Sports News
Giannis Antetokounmpo Wins Defensive Player Of The Year
Superstar PF, Giannis Antetekoumpo was the official winner of the 2020 Defensive Player Of The Year Award. This decision came with a lot of controversy because it was very well believed by many people that it should have been Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers to win the award.
Giannis has been on a defensive tear for years, consistently putting up impressive numbers. This year however, he only had a total of 66 blocks and 61 steals which is still impressive due to the circumstances of the pandemic. Last year he put up 110 blocks and 92 steals, but he was able to play the entire season. Due to the NBA shutdown which occurred a couple months prior; the numbers are a little low, but still great. He has been talked about defensively basically his entire career and it’s great to see him reach his true potential that a lot of doubters didn’t see in his early years.
If you saw Anthony Davis’ defensive stats this year, you wouldn’t even think that there was a shutdown that took place as he is sweeping the floor and shutting down opponents left and right. This year in the regular season, Antony Davis put up 143 blocks and 91 steals. That is absolutely absurd. Giannis has less than half the blocks AD has, yet came away with the award? This caused a lot of controversy and split fans. AD was clearly wronged by the league. The 27 year old mega-star, has been known for his defense as his best defensive seasons he put up 200 blocks and 100 steals back in 2014. Even with the shutdown this year, the 7 time All-Star put up more blocks and steals than he did last year. Anthony Davis has shown us time and time again that he never stops working and that he is always trying to get better no matter what the circumstances are. Who do you think should have won DPOY?
Giannis has been on a defensive tear for years, consistently putting up impressive numbers. This year however, he only had a total of 66 blocks and 61 steals which is still impressive due to the circumstances of the pandemic. Last year he put up 110 blocks and 92 steals, but he was able to play the entire season. Due to the NBA shutdown which occurred a couple months prior; the numbers are a little low, but still great. He has been talked about defensively basically his entire career and it’s great to see him reach his true potential that a lot of doubters didn’t see in his early years.
If you saw Anthony Davis’ defensive stats this year, you wouldn’t even think that there was a shutdown that took place as he is sweeping the floor and shutting down opponents left and right. This year in the regular season, Antony Davis put up 143 blocks and 91 steals. That is absolutely absurd. Giannis has less than half the blocks AD has, yet came away with the award? This caused a lot of controversy and split fans. AD was clearly wronged by the league. The 27 year old mega-star, has been known for his defense as his best defensive seasons he put up 200 blocks and 100 steals back in 2014. Even with the shutdown this year, the 7 time All-Star put up more blocks and steals than he did last year. Anthony Davis has shown us time and time again that he never stops working and that he is always trying to get better no matter what the circumstances are. Who do you think should have won DPOY?
CFB News: Big Ten & PAC-12 Cancel Fall Seasons, Other Conference Players Opt Out
Written by Odin Najera
With the global pandemic continuing to take a toll on everyone’s everyday life, it is already confirmed that we will be missing out on some college football this year. A year off from college football might sound bad, but it’s much worse than it sounds. Some Conferences have already decided to cancel their 2020 season. The Big Ten, Pac-12, the MAC, and the MWC have all decided to postpone the Fall 2020 season. This is not only affecting the teams in those conferences, but also every team in college football. Teams have lost games against opponents, due to the canceling of their season, so they are rushing to fill those spots up. The remaining conferences are the SEC, ACC, Big 12, AAC, C-USA, and the Sunbelt. As of right now, the SEC will play a 10-game schedule against other SEC schools only. Their first games are scheduled to start on September 26th. The ACC will play an 11-game schedule consisting of only other ACC teams and an additional game against a non-conference opponent. They are set to start on September 7th. The Big 12 will play a 10 game schedule consisting of 9 other Big 12 teams, and 1 non-conference opponent. They have yet to release their release date. The AAC will play an 8 game schedule against other AAC schools. Each AAC team also has the option to play up to 4 games against non-conference opponents, as well as the C-USA, and the Sunbelt.
Ohio State star QB, Justin Fields reacts to the news via Twitter
For some young players, one more year is crucial for them to be able to get drafted. They might have had a bad year last year and now they have no chance to redeem themselves. Taking a year off is going to damage a lot of players' draft stock. Players have been opting out of playing another year and taking their chances to the NFL Draft. Most notably, Purdue star WR, Ronalde Moore. He took to Instagram and posted a picture of him on the field with writing on the picture talking about how great it was to be a Boiler Man, and how amazing it was at Purdue, and explaining that declaring for the draft was his best option. Same with top 5 prospect LB, Micah Parsons from Penn State. He posted on his Instagram a video of him in the locker room with his son with him speaking behind the video while the video cut to some of his best plays as a Nittany Lion. This is a great decision by athletes declaring for the draft. If you have the skillset, talent, and hype, then declaring is the most optimal option. Professional teams are not going to lower their standards because of the pandemic. So why risk millions of dollars, the chance to change your families lives, and to achieve your dreams, for a season that most likely won’t be taken seriously.
NBA Awards Nominees Review
Written by Odin Najera
Earlier today, the NBA released all the finalists for the following awards: MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, Best 6th Man, and Coach of the Year.
Everybody knew who this year's MVP finalists were going to be before the season even started. This year although, is the closest it’s been in a while. A toss up between LeBron James, Giannis Antetokoumpo, and James Harden. The reason it’s so much closer than usual is because the stats that these players are averaging so crazy and so close. “King James” is averaging 25.7 ppg, 10.6 apg, and 7.9 rpg. “The Greek Freak” is averaging 29.6 ppg, 5.6 apg, and 13.7 rpg. Finally “The Beard” is averaging 34.4 ppg, 7.4 apg, and 6.4 rpg. Just based off the numbers though, it seems Giannis is going to win it for a second straight year.
You could’ve guessed who the Rookie of the Year was going to be last year when these well respected players were still in college. Duke alumni, Zion Williamson. Murray State alumni, Ja Morant, and Oakland University alumni, Kendrick Nunn are this year's finalists. Although it’s them 3, Kendrick Nunn seems to just get overlooked and left in the dust by the immense hype that the #1 and #2 pick in last year's draft have gained. Ja Morant has made the biggest impact for his team, but Zion is just a walking highlight real who has had incredible hype since he was in high school. Prediction is that Zion wins the award, but Ja deserves it more.
This years Defensive Player of the Year has some huge names in it. Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Rudy Gobert. Anthony Davis has been a dominant force this year playing some of the best defense he has ever in his career. Same for Giannis he is playing the best defense he has through this career so that makes it a toss up between these 2. Rudy Gobert was last years winner, but this year is not looking too good for him because of the names he is up against. Prediction is that Anthony Davis wins.
If we told you who this years Most Improved Player finalists were you wouldn’t believe us. This years finalists are Luka Doncic, Brandon Ingram, and Bam Adebayo. The fact Luka is on there is pretty insane because last year he showed off such amazing talent and skill, it was hard to think it was possible to improve. He showed us last season he was an All-Star and that we expected a lot from him this season. 2 huge stars who got snubbed from this award are Jaylen Brown and Devonte Graham. Brandon Ingram did not live up to the hype he was given going into his rookie year, being compared to All-Star and NBA champion, Kevin Durant, but this year he has shown an incredible transformation both from inside and outside the 3 point line. Hitting big shots consistently, he is starting to gain respect around the league. Bam has proved to be an elite center and a necessity for this Miami team, but that unfortunately just won’t be enough for him to win the award this year. Prediction is that Luka wins.
Best 6th man is always a great award to acknowledge a key player in the reserves. A lot of reserve players don’t get the recognition they deserve and this award has been a great way to shine light on them. Most notably guard, Lou Williams, who has won the award 3 times in the past. He is up as a finalist once again this year along with Dennis Schröder and Montrez Harrell. All 3 of these players have done so much for their respective teams, but it really seems Lou Will is going to run away with the award. Dennis Schröder gets love, but not as much as he really should or deserves, and it’s hard to say Montrez Harrel because he is on the same team as Lou Will so they share playing time and he does not make a change as big as Lou Will does. Prediction is Lou Williams gets his 4th 6th Man of the Year award.
Finally, the Coach of the Year award. The finalists are Nick Nurse, Mike Budenholzer, and Billy Donovan. Truthfully, Billy Donovan has no business being here, because that OKC team is more coached and led by CP3 than anyone. Also, Nick Nurse has a powerhouse with his Toronto team, and Mike Budenholzer has an army in Milwaukee. Both these teams are juggernauts, but the difference is Milwaukee has Giannis to put the team on his back. Toronto doesn’t have anyone like that anymore since Kawhi left. All the games the Raptors have won we’re because of great coaching and great execution. So that is why the prediction is Nick Nurse wins the award over Mike Budenholzer, unlike last year when Coach Budenholzer walked away with the award. Nick Nurse has done a fantastic job in Toronto and is going to continue to show he is one of the greatest coaches.
