Lots to catch up on

So its been about a month since I last blogged so there is quite a bit to catch up on in the world of sports. The Saints are the World Champions, much to the chagrin of this blogger. Hey we can't be right all the time, right? The Winter Olympics have come and gone. But to be quite honest because I was in Taiwan i missed most of as they did not broadcast the games . Congrats none the less to the Korean figure skate who won the first gold or medal for that matter for South Korea outside of speed skating. Great job Canada for salvaging your Olympics on the last day by beating the US in hockey in one of the more memorable games over the past quarter century. Props to the female Canadian figure skater who despite the death of her mother just a few days prior to her event managed to skate her way to a bronze medal. It definitely shows a lot about who she is. Shaun White is the man, that guy just kills the super pipe like no other. Ohno got his record 8th medal, and thats pretty much all the highlights I can conjure up as I write this.

So lets start with my favorite sport football. Several big events at the collegiate and professional levels have occurred since I last blogged. First, National signing day, where high school recruits officially sign with a program and once again the University of Florida reeled in the #1 ranked recruiting class. However, the important thing when looking at these rankings is that you cannot properly evaluate a class until at least 3 years have passed. While it looks good on paper now, sometimes high school success does not always translate well to the next level. The same can be said for the transition from college to the pros. Which leads me to my next topic which is the NFL scouting combine, which is also coupled with the Senior Bowl and now that we are in the month of March, college pro days. This is a time for collegiate players to really show themselves off to NFL scouting and coaching personnel. Of course, many pro teams with their huge scouting department have already been following the majority of the top players for quite sometime. This just enables the scouts to finally meet these individuals and evaluate them in a different light. The truth of the matter is most NFL teams have already put together their draft board rankings already and will only adjust them slightly based on all these workouts. And as the past has shown if you put too much stock in a player based on one great workout you're more than likely to get burned. The true indicator of success has been to look at the tape and watch them in game. Lets be honest, any one can be coached up to perform well in test, especially if the testing parameters are already defined. As a 49er fan, I can't help but be excited about the draft as the 49ers can really add playmakers to the roster. Players who in my mind immediately improve the roster and can start right away. I'll be putting up my mock draft in just a bit so you can see my analysis on what players are going where and why these team should draft them. Okay, on to the next one...

So what else has excited me, well first off spring training for MLB has started which means the regular season is not too far away. As a San Francisco Giants Fan, or for anyone that is a fan, the preseason is always a good time because most fans are pretty optimistic about their teams fortunes. So here's hoping that with the Giants great pitching that they can finally put together an offensively productive season that matches the pitching.

Champions League soccer is back in full swing. We are currently in the round of 16 and once again my Manchester United Red Devils are on the verge of advancing to the quarters, but first the must deal with Ac Milan and David Beckham's return to Old Trafford. Its a big match today and there will be a lot of eyes watching this game. Speaking of soccer, the World cup is only a few months away and I can't wait. The build up has been intense especially with my favorite national team England facing off against the US in their opening matches. I'll be on the edge of my seat for this one. As for the US there is no reason for them not to advance out of the group stage at this years world cup and if they don't, it will be an epic fail. Don't worry there are going to be more soccer specific blogs coming up soon, a few upcoming topics are Landon Donavon v. david Beckham, World cup and the state of the MLS and what needs to be done to improve the sport here in the US.

On to basketball, where March Madness has just begun. This is by far one of my most favorite times of year when talking about sports. The NCAA tournament has everything you want out of sports and in some cases this tournament represents whats most pure about sports. Brackets are out this Sunday, and some crazy things will be happening. For example, defending National Champions North Carolina will not be in the field, neither will UConn, UCLA, Arizona, and a host of other perennial teams that you normally see in the field. Instead this years field should include one of the weakest at-large fields we have seen in recent memories, multiple teams from conferences such as the Big West and WCC will be in as well as teams from lesser conferences from the midwest and east coast. Stay tuned, more to come with the brackets are released on Selection Sunday.

