The Bears just shellacked the Cowboys tonight on Monday Night Football, Some might say it was their playing up for the retirement of legendary bear Mike Ditka's jersey #89, but I say the Cowboys just plain stink.

Tony Romo historically has been awful in the month of December, blowing games and squandering chances at playoff runs every single season. His record in December and January is now an embarrassing 12 and 17. However there is some tiny glimmer of hope he can take from this most recent debacle, it wasn't his fault they lost this game. 

Usually he is making some bonehead mistake turning the ball over in a critical situation with the game on the line, but that wasn't the case tonight in Chicago. Yes he had a very eyebrowing raising stat line of just over 100 yards and 3 touchdowns, but the key is he had 0 turnovers. The Cowboys ran the ball up and down the field on Chicago with no issue in the first half, but Chicago had too many quick strikes and the lead ballooned forcing the game plan to change for Dallas. 

Being down by 21 for most of the game forced their hand and Demarco Murray who had 100 yards rushing in the first half ended up with only 45 in the 2nd half as they had to abandon the rushing attack that was their only sustainable form of offense. The Offensive line was horrendous in pass blocking situations finding Romo rushed multiple times and sacked twice. 

The other main factor for why this wasn't Tony's fault was the embarrassing play of the Dallas defense. They have been one of, if not thee worst pass defense in the NFL this season getting ripped apart by Josh McCown for 348 yards and 4 touchdowns. When your defense can't stop anyone and continuously finds you playing catch up, you're not likely to win many games.

And the Bears have been just as bad this season which makes this convincing defeat that much worse. I put 100% of this defeat, and this entire season, on Jerry Jones. He spends more time talking to the media and trying to play God in his super stadium, then he does surrounding his unit of very good star players with a supporting cast worthy of their talent level. When you care more about your image then you do about your team, you are going nowhere fast. But cheer up Tony, this one isn't on you.

Jacoby Ellsbury has done the unthinkable. The flashy 2 time World Champion center fielder who has spent his entire professional career with the Boston Red Sox has joined the Evil Empire. Most Sox fans are at arms over this, comparing this treacherous act to that of Johnny Damon. The big difference being Damon was only a Red Sox for a handful of years and wasn't a product of the system but just a nice free agent addition after spending his time in Oakland. Ellsbury on the other hand has been groomed into the player he has become by the hands of the oft overlooked minor league staff of the Pawtucket Red Sox and Portland Sea Dogs.

Sure talent is involved in becoming who he is today, but you can't overlook the track record of the Red Sox farm system, producing countless stars and stalwarts to the big league club like Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester and so many others. This is why the big news of yet another big time Red Sox switching sides in the most hated rivalry in the history of the sport was such a stinging blow, at least until I thought about it.

Ellsbury is set to turn 31 in September, meaning he is under contract until the age of 37, with an option for an 8th year. Maybe in hockey this type of deal would work, or as a multi dimensional threat the likes of a Derek Jeter, but Jacoby's game is predicated on speed. He wants to get on base and he wants to run. That will work now, but when he's 36? He isnt going to be stealing 50+ bags a season in his mid to late 30s. And he is one of the streakiest hitters I've ever seen, going cold for weeks at a time. Now when hes on, hes on, and he can change the outcome of a game as witnessed in the post season run made last season in Boston.

Yet here in lies the problem, only 3 times in his 7 year career has he played more then 140 games in a season, the last being his MVP runner up season in 2011. That was also the only season he has been named an All Star. Is a 1 time All Star who is constantly plagued by injuries and known to run himself through walls, or Adrian Beltre, worth 153 million dollars for 7 years? Sure if he can stay healthy and productive for even 6 of those 7 years its absolutely worth it, but that's a very big IF.

Not only is his over under for games missed this season in the 80 range, but the Yankees are throwing too much money at hit or miss injury prone guys in their 30s, without having a starting rotation. They must not have watched the playoffs because it was evident that pitching wins games and yet they continue to hand money away while ignoring the most pressing issue on their team. 

CC Sabathia. Ivan Nova. David Phelps. Michael Pineda, and Adam Warren. This is the Yankees projected starting rotation next year. They also lost their best set up man in the bullpen as he has moved into the closer role to replace the future hall of famer Mariano Rivera. But instead the Yankees have given 3 players (Ellsbury, Brian Mccann, and Derek Jeter) a combined 250 Million Dollars in contracts, and are reportedly still interested in signing Robinson Cano for around 180 Million. And who knows how much they'll have to pay the suspended A-Roid. That's 5 guys, only 4 of which can actually play, taking up nearly half a billion dollars on their books. 

Hopefully it works out for them because it's not as much fun beating on the Yankees when they are terrible, but on the other hand they never seem to learn that you can't buy championships anymore. Baseball is a long season, just buying the best players doesn't guarantee you anything, especially when the players you keep paying are injured more then they play, to each his own right now we are World Series Champs, and when Ellsbury returns to Fenway he will hear a cacophony of boos unrivaled by Wes Welker and Ray Allen combined

The Rich Get Richer

Yesterday, Kobe Bryant signed a 2 year extension with the Los Angeles Lakers for a whopping $48.5 million. That is nearly $25 million a year! By all accounts, this is a win for Kobe Bryant. Speaking of the extension, Bryant told reporters that "This was easy…This wasn’t a negotiation. The Lakers made their offer with cap and building a great team in mind while still taking care of me as a player. I simply agreed to the offer."

For Laker fans, this news makes them exceedingly disappointed in Kobe Bryant.  Laker fans expected a huge hometown discount to maximize his chances of winning another ring at age 36. While Kobe did take a slight discount by clearing about 8.5 million off the cap, it was expected that his paycut would be much more steep. 