Everybody knew who this year's MVP finalists were going to be before the season even started. This year although, is the closest it’s been in a while. A toss up between LeBron James, Giannis Antetokoumpo, and James Harden. The reason it’s so much closer than usual is because the stats that these players are averaging so crazy and so close. “King James” is averaging 25.7 ppg, 10.6 apg, and 7.9 rpg. “The Greek Freak” is averaging 29.6 ppg, 5.6 apg, and 13.7 rpg. Finally “The Beard” is averaging 34.4 ppg, 7.4 apg, and 6.4 rpg. Just based off the numbers though, it seems Giannis is going to win it for a second straight year.
You could’ve guessed who the Rookie of the Year was going to be last year when these well respected players were still in college. Duke alumni, Zion Williamson. Murray State alumni, Ja Morant, and Oakland University alumni, Kendrick Nunn are this year's finalists. Although it’s them 3, Kendrick Nunn seems to just get overlooked and left in the dust by the immense hype that the #1 and #2 pick in last year's draft have gained. Ja Morant has made the biggest impact for his team, but Zion is just a walking highlight real who has had incredible hype since he was in high school. Prediction is that Zion wins the award, but Ja deserves it more.
This years Defensive Player of the Year has some huge names in it. Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Rudy Gobert. Anthony Davis has been a dominant force this year playing some of the best defense he has ever in his career. Same for Giannis he is playing the best defense he has through this career so that makes it a toss up between these 2. Rudy Gobert was last years winner, but this year is not looking too good for him because of the names he is up against. Prediction is that Anthony Davis wins.
If we told you who this years Most Improved Player finalists were you wouldn’t believe us. This years finalists are Luka Doncic, Brandon Ingram, and Bam Adebayo. The fact Luka is on there is pretty insane because last year he showed off such amazing talent and skill, it was hard to think it was possible to improve. He showed us last season he was an All-Star and that we expected a lot from him this season. 2 huge stars who got snubbed from this award are Jaylen Brown and Devonte Graham. Brandon Ingram did not live up to the hype he was given going into his rookie year, being compared to All-Star and NBA champion, Kevin Durant, but this year he has shown an incredible transformation both from inside and outside the 3 point line. Hitting big shots consistently, he is starting to gain respect around the league. Bam has proved to be an elite center and a necessity for this Miami team, but that unfortunately just won’t be enough for him to win the award this year. Prediction is that Luka wins.
Best 6th man is always a great award to acknowledge a key player in the reserves. A lot of reserve players don’t get the recognition they deserve and this award has been a great way to shine light on them. Most notably guard, Lou Williams, who has won the award 3 times in the past. He is up as a finalist once again this year along with Dennis Schröder and Montrez Harrell. All 3 of these players have done so much for their respective teams, but it really seems Lou Will is going to run away with the award. Dennis Schröder gets love, but not as much as he really should or deserves, and it’s hard to say Montrez Harrel because he is on the same team as Lou Will so they share playing time and he does not make a change as big as Lou Will does. Prediction is Lou Williams gets his 4th 6th Man of the Year award.
Finally, the Coach of the Year award. The finalists are Nick Nurse, Mike Budenholzer, and Billy Donovan. Truthfully, Billy Donovan has no business being here, because that OKC team is more coached and led by CP3 than anyone. Also, Nick Nurse has a powerhouse with his Toronto team, and Mike Budenholzer has an army in Milwaukee. Both these teams are juggernauts, but the difference is Milwaukee has Giannis to put the team on his back. Toronto doesn’t have anyone like that anymore since Kawhi left. All the games the Raptors have won we’re because of great coaching and great execution. So that is why the prediction is Nick Nurse wins the award over Mike Budenholzer, unlike last year when Coach Budenholzer walked away with the award. Nick Nurse has done a fantastic job in Toronto and is going to continue to show he is one of the greatest coaches.
NBA Restart - Day 7 Review
Written by Odin Najera
With the first week of the NBA restart coming to an end a ton of teams have been shocking the world. Today had some great matchups you couldn’t have missed.
The Grizzlies and Jazz both tapped into their inner 90’s hooper classics and had a throwback jersey showdown today. The big men of this game had an amazing back and forth battle both having pretty similar games. Memphis’ Jonas Valanciunas had 21 points and 14 rebounds. While the Jazz’s Rudy Gobert had 21 points, 16 rebounds, and came away with the victory. The Grizzlies have been struggling all throughout the restart, still trying to find their first win. They are simply just being outplayed every single game and they drop to 0-4 and the Jazz move on to 2-2.
Joel Embiid leads the 6ers to a dominating win over the Wizards. The Wizards once again have struggled to get the offense going with only scoring 98 points through 4 quarters of basketball. Thomas Bryant and Jerome Robinson both put up 19 points and Troy Brown Jr. put up 17, but with lack of help from the rest of the team they just couldn’t get the win over Philadelphia. Even though the 76ers lost star player Ben Simons late in the 3rd quarter, the Wizards failed to capitalize on that. The Wizards continue to fall to 0-4, while the 76ers go up 2-1.
Michael Porter Jr. has another 30 point game that leads the Nuggets to a victory over the Spurs. Michael Porter has been playing electric these past 2 games just being an absolute bucket. He also was putting in work in the paint with 15 rebounds. He had a ton of help from fellow teammates: Nikola Jokic who has 25 points and 11 assists, and Jeremi Grant who contributed 22 points. The Spurs started the restart strong, but then lost their last 2 games. This raises questions as to whether they’ll continue to lose or if they’ll turn things around soon.
Toronto keeps their undefeated streak alive as they breeze through the Orlando Magic 109-99. Fred VanVleet doing another fantastic job putting this team on his back like he has been lately. Not only is he scoring points efficiently, but he is getting his teammates great looks. With 21 points and 10 assists, he has been very hard to contain and is the reason the Toronto Raptors are still undefeated since the restart. The Magic have been struggling all throughout the restart and it didn’t help that they lost their all star SF Aaron Gordon mid game. The Raptors ram their way up 4-0 while the Magic fall back to 2-2.
The Boston Celtics absolutely destroyed the Nets 149-115 tonight with a dominant team performance by Boston. Everyone on the Celtics was involved with 7 players having double digit points at the end of regulation. The players leading this charge were none other than Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as they put up a combined 40 points. They were also joined by Gordon Hayward and Robert Williams III who both put up 18 points each. The Celtics played without Kemp’s Walker tonight as well. The Nets leading scorer was in drafted rookie, Jeremiah Martin, who is averaging 3 points a game. The Nets just came off a massive win over the Bucks and this is not how they want to be playing after that.
Finally, the most shocking game of the day. The best game of the day. The complete dismantling of the Lakers led by CP3 and the rest of the starting 5 for OKC. The starting 5 for the Thunder all did amazing. Chris Paul’s with 21 points and 7 rebounds, Luguentz Dort with 14 points, Shai Giligeous-Alexander had 13 points with 7 rebounds, Danilo Galinari had 19 points with 7 rebounds, and Steven Adams had 18 points with 7 rebounds. They all played extremely hard defense against the Lakers causing them to shoot 13.5% from the 3 point line, and 35% all game. The biggest flex for OKC was keeping the high powered Lakers to only 86 points at the end of all 4 quarters of the game. The Lakers also aren’t performing to fans standards since the restart, but that doesn’t make them a bad team. Even at 2-2, the Lakers are still one of the best teams in the bubble and should still be considered a threat. OKC is also showing that they’re a threat flying under the radar and needs to stop being overlooked and disrespected. The Thunder made their way to 2-1 since the restart.
The Grizzlies and Jazz both tapped into their inner 90’s hooper classics and had a throwback jersey showdown today. The big men of this game had an amazing back and forth battle both having pretty similar games. Memphis’ Jonas Valanciunas had 21 points and 14 rebounds. While the Jazz’s Rudy Gobert had 21 points, 16 rebounds, and came away with the victory. The Grizzlies have been struggling all throughout the restart, still trying to find their first win. They are simply just being outplayed every single game and they drop to 0-4 and the Jazz move on to 2-2.
Joel Embiid leads the 6ers to a dominating win over the Wizards. The Wizards once again have struggled to get the offense going with only scoring 98 points through 4 quarters of basketball. Thomas Bryant and Jerome Robinson both put up 19 points and Troy Brown Jr. put up 17, but with lack of help from the rest of the team they just couldn’t get the win over Philadelphia. Even though the 76ers lost star player Ben Simons late in the 3rd quarter, the Wizards failed to capitalize on that. The Wizards continue to fall to 0-4, while the 76ers go up 2-1.
Michael Porter Jr. has another 30 point game that leads the Nuggets to a victory over the Spurs. Michael Porter has been playing electric these past 2 games just being an absolute bucket. He also was putting in work in the paint with 15 rebounds. He had a ton of help from fellow teammates: Nikola Jokic who has 25 points and 11 assists, and Jeremi Grant who contributed 22 points. The Spurs started the restart strong, but then lost their last 2 games. This raises questions as to whether they’ll continue to lose or if they’ll turn things around soon.