As for the NBA, this will be dominated by the Lakers as I am a Lakers fan. I love Kobe Bryant, any one that knows me knows that I am purple and gold through and through. But this year, coming off a championship there has been lapses of intensity and resembles the old Laker squad of the early 2000's that could just turn it on and turn it off. Its very disheartening as a fan. We should not be getting blown out by the Nuggets, or lose to the Magic or even lose to the Cavs who many say is the best team in the league, but until they do anything in the playoffs I don't have much respect for them. In fact, I believe the Cavs will fizzle out again thanks the Magic. The Magic just match up really well with Cleveland and with Shaq out with a thumb injury they are pretty much the same team with the exception of the addition of Antwan Jamison. Do they have enough, I don't think so. Even with Big Z coming back, the Magic in my mind are the better team and the road to the finals goes through Orlando instead of Cleveland.

The Lakers still own the league and until they get unseated for the Championship the road to be crowned champions goes through the Staples Center. My biggest concern is the lack of fluidity in the team especially recently. The Lakers played much better when Kobe was out and not to say they aren't a better team without him because he brings up the whole team but the flow of the offense is too stagnant everyone just stands around and watches Kobe, whereas when he sat out the ball was moving and utilized the many weapons this team owns. Here's hoping the figure this out prior to the playoffs so they can just roll folks. There is no reason Kobe should be hitting 6 game winning shots a game because as exciting as it is to watch, I'll take a 20 point blowout and the peace of mind that the game is in hand before the 4th quarter has even started.

Please leave comments, suggestions or question

Weekend in Review

Lots to talk about on the heels of a great weekend in sports.

Allow me to start off with the Main Event, the NFL Conference Championship games. We'll begin with the nail biter that was the Vikings versus the Saints. The game was awesome, for the Vikings to be that close to earning a bid to the Super Bowl given the -4 TO margin is astounding to me. What this tells me is that the Saints have a lot of work to do in preparation for a match-up with Peyton Manning and his Colts. The Saints cannot afford to put up 257 yards of offense against the Colts, it just won't cut it. The Saints were gifted many opportunities in the game against the Vikings, but I'm going to stop short of saying the Vikings lost the game instead of the Saints winning the game. The Vikings had many opportunities to blow this game wide open, the fumble to end the half may have been the true turning point of the game. Instead of going in with all the momentum they fumbled a golden opportunity away. In fact, Brett Favre was everything the Vikings needed him to be, say for the last throw of the game. A lot of people will point to the INT to end regulation as the deciding factor, but a true football fan knows that its difficult to win in this league when your -4 in the TO department and when two of those fumbles come inside your oppositions red zone its just makes the mountain to climb even bigger. I'm happy for the people of New Orleans, its been quite some time since they have had something like this to celebrate given the horrific events of Hurricane Katrina. The match up between the Colts and Saints should be worth the hype. My prediction for now is Colts taking home their second title of the decade. There will be more in-depth analysis as we get closer to the game, I do not want to bombard you only with Super Bowl material for the next two weeks.

Should he or shouldn't he? What should Brett Favre do? The answer is quite simple, take a few weeks to recover, and tell the world you're coming back. Favre should return for another season. The Vikings are poised for another deep run, they don't lose anyone and can even add through the draft or FA. He clearly proved he has what it takes to lead a team back to the promise land. And given his standing he really doesn't need to go through the off-season program, plus he'll have the advantage of having been in the same system for two years. Do us all a favor Brett and just tell us you're coming back because we know you want to.

As for the co-main event, the AFC Championship turned out to be everything I thought it would be. Give Manning time to figure out the scheme and then find the holes and pick them apart. I understand there were a lot of people pulling for the Jets, and rightfully so. They were the hot team, they just beat the AFC North Champ, Bengals and quite possibly the hottest team to enter the playoffs the Chargers, on the road as well. They boasted a confident coach, the #1 rated defense and an offense much like the 2000 Ravens, where as long as Mark Sanchez managed the game they would be in position to win. And for a half they were in it, in fact, they were only a half away from heading to Miami. But as I stated before, Peyton Manning is the best of our generation and the smartest QB in the game. As soon as he figured it out, it was done. Mannings line for the game 377 passing yds, 3tds and 0 INT's against the supposed #1 defense. While the Jets fielded a great defense lets not get jaded because they weren't exactly playing the best competition down the stretch and were gifted their last two wins. The last six opponents for the Jets went a like this: Carolina, Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Indy and Cincy. So lets not get too excited about what the Jets were doing. They just happened to have a scheduled that allowed them to build confidence heading into the playoffs and if the past has shown us anything, if you're hot at the right time anyone can make it.