Other Laker fans were quietly whispering that the Lakers should have sat Kobe Bryant for the entire year and tried to position themselves to draft Andrew Wiggins next year.  This would be the same strategy the Boston Celtics are pursing. There reasoning for this position falls somewhere along the lines of "What is the point of having a mediocre season, likely finishing 8th or 7th, in the Western Conference and being bounced out of the first or second round?"

But for the Lakers, this is a huge risk. Coming off a torn Achilles, there is no telling how Kobe Bryant will perform this year. To give Kobe an extension on his contract when he has yet to return could be a huge mistake.  With the recent injury to Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, some fear that Kobe Bryant will face a similar fate.  I remind you that Dominique Wilkins is the only NBA player to return to All-Star status from a reattached Achilles tendon. However, Wilkins was 3 years younger than Kobe is now and played 27,000 fewer minutes; There's a lot of wear and tear on Kobe's body.  So can the Black Mamba overcome the greatest challenge of his career?  Time will tell.

Perhaps the only thing that should reassure Laker fans that Kobe will not re-injure himself is that his game is drastically different than Rose's. Bryant is much more fundamentally sound. There are, perhaps, only a handful of players in the league that can play relaying solely on their basketball skills(Tim Duncan, Zach Randolph, Kobe Bryant, Pau & Marc Gasol)  

Here is why Laker fans should be optimistic about the future.

Even with the large amount of money the Lakers will be paying Kobe over the next 2 years, Kobe still has cleared the way for one more max contract player.  If the rumors are true that Carmelo will opt out of his contract with the Knicks and sign with the Lakers, then the Lakers will be in a position to make some noise next year. Since Kobe & Melo are reportedly good friends, the rumors may have some merit. All that is left to do is for Kobe to leverage his friendship with Pau to get him to resign with the Lakers for dirt cheap and for the Lakers to clean up Lamar Odom so he can return to the Lakers in good health.   Meanwhile, sit back and watch Kobe return to greatness this season.

BKN has 99 Problems and the KIDD is ONE!

     In 2012 the Los Angeles Lakers were 0-5 to start the regular season  and 0-8 if you count the preseason.  Rather than sit around and wait for things to get better, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to cut ties with their head coach Mike Brown.  The Brooklyn Nets need to follow the example set forth by the Lakers and fire Jason Kidd.  Brooklyn is off to a 3-7 start with a offense and defense both ranked in the bottom 10. 

     In addition to the poor start to the season, there have been poor reviews of Kidd's performance as a head coach this season.  Howard Beck, a journalist at the Bleacher Report, reports that

"A veteran scout, interviewed earlier in the day and speaking on the condition of anonymity, called Kidd’s bench comportment “terrible,” observing that the play-calling has fallen mostly to his top assistants, Lawrence Frank and John Welch.

“He doesn’t do anything,” said the scout, who has watched the Nets several times. “He doesn’t make calls. John Welch does all the offense. Lawrence does all the defense. … I don’t know what Kidd does. I don’t think you can grade him and say he’s bad. You can give him an incomplete.”

The same scout said he had counted only 15 plays run by the Nets in the games he has watched."

These comments should worry Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and the Nets' fans alike.  It is now or never for the Brooklyn Nets.  The reasons for firing Kidd are numerous: 

1. -At most, they will have 2 years to contend for a title. 
2. -Prokhorov will be paying clost to $190 million in luxury-tax penalites this season. 
3. -Paul Pierce is 36 years old. 
4. -Kevin Garnett is 37 years old. 
5. -The Brooklyn Nets have lost 5 of their last 7 games.

The clock is ticking.  It's no wonder that Jay-Z sold his ownership stake in the Brooklyn Nets shortly after the hiring of Jason Kidd.  It is time to get rid of Kidd and bring in a coach who can immediately put together a system that will allow this very talented team to max out its full potential.  I hear Phil Jackson is available.  

       Over the past 5 weeks, I have been trying to avoid this question.  But given Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback Nick Foles' performance this season, I have to ask;  Is Nick Foles quietly the best quarterback in the NFL right now?  Let's take a look at his stats from the previous 5 weeks:

DATE	OPP	RESULT	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	AVG	LNG	TD	INT	QBR	RAT
Sun 11/17	vs WSH	W 24-16	17	26	298	65.4	11.46	49	0	0	71.1	104.3
Sun 11/10	@ GB	W 27-13	12	18	228	66.7	12.67	55	3	0	91.8	149.3
Sun 11/3	@ OAK	W 49-20	22	28	406	78.6	14.50	63	7	0	99.1	158.3
Sun 10/20	vs DAL	L 3-17	11	29	80	37.9	2.76	16	0	0	7.5	46.2
Sun 10/13	@ TB	W 31-20	22	31	296	71.0	9.55	47	3	0	89.8	133.3

       Even though Foles failed to throw a TD in 2 out of the 5 weeks listed, that still adds up to 16 TDs and 0 INTs!  With numbers like these, Foles now has the best quarterback rating in the league!  These are Aaron Rodgers type of numbers being put up by Mr. Foles.  Even during his horrible performance against Dallas, because of a concussion, Foles was still able to avoid turning the ball over. 

Riley Cooper seems to have more chemistry with Foles than Vick

       Another impressive accomplishment I have noticed since Foles has taken over is the sudden emergence of Riley Cooper as a viable wide receiver.  Prior to playing with Foles, Cooper has been terrible this season.  Given that Nick Foles has turned Riley Cooper into a premier receiver over the past few weeks, I'd have to say that Nick Foles is definitely playing the best football at the quarterback position right now.  With the Philadelphia Eagles heading into their BYE week atop the NFC East with a 6-5 record, we'll see if Foles is able to keep up this pace against better quality opponents as the season progresses.