Toronto keeps their undefeated streak alive as they breeze through the Orlando Magic 109-99. Fred VanVleet doing another fantastic job putting this team on his back like he has been lately. Not only is he scoring points efficiently, but he is getting his teammates great looks. With 21 points and 10 assists, he has been very hard to contain and is the reason the Toronto Raptors are still undefeated since the restart. The Magic have been struggling all throughout the restart and it didn’t help that they lost their all star SF Aaron Gordon mid game. The Raptors ram their way up 4-0 while the Magic fall back to 2-2.
The Boston Celtics absolutely destroyed the Nets 149-115 tonight with a dominant team performance by Boston. Everyone on the Celtics was involved with 7 players having double digit points at the end of regulation. The players leading this charge were none other than Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as they put up a combined 40 points. They were also joined by Gordon Hayward and Robert Williams III who both put up 18 points each. The Celtics played without Kemp’s Walker tonight as well. The Nets leading scorer was in drafted rookie, Jeremiah Martin, who is averaging 3 points a game. The Nets just came off a massive win over the Bucks and this is not how they want to be playing after that.
Finally, the most shocking game of the day. The best game of the day. The complete dismantling of the Lakers led by CP3 and the rest of the starting 5 for OKC. The starting 5 for the Thunder all did amazing. Chris Paul’s with 21 points and 7 rebounds, Luguentz Dort with 14 points, Shai Giligeous-Alexander had 13 points with 7 rebounds, Danilo Galinari had 19 points with 7 rebounds, and Steven Adams had 18 points with 7 rebounds. They all played extremely hard defense against the Lakers causing them to shoot 13.5% from the 3 point line, and 35% all game. The biggest flex for OKC was keeping the high powered Lakers to only 86 points at the end of all 4 quarters of the game. The Lakers also aren’t performing to fans standards since the restart, but that doesn’t make them a bad team. Even at 2-2, the Lakers are still one of the best teams in the bubble and should still be considered a threat. OKC is also showing that they’re a threat flying under the radar and needs to stop being overlooked and disrespected. The Thunder made their way to 2-1 since the restart.
NBA Restart - Day 6 Review
Written by Odin Najera
Today was wild for the NBA. There were some huge upset wins today. The matchups tonight were Suns vs Clippers, Heat vs Celtics, Rockets vs Blazers, Pacers vs Magic, Nets vs Bucks, and the Mavs vs the Kings.
First, was an extremely unexpected blow out by the Nets against the Bucks. Giannis was held to only 16 points throughout the entire game. The rest of the Bucks team did get involved scoring between 6-11 points at least. Giannis is a rare example of even when the team is all involved, if you don’t have that one player dominating, you’ll still lose the game. G-F Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot saw barely any game time until today, and he was an absolute bucket, scoring 26 points for the Nets. Garrett Temple also pitched in 19. The Nets beating the Bucks also extremely unexpected because they were playing without star player Caris LeVert. They still managed to pull it off and the Bucks very surprisingly drop to 1-2, and the Nets roll on to 2-1.
The Pacers has a great night offensively, putting up 120 points collectively. T.J. Warren with another destructive offensive performance with 32 points. He has been playing with all gas and no brakes and is yet to be contained. Miles Turner had a great offensive performance as well putting up 21. The Magic had 3 players score 20 and up but the rest of the team just couldn’t pick up their weight and it wasn’t enough to control T.J. Warren and the Pacers. The Pacers go up to 3-0 being one of the last 3 undefeated teams since the restart.
The Celtics take another loss tonight against the Miami Heat, dropping them to 1-2 as the Heat move up to 2-1. This win was very much needed for the Heat as they just came off a hard loss against the Raptors the day before. Everyone for Miami was getting involved with Bam Adebayo dropping 21 points with 12 rebounds, Duncan Robinson put up 21 points,Goran Dragic had 20 himself, Kelly Olynyx had 15, and Tyler Herro with a light 11 to toss up on top. Them getting all involved is something the Celtics have been lacking lately. Kemba Walker has not really been putting numbers like he is expected to, rather the leaders of this team are Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown. They have been doing it all for the Boston team since the restart. When Tatum was struggling against the Bucks, Jalen Brown stepped up and picked up his slack and did a great job. Kemba has almost been forgotten it feels like. If the Celtics want to really accomplish something they’re going to need to find new threats soon.
The Mavs and Kings game was an absolute Luke show day. He went crazy with 34 points, 20 rebounds, and 12 assists. That is an amazing triple double which led to Mavs taking the victory. Luka has done nothing but impress fans every single game. He is an extremely efficient scorer. Behind the arche or in the paint, Luka can do it all. He did get great help from Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. who both put up 22 points each. The Kings had trouble getting their offense going on and off throughout the whole game. De’Aaron Fox led the kings with 28 points and 9 assists. Buddy Hield contributed 21 points, and Kent Bazemore put up 16. The problem with the Kings offense isn’t the amount of points they score, it’s the amount of shots it takes them. All 3 of those players shot under 45% which isn’t bad, but if you want to take down a high powered team like the Mavs, you’re going to need to shoot better. The Kings drop to 0-3 since the restart and the Mavs push forward to 1-2, getting their first victory tonight.
The Rockets and Blazers game was an important one for 2 reasons. After the Rockets lost, this left the Phoenix Suns as the last team undefeated in the Western Conference, and also because Melo has shown that he still has it in him. Carmelo Anthony was signed by the Portland Trailblazers back in November 19, 2019. Melo has been performing pretty good since the restart, but today was his best game. With 15 points and 11 rebounds he helped out significantly. Although he didn’t have the most points, he scored when it mattered. He shot the dagger to really put away the game late in the 4th quarter and solidified the win for the Blazers. Dame and CJ McCollum have been a great duo as well for the Blazers, putting up almost identical numbers from each other every game. The Rockets struggled offensively with the most points by a player being 23 from James Harden. That’s a great amount of points, but for someone like James Harden, who in the past has put up that many points before the half, a lot more is expected. You can say it’s unfair to expect that from him, but he is such a high caliber player it’s hard to expect any less.
Finally, the craziest game of the day. The Phoenix Suns have continued to shock the world and made a huge statement today with their upset win over the Clippers. Devin Booker has been on an absolute murder spree these past 3 games. Scoring 27 against the Wizards, 30 against the Mavs, and 35 against the Clippers. He’s showing that he shows up in tough game scenarios and silencing haters. He has also proved to everyone that he is more than just a shooter. He can dribble, he can pass, he can drive, and he plays good defense. The 23 year old star has been progressively playing better, even though each game has been getting harder and harder. Tonight he wasn’t alone though, Ricky Rubio pitched in 18 points, and DeAndre Ayton put up 19 points. What really set the difference between the teams was the 3 pointers made. Phoenix had 17, while the Clippers only had 8. Phoenix has shown us time and time again that they can really shoot the 3 ball, collectively as a team shooting 53% from behind the arch, while the Clippers shot a poor 27% from behind the arch. Paul George experienced some deja vu tonight as another devastating game winner was shot right over him, in his face. This has been a rough start for the Clippers going 1-2 and not really living up to fans expectations at all.
First, was an extremely unexpected blow out by the Nets against the Bucks. Giannis was held to only 16 points throughout the entire game. The rest of the Bucks team did get involved scoring between 6-11 points at least. Giannis is a rare example of even when the team is all involved, if you don’t have that one player dominating, you’ll still lose the game. G-F Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot saw barely any game time until today, and he was an absolute bucket, scoring 26 points for the Nets. Garrett Temple also pitched in 19. The Nets beating the Bucks also extremely unexpected because they were playing without star player Caris LeVert. They still managed to pull it off and the Bucks very surprisingly drop to 1-2, and the Nets roll on to 2-1.
The Pacers has a great night offensively, putting up 120 points collectively. T.J. Warren with another destructive offensive performance with 32 points. He has been playing with all gas and no brakes and is yet to be contained. Miles Turner had a great offensive performance as well putting up 21. The Magic had 3 players score 20 and up but the rest of the team just couldn’t pick up their weight and it wasn’t enough to control T.J. Warren and the Pacers. The Pacers go up to 3-0 being one of the last 3 undefeated teams since the restart.
The Celtics take another loss tonight against the Miami Heat, dropping them to 1-2 as the Heat move up to 2-1. This win was very much needed for the Heat as they just came off a hard loss against the Raptors the day before. Everyone for Miami was getting involved with Bam Adebayo dropping 21 points with 12 rebounds, Duncan Robinson put up 21 points,Goran Dragic had 20 himself, Kelly Olynyx had 15, and Tyler Herro with a light 11 to toss up on top. Them getting all involved is something the Celtics have been lacking lately. Kemba Walker has not really been putting numbers like he is expected to, rather the leaders of this team are Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown. They have been doing it all for the Boston team since the restart. When Tatum was struggling against the Bucks, Jalen Brown stepped up and picked up his slack and did a great job. Kemba has almost been forgotten it feels like. If the Celtics want to really accomplish something they’re going to need to find new threats soon.
