tonight Roth.
   

A Bit Too Much Theatre

Let's be honest, basketball is a contact sport.  It is nowhere near the physical battle that American football is, but harsh physical play exists nonetheless.  Since referees are human, and therefore limited in sight and evaluation of what consists of too much contact, they sometimes rely on reactions, sounds, and facial expressions from players.  A lot of these actions taken by players are involuntary, and stem from a legitimate foul.  Therefore, most of the time, it is easy to see what a foul is or should be based on a player's reaction.  However, in the past decade the act of "flopping" has become more prominent, or at least brought to light more in the NBA.  Flopping is defined as deceiving the referee in order to draw a foul on an opposing player.  The same thing that so many of us Americans hate about soccer (the acting, the flopping, whatever you'd like to call it) has infiltrated our national basketball association.   It isn't just one player, or team as some would be quick to say that flop the most.  Everyone is guilty of it.  From worst player in the league (Brian Scalabrine) to the best (LeBron James) every player flops.  And if you are a player, why not flop?  By the simple act of exaggerating, you can get a crucial foul called on the defender, charge the other team with an offensive foul and thus get the ball back, or get two cheap free throws that may end up changing the outcome of the game.  I'm gonna go on a Jeff van Gundy-esque rant here.  Flopping is indeed ruining the game.  The superstars benefit from these flops perhaps even more then role players.  Since this is a superstar driven league, naturally the superstars will get the close, 50/50 calls anyways.  And when they flop, watch out.  They will always get a foul called on the opposing player.  Always.  Some of the top players that flop the most according to a players poll include: Manu Ginobili, Shane Battier, Kobe Bryant, and Paul Pierce.  These players should not be called out for being good at flopping; they have just excelled at a part of a game that benefits them.  The real problem is that flopping exists in the first place.  Personally, I think that Chris Paul, Mario Chalmers, Blake Griffin, and yes, Even the Chosen one LeBron James all excel at flopping.  But a new player comes to mind during these playoffs that just personifies how atrocious flopping has become.  And let me be the first to tell you that I used to love this player, he was one of my favorites and I modeled my (modest) game after him.  This player is James Harden.  He is a joke.  Almost every time he shoots he falls down.  When you watch him shoot threes, he kicks his legs out into the closing defender to make it look like they caused him to fall down.  Now I'm not saying that he is the only person that is doing that, but it has recently come to light especially now that the Thunder are playing on the big stage.  A self-professed Heat fan, I was sure that Battier and Chalmers were the kings of flopping; I am sure now that it is James Harden.  These players deserve our derision for ruining a beautiful game with their foolish playacting.  People laugh at Jeff Van Gundy when he goes on rants about how bad flopping is for the game but I think he is exactly right.  Referees need to be able to review these fouls, especially if they are key in the game.  And if that is not allowed because it would take too much time, then fines and other penalties should be doled out retroactively.  It should be someones job to go back and review potential flops and point them out to the league.  The NBA is getting more popular then ever, shown by the highest ever ratings for the finals games so far, and a blemish like flopping should be removed in order to keep this League's popularity on the rise.  Punishments should be severe in order to deter players from acting like they are in a play.  They are too skilled to need to draw a foul the cheap way, it takes away from the game.

Finals: Game 1

On Tuesday night the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Miami Heat 104-95 to take a 1-0 series lead in the NBA Finals. Tuesday's Game 1 was the highest rated Game 1 of any NBA Finals ever. Proving the fact that this is the match-up all of America wanted.

Now I'm not so sure the Heat played bad, or that the Thunder exploited the Heat's weaknesses, which, yes, they did do at times, but I think the reason the Heat lost was because they got away from the things they always do, which are obviously their strengths. They tried to get into a jump shooting competition with the Thunder, which I think they'll lose 10 out of 10 times.

The Heat's lack of depth once again reared it's ugly head Tuesday night, prompting LeBron James to say, "We have to get more guys in there to give me and D-Wade rest" at the post-game press conference. I think LeBron wasn't just saying the Heat need more bodies, I think he meant the Heat need the bodies they have to contribute in a way that the team doesn't give up huge runs when LeBron is off the court. Notice, I said when LeBron is off the court, not Dwyane Wade, who had a few moments Tuesday night, but is not helping the team like he needs to be. Wade had a few plays in that 2nd quarter that I really liked, but as the game went along, I couldn't help thinking that there is something seriously wrong with his knee. Wade was 7-19 for 19 points in 42 minutes, and simply has not been able to create for himself and his teammates like the Dwyane Wade of old. It's really just been this postseason, I may be wrong, but the times I watched the Heat this year during the regular season I thought Wade looked fine, but who knows. The bottom line is, if Dwyane Wade keeps playing like he does the Miami Heat WILL lose their 2nd straight NBA Finals appearance.


The Heat simply need to attack the basket, that's one of their strengths and they have a habit of getting away from doing it at times.. Attacking the basket is what LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh do best. The Heat were 6-26 on 2's outside of the paint Tuesday night, which included all 11 of Chris Bosh's shot attempts. Yes you read that correctly, Chris Bosh did not attempt a shot within the paint. All. Night.

A close second for the best attribute the Miami Heat's Big 3, and the team in general, has is it's transition offense. Tuesday night was the 1st time ever the Miami Heat were outscored in fast break points by 20 points or more while having the Big 3 on the roster, 24-4. Yes, 4 fast break points for, The. Miami. Heat. 4!!!!! NBA Championships are won within that painted area, whether it's on offense, defense, or rebounding, the paint is where champions are made so if the Heat don't start attacking the basket and pushing the ball up the floor, they are toast in my opinion.

The Heat got away from their strengths on offense but they also got away from their strengths on defense. The first was the lack of physicality the Heat played with Tuesday night. The Heat's bigs, along with LeBron, Wade, Chalmers, and Battier love to play with a lot of physicality, and in Game 1 every single player on the Thunder played more physical than every player on the Heat(excluding LeBron). Even Derek Fisher played more physical Tuesday night than any big, especially Udonis Haslem, on the Heat which was just sad to watch for me. The Heat need to develop a mean streak, and maybe they don't think of themselves as the villain, but they need to start playing like one.

When you watch the Miami Heat play defense, they basically never, ever switch on screens, until the 2nd half of Game 1 when they backed out of their usual plan of trapping the ball-handler. In the 1st quarter, the Heat trapped the ball-handler on pick-n-roll situations, came up with 3 OKC turnovers, and a 7 point lead, that was 13 at one point. The Heat's decision to start switching on pick-n-roll situations often caused Miami defenders to be out of position with Durant or Westbrook driving to the bucket at full speed for easy baskets. I understand maybe trying it a few times but once the Thunder went on big runs I would have gone back to trapping. I mean the Thunder scored on 21 of their final 24 possessions, a defensive adjustment was very much needed. I would feel much more comfortable making Ibaka or Collison hit an open jumper than I would letting Westbrook and Durant getting a nice cushion from the switches. I am a firm believer in not letting the superstars beat me.