STILL not convinced? Check out this article from USA TODAY:

            The following is from a Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports article:

Here are seven facts that show how unconscious Nick Foles has been in the 2013 season.

1. Even though Peyton Manning remains on pace to break the major single-season passing records in 2013 (5715 yards and 54 TDs), he’s no longer the NFL leader in passing efficiency. That title currently belongs to Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, who has now thrown enough passes to qualify for the QB rating title and currently leads Manning 128.0 to 118.3.

2. If Foles threw interceptions on his next 26 attempts, his passer rating would still be higher than Eli Manning’s. Let that one sink in for a bit.

3. Foles’ 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions to start this season would have tied an NFL record if Peyton Manning hadn’t broken the record earlier in the year. As it stands, Foles needs five more touchdown passes before an INT to break Manning’s new mark of 20.
 
4. Foles had a passer rating of 104.3 in Sunday’s win over the Redskins. It was the second-worst rating of his five starts this season.

5. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Robert Griffin III, Jay Cutler, Joe Flacco, Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick have all completed more passes than Foles has attempted, yet Foles has thrown for more touchdowns than each of those quarterbacks.

6. In Sunday’s game, Foles rushed for three more yards than RG3 (47 to 44).

7. Foles leads the NFL in yards-per-attempt with 9.59. Aaron Rodgers is next with an 8.84 YPA. If he maintains it, Foles’ average would be the third-highest in modern NFL history, behind Kurt Warner’s 9.9 in 2000 and Chris Chandler’s 9.6 for the 1998 Atlanta Falcons. The top four spots in the record book are from seasons prior to 1955.

Mr. Monopoly Pairs the NFL & EA Together

       In 2005, both the NFL and the NFL Players Association gave video game publisher Electronic Arts an exclusive license to use its players' names and likeness.  The NFL license gives the Madden franchise the teams' names, uniforms and symbols, but the NFLPA's license gives it more than 2,000 real world players.  So how did Electronic Arts obtain this agreement?  Electronic Arts pays the National Football League and NFL Players Association $50 million to be the exclusive video game licensee, and the company pays John Madden an additional $2 million for the rights to his name. This effectively gave Electronic Arts a monopoly on football video games.  Competitors like 2K Studios, whose final NFL game entitled ESPN NFL 2K5 was given a 9.4 out of 10 rating by IGN, were no longer able to produce football games with any official NFL teams, players, or logos.

       This past year, Electronic Arts lost its exclusive licensing rights with the NCAA.  As a result of this, Electronic Arts opted not to produce a NCAA Football game for next year.  NCAA Football 2014 will likely be the final installment in the franchise.  Down the road, this may lead to better quality NCAA Football games from multiple video game publishers, but for now there is a possibility that there may not be a viable NCAA football game for a few years. 

       So is the fate of Electronic Arts' NCAA Football franchise any indicator as to what will happen with their NFL Madden franchise?  Will we see a restoration of competition with, now dead, NFL franchises such as NFL 2K and NFL Gameday?  Or will the NFL & the NFL players' union simply extend their contract with EA?

       The real question here is: How much money is EA willing to pay in order to remain as the one and only NFL video game publisher?

       Let's not kid ourselves, the contract may expire this year, but that doesn't mean it's up for debate as to who will get a new one for several more years to come. EA doesn't sell that many Madden games because they are the best quality NFL simulation games available; rather, they sell because there is no competitors who are legally able to compete.  The sad truth is that Electronic Art's NFL video game monopoly is not likely going away. The "Madden" deal ends this year, but the NFL Players Association representatives have all but promised they'll continue to deal with one company.

       From a business standpoint, Electronic Arts has sold over 100 million copies of Madden games life to date, generating over $4 billion in revenue.   What company wouldn't do everything in their power to keep their cash cow flowing?  As an avid sports gamer myself, I would love to see the revival of the previous NFL franchises.  I think it would benefit the gamer, as all the studios would have to ensure they were putting out a high-quality product.  Sadly, the businessman in me sees the writing on the wall;  Electronic Arts will extend its NFL exclusive license and we'll continue to see new additions of NFL Madden year after year which will amount to nothing but annual roster updates.

Now for those of you who don't know me, I bleed green. I have a passion for all sports New England but I have always felt a special connection to the Celtics. However I don't let this passion blind me, I am an informed viewer and it is because of this that I had only slight resignations with trading KG and Pierce, the cornerstone of our organization since I was 8 years old.

I know keeping them would have kept us in NBA purgatory as a middle of the pack team so we did what we had to do and got the most for them that we could before they became useless, this isn't my problem. And neither is the hiring of Brad Stevens who I think with some time will be one of the top coaches in the league.

My issue is and always has been with Danny Ainge. He's the type of GM to make one or 2 good moves every 5 years with a lot of very questionable decisions in between. One of the biggest mistakes I thought he made in recent years was drafting Marshon Brooks just to trade him to the Nets for JaJuan Johnson. Marshon looked like a perfect complimentary player coming off the bench to spell Pierce and Ray Allen playing in front of the same crowd he dazzled for the previous 4 years while playing at Providence College. He then landed in the doghouse in Jersey and fell into obscurity as they added Joe Johnson and Gerald Wallace trying to make their push for a championship.

All the while JaJuan Johnson has done literally nothing in the NBA over the course of his career. His highlight is being sent away for Courtney Lee, which is another move by Ainge that has not panned out. But Brooks got a second chance, much like Jeff Green to return to the team that drafted him as he was a throw in for the Pierce deal, and what do they do... They don't let him play. I would understand if the team had a winning chemistry and he was just at the bottom of the depth chart behind some superstars but thats not the case. The people perched in front of him are Avery Bradley, the aforementioned Courtney Lee, Jordan Crawford, and Keith Bogans. Really? Those 4 guys are who you want in the game when you absolutely need a basket... guys with below average offensive games and a tendency to turn it over when the games on the line?