Now that we're done with the NFL, lets move on to some misc. items. The NBA on saturday night was awesome, anyone who missed the Cavs/Thunder game really missed a great game. The leading MVP candidate Lebron blocked KD at the buzzer to preserve the win. As much as it hurts to say this, Lebron truly is the best player in the NBA. He proved it again last night in a thrilling back in forth game against Dwayne Wade and the Heat. I love Kobe, but his penchant for hoisting up shots this year is killing the Lakers. In losses this year, he's shot 38% from the field. With a team as loaded as the Lakers, there is no excuse for Kobe to be jacking up shot after shot, he has legitimate threats all around him that can score, and he just needs to trust them. The Lakers are capable of dominating folks as long as the attack is balanced. Case in point, the Lakers victory over the Clippers, in which Kobe still got his, but both Gasol and Bynum hit the 20 pt mark. That is unbelievable balance and if the Lakers want to repeat thats what they need to do, or else they're going to falter. I am glad to see some teams that usually line the cellar of the NBA step up. I like what the Griz have going as well as, the upstart Thunder. They both have the young centerpieces to grow and become contenders year in and year out. Be on the watch for those two teams.

The Australian Open has been going strong for the past couple of weeks, and to be honest I haven't been watching much, but from what I read it has been a great tournament. So if you have nothing to do go watch ESPN's coverage, definitely entertaining. Its a great filler with the NBA just into the middle of their season, MLB done, NFL almost done, College Bball doesn't heat up until March. And lets be honest hockey is hockey and generally a last resort. Unfortunately here on the west coast the NHL is last, compared to the other major sports.

As always, please feel free to leave comments or ideas for topics.

Who's Going to the Super Bowl?

Alright, before I get into the NFL Conference Championship games, I'm going to take a few words to talk about the Lakers/Cavs game. First, the Cavs gutted that win out and deserved it, unfortunately the Lakers didn't make enough plays down the stretch, more specifically Pau Gasol bricking two free throws that would have tied the game. In any case, this should not be used as gauge for how things play out come May and June when the playoffs get underway. Case in point, the Magic swept the Lakers last year during the regular season, but lost in the Finals. There still remains a lot of basketball to be play and generally regular season basketball is not necessarily a predictor for what happens in the playoffs.

Now onto the main event that is the conference championship. In the AFC, we the Peyton Manning led Colts v. Rex Ryan's Jets. As we speak, Rex Ryan is probably spouting off more lines about how confident and loose his team is. And true they really don't have anything to lose, but its hard for me to believe that a team who hasn't won a Super Bowl since Namath is not going to be tight. Especially with a rookie quarterback. And as I have said previously, the regular season and the playoffs are two different beast and an experience team like the Colts who have been there year after year understand this, but do the Jets? I believe that in the first meeting between the teams, that if the Colts have left their starters in they would have won the game. Despite the immense pressure the Jets put on good opposing quarterbacks (see Rivers, Phillip), going against a 4-time MVP and possibly the smartest QB to ever play is entirely different. Peyton Manning is the greatest QB of our generation and by winning his second title this year (Colts, my pick to win it all) he will have solidified his status as a Top 5 QB All-time. Fear not Jets fans, because you guys have something special brewing in the Meadowlands. They are a young and talented team and will only get better in the next few years. Colts, 27-13.