Another part to go a long with the defensive brain-farts was the fact that I would have liked to see LeBron on Durant more often throughout the game. Durant was 0-2 for 2 points with LeBron on him, while he was 12-18 for 34 points against everyone else. Now we don't have the greatest sample size to truly measure James effectiveness on Durant but the now three times the Heat & Thunder have played this season, Kevin Durant has committed 10 turnovers (9 in 1 of the games) against the Heat, with every single one coming while he's been guarded by LeBron. That stat needs to somehow end up on Spolestra's desk by the time Game 2 tips-off.

I'm still sticking by my prediction of the Heat in 7, and I do believe that OKC still needs to win Game 2 more  than Miami needs to. Even if Miami does or doesn't end up winning the NBA Finals, the team and it's star player will make a number of firsts. If the Heat do win the Finals, it will be the first time in NBA history that a team was down at one point in 3 of its series in the playoffs and still won the NBA Championship. If the Heat lose it will cause LeBron James to be the 1st player to do two things. First, he will be the first 3-time NBA MVP to lose his first three Finals trips and secondly, he will be the first modern-day (post-merger) superstar to lose his first three finals trips.

However, if LeBron James wins the NBA Title, he will be one year younger than when Michael Jeffery Jordan won his first NBA Championship.

Euro 2012

Tuesday, June 12. Every team has played their first game in the group stages by now. 

Some pretty telling stuff so far. 

Lets start with the "Group of Death" as coined by Ian Dark and Steve McManaman (who by the way, ESPN did an absolutely fantastic job of getting for their in game analysis tandem).  These two are spot on in their analysis of the game, the way that they describe styles of play, and using typical football adjectives such as pitch and pace.  This complete mastery of the broadcast booth stems from growing up around the game in a way that no American has the chance to; by hiring these two it allows casual fans to get a better glimpse into one of the world's biggest tournaments of the World's most popular sport.

 

Group B "Group of Death"

Germany 1-0-0 3pts +1 goal differential
Denmark 1-0-0 3pts +1 goal differential
Netherlands 0-0-1 0pts -1 goal differential
Portugal 0-0-1 0pts -1 goal differential

First of all, this is truly the group of death, with Germany being ranked #3 in the world, the Netherlands#4, Denmark being #9 and Portugal being #10.

So far most of the games have been pretty tentative, no team wanting to go down with a loss as it is extremely hard to claw out of the group stage when you lose your first game.
The Germany-Portugal game was not that much of a suprise for the result, the only suprise was that it took Germany until the end of the game to score.  I do not look to see Portugal to advance out of this group, Cristiano Ronaldo will continue his dissapointing international career.
The Denmark-Netherlands game was a bit of a suprise.  Robin van Persie did not look very good in this game at all.  Klaas van Huntelaar came in around the 70 minute mark and immediately created a couple of chances; look for the Dutch to use van Persie as more of a winger and put in van Huntelaar as more of a traditional center forward role.  Wesley Sneijder was the sole bright spot for the Netherlands, with a dozen of excellent passes and through balls that his forwards need to be able to finish.  Besides RVP(robin van Persie), Arjen Robben was a huge dissappointment.  He was extremely predictable, never taking his man one on one, and hardly ever crossing the ball.  All he did all game long was cut the ball back into the middle from the right wing and launch a couple of very hopeful shots from 25+ yards out. 
If the Netherlands wants to advance, they need to not be as cautious as they were in this game.  Even though they dominated possesion and shots, they could not finish.  Denmark took advantage of this and scored a decent goal on a Dutch mishap on defense.  ESPN analyst and perhaps the greatest American football player ever, Alexi Lalas, has stated that the Dutch peaked in 2010 when they reached the final.  I think that they have too much talent remaining for that to be true, but this remains to be seen.

Group A 

I don't really care enough about this group to type the standings, its pretty easy to look them up anyways.  All you really need to know is that Russia is a juggernaut in this group, beating the Czech Republic 4-1 in their first game.  Poland and Greece tied in their first game, so if Russia keeps winning, second place will be up for grabs to see who can advance out of this group stage. 

Group C

Croatia 1-0-0 3pts +2
Spain 0-1-0 1pt 0
Italy 0-1-0  1pt 0
Ireland 0-0-1 0pts -2

This group is still wide open, mostly due to Ireland being terrible and Spain and Italy being very good.  Spain does not look like the team who won the World Cup or the team who won the last Euro tournament, but they are still formidable.  As I correctly predicted, the Spaniards started Cesc Fabregas and David Silva and David Silvas no-look flick to Fabregas for the easy goal is the pass of the tournament so far.  Torres came on with 15 minutes left, and should have easily put away at least one goal.  He had about 3 chances, two of them being almost completely wide open.  The old Fernando would have scored all 3, instead this shell of the former player looked to pass more then take players on.  Spain was playing 6 midfielders in this game, it showed Vincente Del Bosque's lack of belief in his striker.  Torres' game will not help his cause.  To be fair to Torres however, he did open up the Azzuri defense with his timely runs; if it had been a no name player instead of the World-Class Torres, Spain might have a bright new star on their hands.  But since Fernando is an established goal scorer, his first game in the 2012 Euros will look like a disappointment.  Italy played really well, especially since they were using a different formation with 3 defenders in the back and Daniele de Rossi who normally is a midefielder was in a sweeper role.  Look for both Spain and Italy to cruise in the rest of this group stage and advance to the next round. 

Group D

Ukraine 1-0-0 3pts +1
England 0-1-0 1pt
France 0-1-0 1pt
Sweden 0-0-1 0pts -1

Ukraine's star scored 2 excellent headers to Zlatan Ibrahimovic's one goal to put Ukraine on top of the standings.
The France England game was pretty boring, with Joleon Lescott scoring a header on Steven Gerrard's set piece and Samir Nasri scoring a beauty of goal from just outside the box.  The French look to be playing well together, and England is lucky that they escaped with a point from this game.
I think Ukraine will advance with France, but it all depends on how England plays the rest of the way.  If they win out, it will be France and England moving on to the next round.

Almost a solid month left of world class football, I suggest you watch as much as you can.  For those of you who work desk jobs like me, most major cable providers support the watchespn feature online, and all of the games are played on there.  (Trust me, it makes the day go by a lot quicker when you have top-class talent to watch).

Til next time, LETS GO MIAMI HEAT

Hey Thanks Bron-Bron

"Thank you LeBron. For so many reasons." 

Sounds like a tweet from a desperate Miami fan, doesn't it? Maybe from one whom feels as if he is in debt to LeBron for his historic performance against the Celtics Thursday night. Maybe from one who was brought joy and hope by the Heat's blowout win. Maybe from one who thought that all hope was lost for his beloved Heat. Maybe from one who was sad that the Big 3, who had given him some of his brightest and happiest moments of his sporting memory, would be broken up if not for LeBron's performance tonight. Well we'd be wrong. That tweet came from ESPN's J.A. Adande, a die-hard Lakers fan, who was more than likely just happy with the fact that LeBron James provided the basketball world with a performance that we'd remember forever, as well as providing us with the opportunity to see the single greatest spectacle in all of sports, a Game 7.