Brooks is a bonafide scorer as proven by his entire collegiate career, so why not let him play. Whats the worst that could happen, you keep losing? The guy can light it up for a team that has a lot of guys too willing to pass up the shot. And for the life of me if Ainge trades Rondo or doesn't give that man a max contract I might have to switch teams. The man can ball, point blank. He is a stat machine and a damn near top 3 point guard in the NBA... DONT TRY TO SAY WESTBROOK IS BETTER.

My other issue is even if we do lose the most games this season, which it really looks like we might, that doesn't guarantee us anything more then a ticket into the Andrew Wiggins Raffle. The NBA lottery system is a joke that always seems to be marred by controversy and hardly ever gives the worst team the top pick. Not that I condone tanking but if it works in the NFL NHL and MLB why not use it in the NBA. We saw this all to similar story in 2007 when we won 24 which was worst in the East and only better then the Memphis Grizzlies yet we got stuck with the #5 pick taking us right out of the Kevin Durant sweepstakes. Granted a higher pick would have never resulted in the trades for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, but who's to say we wouldn't be even better with a combination of Rondo Durant and Paul Pierce.

The NBA has a flawed system that is very easily manipulated, as seen by the Cavaliers getting 2 picks in the top 4 after seeing Lebron take home his 2nd championship since leaving Cleveland. I can give up thousands of conspiracy theories on how David Stern caters to certain teams while turning a blind eye to others but that would be just that, theories. Luckily Stern is gone in a few months so he wont have his fingers over another championship for whichever star he is favoring at the time.

Either way, basketball season is upon us and its a joyous time for everyone, unless you don't like Lebron in which case I'd suggest you stay away from Sportscenter

Retrieved from nba.jp.co

NBAのオーナーらは現地23日、NBAファイナルの開催フォーマット変更について投票を行い、2-3-2から2-2-1-1-1に戻すことを全会一致で可決した。2014年から採用される。

　NBAは1985年に、昨シーズンまでの2-3-2方式を採用。これは当時、NBAコミッショナーとして初シーズンを迎えたデイビッド・スターン氏（来年2月に退任予定）が取り入れたもので、最後の3試合でアメリカ国土の東西を行ったり来たりすることを避ける狙いがあったが、下位シードのチームに有利との指摘もあった。

　今シーズンに29年ぶりに復活する2-2-1-1-1のフォーマットでは、第1、2、5、7戦を上位シードの本拠地で行い、第3、4、6戦を下位シードの本拠地で行う。また、第6戦と第7戦の中日を1日増やすことも投票により可決された。

　これまでの2-3-2では、上位シードのチームは最初の2戦がホーム、その後の3連戦がロードという日程。そのため、第4戦が終わった時点でシリーズ2勝2敗だった場合、上位シードのチームは重要な第5戦をロードで戦わなければならないため、不利になる場合もあるとみなされていた。

　なお、NBAプレイオフではファイナルを除いたすべてのラウンドで、2-2-1-1-1のフォーマットを採用している。（STATS-AP）

Poor Rajon

       My favorite time of the year is upon us, as another NBA season has just tipped off.  The off season saw a lot of big trades and free agent signings which has created greater parity in the NBA.  Though the NBA has a number of teams that have improved since last season, some NBA teams have also significantly downgraded.  As a result of the Boston Celtics letting Doc Rivers go to the Los Angeles Clippers, letting go of Jason Terry, and trading away Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnet, one of my favorite players will be stuck to run a team that will finish at .500 this season at best.

       For all of his accomplishments, Rajon Rondo is one of the most underrated NBA players in the league right now.  Hell, this website's name is inspired by AJ's description of Rondo; STEEZE.  Rondo is the Steeziest player in the NBA.  He is quietly placing his name amongst the all-time greats in the record books.  Did you know that Rondo has the 4th most triple-doubles in NBA playoff history?  That's more than Wilt Chamberlain, Lebron James, & Oscar Robertson have; some of the greatest NBA players of all time. He only needs one more triple double to move into a 2nd place tie. He recently recorded a career high of 24 assists in ONE game!  The most assist ever dished out in a single game in NBA history is 30 by Scott Skiles. He also set the NBA record for most assists through four games (67) previously held by John Stockton and Magic Johnson (65)

"...Steeze..."

        Still not impressed?  What if I told you that Rondo became the first player in more than two decades to record a 30-15-10 triple-double with 10 FG’s and 10 FT’s in a non-overtime game joining Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Larry Bird as the only players to accomplish that feat since 1980?  But wait, there's more;  Rondo became the first player since Wilt Chamberlain to have a triple double with 18 points, 20 assists and 17 rebounds.  Rondo is a threat to have a triple-double nearly every game.

       So what's next for Rajon Rondo?  With a premier point guard, I doubt the Boston Celtics would trade Rondo this season.  In an ideal world, the Indiana Pacers would offer the Celtics Danny Granger and a 1st Round Pick for Rondo.  Indiana would be a good fit for Rondo since they're a real contender this season that is in need of a point guard.  For now though, it seems that Rajon Pierre Rondo will be stuck in basketball purgatory through this season and beyond as the Boston Celtics look to win the Andrew Wiggins sweepstakes.

       

Going into game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, I did not know what to expect.  Any and all outcomes were possible in my opinion.  I simply could not pick who would win tonight.  With Indiana's size advantage over the Miami Heat, it would have been easy to choose them.  However, the one thing that kept me from choosing the Pacers to win tonight's game was their offensive struggles.