The Mavs and Kings game was an absolute Luke show day. He went crazy with 34 points, 20 rebounds, and 12 assists. That is an amazing triple double which led to Mavs taking the victory. Luka has done nothing but impress fans every single game. He is an extremely efficient scorer. Behind the arche or in the paint, Luka can do it all. He did get great help from Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. who both put up 22 points each. The Kings had trouble getting their offense going on and off throughout the whole game. De’Aaron Fox led the kings with 28 points and 9 assists. Buddy Hield contributed 21 points, and Kent Bazemore put up 16. The problem with the Kings offense isn’t the amount of points they score, it’s the amount of shots it takes them. All 3 of those players shot under 45% which isn’t bad, but if you want to take down a high powered team like the Mavs, you’re going to need to shoot better. The Kings drop to 0-3 since the restart and the Mavs push forward to 1-2, getting their first victory tonight.
The Rockets and Blazers game was an important one for 2 reasons. After the Rockets lost, this left the Phoenix Suns as the last team undefeated in the Western Conference, and also because Melo has shown that he still has it in him. Carmelo Anthony was signed by the Portland Trailblazers back in November 19, 2019. Melo has been performing pretty good since the restart, but today was his best game. With 15 points and 11 rebounds he helped out significantly. Although he didn’t have the most points, he scored when it mattered. He shot the dagger to really put away the game late in the 4th quarter and solidified the win for the Blazers. Dame and CJ McCollum have been a great duo as well for the Blazers, putting up almost identical numbers from each other every game. The Rockets struggled offensively with the most points by a player being 23 from James Harden. That’s a great amount of points, but for someone like James Harden, who in the past has put up that many points before the half, a lot more is expected. You can say it’s unfair to expect that from him, but he is such a high caliber player it’s hard to expect any less.
Finally, the craziest game of the day. The Phoenix Suns have continued to shock the world and made a huge statement today with their upset win over the Clippers. Devin Booker has been on an absolute murder spree these past 3 games. Scoring 27 against the Wizards, 30 against the Mavs, and 35 against the Clippers. He’s showing that he shows up in tough game scenarios and silencing haters. He has also proved to everyone that he is more than just a shooter. He can dribble, he can pass, he can drive, and he plays good defense. The 23 year old star has been progressively playing better, even though each game has been getting harder and harder. Tonight he wasn’t alone though, Ricky Rubio pitched in 18 points, and DeAndre Ayton put up 19 points. What really set the difference between the teams was the 3 pointers made. Phoenix had 17, while the Clippers only had 8. Phoenix has shown us time and time again that they can really shoot the 3 ball, collectively as a team shooting 53% from behind the arch, while the Clippers shot a poor 27% from behind the arch. Paul George experienced some deja vu tonight as another devastating game winner was shot right over him, in his face. This has been a rough start for the Clippers going 1-2 and not really living up to fans expectations at all.
NBA Restart - Day 4 Review
Written by Odin Najera
Day 4 of the NBA restart was jam packed with action! The matchups tonight were Nets vs Wizards, Spurs vs Grizzlies, Bucks vs Rockets, Suns vs Mavs, Kings vs Magic, and Blazers vs Magic. A lot of teams made huge statements last night with their wins.
Both the Nets and Wizards are short of their best players in Orlando. For Brooklyn, there’s no Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Taurean Prince or Wilson Chandler. For Washington, there’s no John Wall, Bradley Beal or Davis Bertans. This is really taking a toll on both teams and their chances at winning a title. Thomas Bryant and Troy Brown Jr. both put on a show tonight for a combined 52 points, 23 rebounds, and 11 assists, but it just wasn't enough to hold back the Nets today. Jarrett Allen had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Caris LeVert showed out with 34 points and 7 rebounds. This leaves the Wizards continuing at 0-2 since the restart as the Nets take down the Wizards 118-110.
Ja Morant has been showing off his insane skill set on the main stage during the restart, but both games it just wasn’t enough to get the win today over the Spurs. The Grizzlies star rookie had an almost triple double with 25 points, 9 assists, and 9 rebounds. Dejounte Murray went off with a 21 point double double with 10 rebounds. With that win the Spurs move on to 2-0 and are a team that are very overlooked as they jump to the ninth seed in the west.
The Magic blew the Kings out of the water tonight with a 132-116 victory. The Kings had no stand out players tonight. The Magic had Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Aaron Gordan had 22 points, and Terrance Ross had 25 tonight and that really helped the Magic push forward for the win tonight. Sadly though, SF Jonathan Isaac went down early in the 4th quarter with a torn ACL. He will not be able to come back and it’s a terribly sad injury all athletes would dread to go through.
Celtics and Blazers was a highly anticipated game. Both extremely electric teams. They had a close one with the Celtics walking away with a 4 point lead victory over the Blazers, 128-124. Jayson Tatum had an amazing comeback after his embarrassing performance on friday against the Bucks where he dropped 5 points off 2/18 shooting. Tonight he dropped 34 points, and 8 assists, on 50% shooting. He wasn’t alone though as 2 guard, Jaylen Brown dropped 30 with 6 rebounds, and Gordan Hayward had 22. That didn’t stop Dame and Jusuf Nurkic both dropping 30 to combine for 60 points, 11 rebounds, and 21 assists. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough.
The Suns had a very important game today with a very important win. The Suns are stunning the public moving to 2-0 since the NBA has restarted.They had an incredible comeback starting in the second half. They are playing without their star SF Kelly Oubre Jr. and things are going smoothly with rookie from North Carolina, Cameron Johnson in as a substitute. He has shown us time and time again that he is a complete bucket, but now he has the perfect stage and the minutes to really show the world his true talent. The Suns have a real test on tuesday as the face off against the Clippers. Although the Suns came away with the win, that didn’t stop star Luka Doncic from going insane with 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists. Along with Porzingis dropping 30 with 8 rebounds, they both played a huge role for the Magic, it just didn’t get the job done.
Finally, the most anticipated matchup of the night. Bucks vs Rockets. Greek Freak vs the Beard. A heated rivalry that gained most of its traction earlier this year. James Harden had an amazing game and so did Russel Westbrook. James even proved haters wrong and played solid defense on the Greek Freak late in the fourth quarter. Giannis still went on a complete tear tonight showing us why he was last year's MVP and is most likely this year's MVP as well. With 36 points, 18 rebounds, and 8 assists, Giannis has been killing it. Giannis does not have a lot of moves in his arsenal, but the moves he does have, he has locked down and mastered. Using his 6’11 242 lb body to simply bully his way to the basket, Giannis has mastered the “bully ball” and is completely unstoppable at it. He is averaging 30 points off one move. Some say it’s lazy and boring, others say it’s skill and talent. What do you think?
Both the Nets and Wizards are short of their best players in Orlando. For Brooklyn, there’s no Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Taurean Prince or Wilson Chandler. For Washington, there’s no John Wall, Bradley Beal or Davis Bertans. This is really taking a toll on both teams and their chances at winning a title. Thomas Bryant and Troy Brown Jr. both put on a show tonight for a combined 52 points, 23 rebounds, and 11 assists, but it just wasn't enough to hold back the Nets today. Jarrett Allen had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Caris LeVert showed out with 34 points and 7 rebounds. This leaves the Wizards continuing at 0-2 since the restart as the Nets take down the Wizards 118-110.
Ja Morant has been showing off his insane skill set on the main stage during the restart, but both games it just wasn’t enough to get the win today over the Spurs. The Grizzlies star rookie had an almost triple double with 25 points, 9 assists, and 9 rebounds. Dejounte Murray went off with a 21 point double double with 10 rebounds. With that win the Spurs move on to 2-0 and are a team that are very overlooked as they jump to the ninth seed in the west.
The Magic blew the Kings out of the water tonight with a 132-116 victory. The Kings had no stand out players tonight. The Magic had Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Aaron Gordan had 22 points, and Terrance Ross had 25 tonight and that really helped the Magic push forward for the win tonight. Sadly though, SF Jonathan Isaac went down early in the 4th quarter with a torn ACL. He will not be able to come back and it’s a terribly sad injury all athletes would dread to go through.
Celtics and Blazers was a highly anticipated game. Both extremely electric teams. They had a close one with the Celtics walking away with a 4 point lead victory over the Blazers, 128-124. Jayson Tatum had an amazing comeback after his embarrassing performance on friday against the Bucks where he dropped 5 points off 2/18 shooting. Tonight he dropped 34 points, and 8 assists, on 50% shooting. He wasn’t alone though as 2 guard, Jaylen Brown dropped 30 with 6 rebounds, and Gordan Hayward had 22. That didn’t stop Dame and Jusuf Nurkic both dropping 30 to combine for 60 points, 11 rebounds, and 21 assists. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough.