There are plenty of reasons why Adande should be thankful for LeBron James. Maybe he is because LeBron's 45 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists had only been done one other time in NBA history, by the legendary Wilt Chamberlain. Maybe he is because he did something tonight that Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan never did during their careers. Maybe he is because tonight's performance reminded us of just how gifted James is, and how truly lucky we are to get to watch him. Maybe he is because we got to see LeBron outscore, out-rebound, and dish out more assists than the Celtics' Big 3 combined. Maybe he is because in a game the Heat won by 19, his performance was so great that we didn't realize the Heat only had five possessions of transition offense. Maybe he is because the maturity James played with tonight made us forget about the fact that he's grown up in the spotlight since age 16 with no father, brothers, or sisters to lean on. Maybe he is because Dwyane Wade said he'd never seen LeBron locked in like that before, which maybe give us a hint that LeBron has an even higher ceiling than we originally thought. Maybe Adande is thankful just because he's a sportswriter and wants the best story possible. Well, I would bet against that last one. What we saw from LeBron James is something we should cherish as true basketball fans. The sad thing is, is that if James comes out in Game 7, has an average game and the Heat lose, this performance will fade away quickly from the public's mind. Even if James plays great Saturday night but the Heat lose, his performance may still be forgotten. LeBron James had to have an MVP-type performance tonight, a performance that overshadowed Kevin Durant's from the night before, a performance that had to assure everyone that he is the best player on Earth, and he sure did.

I'm continuing to stick by my earlier prediction of Miami in 7 which would match the Heat up against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the NBA Finals match-up that all of America wants, aside from San Antonio and Boston fans. The Thunder's victory Wednesday night robbed us of the "Last Stand" Finals between San Antonio and Boston but maybe we were destined to have the "First Stand" Finals between Oklahoma City and Miami instead.

Brooks, Durant Continue Thunder's Boom. Part 2

In case you missed the 1st part of these articles, I basically gave a glowing compliment to Oklahoma City Thunder Head Coach Scott Brooks. Well now, it's his players turn, especially Kevin Durant.

Enough cannot be said about the display Kevin Durant put on Wednesday night against the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs came out and punched them in the mouth but the Thunder kept battling back, lead by Durant, and finally caught up to San Antonio to give them their finishing move. OKC's Mortal Kombat-esque finishing move stems from their Big 3, with Kevin Durant being Liu Kang. During Oklahoma City's four game winning streak to close out the series, Durant, Westbrook, and Harden shot an incredible 56% from the field combined and tag that along with the amount of free throws those three shoot, OKC's got all the offense they need. But wait, hold on, am I seeing that the Thunder have more to their offense than just those three kids? Yes, I believe I am. In the 4th quarter of Game 6 the Thunder ran a pin-down play that they love to run four times. Those four pin-down plays ended in 10 crucial points for the Thunder in the 4th of the clinching Game 6. Now my point is, is that those 10 points came off of 4 different options, from 4 different players. Not one of those players was named Kevin, Russell, or James. It was Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins, Derek Fisher, and Thabo Sefolosha. That is utterly ridiculous.

The Thunder had a great 4th that helped them secure the win, and the MVP of the night, Kevin Durant, did not hit a single field goal in the 4th quarter. Durant took 16 free throws in that 4th quarter, making 8 of them, which I say was due to the fact that he played every single minute of that game. In the post-game press conference, the conservative Gregg Popovich had this to say about the Thunder and Durant's play, "This OKC team is the hardest we've had to guard during my tenure here. Nobody has had a weapon like Kevin Durant." So wait, Gregg Popovich, one of the greatest coaches in the history of the NBA, is saying that not even the Kobe & Shaq Lakers, Dirk's Mavs, Nash's Suns, or any other Western Conference foe or evn any Eastern Conference team he played in the Finals during his tenure in San Antonio has had a weapon like Kevin Durant? That is pretty awesome that we are getting to watch that player in our lifetime, and oh yea, he's 23 years old.

Searching through the history of the NBA today I noticed two things. One is that the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Mavericks, the Lakers, and the Spurs to reach the NBA Finals, and those three teams make up 3 of the last 4 NBA Champions, and the last 13 WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS. And secondly, based on the history of the NBA, 94.2% of teams that are up 2-0 in a series advance. So if my math (or ESPN's math) is correct, that would mean that the probability that the NBA Finals would be Oklahoma City-Boston is 0.3%, or a 3-in-1,000 chance. I may be wrong but it looks like we're 50% there.

Brooks, Durant Continue Thunder's Boom. Part 1

On Wednesday night Oklahoma City Thunder superstar forward Kevin Durant led his team to it's 1st NBA Finals appearance since 1996 when they were the Seattle Supersonics. Durant led the way with significant contributions from Russell Westbrook, James Harden, defensive stopper Thabo Sefolosha, and even angry big-man Kendrick Perkins. An underrated piece to the rising dynasty of the Oklahoma City Thunder is Head Coach Scott Brooks.

Westbrook, Durant, and Harden have grown up before our eyes these playoffs as players but Coach Brooks has done so as well, and maybe the most underrated piece of the Thunder. A huge story-line to last night's game was the fact that Kevin Durant played all 48 minutes for the Thunder. We saw Rajon Rondo play every minute of the Celtics' overtime game earlier in the Eastern Conference Finals but we don't see this strategy played out enough. I think if you have a young, great player the coach should ask them to play the whole game at times and I applaud Scotty Brooks for playing Durant the whole game last night. I also believe that encouragement of your players and getting the most out of them is as important as creativity on offense and defense for a coach, and that's why I am so high on Brooks now. Brooks got more out of his team this series than he has at any point ever, which tells me he got his team to truly buy in and had his players willing to sacrifice for their teammates. Brooks has also played the physiological card perfectly for the last few months in terms of motivation and encouragement. Brooks was asked earlier this series about Westbrook enduring all his criticism and what he tells Westbrook when he gets down, and this was Brooks' response, "I just tell him, 'You're not their point guard, you're MY point guard'." Coach Brooks also is said to use the injury of loved G Eric Maynor, and the disrespect of G Derek Fisher for being too old as motivation for the whole team to win the NBA Championship and I think that is simply fantastic and very smart. I don't think it's rocket science, the Thunder got outplayed the first two games of the series and then went on a rampage of winning four straight against the San Antonio Spurs, who at some points some analysts were willing to just hand the Larry O'Brien Trophy over to. Yes the Thunder do have grand amounts of talent but a large part of the Thunder's four game winning streak has to be about their coaching. Brooks in some ways out-coached the legendary Gregg Popovich and should be commended for doing so. I have completely done a 180 in last few weeks with my thoughts concerning Scott Brooks and I am willing to admit I was wrong. The guy did a great job this series and the previous ones and deserves a whole lot of credit. I mean he got Kendrick Perkins smiling last night, as well as all of Oklahoma City.



Side Note: Would write more concerning the game but I have to go to work, so I'll right another post after work about the game.

Heartbreak and Joy

I am always suprised when I meet a person who does not enjoy or follow sports.  Don't get me wrong, I can still be friends with that person; it just always seems to me that these people are depriving themselves of one of the greatest things that human beings can experience.  Sports, simply put, are the competition of one or more individuals against either one person or a team.  Now if we wanted to we could further define those sports into different groups (basketball is different then racing for example) but at the heart of all these events is the desire to best someone or some team in physical competition.  This desire stems from our very nature, as at some point all of us were competing against each other for resources such as food, water, shelter and the ability to not get eaten by some giant Saber Tooth Tiger.  Now that we have relativley stable societies, there is no longer any need to compete for survival.  Now, more then ever, we have channeled that natural instinct to compete into organized activities and games.