The lead up coverage of this game had many basketball experts praising Indiana for playing the heat so tough.  In the end though, does it really matter?  They lost.  Winning is all that matters and Indiana was flat-out disgusting to watch tonight.  It seems that nearly every Pacer possession turned into a New York Knick isolation play.  It is beautiful to watch when it works, but a nightmare to see when it does not.  With the amount of turnovers the Pacers have had in this series, I am surprised it even got to a game 7.  The outcome of this series reminds me of one of my favorite articles on Cracked, and the message in that article definitely applies here.  Being a good competitor simply is not good enough.  The world measures your worth by your output and your results.  You need to win. 

Random thoughts on tonight's game:

- WOW, George Hill is horrible.  Get rid of that guy. 
- Paul George must have missed the flight to Miami.
- Birdman Birdman!
 -Why do the Heat flop so much?  It is annoying to watch. 
- Congratulations to the Miami Heat
- THIS IS THE FINAL NIGHT OF TNT NBA COVERAGE!!!

We have all heard the rumor of a possible Kevin Garnett to L.A trade for Eric Bledsoe and Deandre Jordan. While adding Kevin Garnett obviously makes the Clippers a better team, Paul Pierce would make much more sense for the Clippers needs. The Clippers need a reliable wing scorer in the playoffs and Caron Butler is not the answer. Paul Pierce is the perfect scorer to add to this Clipper team who has a weakness of executing in the half court. With a healthy Pierce in the playoffs the Clippers can win a championship this year. Whenever you have a chance at winning a championship you make whatever trade you can to put you over the top and worry about the future when the time comes. The Clippers should be living in the present right now and take advantage of this opportunity to win a championship.

"Let's all hold hands and be friends"

       As I was watching the closing minutes of the NBA All-Star Game this weekend, I could not help but to notice a few things. First among these is further proof that Kobe Bryant is still the best player in the league. In "clutch time", if there is such a thing in a NBA All-Star Game, Kobe recorded two blocks and one steal on Lebron James. On the second block, Lebron clearly touched the ball last before it went out of bounds; thus the following post-up and foul by Kobe on Lebron should not have happened. Nonetheless, Kobe Bryant got in Lebron's face and Lebron had no answer.

       I also noticed the problem with the new generation of NBA players today. Those last few minutes of the NBA All-Star game were very telling. It showed the generational divide or gap that exists between players like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnet compared to the younger players at the game.  Something tells me that the current generation of players do not like the older players like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnet because after all, this generation is the "don't hate" generation.

"Five beats one."

       This is the generation of keeping it real, but not too real. Say how you feel, but only to a point. Do not offend anyone. This generation of NBA players just wants to be loved. Players like Kobe Bryant have no problem stating how they feel, no matter who it offends. This kind of thinking translates to his game. Do you think Lebron's good buddy, Kevin Durant, would block Lebron's shot like Kobe did? I do not think he would. It would be seen as going too hard or as making the game too personal; and that's the problem. These current players do not go at each other in the same way that players from the past used to go at each other. Every week on TNT, they show the fight between Charles Barkley and Shaq from years ago. What is interesting about that is that Shaq and Charles went out to dinner with each other after the game.  Would Kevin Durant and Lebron James ever get in a fist fight? I cannot see it happening.

NBA going PG?

       It will be a sad day when the last of the "old school" NBA players leave the league in a few years. The level of competition will be lowered. The NBA will be less cut-throat and more kid friendly. Nowadays, even the slightest altercation in a game can lead to suspensions. In that sense, I see a lot of parallels between the NBA and the WWE. The WWE, or as I still call it the WWF, used to be raunchy. It was raw and in your face. Those days are referred to as the "Attitude Era." Well now the WWE is in the PG era due to Linda McMahon's continued efforts at securing Connecticut's U.S. Senate seat. I fear the NBA is headed towards its own PG era, and the game will suffer because of it.

"Me? Really?"

       Early in the Bulls championship run, was Phil Jackson as lauded as he is now? I think not. Greatness is best appreciated, and might I add exaggerated, over time. Phil Jackson is seen as the zen master; the great manger of superstar talents and their egos. Won't the same be said about Eric Spolestra?

       Think about it.  Who is better than the Miami Heat right now?  It is all but certain, unless the Spurs or Lakers reach the NBA Finals, that Miami will win the title this year.  And I do not see any other NBA team becoming significantly better in the next year.  The Heat have an opportunity here to run off 3 or 4 championships in a row.  The number of championships can easily climb to as high as 7 or 8 if Lebron decides to re-sign with Miami in a few years when his contract is expired.

       If this happens, expect Spolestra to take as much criticism as Phil Jackson took after his run with Michael Jordan in Chicago.  People will say "well if I had Lebron and Wade, I'd be winning championships too."  While there is some truth to that, placing a bunch of superstar athletes together on the same team does not guarantee success.  See the 2002 U.S. FIBA World Championship team, the 2004 U.S. Olympic team including both Lebron and Wade, and the current Los Angeles Lakers.  It takes great managers of people, or as Stephen A. Smith calls it "leaders of men", to get everyone on the same page to accomplish one goal; winning the Championship.  I believe when it is all said and done, Erick Spolestra will go down as one of the greatest coaches in NBA history.  You can laugh at me now, but come back and read this line 10 years from now; "I told you so."

As usual,  TNT has a great lineup for its Thursday night broadcast. At 8pm eastern time we get to see Lebron and the Heat go into Oklahoma City for the first time since game 2 of the NBA Finals. After that we get to see the Clippers go on "the road" to play the Lakers. Heres a few things to look for in these games, lets start with Miami at OKC.  The first thing I am curious to see is whether Russel Westbrook will continue to try to do too much when playing Miami. I realize this is because of his competitive spirit and he wants to beat Miami badly but he needs to play smarter and let Durant do the offensive work. Speaking of Durant, I want to see him do something to Lebron. I am not saying I want him to fight Lebron, but enough of this overfriendly atmosphere in the NBA. Lebron is not your boy, stop working out with him in the offseason and start dunking on him. He is your main rival and is playing tremendous basketball right now, take the challenge to defend him and give him a few hard fouls to let him know the deal. I hope I see no conversations or handshakes between Durant and Lebron before the game. If Miami plays up to their potential then they will win comfortably, but if Oklahoma City can force Miami into contested jump shots and get their great crown involved then they can win this game.

