Friday, July 9, 2010

The Heat Is On

LeBron James finally made his choice after a lot of buildup (and a senseless one hour special on ESPN) to move on to Miami and join Dwyane Wade. While Cavs fans are feeling betrayed and the Cavs owner is calling James "cowardly", LeBron felt like he had a better chance to win a few titles with the Heat- playing with another NBA All Star- than continuing to hope for different results in Cleveland. I can't fault his thinking, it's gonna be fun watching LeBron and Wade play together for the next 5 years. Looks like I have a really good chance of getting my wish of seeing Wade and Kobe do battle for the NBA title in the near future, it's even more exciting when you throw LeBron in the mix. I gotta give him credit, he didn't go for the biggest money he could find. He went for the best chance to win championships. While it seems at times he has an ego problem, his head seems to be in the right place here. Watch out Lakers, the Heat just got turned way up!

Turning my attention to college football, my Huskers have decided to join the Big 10 conference. While it will take awhile to get used to, it will make for some very interesting matchups during football season. The Huskers will be taking on teams like Michigan, Ohio State, Penn St, and Wisconsin on a regular basis. Normally, those mean great bowl matchups to me so it will make for some good football games, but the purist in me thinks it will be sad to see some of the Huskers' rivalry games go. No more Thanksgiving weekends matchups with Colorado anymore, or a long running matchup with Kansas, or a very bitter rivalry with the Sooners and Longhorns. I'm looking forward to that Big 12 Championship rematch with the Horns in Lincoln this season. Maybe we can get the last laugh...we'll see how the Huskers handle the Big 10 beginning in 2011, but it feels like things just got tougher on the Huskers for winning a national title.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Strasburg mania

There was plenty of buzz going into the MLB pitching debut of Nationals' Stephen Strasburg tonight and it turned out to be well deserved. I was sucked into it like any other sports fan that had heard about and seen highlights of this kid. You know it's a big deal in sports when Bob Costas, one of the best play-by-play guys of all time, is calling the game on MLB Network. To quote Bob, "the performace exceeded the hype". Well said. I'm pretty sure I said "wow" outloud 4 or 5 times during the game. Strasburg went 7 innings with 14 strikeouts, while making the Pirates' hitters just look silly. With a great atmosphere at this ballpark that had a sellout crowd, the Nationals did win it 5-2. I can't help but think Strasburg is the real deal and there will be many more wins to come. It was a good first impression anyway.

Also tonight, the Lakers just outplayed the Celtics at Boston in game 3 of the NBA Finals to take a 2-1 series lead. They pretty much beat the Celtics at their own game with pesky defense and just efficient enough on offense. It also helped a bunch that Ray Allen was non-existent after torching the Lakers in game 2. Kobe was his usual self with 29 points, but it was Derek Fisher who was the x-factor of game 3. He came up with all the big shots in the 4th quarter and the Lakers have reclaimed homecourt advantage. This Lakers team continues to get big wins on the road in the playoffs. So far my prediction is in tact with Lakers winning in 6 or 7 games.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Big Apple Bowl

The NFL announced a few days ago that Super Bowl 48 will be at the Meadowlands, home of the Giants and Jets. So we will have a super bowl with a realistic possibility of a bunch of snow on the field and temps in the teens or worse. I don't like anything about this choice. Some people like the idea of "the elements" playing a part in football, which is fine during the regular season and even the first few rounds of the playoffs, but this is not what I want for the super bowl. The Super Bowl should be decided completely by the two teams in the game and who outplays the other. I really don't like the idea of one team having an advantage over the other going into the game because of favorable weather conditions. Hopefully this is a one-time experiment.

I'm trying my best not to talk about Favre before training camp starts, because there's no reason to. However, he did just get his injured ankle fixed, which is a clear sign to me that he is coming back for another year. Sounds good, I can't wait to see how he follows up last season. He is so good for the NFL. You may not like all the drama these last few offseasons, but he will be missed when he's done.

It's Lakers/Celtics in the NBA Finals...that will be a fun series. Lakers have the homecourt this time around, so I like the Lakers in 6 or 7. Then we can get ready for the crazy 2010 free agency show, coming July 1st.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

NFL 2010

The NFL regular season schedule was finally released and I've already got my eye on some of the best games to look out for, also known as MUST-SEE TV for the diehard NFL fan. 1. The NFL opener is a rematch of the NFC Championship game. Vikings will visit the defending champion Saints. Now...IF Favre does comeback, this will be a beauty to open the season. 2. Giants at Colts week 2 on Sunday night; Manning Bowl II, should be good stuff. The first one was a really good game. 3. Vikings at Patriots week 8; Again, this weighs heavily on a Favre return because a Favre vs Brady football game can not be passed up! 4. Steelers at Saints week 8 on Sunday night; the last two super bowl champs duke it out in New Orleans. It will be fun to see how Brees does against arguably the best D in the league. 5. Colts at Patriots week 12; I saved the best for last. Simply put, the BEST matchup in the NFL and to me it's the best rivalry in sports right now. Manning vs Brady is always MUST-SEE NFL. Can't wait.