The Suns had a very important game today with a very important win. The Suns are stunning the public moving to 2-0 since the NBA has restarted.They had an incredible comeback starting in the second half. They are playing without their star SF Kelly Oubre Jr. and things are going smoothly with rookie from North Carolina, Cameron Johnson in as a substitute. He has shown us time and time again that he is a complete bucket, but now he has the perfect stage and the minutes to really show the world his true talent. The Suns have a real test on tuesday as the face off against the Clippers. Although the Suns came away with the win, that didn’t stop star Luka Doncic from going insane with 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 assists. Along with Porzingis dropping 30 with 8 rebounds, they both played a huge role for the Magic, it just didn’t get the job done.
Finally, the most anticipated matchup of the night. Bucks vs Rockets. Greek Freak vs the Beard. A heated rivalry that gained most of its traction earlier this year. James Harden had an amazing game and so did Russel Westbrook. James even proved haters wrong and played solid defense on the Greek Freak late in the fourth quarter. Giannis still went on a complete tear tonight showing us why he was last year's MVP and is most likely this year's MVP as well. With 36 points, 18 rebounds, and 8 assists, Giannis has been killing it. Giannis does not have a lot of moves in his arsenal, but the moves he does have, he has locked down and mastered. Using his 6’11 242 lb body to simply bully his way to the basket, Giannis has mastered the “bully ball” and is completely unstoppable at it. He is averaging 30 points off one move. Some say it’s lazy and boring, others say it’s skill and talent. What do you think?
NBA Restart - Day 2 Review
Written by Odin Najera
Today was day 2 of the NBA season restart and it was a lot crazier than 1 day, as promised. It’s safe to say that a lot went down today. There were a total of 6 games played tonight, two of which went to OT. A lot of fans were disappointed they did not get to see future Hall Of Famer, Jamal Crawford in action. After he hadn't played all season, Jamal “Crossover” was signed by the Brooklyn Nets as a replacement player for the seeding games. However, Crawford didn't play in any of the Nets three scrimmages and was declared out for conditioning purposes on the team's injury report heading into Friday's game against the Orlando Magic. Crawford last played in the NBA on April 9, 2019, on Dirk Nowitzki’s home finale. The Magic walked away with an easy 10 point lead win, 128-118.
The Blazers and Grizzlies game was a wild one. Going into overtime with the Blazers getting the late game win. Damien Lillard with 29 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists. C.J. McCollum with 33 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. And last not, but certainly not least. Carmelo Anthony with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals, while shooting 70%. Carmelo really tapped in tonight, especially late game crunch mode and was incredibly clutch. It felt like it was 2006 again when Melo was averaging 28.9 points per game. The Blazers proved they are one of the best big threes in the NBA. Although Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. put up a great fight, with Ja dropping a 22 point double double with 11 assists and 5 rebounds. While Jaren went on to score 33 points.
The Phoenix Suns breezed through with an easy win over the Wizards, 125-112. DeAndre Ayton dropped 24 points and 12 rebounds, while shooting 78.6%, with two 3 pointers! The Suns big man has gone 0-7 from the 3 point line against the Wizards earlier this season, but it seems over the hiatus he’s been working on that jumper. Devin Booker dropped 27 points with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Most notably on the Wizard though, rookie star, Rui Hachimura had 21 points and 8 rebounds.
Bucks vs Celtics was an outright Greek freak show! With Giannis scoring 36 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists; he is showing the world why he is arguably this year's MVP again! The Bucks also put up a great defensive effort holding star Jayson Tatum to only 5 points with an 11% shooting percentage, shooting 2/18.
The regular season finally resumed for the Spurs, and they got off on the right foot with an assertive win over a foe directly in their path to the postseason: the Sacramento Kings. The offense was on fire almost all night, and although the defense wasn’t great they fought back, asserted their dominance late, and actually closed a game strong for the 127-120 win: a good sign that this team is improving. DeMar DeRozan led the way with 27 points on 10/13 shooting, 10 assists and 5 rebounds, and Derrick White was phenomenal all game with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. De’Aaron Fox and Bogdan Bogdanovic fought hard against the Spurs with 63 combined points, but it wasn’t enough as San Antonio pushed forward.
Finally, the game of the night. Rockets vs Mavs. People were doubting the potential quality of the NBA if it were to return during the pandemic, but this game shows that there is no lack or quality in sight. In a thrilling overtime bout that featured a double-digit fourth quarter comeback, the Rockets stunned the Mavericks 153-149. James Harden and Russell Westbrook were the ones behind the comeback for Houston. The duo combined for 80 points, 20 rebounds and 16 assists. Danuel House chipped in six 3-pointers as well to support them, and despite their horrible defense, they managed to overcome a Dallas team that made 21 3-pointers and got at least 24 points from four separate players (Kristaps Porzingis, Luka Doncic, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Trey Burke). Today was an insane day for the NBA and there is a lot more to expect for tomorrow.
The Blazers and Grizzlies game was a wild one. Going into overtime with the Blazers getting the late game win. Damien Lillard with 29 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists. C.J. McCollum with 33 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. And last not, but certainly not least. Carmelo Anthony with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals, while shooting 70%. Carmelo really tapped in tonight, especially late game crunch mode and was incredibly clutch. It felt like it was 2006 again when Melo was averaging 28.9 points per game. The Blazers proved they are one of the best big threes in the NBA. Although Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. put up a great fight, with Ja dropping a 22 point double double with 11 assists and 5 rebounds. While Jaren went on to score 33 points.
The Phoenix Suns breezed through with an easy win over the Wizards, 125-112. DeAndre Ayton dropped 24 points and 12 rebounds, while shooting 78.6%, with two 3 pointers! The Suns big man has gone 0-7 from the 3 point line against the Wizards earlier this season, but it seems over the hiatus he’s been working on that jumper. Devin Booker dropped 27 points with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Most notably on the Wizard though, rookie star, Rui Hachimura had 21 points and 8 rebounds.
Bucks vs Celtics was an outright Greek freak show! With Giannis scoring 36 points, 15 rebounds, and 7 assists; he is showing the world why he is arguably this year's MVP again! The Bucks also put up a great defensive effort holding star Jayson Tatum to only 5 points with an 11% shooting percentage, shooting 2/18.
The regular season finally resumed for the Spurs, and they got off on the right foot with an assertive win over a foe directly in their path to the postseason: the Sacramento Kings. The offense was on fire almost all night, and although the defense wasn’t great they fought back, asserted their dominance late, and actually closed a game strong for the 127-120 win: a good sign that this team is improving. DeMar DeRozan led the way with 27 points on 10/13 shooting, 10 assists and 5 rebounds, and Derrick White was phenomenal all game with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. De’Aaron Fox and Bogdan Bogdanovic fought hard against the Spurs with 63 combined points, but it wasn’t enough as San Antonio pushed forward.
Finally, the game of the night. Rockets vs Mavs. People were doubting the potential quality of the NBA if it were to return during the pandemic, but this game shows that there is no lack or quality in sight. In a thrilling overtime bout that featured a double-digit fourth quarter comeback, the Rockets stunned the Mavericks 153-149. James Harden and Russell Westbrook were the ones behind the comeback for Houston. The duo combined for 80 points, 20 rebounds and 16 assists. Danuel House chipped in six 3-pointers as well to support them, and despite their horrible defense, they managed to overcome a Dallas team that made 21 3-pointers and got at least 24 points from four separate players (Kristaps Porzingis, Luka Doncic, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Trey Burke). Today was an insane day for the NBA and there is a lot more to expect for tomorrow.
NBA Restart From The Bubble - Day 1 Review
Written by Odin Najera
The NBA regular season is finally back after a 4 month hiatus that started on March 11 due to the CoronaVirus. Over the past couple weeks the NBA has been back with some scrimmage games, but today was the official return of the regular season. The matchups today were the Pelicans vs the Jazz, and the Lakers vs the Clippers.
The first game was the Pelicans vs Jazz game and that game was a real nail biter with the Jazz coming away with the win 106-104. Although the Pelicans lost, that didn’t stop All-Star SF Brandon Ingram from going off with 23 points, 8 rebounds, and a block in 33 minutes of play time. He is currently in the conversation for the Most Improved Player Award. Most notably though, 9 time NBA All-Star and 2 time NBA Champion, Kevin Durant noticed Brandon Ingram’s efforts and his skill and took to Twitter to acknowledge the 22 year old rising star by tweeting “#14 is a different breed…”. Which makes sense since Ingram’s game is very similar to Durant’s.