Still, this does not answer the question that I have asked myself over and over again: Why do we bother watching sports? 

Most of the time the outcomes of the games that we so avidly follow does not affect our lives directly. (Unless you are a professional gambler)  Yet I know from personal experience that following a certain team and supporting them leads to lots of moments that make me question why I put so much of myself into following sports and actually caring about them.  There have been lots of times where the simple fact that my team lost a game affects me the next day.  I spend hours agonizing over what went wrong, what could have happened, and avoiding the frugal highlights and analysis that SportsCenter provides on the game.  For what?  In the long run, I will either forget about the game, or it will just be a footnote in the annals of sports history. 

The simple answer is to go back to our instincts again, that we all want to "win" and be part of the winning team or tribe to achieve success.  However, I think the answer is more complicated.  There is no better feeling in my opinion then executing an athletic play exactly as you see it in your minds eye.  The reality is, there are some of us that are meant to play professionally and some of us that are not.  For those who cannot play for a living, watching, and analyzing is the one thing that we can do in order to feel more attached.  To take that one step further, rooting for one team or area is the closest we can get to feeling like we belong.  This quote from Michael Novak sums this up quite nicely: " Athletic achievement, like the achievements of the heroes and gods of Greece, is the momentary attainment of perfect form–as though there were, hidden away from mortal eyes, a perfect way to execute a play, and suddenly a player or a team has found it and sneaked a demonstration down to earth. A great play is a revelation. The curtains of ordinary life part, and perfection flashes for an instant before the eye." 

Beyond even these reasons, the best answer that I can think of is that a game is a microcosm of society as a whole.  Those who have played sports for a long time can attest to this as well.  I have learned almost all of the life lessons that have been taught to me while being on a baseball field or basketball court.  In fact, most of these lessons pervade throughout all of society.  If you don't believe me have you ever heard the term "in the ballpark" as referred to an idea? What about the general rule that if you mess up for the third time, its "strike 3 and you're out".  A "hail mary" as referring to a 1 in a million chance.  The list goes on and on. 

Diving even deeper into the metaphor that a sports game=life, there are a few key areas that need to be talked about.

Teamwork

No one likes to be alone.  There is always more joy in sharing something with other people, especially when that feeling stems from the combined effort of individuals.  This is almost always one of the first lessons you learn from your coach at a young age, and I'm sure even those who don't understand sports have heard the saying, "There is no I in team".  Regardless of the task, when people come together and work as a team, their output will ALWAYS be greater then what is produced by an individual.  People, at their core, want to be connected to others.  Following sports gives us an easy way to feel more attached to other people, it gives us a bond that can't be duplicated by talking about other hobbies or the weather. 

Sportsmanship

Sports are always stressing rules on how to get along, or play nice with the opposing team.  This lesson helps us in the real world as well.  There are certain rules in life, some being legal laws, and some not, that help us succeed.  Even if they are unwritten, (like most of the sportsmanship rules) people will notice if you do not follow them.  Generally, those that observe customs and rules in life will succeed; it is a lot easier to get along with someone that is friendly then someone that is an asshole.  Sports help to highlight this, and the teams/businesses that follow these unwritten laws are always the most admirable.

Failure

This could easily be called perserverance or redemption.  This is perhaps the most important point that I have to make, one that could answer the question as to why we watch sports just by itself.  As a kid, we are always told that we can do whatever we want to do in life, that whatever we will do we will succeed in etc.  The fact is that is just not true.  Everyone in life fails at some point or another, and in varying degrees of severity.  It is what you do after you fail that shows your character.  A man is not defined by his success, he is defined by how he responds to failure.  It is easy to be a good person when everything is going your way.  You learn in sports at an early age that you can't win every time; thats why teams that go undefeated are as celebrated as they are.  This is most clearly illustrated in baseball where if you succeed and get a hit 3/10 times in your career you would go to the Hall of Fame.  But the same holds true of basketball or any other sport.  If you succeed only 50% of the time in business, you would be a terrible business person.  But in basketball, you would be a HOF player.  Sports show us that in order to succeed, you need to not focus on failure and to move on and try to succeed at your next endeavor.  There is no use to dwell on the past because you can only control what is going to happen, not what already has.  You need to persevere in order to be successful and not give up at the first sign of disappointment.  Having said that, the second part to this argument is redemption.  Knowing that we will fail, no one wants to end on a failure.  Everyone is always longing for another chance.  I believe that at heart, humans are optimistic and that this optimism allows us to overcome our failures.  This is illustrated clearly by sports; the fact that every jump shooter wants the ball again to redeem himself, he knows that his next shot will go in.  If I had to pick one reason on why we watch sports; this is it.  As much as we all love to hate (myself included) there is nothing we like to see more then someone finally succeed.  Its the reason that we keep coming back even after we swear to ourselves that we won't care or that we won't watch anymore.  It's the reason that Cubs fans think that they will win a World Series.  There is no better feeling then watching someone or some team overcome adversity and pull through.  It is the hope that success is coming that keeps me and others coming back to the TV even though failure is probable.  Plays like this vindicate all those times of frustration. 

Simply put sports help us transcend our daily lives.  They make us feel like children again, when we had no worries or responsibilites other then pure unbiased competition.  They allow us to be a part of something bigger then ourselves and teach us valuable life lessons along the way.  I, for one will teach my kids and anyone that I can to love sports; even if I have to throw a few remotes at the TV and walk away in disgust a few more times.  The feelings of Joy always last longer and stick with us more clearly then the pain of heartbreak.

Elimination Time In The NBA

Monday morning many in the sports world wondered whether either road team in the NBA Conference Finals would or could win a game. Well as of Wednesday morning, both road teams won their respective Game 5s to both take a commanding 3-2 series lead and set-up elimination games on their home courts.

On Monday night the Oklahoma City Thunder went into San Antonio, where the Spurs lost 4 times all year, and beat them in a fantastic game. After the game Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich was very concerned about the fact that his Spurs were slowing down the game. He talked of the fact that you absolutely do not want to get into a half-court game with the Thunder. How often do you here that? You almost never do, so many times teams are concerned about not trying to run with their opponent. While watching these Conference Finals, I would say the Thunder are the only team that can score consistently in the half-court, with the Spurs being the close second. Many, including myself, have been critical of the Thunder at times, especially with Coach Scott Brooks and G Russell Westbrook. Many say 'Oh, Brooks can't coach!', or 'Westbrook is a ball hog!'. Those statements may be somewhat true at times but all the Thunder are doing is scoring, improving, winning, and most importantly, advancing. There has gotta be something said for that and I'm coming around on both of them once I sit down and think about it. I love what I've been seeing from Westbrook, his attitude still needs some fine-tuning, but he makes about 3 or 4 passes a game now that I think he would have ended up shooting last postseason. Now he will still have a bad shot selection from time to time and will never, ever be considered a "pure" point guard but I think that's fine with the Thunder because man is he good. Not only has Westbrook grown up but it's nice to see Durant transforming into an unstoppable force which tells me he's putting it all together which also tells me that we better start getting ready to watch OKC in June for years to come. Before I get to my thoughts on Game 6, this stat, concerning James Harden's dagger 3, was crazy to me: James Harden had zero baskets in the last 3 minutes of games when the Thunder were down or up by 5 or less in the regular season. ZERO.