Next we have the Clippers trying to put the dagger into the Lakers. It is still hard for me to convince myself that a team with Steve Nash, Kobe, and Dwight Howard can actually miss the playoffs but this is starting to seem likely. Kobe is playing his heart out and I have to give him a tremendous amount of respect, but Dwight is a clown and will always be a clown. He feels bad for himself after he misses shots and has a poor attitude overall. I know that Kobe and Nash can not stand playing with this clown. On Thursday I expect the Clippers to play inspired basketball with CP3 back and attempt to blow the Lakers out. We know Kobe will, but unless Dwight shows up then the Lakers will be blown out.
                                                                        

Ever since Rajon Rondo has been out for the season and the Celtics started to win a few games in a row I have heard some blasphemy in the Boston media. After a win in Toronto a few nights ago, Gary Tanguay and Michael Felger of Comcast were bashing Rondo and saying that Boston is better off without him. Even going as far as saying that Rondo is a selfish player who cares more about stats and his assist record than winning. Are you kidding me? Since when has trying to get your teammates involved been considered selfish?

     Even after a loss last night in Charlotte, Boston has been playing amazing team basketball. They have been moving the ball effortlessly and have been playing great defense. I feel that their winning is more of a result of their increased effort since Rondo has gone down. They have been playing inspired basketball trying to prove that they can still win without their best player. With that being said, I am excited to see Rondo play in a system like this next season where he does not dominate the ball as much in the past. 

Ps- Thanks for finally showing up this season, Jeff Green.

This game has a weird feel to it. There is almost no bad blood between the two teams. Jim and John Harbaugh held a group press conference with their parents yesterday and made this whole thing feel like a family vacation instead of the Super Bowl.This is a great matchup on paper but it is missing something. However, I am thrilled that Super Sunday is finally here. I will soon be able to watch ESPN again without hearing stories about Jim and John Harbaugh having pillow fights before bed when they were growing up, and no more stories about Ray Lewis and his heroic 12 tackles a game this postseason( his average tackle is 6 yards down the field).
            I see this game going in either one of two directions with nothing else in between. In the more unlikely scenario, this will be a tight game throughout with Baltimore's and Flacco's experience being the x-factor to help them prevail in something like a 27-23 final. This is the only way Baltimore can win, they need to keep it close and pull a New York Giant at the end. If it is tied going into the fourth I would be very worried if I am in California.  With that being said, I do not expect a close game today. Baltimore's experienced (old) defense will not be able to get Kaepernick off the field. Expect Kaepernick to have plenty of third down runs to move the chains. He is just too quick and the 49ers have too many weapons on offense to not score at least 35 points this game, especially since they are indoors. San Francisco will have many long drives which will give their great defense plenty of time to rest. This will stay close for a quarter or so but dont get fooled, San Francisco will win big.

               STEEZE REPORT PREDICTION- SAN FRANCISCO 42 BALTIMORE 21

Chad Pennington?

The Los Angeles Lakers were feeling good going into last night's game against the Phoenix Suns.  Having won their previous 3 games, it seemed all but apparent that the Lakers would beat the Suns to make it 4 straight.  As usual with the Los Angeles Lakers this season; expect the unexpected.  After controlling the game for nearly 4 quarters, the Lakers gave up a 13 point lead to lose to the Phoenix Suns 92-86.  This loss kills the Lakers momentum, as they were riding high off of impressive victories against OKC & Utah.  The cherry on top is Dwight Howard re-injuring his increasingly Chad Pennington-like shoulder.  I still believe the Lakers can make the playoffs this year, even without Dwight Howard playing consistently.  However, if the Los Angeles Lakers hope to make it out of the first round of the playoffs, they will need to have a healthy Dwight Howard.

A full day has set in since we heard the news of Rajon Rondo tearing his acl Friday night in Atlanta. (Quick note-Rondo finished this game in Atlanta with a torn acl and ended up with a triple double).The Celtics must figure out what to do next. Anybody who says that Boston may be better off without Rondo this year due to his attitude and defense needs to get a grip. Anybody who says that Boston can still make noise in the playoffs without Rondo also needs a reality check. There is absolutely no chance Boston gets anywhere close to the Eastern Conference Finals without Rondo.  The first option is to trade Pierce and Garnett for younger players and save these two from having to be on a team with no chance at winning the finals. Remember Pierce and Garnett are at the end of their careers and this was perceived at the last go around for them. I know that Pierce wants to retire a Celtic but nobody can blame him for wanting to spend the last few years of his career on a contender.
        However , it may be hard to find a deal for these two due to their contracts so Boston has one more option and can hope for the best. If they do not trade Pierce and Garnett, they should drastically lower their minutes until the end of the season and completely shut them down with about two weeks left in the season. There is no reason to put any more miles on these two with no hope at winning a title this season. This will allow young players like Avery Bradley, Jeff Green, Jared Sullinger, and Fab Melo to gain more experience and groom them for next season with a (hopefully) healthy Rondo.

Well this sucks. This was my most anticipated celtics season in a while. I thought for sure we were headed for Celtics Heat III with the changes Boston made to the roster. What hurts even more is that this will also be the end for Pierce and Garnett in Boston. Danny Ainge needs to do them a favor and trade them to a contender for the last years of their career because Boston is looking at the lottery for the next two seasons. I would not be surprised if KG ends up retiring after this season. Miami must be thrilled not having to see Rondo and Boston again this postseason, they basically have a free pass to the finals now.