The NFL draft just wrapped up too...how about Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh going to the Lions at #2? Great to see my Huskers get some love in the draft and now the Lions will be worth watching again! LOL Seriously, I'm looking forward to Suh chasing down Tom Brady for three hours on Thanksgiving while I'm hammering down turkey! Also, my Broncos took a huge gamble and drafted Tim Tebow. Only time will tell how that works out. I love Tebow's clear passion for the game, but I have my doubts as to whether he can be an effective NFL QB or not. I'm still waiting to see if Brady Quinn will be the answer at QB for the Broncos. The preseason will be very interesting in Denver.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

some spring hoopla

Congrats to the Duke Blue Devils for winning the national title again, making it their 4th in school history. I think this year's Duke team really overachieved. Of the 4 #1 seeds in the tourney, I had them falling first in my bracket. I didn't see them making it out of the second round. Then again, most brackets were totally destroyed this year. We had about as much madness as there has been in recent years. It was fun.

In the NFL, a couple big names are on the move. Donovan McNabb will be leading the Redskins next season and most likely to end his career. The Redskins are now much improved with a pro bowl caliber QB leading Shanahan's offense. That combination should make the Skins playoff contenders again. Meanwhile, my Broncos again shocked everyone and let another big talent get away as they traded Brandon Marshall to the Dolphins. I only hope my gut feeling on this is wrong and they won't regret it for a long time.

As the NBA playoffs get closer, I had this thought about the Charlotte Bobcats. Now that Mr. Jordan is the majority owner, it's pretty good timing for him to be able to try to lure either Wade or LeBron in free agency this summer to his team and try to build a championship team quickly. It would be very interesting to see if either one of them wants to be the guy who turned down the offer to play for Michael Jordan. I wouldn't want to be that guy. That said, I don't think either Wade or Lebron will go anywhere. I think both stay put.

Monday, March 15, 2010

NFL splash/hoops

It looks like a couple big NFL stories were almost un-noticed on sunday thanks to all the excitement of the NCAA tourney unfolding. LT signed a two year deal with the New York Jets. While it's going to take awhile to get used to seeing him not in a Chargers jersey, this is a big upgrade for the Jets. They were a threat last season in the AFC without him. They were a good team with some talent that played well into the playoffs. Now, they are a very good team with one really special player that can make them a legit contender. Watch out Pats and Colts for those Jets. LT makes that #1 running attack in the NFL even scarier, and we already know how good the defense will be. Jets will be a tough out next postseason.

Also, I discovered that my blog (while not flashy) may have magic powers! One of my posts from last spring has come true. My Denver Broncos just traded to get QB Brady Quinn from the Browns on Sunday. Wow, that's going to be very interesting to see if he wins the starting job in preseason. With McDaniels' coaching skills, just maybe he can become the Broncos next franchise QB. Like I said, MAYBE. I'm going to be optimistic on this one.

With the NCAA tourney getting underway this week, I'm forced to go back on my original impression of Syracuse being my gut pick to win it all. After watching Championship week, I've got this really strong feeling that this is going to be Kansas' year....AGAIN. They just have that pesky look to them that makes me believe they won't be beat. They have the talent and so much depth, it's hard to see them losing. I've got Kentucky vs Kansas in the title game, would be FUN to watch.

Friday, March 5, 2010

March is here...

I just watched Lakers vs Heat tonight on TNT. I'll tell you what...most of the NBA world would love to see Lakers vs Cavs in the NBA Finals so we can see Kobe vs LeBron, BUT I would absolutely love to see Heat vs Lakers in the Finals too. This is such an entertaining game just about every time they play. Tonight, Kobe and D-Wade went shot for shot in a great OT battle as the Heat pulled it out. Back in December, Kobe dropped a buzzer beater 3 to win their first matchup. I would really enjoy watching these guys play out a 7 game series for all the marbles. That would be must-see NBA TV.

Speaking of hoops, March Madness is just around the corner and this should be one of the best tourneys yet. The field is so wide open! There are probably 3 teams that could beat anyone, Kansas, Kentucky, and Syracuse, but no one has shown that they should be the favorite. I will go out on a limb and say Syracuse will win it all this year. Bring on the madness.

NFL free agency is here...it will be fun to see where some of these big names land. Both Ladainian Tomlinson and Terrell Owens are on the market. I think both can still play at a high level and make big contributions. Someone will take a chance on them.

Brett Favre was on The Tonight Show and Leno of course had to ask him about next season. Um, has Jay been paying ANY attention to the NFL the last two years? Come on, we all know the rules by now. DON'T ASK BEFORE AUGUST. That said, one more year Brett...PLEASE!!