Now the last team to have a three-game losing streak in the playoffs and still win the title was the 2004 Detroit Pistons, who lost Games 3-5 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the New Jersey Nets. With key bench player Gary Neal suffering from a stomach virus as of this morning, he's still expected to play, but I think the Oklahoma City Thunder eliminate the San Antonio Spurs and advance to the NBA Finals for the 1st time since 1996 when they were the Seattle Supersonics and were beaten by a little player named Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls.

To be honest, the only series I wanted to really write about was the Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics. While waiting for Game 5 Tuesday night to start I was on Twitter and saw Bill Simmons, of ESPN & Grantland, tweet about how all of the playoff games that come to mind for LeBron James have been Game 5s. So I sat down and thought about it; LeBron had the coming out performance against the Pistons in 2007, which I wrote of the other day, the 2009 Game 5 against the Boston Celtics, where he played awful and had possibly the worst body language ever while Celtics fans rained down "New York Knicks" chants to James, and then last year's Game 5 performance in the Finals against the Mavs, where LeBron had a triple-double but had key plays on offense and defense in the 4th quarter that cost the Heat the game. Now I thought LeBron played great last night, and has been getting way more criticism this series than he deserves. If the Miami Heat fail this season, it should all be on Dwyane Wade. Most of his performances in this series have been abysmal and the jogging back on defense last night in a game that important was absolutely ridiculous. I think Wade is a punk who usually gets away scot-free when the Heat lose when LeBron gets criticized every single night when he is the only person on the Miami Heat that brings it every single game. ESPN reported last night that Wade, James, and Udonis Haslem were heard having a very heated discussion in the training room after the game concerning defensive breakdowns. I sure hope LeBron and Haslem called out Dwyane Wade for his lack of effort and motivation on the defensive end last night. That performance made me think of Dirk's quote from the Finals last year, "This is the finals. If you need extra motivation, then there's something wrong with you." There were some this morning saying, 'If the Heat had Pat Riley on the bench then Wade wouldn't do that'. Well I don't give two shits who is the head coach, you run back on defense, especially in the Eastern Conference Finals, I don't care who you are.

Okay, I'm done ripping Dwyane Wade. Now I have said many times that the Celtics have no business being in this series, let alone actually making it a series and possibly winning it but I was wrong. You don't somehow have the #1 defense in the NBA, which the Celtics do, and I was wrong for saying those things. I think the media always tries to find ways to bury teams, which I think they have done to each of the 4 teams remaining at least once this postseason. The scary thing about the Celtics is they have the number 1 defense plus their offense is back. Per 100 possessions in the regular season the Celtics averaged 98.9 pts, 95 pts against the Hawks in Round 1, 97 pts against the Sixers in Round 2, and 102.8 pts against Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals. 102.8 points for these Celtics!!! It all starts with Rondo and Kevin Garnett who the Heat are having such trouble stopping, even when they don't score. The Heat are going to have to change defensively somehow and on offense, they just simply have to shoot better, especially those corner 3s, and LeBron has to absolutely take over and drive to the bucket as much as possible Thursday night in TD Garden. Bosh will play more Thursday night, and speaking of Bosh, I don't agree with breaking up the Big 3, trading Wade or Bosh isn't going to keep Bosh from getting injured, which I thought they would win it all if all 3 were 100% healthy. I'm still sticking with my prediction of the Heat in 7 but I would absolutely love to see the Celtics take them down Thursday night. Last year I decided I would buy the gear of the team that became the Heat Killers, and I bought a Dirk Nowitzki shirsey. Will I get to buy Celtics gear? I sure hope so. (If not then a James Harden shirsey in the Finals would be nice).

South Carolina Football Preview: Running Back

Running Back

     The last two years, Steve Spurrier's offense has looked more like ground and pound than fun and gun, mainly because the Gamecock coach has benefitted from having one of the most talented groups of running backs in the country.  Today I will discuss my thoughts on the Cocks' backfield and go into who I think will help share the load with Heisman hopeful Marcus Lattimore.

Marcus Lattimore
     Two years ago, Lattimore stepped on to the Columbia campus and immediatley impacted the USC football team.  Latt became the work horse of SOS's offense as a freshman, carrying the ball 249 times for almost 1200 yards for 17 TD's on the ground.  More impressive than his stats for the year was the fact that in his first SEC game against rival UGA, Lattimore carried the ball 37 times for 182 yards and two scores. 37 times, as a freshman, against a hated rival, in his first game in the hardest conference in the nation (not to mention it was an early September afternoon in Columbia).  Lattimore ended his freshman campaign earning the title of SEC Freshman of the Year for 2010, though he sat out almost two and a half games worth of playing time.
     To follow up his first campaign in the Garnet and Black, Lattimore picked up right where he left off, rushing for 112 yards, 176 yards, and 246 yards in his first three games, on a whopping 87 carries.  The Heisman candidate continued to be the productivity machine that he was his freshman year for the next 4 games, but unfortunately had his season cut short by a torn ACL and MCL he suffered against Mississippi State.  Though he played less than 7 games in his sophomore year for the Gamecocks, Marcus still managed to gain over 800 yards and to find the endzone 11 times (rushing and receiving combined).  Lattimore was even elected second team all conference (Did I mention the SEC was the best conference in the nation?) without seeing action for the final 6 contests of the year.
     Now, having said all this, the main question for 2012 is quite simple: how well will Marcus Lattimore's surgically repaired knee have recovered, and how well will it be able to hold up carrying the ball in the grueling SEC.  From everything I have heard, Lattimore is more than on track to be at 100% for the season opener against Vandy, and that he has been working harder than ever rehabing his knee.  Chris Clark of Gamecock Central has said that Lattimore is "almost back to normal and will be competing in seven on sevens starting (today) Monday."  All of this points to one thing for me: Latt will be back at 100% (minus one practice jersey though) and will be a force this year.  I don't think he will carry the ball near as many times as he did his freshman and sophomore years (because of wanting to keep him healthy and because of the other great backs that will be in the stable), but I do expect him to play at the high level he did his first two years.  I could honestly see the 2012 season leaving 21 in the company of 38: the great George Rogers, the Gamecocks only Heisman winner.

Kenny Miles
     No one would say that Kenny's time as a Gamecock has been perfect. The Georgia native was redshirted when he got to campus in 2008.  In 2009, he split time in the backfield as a redshirt-freshman, rushing for an impressive 640 yards on 117 carries. But injuries and the arrival of Lattimore have slowed this former starter.  Losing his starting job in 2010, Miles only ran for 152 even though he played in all fourteen games.  2011 was an even harder year for Miles.  Coming in as Lattimore's backup, Miles got his opportunity to shine when the starter went down with a knee injury. However, a wrist injury of his own forced him to miss six games and have very limited production in four others.  The redshirt-junior came on strong at the end though, rushing for 71 yards against rival Clemson and 67 in the bowl win against Nebraska, including a touchdown run and catch.
    Whether or not Miles was going to return for his fifth year in the Garnet and Black was up in the air, but now that it is certain he will don number 31 for a fourth straight year, I am almost certain that the Cocks have an experienced leader in the backfield.  The fact that Miles has shown he can face adversity shows his teammates, the coaching staff, and the fans that he is willing to do whatever it takes to help this football program win.  This veteran leadership will help the younger guys get better, and I believe that all of Kenny's hard work will pay off and he will contribute well to the best backfield in the SEC (and ipso facto, the nation).