Yes the Celtics still lost last night but up until the last minute I like what I saw. Rondo had his patented national television triple double with 23 pts 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Pierce had 22 points but unfortunately did his best Wes Welker impersonation in the final two possesions. All in all though the Celtics showed some heart and fire last night. This is the type of effort you will see from Boston in the playoffs when it really matters. These games are merely for entertainment during this 82 game marathon. As long as Boston is healthy headed into the playoffs they will be fine although I would like to see a trade for a big man before the deadline. Hopefully Jeff Green starts to play well so he can be used as trade bait.

As much as defense wins championships, so does momentum. The past two Super Bowl Champions have been number six seeds who had caught fire at the right time. The Green Bay Packers and The New York Giants have both won multiple road games in the past two postseasons to reach and eventually win the Super Bowl. Will The Baltimore Ravens continue this trend and win the Super Bowl this year after winning consecutive postseason games in Denver and then in New England? I dont know that answer but I do beleive that we are looking at a consistent trend in the NFL. I thought New England had plenty of momentum after beating Houson to beat Baltimore. Ironically, the only thing that can counter momentum is defense.

The Los Angeles Clippers vs the Golden State Warriors would be the most entertaining playoff matchup in the entire NBA postseason if it were to take place.  As much as I like defense, I also love to see a lot of scoring.  The series would be like a NBA All-Star game.  Very little defense, and a lot of up-tempo offense.  It would likely go seven games, and would come down to which team decided to play a little defense.  This matchup reminds me of the early 2000s when the Dallas Mavericks and the Sacramento Kings used to face each other.  The final score for both teams was usually above 115 points.  Just a frantic, up and down game.  Mike D'Antoni's dream. 

 

Currently, the Los Angeles Clippers are the 2nd seed in the Western Conference.  The Golden State Warriors are the 5th seed in the Western Conference.  So, a first round playoff matchup is unlikely unless the GS Warriors fall down to the 7th seed before the start of the playoffs.  I am secretly hoping they do just that.

 

They fooled me once; having a spectacular offense , going 16-0 in the regular season, and losing to the New York Giants in the Superbowl of 2008.  They fooled me twice; having a spectacular offense, going 13-3 in the regular season, and losing to the New York Giants in the Superbowl of 2012.  The New England Patriots did not fool me this time around.  As expected, the New England Patriots lost to the spirited Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game, 28-13. 

 

What is different about the Patriots of the past 6 years, compared with the Patriots of the early 2000s?  Defense.  New England's defense has been horrible for a number of years now.  Having a defense in the bottom 3rd of the league will not win them any Superbowls going forward.   The old adage "defense wins championships" turns out to be true.  In all sports, baseball(pitching), basketball, football, etc. the team with the most balance usually wins the most championships.  Placing too much emphasis on one area, and particularly placing too much emphasis on offense, eventually comes back to haunt teams.  In all the major professional sports, the playoffs or elimination rounds are where teams' major flaws are taken advantage of most.  The level of competition becomes more level, and obtaining a victory cannot be done simply by having more talent than your opponent.

 

Going forward, if Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the rest of the Patriots hope to win anymore Superbowls, they need to pivot their focus on revamping their defense.  

Were the athletes from the 1990s a bunch of cheats?  Dopers? Steroid users?  As we get further and further away from the 1990s and early 2000s, we are hearing more and more about athletes who used performing enhancing drugs to gain an advantage in competition.  This was not confined to baseball.  Performance enhancing drugs were seemingly being used in all the major sports.  Let's take a look at some of the more prominent sports athletes who have used performance enhancing drugs:

 

 

1.) Lance Armstrong was recently stripped of his 7 Tour de France titles by the International Cycling Union because of the use of performance enhancing drugs.  The 41-year-old cancer survivor is just the latest in a line of top athletes to see their reputations disgraced.

 

 

2.) Roger Clemens was probably one of the best pitchers of his generation.  He did not come under fire until 2 years after his retirement when a book implicated Clemens as a steroid user.  Clemens testified to the United States Congress stating that he "never touched the stuff."  He was subsequently charged with perjury and acquitted, though the general public believes that he is guilty.

 

 

3.) Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, & Sammy Sosa were likely the poster children for steroid use in professional sports, until Armstrong's recent admission.  These 3 baseball players broke numerous homerun records because of their PED use.  They are probably the most disgraced and disliked athletes on this list next to Lance Armstrong.

 

 

 

4.) Alex Rodriguez is a superstar athlete who fans hated BEFORE it came to light that Rodriguez tested positive for PEDs in 2003.  And after several sub-par postseasons with the New York Yankees, perhaps Alex's playing days are coming to an end soon.  At least Alex still loves him some Alex.

 

 

 

5.) Marion Jones became the first female track and field athlete to win five medals in a single Olympic games. The Olympic Committee found the Jones had tested positive for PEDs and stripped her of all her medals. Jones recently tried a comeback within the WNBA, but has failed to regain her former stardom as a track and field superstar. "Once the world's biggest track star, said The Associated Press, 'Jones is now just a disgraced drug cheat.'"

 

If the Los Angeles Lakers hope to turn their season around, Kobe Bryant must change.  But what does that mean exactly?  For months, NBA experts and casual fans have been calling on Kobe to shoot less shots.  But is that really the answer?  Perhaps they should be directing that piece of advice in Meta World Peace's direction.  The best player in the league should not shoot less.  Kobe should simply shoot the same amount of shots, but at different points in the game.