The second matchup was the game fans all around the world have been waiting for. The battle of LA. Lakers vs. Clippers. A life long rivalry from players to fans. This was another nail biter with the Lakers walking away with the close win 103-101. Kawhi with 28 points, with 11 from the freethrow line, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists. Paul George with 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. King James dropped a double double tonight with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. Anthony Davis went on a tear tonight with 34 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. 16 of those points coming from the free throw line, shooting 16/17 from the line. AD practically lived at the charity line.
Even with all the positivity the NBA is getting, the league and it’s players do not want to draw away attention from the injustice that is going on in the world, most recently, with the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Both teams of both games tonight took a knee and locked arms during the National Anthem, coaching staff and referees included. All players are using this platform to really try and make a change, with so many people watching these games because they miss sports they see the players all warming up in shirts supporting the BLM movement and calling for justice. Today was a great day 1 for the NBA’s return and tomorrow will be a lot crazier with there being a lot more games.
The first game was the Pelicans vs Jazz game and that game was a real nail biter with the Jazz coming away with the win 106-104. Although the Pelicans lost, that didn’t stop All-Star SF Brandon Ingram from going off with 23 points, 8 rebounds, and a block in 33 minutes of play time. He is currently in the conversation for the Most Improved Player Award. Most notably though, 9 time NBA All-Star and 2 time NBA Champion, Kevin Durant noticed Brandon Ingram’s efforts and his skill and took to Twitter to acknowledge the 22 year old rising star by tweeting “#14 is a different breed…”. Which makes sense since Ingram’s game is very similar to Durant’s.
The second matchup was the game fans all around the world have been waiting for. The battle of LA. Lakers vs. Clippers. A life long rivalry from players to fans. This was another nail biter with the Lakers walking away with the close win 103-101. Kawhi with 28 points, with 11 from the freethrow line, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists. Paul George with 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. King James dropped a double double tonight with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. Anthony Davis went on a tear tonight with 34 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. 16 of those points coming from the free throw line, shooting 16/17 from the line. AD practically lived at the charity line.
Even with all the positivity the NBA is getting, the league and it’s players do not want to draw away attention from the injustice that is going on in the world, most recently, with the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Both teams of both games tonight took a knee and locked arms during the National Anthem, coaching staff and referees included. All players are using this platform to really try and make a change, with so many people watching these games because they miss sports they see the players all warming up in shirts supporting the BLM movement and calling for justice. Today was a great day 1 for the NBA’s return and tomorrow will be a lot crazier with there being a lot more games.
UFC 250 : Review 06/06/20
Written by Odin Najera
Over the past couple months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, live sports has been scarce. So whenever there’s any type of sporting event, diehard sports fans everywhere tune in. UFC 250 went down Saturday night, and it was well worth the money. Tonight was mostly a Bantamweight showcase. The fights consisted of Sean O’Malley vs Eddie Wineland, Niel Magney vs Anthony Rocco Martin, Aljamain Sterling vs Cory Sandhagen, Cody Garbrandt vs Raphael Assuncao, and the main event, Amanda Nuñes vs Felicia Spencer. Sean O’Malley got the win over Eddie Wineland with a first round knock out and an almost effortless performance. The Sugar Show moves on to 12-0 continuing to make a name for himself and leaving the fans wanting more. People were saying that this was going to be a great test for Sean, but his performance proved otherwise. Niel Magney and Anthony Rocco Martin were the only male, non-Bantamweight fighters tonight. The fight was a very back and forth fight going all the way to decision with Niel Magney walking away with the victory over Anthony Martin. Aljamain Sterling and Cory Sandhagen was a very anticipated fight, Sterling being the #2 ranked Bantamweight, and Sandhagen being #4. The fight ended in a first round submission by Aljamain in intense fashion. Sandhagen escaped 2 previous submission attempts by Sterling, but couldn’t quite shake the third. One of the more exciting fights, Cody Garbandt vs Raphael Assuncao. Cody makes his return to the UFC after his 0-3 skid, and he fulfilled his promise to himself to the fans. Cody showed incredible speed and power, and he won the fight with a last second buzzer beater right hook at the end of the second round. Cody looked like it was 2016 and he was 11-0 again. “Cody 2.0” is back and he moves on at 12-3 making a run for the belt. Finally, the main event. Amanda Nuñes vs Felicia Spencer. The fight shockingly went all 5 rounds. Amanda Nuñes did not let up a single second of this fight, and did nothing but dominate the entire time. It was extremely one sided, but on the other hand, Felicia Spencer showed amazing courage, poise, heart, and strength. There were multiple moments where her team thought about ending the fight, but Felicia wanted to keep going. She shocked a lot of people going the distance against the champion. A lot of people were not expecting this fight to leave the first round, but Felicia had a different plan. These women both had nothing but respect for eachother and it was a great fight. Amanda protects her two belts and moves on 20-4 looking for new competition after shes cleaned out both the Featherweight and the Bantamweight divisions.
Who’s the NBA MVP? Giannis or Lebron?
With less than 20 games left in the NBA regular season, playoff standings are starting to establish as well as personal awards. The most notable award is definitely the MVP award. Now there are a lot of players who are having terrific seasons for their respective teams. However, this year is a two-man race. Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Lebron James of the Los Angeles Lakers. As the season is ticking down, the debate is definitely heating up. It’s the topic of all sports talk shows. Who is going to be the Most Valuable Player for the 2019-2020 NBA Season. Now either way, I don’t think you can go wrong with either of these players.
Let’s start with the reigning MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The star forward is leading the Milwaukee Bucks to an incredible, record breaking regular season so far. The Bucks sit at the top of the Eastern Conference with the best record in basketball at 53-12 at the time this is being written. Giannis is the main reason for that, of course. The ‘Greek Freak’ is putting up another spectacular season on the court. He currently is third in the league for points per game at 29.6 which is more than his 2018-2019 MVP season. He also improved his rebounding numbers at 13.7 per game, which is also good for third in the NBA. He is an instant lock for NBA All-Defensive First Team for the second straight year. The only knock of Giannis’ campaign for MVP is that he plays in a weaker Eastern Conference, however most experts know that his playing schedule shouldn’t contradict whether he is worthy of the award or not. After tweaking his knee in a recent loss to the Lakers at the Staples Center, he will miss a little bit of time, but luckily nothing serious. He is set to be a free-agent this coming up off season.
Now let’s start with “The King”, Lebron James. The 35-year old, now point guard is playing the best basketball in years. After last season was cut short from a groin injury, and the Lakers missing the playoffs, Lebron is officially back. With a fairly new team, and the addition of one of the best big men in the league in Anthony Davis, the two have been one of the best duos in the league today. Lebron is putting up a modest 25.7 PPG with 7.9 boards per game. However, in year 17 Lebron has revolutionized his game and leads the league in assists with 10.6. He is doing this all while having the responsibility of defending the best opposing player, most of the time. The Lakers sit alone at the top of the Western Conference, and will most likely cruise to a Western Conference Final appearance. The knock on Lebron’s campaign is that since he has Anthony Davis on his team, there’s been a minor dip in his offensive scoring numbers.
The two have faced off twice this season. Both teams protected home court, and won one game each. The entire time before the all-star break, it looked like Giannis would easily go back-to-back, and win another MVP. Since then, Lebron has played with more urgency. Now I don’t know if it was the “Playoff Lebron” mode activating, or maybe the death of Kobe Bryant that is giving him this push, although it could be a mixture of both. If Giannis misses a majority of his remaining regular season games, (even though it is only supposed to be two) you may see Lebron take it home. A lot like in the MLB when Christian Yelich went down, and Cody Bellinger took home the hardware (Ironic it’s the same two cities, right?). However, I think it will be a toss-up for this award. It would be exciting to see these two players square off in the NBA Finals, even though this is a regular season award. You can’t go wrong with picking either one of these stars to be the MVP, and people will be mad regardless.
Let’s start with the reigning MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The star forward is leading the Milwaukee Bucks to an incredible, record breaking regular season so far. The Bucks sit at the top of the Eastern Conference with the best record in basketball at 53-12 at the time this is being written. Giannis is the main reason for that, of course. The ‘Greek Freak’ is putting up another spectacular season on the court. He currently is third in the league for points per game at 29.6 which is more than his 2018-2019 MVP season. He also improved his rebounding numbers at 13.7 per game, which is also good for third in the NBA. He is an instant lock for NBA All-Defensive First Team for the second straight year. The only knock of Giannis’ campaign for MVP is that he plays in a weaker Eastern Conference, however most experts know that his playing schedule shouldn’t contradict whether he is worthy of the award or not. After tweaking his knee in a recent loss to the Lakers at the Staples Center, he will miss a little bit of time, but luckily nothing serious. He is set to be a free-agent this coming up off season.