Brandon Wilds
     The biggest surprise last year for Steve Spurrier's offense was the play of true freshman Brandon Wilds.  Wilds, who became the starter by default when Carolina's backfield became more like the infirmary, ran for just about 500 yards and 3 scores even though the preseason depth chart had him listed as the fifth stringer.  The true freshman was most impressive when it mattered most in 2011, reaching the century mark in rushing yards in three key wins down the stretch for the Gamecocks.
    As impressive as he was a true freshman, what will Wilds' roll be in 2012?  If Lattimore comes back healthy (which is what all signs point to as of now), Miles can stay healthy, and if the combination of redshirt freshman Shon Carson and true freshman Mike Davis are as good as advertised, Wilds could get lost in the mix.  I don't think this is the case though, and I truly believe that the offensive surprise last year will be a key runner for the Gamecocks this year. I expect the offensive brilliance that Spurrier has shown in the past to be evident again this year in the way he uses the big back (6'2" and 218 pounds), getting him involved in the passing games and uses him for a lot of third down situations.

Shon Carson/Mike Davis
     I'm putting these two together for multiple reasons.  First, both are coming into their freshman campaigns.  For Carson, it will be his redshirt freshman campaign after carrying the ball only three times total last year before suffering a torn ACL against UGA.  Davis comes in as highly touted true freshman (rated as a four star prospect by Rivals.com), and will likely see some time on the field considering the way SOS usually handles talented freshman.  Secondly, what their role will be on the team is still up in the air.  Carson was used sparingly his first year before his injury, and was unable to participate in spring practices because of it.  Having yet to set foot on campus, the role that Davis will play is also in question.
    When it comes down to it, we just do not know enough about these two guys to really figure out what we think about them and what their role will be.  I think both players have the talent to contribute, but with three proven players in front of the them, their time might not be in 2012.  I do think that the rest of the summer will be crucial to not only see where Carson's knee is, but to also see how Davis transitions from high school to the college game.  Depending on both of these, I could see limited use from both players or two players who really surprise everyone and get lots of productive playing time.



That's all I've got for the backfield (most talented in the SEC).  I'll be back later for a preview of the new look receiving corps of the Cocks.

Tiger Ties Nicklaus; Thoughts on US Open

Tiger Woods won the Memorial Tournament, hosted by Jack Nicklaus, on Sunday by shooting a phenomenal 67 in his final round, while other players fell back as Tiger was having a classic Sunday Tiger surge. Woods tied Jack Nicklaus' 73 wins Sunday to put him T2 on the all-time wins list, just behind Sam Snead's 82 wins. Woods' win Sunday brought up many questions and evoked many comparisons between his game and Nicklaus'. Including the shocking snippet that Jack reached 73 wins at age 46 while Tiger accomplished the same feat at 36 years of age on Sunday.

It was very cool to see Tiger and Nicklaus talk together at the press conference after the trophy ceremony. (And as a side note, CBS broadcasted it, which just tells us we are in the dog days of summer because they never, ever do that. Even if it is Tiger.) Nicklaus joked about Tiger winning his 73rd tournament by saying, "Tiger had to rub it in my face here, didn't he?" Woods won 2 tournaments held by golf legends this season, March's Bay Hill Invitational, held by Arnold Palmer and Sunday's Memorial Tournament to boost him to that 73rd win. Tiger had this to say about winning that 73rd tournament, "It's special for me to do it here. to do it with Jack here.....it just makes it that much more special." To go along with the love-fest between Woods and Nicklaus on being tied together for the second most wins all-time, Nicklaus had his own love-fest with Woods' chip-in on 16 during Sunday's final round. Nicklaus said, "That shot at 16 is the best I've ever seen here", then Nicklaus also went on to say, "That was the most unbelievable, gutsy shot I've ever seen", concerning Woods' chip-in. Nicklaus continued to be very high on Woods' by saying, "He(Tiger) just played one unbelievable, smart round of golf today."

That "unbelievable, smart" round of golf Sunday for Tiger Woods evoked one question from sportswriters, fans, analysts, and basically everyone around the world: Is he back? When asked during the post-tournament press conference if he was back, Tiger replied, "I'll let you guys figure that one out." I think the hitch in answering that question is, how should we define back? With regards to Tiger Woods, do we consider back to be returning to the form of his astonishing run from 1997-2008, which has never been seen before in the world of golf and more than likely will never be duplicated, or do we consider back to just simply being the best golfer in the world. With all due respect to Mr. Woods, I think we should think of being back in terms of the latter. I say this because I believe the 1997-2008 Tiger Woods is long gone, and we will never see anything like it. No one, maybe not even Tiger, knows how eroded he is after being shamed and injured at times these past 4 years. Even if we consider Tiger being back as just simply being the best in the world, which obviously isn't so simple, I still don't think Tiger Woods is back. Although I am a huge Tiger fan, winning 2 tournaments on courses he has famously dominated over the years does not constitute, to me, as being back. It would take a win at a major championship for me to say Tiger Woods is truly back.

Maybe, just maybe, that evasive major win for Tiger could come at next week's US Open in San Francisco at the Olympic Club. After Tiger's win Sunday, the Las Vegas Hotel now has Tiger at 6/1 to win the US Open. Tiger won at Bay Hill right before The Masters and many analysts had Tiger winning The Masters because that win at Bay Hill caused Tiger to enter Augusta with confidence, but that didn't work out, Tiger finished T40th. Now 2 months later Woods enters another major championship with confidence after winning the tournament 2 weeks before. Will the results be different this time? Who knows but four times Woods has won his last start before winning a major, the, 2000 US Open, The 2001 Masters, and the 2006 & 2007 PGA Championship. In 2000, that last win before the US Open? The Memorial Tournament. Tiger Woods may not be back, in some peoples opinion, but my boss Taylor Zarzour tweeted Sunday after Tiger's win, "Bay Hill was a sign but this is an all points bulletin", and if Tiger wins the US Open next week, everyone around the world would have to say, Eldrick "Tiger" Woods is back.

Euro 2012: Preview

In arguably the second biggest tournament in the world behind the World Cup (I'm discounting the Champions League because it is not a tournament in the same sense as the World Cup), The 2012 European Championship looks to be another great month of football.  It could be argued that this is also historically the most talented or second most talented tournament in the world, with 4 of the last 6 world cup winning teams coming from Europe. The tournament will be hosted in Poland and Ukraine and will take place between June 8-July1. 