 

 

As much as I like to see Kobe being aggressive early and often during games, I think it is in the best interest of the team for Kobe to hold off on a few shots early in the game so that his teammates can become more involved.  In a win over the Cavaliers last night, Dwight Howard had a very good game on only 11 shots.  Antawn Jamison, who is quietly becoming the new Lamar Odom for this team, also had a good game while contributing 16 points off the bench.  The point is, Kobe should defer to his teammates as much as possible during the first 3 quarters of every game so that they get involved early.  Most players need to see the ball go through the net a few times before they get comfortable on the floor.  If Kobe and the Los Angeles Lakers hope to turn this season around and keep Dwight Howard past this year, then Kobe should heed this advice.

It is not always what you do, but how you do it. This is what steeze is, it is making the difficult look effortless.  The way Russel Wilson surgically went in on Atlanta in the fourth quarter yesterday looked effortless to him. It is too bad Seattle didnt unleash him earlier in the game. The way he calmly evaded the Falcon pass rushers then finding the open receiver was fun to watch. He has "It". It seems like he always knows the right time to either pass or throw and he never turns the ball over. Turnovers are not steezy.  I will miss watching him play this season but I think its safe to say we can expect many Russel Wilson vs Colin Kaepernick duels in the future.

 I expect Aaron Rodgers to have a performance tonight comparable to Lebron's game six in Boston last year. Aaron Rodgers has been waiting for this game for almost eight years now. He grew up three hours north of San Francisco, was expected to be drafted by the 49ers who instead drafted Alex Smith. With Alex Smith now watching on the bench, I expect Aaron Rodgers to completely shred the 49ers. The only way San Francisco has a chance tonight is if they dominate time of possesion and therefore keeping Rodgers off the field. Kapernick's running game will be key tonight, if he controls the tempo of the game and makes timely runs for first downs that keeps their offense on the field then San Francisco will have a chance at the game.

 Prediction- Green Bay 36-27

           What if OKC had traded Russel Westbrook for Rondo while they had the chance last year? Would they be a better team than they are right now? I say yes. Westbrook is a great player and plays his hardest and with heart every game, there is no denying that. However this trait is also detrimental to OKC in big games. Westbrook tries to do too much in big games and usually ends up dribbling for far too long before taking his inevitable elbow jumper. So what point guard would have been perfect for a team with the best scorer in the league? Rajon Rondo. Sure you can say he is a punk sometimes and maybe does not always have his head in the game, but in the playoffs Rondo steps up every year.  Last season Rondo averaged 17 pts 12 assists and 7 rebounds per game in the playoffs. This is exactly what you are looking for in your point guard, try to get everybody involved with your passing while scoring when needed.   Westbrook averaged 24 ppg in the playoffs but with only 6 assists per game and shooting barely above 40 %. Swapping Westbrook for Rondo would have been a great move for OKC. This also would have let them keep James Harden who was more valuable to OKC in my opinion. Imagine a starting lineup of-             
                                                                        Pg- Rajon Rondo
                                                                        Sg- James Harden
                                                                        Sf- Kevin Durant
                                                                        Pf- Serge Ibaka
                                                                        C- Kendrick Perkins

I believe Rondo would have been the most effective for a team like OKC who already have plently of people who can score. He would get everybody involved, especially Kevin Durant who sometimes falls victim to Westbrook's patented dribble, dribble, dribble, elbow jumper special. Rondo would get Durant, Harden, and Ibaka going every game and would take over in the playoffs when needed.  When Boston needed him to do to score in Game 2 of The Eastern Conference Finals Rodno had a casual 44-8-10. When Boston needed him to do everything in Game 7 in Miami he had another casual 22-14-10. Rondo can change his style and adapt to what the team needs depending on the pace of the game and what his teammates are doing. Westbrook is a great player but only has one gear. So what if OKC had traded Westbrook for Rondo? I guess we will never know.
                                                                       

What's the difference between Chicago's Derrick Rose and OKC's Russell Westbrook?  I see no difference.  They are the exact same player.  Super-athletic undersized shooting guards who are playing the point guard position.  Both have no business playing point guard.  Both launch too many shots at the expense of their teammates.  Many of these forced shots are 3pt attempts.  They are both horrible 3pt shooters.  I see no difference in their games.  If you placed Westbrook in Chicago and Rose in OKC, there would be no change in their respective teams seasons.  It would be a paradox.  Nothing would change even though you did change something.  The only reason Rose "deserved" his MVP award over Westbrook was because Westbrook had Kevin Durant on his team.

             Stats Comparison:
         Rose         Westbrook
ppg     21                      19
fg%     46                     .42
3pt%  .31                     .30
           I See No Difference

TNT is by far my favorite network that covers the NBA. Not only is the Inside The NBA Crew the best, but their in game commentators such as Marv Albert, Steve Kerr, Mike Fratello, and Chris Webber are also great. Listening to Steve Kerr tonight after listening to that clown Jeff Van Gundy on ESPN only makes me appreciate TNT more.  With that being said, Shaq needs to go. He is not as bad as he was last year but for some reason his humor in interviews as a player has not translated to television.  I can not stand listening to him make noises during highlights while Kenny and Charles are trying to analyze games. When he does actually give an opinion on a player or game, his statement is usally something obvious or boring. Part of his failure has to do with being on the same show as Charles Barkley ,who is by far the best NBA analyst on TV.  Either way Shaq needs to go, replace him with Chris Webber or just have Ernie, Kenny, and Charles.                                                

 

Lebron's last five games in Portland- 38-11-6, 44-13-6, 41-10-8, 34-7-14, 37-14-4.)

 

Also, if you haven't seen him yet this season, watch potential rookie of the year Damien Lillard for the Blazers. He reminds me of Russel Westbrook mixed with a young Chauncey Billups.