Now let’s start with “The King”, Lebron James. The 35-year old, now point guard is playing the best basketball in years. After last season was cut short from a groin injury, and the Lakers missing the playoffs, Lebron is officially back. With a fairly new team, and the addition of one of the best big men in the league in Anthony Davis, the two have been one of the best duos in the league today. Lebron is putting up a modest 25.7 PPG with 7.9 boards per game. However, in year 17 Lebron has revolutionized his game and leads the league in assists with 10.6. He is doing this all while having the responsibility of defending the best opposing player, most of the time. The Lakers sit alone at the top of the Western Conference, and will most likely cruise to a Western Conference Final appearance. The knock on Lebron’s campaign is that since he has Anthony Davis on his team, there’s been a minor dip in his offensive scoring numbers.
The two have faced off twice this season. Both teams protected home court, and won one game each. The entire time before the all-star break, it looked like Giannis would easily go back-to-back, and win another MVP. Since then, Lebron has played with more urgency. Now I don’t know if it was the “Playoff Lebron” mode activating, or maybe the death of Kobe Bryant that is giving him this push, although it could be a mixture of both. If Giannis misses a majority of his remaining regular season games, (even though it is only supposed to be two) you may see Lebron take it home. A lot like in the MLB when Christian Yelich went down, and Cody Bellinger took home the hardware (Ironic it’s the same two cities, right?). However, I think it will be a toss-up for this award. It would be exciting to see these two players square off in the NBA Finals, even though this is a regular season award. You can’t go wrong with picking either one of these stars to be the MVP, and people will be mad regardless.
Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury Rematch Preview
Tomorrow night in Las Vegas, the World Heavyweight Championship will take place. Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury will square off for a rematch for the ages. The first fight took place back on December 1, 2018 at the Staples Center. It ended in a controversial draw, most said Fury was victorious, despite being knocked down twice. The second knock down left Fury flat on his back, and it was hard to believe that he even stood back up. Some may have argued that the referee started his count late or that he stretched out the enunciation of the numbers, and that gave Fury just enough time to get on his feet. However, it’s still impressive that he was able to stand up after taking an open right jab and a left hook on the way down. He was the only person on the planet that could’ve recovered from that.
The second time around, the same thing is still on the line. The WBC Heavyweight Title, that Deontay Wilder has held since 2015. Since the first fight, Deontay Wilder has had two more title defenses. Both were won via knockout. On May 18, 2019 Wilder beat Dominic Breazeale after knocking him out early in the first round. 6 months later, a rematch with Luis Ortiz happened on November 23, 2019. Despite being 34 years of age, Wilder is in the prime of his career.
Wilder’s competition, Tyson Fury is 31 years of age. Since the first fight, Fury has had two bouts. The first took place against Tom Schwarz (24–0, 16 KOs) on June 15, 2019. Fury knocked him out in the second round. The second fight, with sights on a rematch with Wilder, was against Otto Wallin (20–0, 13 KOs) on September 14, 2019. The fight resulted in a unanimous decision victory.
This is the most anticipated boxing match since Pacquiao vs. Mayweather in 2015. It’s truly two Goliath’s going toe to toe. Wilder is going to be fighting at 6’7 and 231lbs. Tyson Fury weighed in at 273 lbs, and 6 foot 9 inches. Deontay Wilder is the favorite at -125. Which makes Fury the underdog at +150. Fury is the more technical boxer. He knows how to work an opponent, and he plays strong defense, especially when he is against the ropes. Wilder is the more raw fighter, who can win a fight with his right hook at any time, even if he is losing the fight at that moment. My personal prediction is that the fight goes the distance with Tyson Fury winning in a unanimous decision. The fight is set to be a good one, and you can tune in via PPV.
The second time around, the same thing is still on the line. The WBC Heavyweight Title, that Deontay Wilder has held since 2015. Since the first fight, Deontay Wilder has had two more title defenses. Both were won via knockout. On May 18, 2019 Wilder beat Dominic Breazeale after knocking him out early in the first round. 6 months later, a rematch with Luis Ortiz happened on November 23, 2019. Despite being 34 years of age, Wilder is in the prime of his career.
Wilder’s competition, Tyson Fury is 31 years of age. Since the first fight, Fury has had two bouts. The first took place against Tom Schwarz (24–0, 16 KOs) on June 15, 2019. Fury knocked him out in the second round. The second fight, with sights on a rematch with Wilder, was against Otto Wallin (20–0, 13 KOs) on September 14, 2019. The fight resulted in a unanimous decision victory.
This is the most anticipated boxing match since Pacquiao vs. Mayweather in 2015. It’s truly two Goliath’s going toe to toe. Wilder is going to be fighting at 6’7 and 231lbs. Tyson Fury weighed in at 273 lbs, and 6 foot 9 inches. Deontay Wilder is the favorite at -125. Which makes Fury the underdog at +150. Fury is the more technical boxer. He knows how to work an opponent, and he plays strong defense, especially when he is against the ropes. Wilder is the more raw fighter, who can win a fight with his right hook at any time, even if he is losing the fight at that moment. My personal prediction is that the fight goes the distance with Tyson Fury winning in a unanimous decision. The fight is set to be a good one, and you can tune in via PPV.
What the Mookie Betts Trade Actually Means For The Dodgers
This past Monday Mookie Betts was officially dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers with David Price. The Dodgers gave Boston second year outfielder Alex Verdugo, shortstop prospect Jeter Downs, and catching prospect Connor Wong. This was after the original three-team deal with the Minnesota Twins was held up due to medical concerns the Red Sox had with pitching prospect, Brusdar Graterol. In this new deal, instead of the Red Sox settling with just Verdugo and Graterol, the Red Sox get two extra strong prospects. Graterol was dealt to the Dodgers for pitcher Kenta Maeda, in a separate deal. This held up another deal with the Anaheim Angels that would have sent Ross Stripling and Joc Pederson to the Angels for infielder Luis Rengifo. That deal since then has fallen through, and Stripling and Pederson are still Dodgers (for now).
Now the Dodgers can use the falling through of the Angels’ trade to their advantage. There are a lot of other teams that would love to have a power hitter and a number five starter in their rotation. With the strongest farm system in baseball, there’s a reason why most teams want to do business with the Dodgers for big stars. They have the ability to put a couple more prospects to go along with Stripling and Pederson in return for another star. The Dodgers were able to upgrade from Rich Hill to David Price, and land a top five player in baseball in Mookie Betts for really close to nothing. Alex Verdugo has a high ceiling, and can be an important asset to any team, when healthy. He makes contact, but lacks power, so maybe playing at a left handed hitter friendly park such as Fenway will benefit him. The Dodgers were probably planning to give up more prospects, in the worst case scenario.
Since the Dodgers have more prospects even after the Mookie Betts trade, and both Pederson & Stripling obviously expendable they could put together a major package that few people would refuse.
Now the two teams that would make the most sense are the Chicago Cubs & the Cleveland Indians. Now the two packages would most likely be the same, with the exception of one player. The Dodger prospects most likely dealt are Keibert Ruiz, Edwin Rios, DJ Peters, and Dennis Santana. Everyone and their mother knows that Dustin May, Gavin Lux, and Will Smith are not going anywhere. The offer to the Cubs would be for Kris Bryant. Yes, another MVP. The Cubs would be able to replace Kris Bryant’s bat with Joc Pederson. The prospects are young, cost-controlled players who can contribute immediately. Ross Stripling would just be a thank you piece. Another K Bryant in Los Angeles just seems right. He would probably play a lot of left field, and when he plays third base Justin Turner would move to first, and Max Muncy plays second. Personally, I think with Kris Bryant we would be too cluttered and it would ultimately be an inconvenience for Dave Roberts with all of the talent they have.
The second team, the Cleveland Indians seems like a more realistic fit. Joc Pederson is an upgrade in the outfield, and if they think he’s a defensive liability, his 36 home runs would fit well at the designated hitter spot. The Dodgers would get in return Francisco Lindor & Mike Clevinger. The Dodgers would give up a top pitching prospect (possibly Josiah Gray), and most likely Corey Seager. Now that is plenty for two players, if you include Ross Stripling in the deal. Mike Clevinger gives the Dodgers a consistent right handed starter, which will help because being so left handed heavy has been a weakness in the playoffs before. So imagine a Dodger lineup with Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, Gavin Lux, Justin Turner, Will Smith, Francisco Lindor/Corey Seager, and/or Kris Bryant. The Dodgers should not stop now after landing Betts. They were just cheated out of one, possibly two World Series rings. Andrew Friedman should stay aggressive, and should make one more blockbuster trade before the off-season is over.
Now the Dodgers can use the falling through of the Angels’ trade to their advantage. There are a lot of other teams that would love to have a power hitter and a number five starter in their rotation. With the strongest farm system in baseball, there’s a reason why most teams want to do business with the Dodgers for big stars. They have the ability to put a couple more prospects to go along with Stripling and Pederson in return for another star. The Dodgers were able to upgrade from Rich Hill to David Price, and land a top five player in baseball in Mookie Betts for really close to nothing. Alex Verdugo has a high ceiling, and can be an important asset to any team, when healthy. He makes contact, but lacks power, so maybe playing at a left handed hitter friendly park such as Fenway will benefit him. The Dodgers were probably planning to give up more prospects, in the worst case scenario.