Spain, the defending champion, also won the 2010 World Cup.  They undoutedly have the most talented, and experienced squad, but are also aging as a team.  With players like Xavi getting older, this may be one of Spains last chances with this team to win a tournament of significance.  Also, with Puyol and Villa out due to injury, Spain will hope that Fernando Torres can return to his top-goal scoring form that he had with Liverpool.  El Nino has not had the type of success he wished when signing with Chelsea, but has recently started looking like the player of old.  Expect manager Vincent Del Bosque to use Cesc Fabregas and David Silva more then in previous tournaments due to injuries and fatigue.  Even worse for La Furia Roja is that they are playing in the best group, group C which has The Republic of Ireland, Croatia, and Italy in it.  Spain and Italy should easily advance, but Ireland could definitely give either team a scare.

Das Germans sit at second favorite to win, which is ironic because they lost to Spain 1-0 in the final in 2008.  They were unbeaten in qualifying and placed 3rd in the 2010 World Cup.  Besides having veteran players, Germany also has some tantalizing young talent including Mesut Ozil (Real Madrid) and Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich).  Striker Mario Gomez looks to lead Germany to the title, as he is their best at putting the ball into the back of the net. (48 goals, 26 in Bundesliga.)  If I was a betting man, I would put money on Germany to win; they are my pick for Euro 2012. Side note: I would never allow the Sheister aka Radall aka Austin Young to be my bookie.

The Netherlands are sitting at third on the odds chart.  The Oranje lost a heartbreaker in the 2010 World Cup finals to Spain, and are looking for revenge.  They are absolutely loaded with talent as well, and the only weakness would be their defense.  They have an extremely potent offense, scoring the most goals in qualifying.  Sneijder and van Persie need to stop their feuding for a while and perform well for this team to have a chance.  The Flying Dutchmen have more then enough talent to make it to the final, with Klaas- Jan Huntelaar and van Persie netting 18 goals between them in qualifying.  With a roster full of superstars including Nigel de Jong, Mark van Bommel, Robin van Persie (leading goal scorer in the Premier league 2012), Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Rafael Van der Vaart and Dirk Kuyt this team looks to break through in the international stage.  Just for fun here is the best goal I have ever seen; hopefully van Persie continues his world class form, continues to score goals at almost a goal per game, and gives us another highlight reel. Clockwork Orange is my upset pick to win this tournament.

The rest of the teams look to be just a warm up for Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands; however England and France look to suprise people.  Also interesting is that England and France are in the same group stage, they hate each other probably more then any two nations in the world not named Israel and (insert name of any country here).  Wayne Rooney will miss the first two games, but England should still advance.  France looks very talented as well, but who knows how they will play after their disappointing 2010 World Cup Campaign. 

The Greatest Intramural Basketball Team of All Time-Part II

    Last week, I began a multi-post segment about what I consider the greatest team to have yet to win a championship.  Today I continue with one of the most interesting players on the Snake's roster.

Bradham Wilder


     Out of the thousands of players who have ever put on a NBA jersey, only one compares to B-Tard it is quite obvious (unless you have never met Wilder, or have missed the last four NBA seasons). JaVale McGee. And sorry Bradham, not the playoff McGee who went for 21 points and 14 boards against the Lakers.  I'm talking about the Wizards McGee.  The JaVale McGee who tried to dunk from the free throw line...in a game.  The JaVale McGee who threw himself an alleyoop...down six...in a game.  The JaVale McGee who ran back on defense...when his team still had the ball.
    All this being said, Bradham has more in common with JaVale McGee than just the dumb plays.  Wilder can jump out of the gym, crash the boards, and jump out of the gym again. He's a key asset to the Snakes and should contribute many minutes down low next year, as well as many good laughs.

Is Tiger Back?

    When Tiger chipped in from the rough at 16 for a birdie yesterday, I'm sure almost every sports fan got goose bumps watching the red and black clad Woods fist pump and yell in celebration (2012 Chip in).  I'm also sure that these same sports fans reminisced back to Woods' chip in at the 16th at Augusta in 2005 in the same red and black and celebrated with the same fist pump (2005 Chip in).  Though these two shots were very similar (almost identical), the man who hit them is not near as similar.
     In 2005, Tiger Woods was number one in the world, and seemed like he was playing at a whole other level compared to the rest of the field.  He hit the ball longer, putted better, and if he had the lead on Saturday night, he won.  Plain and simple, he was the best golfer in the world, and it really wasn't even close.  In 2012, Tiger Woods is ranked 4th in the world, propelled upwards by his latest win.  He's won two events (The Memorial on Sunday and The Arnold Palmer in March-Jack's and Arnold's tourneys respectively), but has also missed a cut, withdrawn from a tournament, and finished 40th in the years only major so far (The Masters) and in the "Other Major" (The Players).
     At times this year, Tiger has looked brilliant.  He's been just as dominant as he was before he wrecked his Cadillac at his Florida home, before he was exposed.  His putter has worked, he's hit fairways, and, most importantly, he's got his swagger back.  But, at times, he's looked like he did for most of the last few seasons.  Not trusting his swing, not hitting fairways, and putting like Mr. Haverkamp from Caddy Shack.
     After his win Sunday, Las Vegas has put Tiger's odds to win the US Open at 6/1.  Thats 6 better than Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy (both at 12/1), and 9 better than Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood (both at 15/1).  In this coming US Open, I expect Tiger to win his first major since that November day, beating the field and getting one closer to catching Jack at 18 majors and 8 away from getting Sam Snead's record of 82 career wins.

OKC Thunders Up Series To 2-2

Last night's game 4 between Oklahoma City and San Antonio is not getting the credit it deserved this morning. The heavyweight Western Conference series just delivered the best game we saw so far. It's not getting the credit it deserved, maybe that's just because it is a Sunday and maybe on Monday it will receive it's due credit, maybe.

The Spurs played as the Spurs usually do, smart & conservative basketball but they fell behind too early and by too much. The Spurs seemed to get back into the game slowly in the 2nd half but every time it seemed like San Antonio may make it a one possession game, Kevin Durant would make a bucket and dash the hopes of the Spurs and their fans.

Kevin Durant had one of those career defining games. A game early in his career that we will bring up for years to come and remember when he retires years from now. Last nights performance was similar to LeBron James Game 5 performance in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons. In that game LeBron James finished with 48 points while scoring the final 25 points and 29 of the final 30 points overall to propel the Cavs to a defining double OT Game 5 win over the Pistons. While Durant's game, in my opinion, wasn't as impressive has LeBron's, it is similar in the fact that both Durant and James came through in the end for their teams at a young age, in a big series, and provided themselves with a young career defining performance. Durant finished with 36 points, while scoring 18 of those points in the final 7 minutes of the game and for 5 minutes of that span, Durant scored 16 points and was the only player on the Thunder to make a bucket, leading his team to tie the Spurs at 2-2 heading back to San Antonio in this epic Western Conference Finals.

Another great performance was by Thunder F Serge Ibaka, who was literally perfect from the field. Ibaka's 11-for-11 performance helped OKC's "Other Big 3", which includes Nick Collison and Kendrick Perkins, go 22-25 from the field which made up for Westbrook and Harden's awful 6-23 performance from the field. OKC took a little page out of the Spurs playbook by overcoming 2 of their starts terrible play by getting easy baskets by passing, driving, screening, kicking, and most importantly, hitting their open shots.