Next up on the docket, Vikings v. Saints. This match-up has all the offense of firepower you could want. With two of this season's most productive QB's guiding their team, I expect a shootout similar to that of the Cards and Packers in the Wild Card. My gut feeling tells me Brett Favre and Company still has so magic left and will advance to the Super Bowl, but it will come down to the wire and Farve will lead the Vikes on last minute game winning drive to seal the deal. This game is very intriguing because their offenses mirror one another. Two stud Qb's, good RB's, solid WR's, x-factors in Harvin and Bush. The defense is a toss up. In the game last week against Dallas, the Vikes couldn't stop the run and were fortunate enough to get up quick enough to derail that three headed monster of Dallas. This week, they'll be in a similar setting going up against NO's three headed attack of Mike Bell, Pierre Thomas and a rejuvenated Reggie Bush. However, given how the Saints Defense has tailed off as the year went on, surrendering 30 points to Redskins for example, the edge goes to the more Vikings, who have the edge rushers to pester Brees, the CB's to hang with any trio of WR's, their weakest link is a rookie MLB. My guess is Drew Brees doesn't choke like Romo so New Orleans will be very game come Sunday. In the end, I think Brett Favre will be Brett Favre, with his experience in big games and the chance to get back to the Super Bowl, which is why he keeps retiring and then unretiring, is going to be too much for the Saints. Vikes, 34-31.

As always, feel free to add your input. I want to know who you think is going to win on Championship Sunday and why. This could be up for great debate. Let it be known that the past two weeks I have gone a combined 1-8, with my lone winning pick, the Colts.

The State of the Union

On my inaugural post I'd like to address the NBA. With the looming match-up of a potential Championship clash of the visiting Lakers and the Cavs tonight its only fitting that I start off there.

First off, as a Lakers fan, I will try to give an objective view of the landscape of the NBA, ah who am I kidding thats not possible. Go Lakers!!! All kidding aside, the defending champs still have a lot of work to do. The Lakers have been a terribly inconsistent team over the last month, and this was on full display against the Orlando Magic this past Monday. The truth of the matter is, the Lakers should be dominating opponents given the talent that they have. I will not use injuries as an excuse because every team deals with the injury bug. In their latest win, the Lakers came out firing on all cylinders jumping out to a big first quarter lead only to squander it and have the Magic eventually take the lead in the third quarter. However, for the first time, the Lakers were able to receive some help from its bench, with Lamar Odom turning in another dominating performance on the glass with Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown contributing heavily to the production that led to the Lakers retaking the lead and never relinquishing it. In order for the Lakers to make a run at back to back championships more consistent bench play will be needed to spot the starts who have been hampered by injuries and inconsistency. Kobe, as he might well try to will the team, will need a lot of help to pull this out given the extent of the injuries he has suffered. His refusal to rest, shows not only his dedication, but his stubbornness that come playoff time could damage the Lakers chance or repeating. Please sit out a few games and see the big picture. We need you come playoff time, but you're of not help if you have worn down and can't give it your all.

On the flipside, the Cavs might have what it takes this year. Lebron is once again having an MVP caliber season and the surrounding personnel seems to better than a year ago. The addition of Shaq will be a blessing, having two legit bigs will not only help to wear down opponents after the grind of the regular season, but as seen in the first meeting with the Lakers, it can certainly neutralize the size advantage the Lakers usually have inside against most opponents. With the Celtics ailing, the Magic struggling to find their groove and the overall weakness of the East, the Eastern Conference is once again the Cavs to lose. I believe the Cavs have learned their lesson from last year and the addition of Shaq, while in a very complimentary role will have that experience that will aide them in triumphing in the East. In my honest opinion the biggest road bump for the Cavs this year will be the Atlanta Hawks, teams should beware, this young team is playoff tested and I believe are ready to take the next step.

My prediction for the 2nd half of the season, will be the Lakers are Cavs will stay atop their conference, and while the West is a log jam with a 11 potential playoff teams, i believe the Lakers will have an easier road to the finals than the Cavs. Lakers and Cavs in the Finals, Lakers in Six.

Please stay tuned for more posts, as I plan to release my first NFL Mock Draft, discuss the upcoming world cup and the prospects of USA, The Super Bowl and my picks for who moves on. Please give your feedback and opinions.