San Antonio was weird as it possibly sounds, played a great game and executed their gameplan to almost perfection. The pressure and doubles the Spurs put on Harden and Westbrook obviously bothered them, but not so much Durant. The Spurs gameplan was to make players outside of OKC's Big 3 make shots which somewhat worked, they took care of 2 of the 3 but the problem was only only Durant but when the Thunder's role plays got opportunities, they made their impact. San Antonio was just banking on the fact that the Thunder's role players couldn't make their open shots. Last night's Game 4 makes consecutive games that the Spurs got burned by someone outside of the Thunder's Big 3, in Game 3 it was Sefolosha and in Game 4 it was Ibaka with even more fire brought by Collison and Perkins.

I'm sticking by my earlier prediction that the team with home-court advantage will win the Series, aka the Spurs, but only time will tell. I just don't think the Thunder are beating the Spurs in San Antonio and vice-versa. This Western Conference Finals of the NBA's heavyweights is very much delivery for myself and I hope it is delivering for you also, if not, then maybe Kevin Durant can deliver another performance like last night for you.

The Greatest Intramural Basketball Team of All Time-Part I

    Rarely do intramural basketball teams evoke comparisons to NBA squads.  Most of the time these teams, especially those in fraternity leagues where most of the players go semesters without working out and spend more time at bars than in the gym, seem to compare better to a 14 year old Y-ball league.  With the Sigma Nu fraternity team (the real team), this is not the case.  The Sigma Nu hoopsters remind basketball junkies of great teams who never won a championship such as the 2006-2007 Suns and the Jazz of the 90's.  Over the next few days, I will give a breakdown of every Snake baller with their professional counterpart.  Hopefully you will enjoy.

Bryan Basnight
     When most people watch Big Game in action and see the way he tenatiously attacks the boards, they would like to compare him to Sir Charles, Moses Malone or The Worm.  Sure, these three payers rebounding abilities do compare to those of Mantis, but they do not completely optimize his game.  Another comparison that the Oracle has been known to receive is none other than the star of Kazam himself, Shaq Daddy, for his woes at the stripe. I think this is the worst comparison of all because Basilisk is a much more skilled free throw shooter than Shaquille (not to mention a better hip-hop performer). Some much less creative minds might just compare Biohazard to his brother Brett, mainly because of their similar (identical) looks and the fact that Brett was also once a Snake standout.
     All of these are admirable comparisons, but only one NBAer gets my nod as the professional version of DJ Whyte Hype, Tiago Splitter.  The 6'11" Brazilian may not be a starter like his intramural counterpart, but Splitter has many of the same qualities and skills that you see in the extremely underrated game of Magnum.  The rebounding ability, the defensive prowess, the motor that is constantly running, and, most importantly, the ability to snag females off the court (I'm not sure Splitter does this but if you Google: "Tiago Splitter girlfriend" or "Tiago Splitter wife" there are some outstanding looking females).  Splitter's playoff struggles from the line also add to the comparability of the two (The Thunder employed the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy on Splitter in Game 2 of the WCF), but this is not what defines the comparison.  What defines the comparison is the hustle (and flow) of the two big men and the intensity in which they attack the glass.
    The Great Risk Manager is the glue that binds the Snake team together.  His hustle, his relentless rebounding, his occasional struggles at the charity stripe, and his ability to get the ladies back to his floorton are the foundation that the Sigma Nu hoops dynasty is built on.

Is Anyone As Confused As I Am???

102-82

Now if you didn't catch the game, you would think that this would be another Spurs beatdown.  And you would be right, except that THIS time it was the Spurs getting horribly outplayed.  The Spurs could hardly even bring the ball up the court and it looks like maybe OKC figured out how to defend against Tony Parker/Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan's lethal pick and roll tandems.  Now even with all of that, the Spurs miracle run of 20 straight wins had to end sometime (started April 11th) but still, I don't think anyone predicted this scoreline.  There are a couple big reasons why the Thunder came away with this impressive win.  At least as far as I can figure, I was the most confused I've ever been while watching the game.  These are the only reasons I can think of on why the Thunder won.

1. Defense. 

Defense wins championships.  This is an age old saying, and as much as we love high-flying, high-scoring teams, it remains true.  The Thunder are the more athletic team, and they like to get out and run and score buckets in transition, which is where they have the clear advantage agaisnt the Spurs.  That is pretty hard to do when they are taking the ball out of the net like they were in games 1&2, which allowed the Spurs to get back and get set up in their half court defense.

The Thunder were simply magnificent on defense in game 3, no other way around it.  The Spurs averaged 13 turnovers per game in the regular season and the Thunder harrassed them into committing 21 in game 3.  They also had 9 blocks (3 by Ibaka) and 14 steals.  The key was that they defended the paint.  They didn't let guards like Parker get the easy looks inside like they were in the first two games, and held the spurs to 48 percent from inside the paint.  This stat looks like it favors the Spurs, but a lot of those points came in garbage time at the end of the game.  As a whole, the Spurs were held to 39.5 from the field.

2. Thabo Thabo Thabo Thabo Thabo

MVP of the game.

With 6 steals, (4 in the first 3 minutes) 19 points and 6 rebounds, Sefolosha showed the versatility and defensive prowess that allows him to guard the other team's best player night in and night out.  He also has great versatility, being fast enough to guard the 1&2 positions and big enough to guard the 3&4 positions.

3. Passing

The Thunder had 23 assists. They average 17.8 in the season, which is good for 30th in the league.  The Thunder love to beat you off the dribble, but it seems that they took a page out of the Spurs book because they made the extra pass in this game, helping to get players like Sefolosha wide open threes. 
This was highlited by Westbrook getting 9 assists to only 5 field goals.  Westbrook loves to shoot (5-15), but finally realized that he wasn't having a good shooting night and helped set up his teammates with good passes.

4. Coaching

This one is almost by default.  I am a firm believer that coaching doesn't matter as much as people think it does, because it isn't the coach that shoots the ball.  The coach is there to: a) pump his players up, b) put in the right rotation, and c) take the blame for the loss and none of the credit for the win.

Gregg Popovich is a hall of fame coach, without a doubt.  If he ends up winning his 5th title in 16 years this year, he has to be considered one of the 3 best coaches ever, definitely in our generation.  There wasn't much he could do in this game.  His team just got outplayed.  I am confident that they will come back and play much better and harder in game 4, turning the ball over much less.

Scott Brooks

He took a lot of heat from games 1&2 and deservedly so. 
Ibaka did not even play in the 4th quarter of game 1.  Thabo Sefolosha hardly played in game 2.
For some reason, Brooks left Derek Fisher in for far too long in game 2.  Side note: I hate Derek Fisher.  Besides playing on my second most hated team, the Lakers, (number 1 is far and away the Celtics) he was the worst person to pick as the players rep for this summers lockout, he almost blew it.  When the Thunder go small (Westbrook at point, Harden at 2, Sefolosha at 3, Durant at 4, and Ibaka at 5) that is when they are the most deadly on offense and Brooks finally realized that.  Kendrick Perkins is a great low post defender and played pretty well in game 3, but this is just not his series.

Spurs in 6