Since the Dodgers have more prospects even after the Mookie Betts trade, and both Pederson & Stripling obviously expendable they could put together a major package that few people would refuse.
Now the two teams that would make the most sense are the Chicago Cubs & the Cleveland Indians. Now the two packages would most likely be the same, with the exception of one player. The Dodger prospects most likely dealt are Keibert Ruiz, Edwin Rios, DJ Peters, and Dennis Santana. Everyone and their mother knows that Dustin May, Gavin Lux, and Will Smith are not going anywhere. The offer to the Cubs would be for Kris Bryant. Yes, another MVP. The Cubs would be able to replace Kris Bryant’s bat with Joc Pederson. The prospects are young, cost-controlled players who can contribute immediately. Ross Stripling would just be a thank you piece. Another K Bryant in Los Angeles just seems right. He would probably play a lot of left field, and when he plays third base Justin Turner would move to first, and Max Muncy plays second. Personally, I think with Kris Bryant we would be too cluttered and it would ultimately be an inconvenience for Dave Roberts with all of the talent they have.
The second team, the Cleveland Indians seems like a more realistic fit. Joc Pederson is an upgrade in the outfield, and if they think he’s a defensive liability, his 36 home runs would fit well at the designated hitter spot. The Dodgers would get in return Francisco Lindor & Mike Clevinger. The Dodgers would give up a top pitching prospect (possibly Josiah Gray), and most likely Corey Seager. Now that is plenty for two players, if you include Ross Stripling in the deal. Mike Clevinger gives the Dodgers a consistent right handed starter, which will help because being so left handed heavy has been a weakness in the playoffs before. So imagine a Dodger lineup with Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, Gavin Lux, Justin Turner, Will Smith, Francisco Lindor/Corey Seager, and/or Kris Bryant. The Dodgers should not stop now after landing Betts. They were just cheated out of one, possibly two World Series rings. Andrew Friedman should stay aggressive, and should make one more blockbuster trade before the off-season is over.
Preview : Super Bowl 54
Later today, the 54th Super Bowl will be played. The San Francisco 49ers take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Miami, Florida. This may be the most exciting Super Bowl in the last 5 years. Some may say it’s because the New England Patriots are not playing, but it’s exciting because of the matchup itself. This is the best way to end the NFL’s 100th season. Let’s take a look at what both teams bring to the table, and how they matchup.
Let’s start off with the AFC champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. This team was a win away from a trip to play in the Super Bowl just last year. This isn’t a surprise that they are playing today, but with their journey to get here, they definitely were never a shoe-in to win the AFC. This team was the best overall AFC team going into the playoffs, and the reasons are obvious. This team has an explosive offense led by former MVP Patrick Mahomes and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy (who is set for a head coaching job in the near future). They have weapons that take the top off the defense, but this offense is very one-dimensional. I don’t know how well they can do against Robert Saleh’s number 1 defense. They don’t really have a run game to rely on when they need it. They are good at playing from behind, because of how quick they can score through the air. It would be interesting to see what they do offensively if they get a lead in the second & third quarters. They have a superb run defense, and they have the challenge of shutting down the 49ers run game. Tyrann Mathieu leads a solid secondary, so this team is very well rounded for the most part. This Chief’s team is promising, but if their weaknesses get exploited early they might be in for a long night in Miami.
Now let’s take a look at the NFC champions, the San Francisco 49ers. Now if you went to Las Vegas during the preseason and bet on the 49ers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, you would be a very wealthy man. This team may be even more well rounded than the Chiefs. The run defense of the Chiefs is strong, but if there's one team to succeed on the ground it’s the 49er’s run game. Running back Tevin Coleman is supposed to be ready to go after he dislocated a shoulder in the NFC championship. Raheem Mostert is a force to be reckoned with. Matt Brieda also adds depth to the tailback position. With the run game, the play action opens up for Jimmy Garappolo to air it out to the best tight end in the world in George Kittle. Wideout Kendrick Bourne gets his touches in the red zone off play action plays, so don’t be surprised to see #84 celebrating in the end zone. Emmanuel Sanders has come up big in big moments for this team, so expect him to have a big game for Jimmy G. Enough with the offense, let’s get to the defense. Robert Saleh (another assistant worthy of being a head coach in this league) has helped mold the best defense in the NFL. Led up front with the best defensive line in football. Dee Ford will have the opportunity to get after his former teammates. The Defensive Rookie of the Year, Nick Bosa will have the most difficult task of his young career in chasing down the mobile Patrick Mahomes. Middle linebacker, Kwon Alexander should be a full go. The secondary will be tested, and if the defensive line can’t put Mahomes on the ground, the secondary will need to stay on these receivers. This is a good thing that the Niners run a lot of zone defense, and not a lot of man defense. If the defense can just slow down this Chiefs offense and keep the ball in Jimmy Garappolo’s hands the 49ers will have their 6th Lombardi Trophy.
Let’s start off with the AFC champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. This team was a win away from a trip to play in the Super Bowl just last year. This isn’t a surprise that they are playing today, but with their journey to get here, they definitely were never a shoe-in to win the AFC. This team was the best overall AFC team going into the playoffs, and the reasons are obvious. This team has an explosive offense led by former MVP Patrick Mahomes and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy (who is set for a head coaching job in the near future). They have weapons that take the top off the defense, but this offense is very one-dimensional. I don’t know how well they can do against Robert Saleh’s number 1 defense. They don’t really have a run game to rely on when they need it. They are good at playing from behind, because of how quick they can score through the air. It would be interesting to see what they do offensively if they get a lead in the second & third quarters. They have a superb run defense, and they have the challenge of shutting down the 49ers run game. Tyrann Mathieu leads a solid secondary, so this team is very well rounded for the most part. This Chief’s team is promising, but if their weaknesses get exploited early they might be in for a long night in Miami.
Now let’s take a look at the NFC champions, the San Francisco 49ers. Now if you went to Las Vegas during the preseason and bet on the 49ers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, you would be a very wealthy man. This team may be even more well rounded than the Chiefs. The run defense of the Chiefs is strong, but if there's one team to succeed on the ground it’s the 49er’s run game. Running back Tevin Coleman is supposed to be ready to go after he dislocated a shoulder in the NFC championship. Raheem Mostert is a force to be reckoned with. Matt Brieda also adds depth to the tailback position. With the run game, the play action opens up for Jimmy Garappolo to air it out to the best tight end in the world in George Kittle. Wideout Kendrick Bourne gets his touches in the red zone off play action plays, so don’t be surprised to see #84 celebrating in the end zone. Emmanuel Sanders has come up big in big moments for this team, so expect him to have a big game for Jimmy G. Enough with the offense, let’s get to the defense. Robert Saleh (another assistant worthy of being a head coach in this league) has helped mold the best defense in the NFL. Led up front with the best defensive line in football. Dee Ford will have the opportunity to get after his former teammates. The Defensive Rookie of the Year, Nick Bosa will have the most difficult task of his young career in chasing down the mobile Patrick Mahomes. Middle linebacker, Kwon Alexander should be a full go. The secondary will be tested, and if the defensive line can’t put Mahomes on the ground, the secondary will need to stay on these receivers. This is a good thing that the Niners run a lot of zone defense, and not a lot of man defense. If the defense can just slow down this Chiefs offense and keep the ball in Jimmy Garappolo’s hands the 49ers will have their 6th Lombardi Trophy.
5 Things Kobe Bryant Should Be Remembered For
On Sunday morning news broke that NBA legend Kobe Bryant died due to a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. This might have been the most tragic death of the century, and I’m still in disbelief as I’m writing this. His daughter, Gianna also lost her life in the helicopter, and this makes the moment that much more heartbreaking. Kobe was a man of many traits not just being the greatest basketball scorer ever. He was drafted at just 17 years old of age, and straight out of high school. To have to go toe-to-toe with some guys twice his age night in and night out is something that only few have been able to handle. Fewer have been able to handle the league at the top of their game like Kobe. The Black Mamba was a once in a lifetime icon. So let’s take a look at 5 things that Kobe SHOULD be remembered for other than his hooping ability.
1. “Dear Basketball” Poem/Short Film
His writing abilities on this heartfelt poem won him an OSCAR. The five-time Finals champion won an Academy Award, that alone has never been done and won’t be accomplished again for a long time. He wrote the poem during his last season, in the final stretch of the 2015-2016 NBA season. The poem was a letter to the game he loved, and how the game transformed him & was always there for him. A memorable quote was “This season is all I have to give”. The poem was developed into an animated short film that won an Oscar two years later.
2. Nike Sneaker Line
Kobe was getting attention from sneaker deals since the beginning of his senior season of high school. As he got drafted he signed a deal with Adidas and produced multiple sneakers with the company, most notably the “Crazy 8”. After his contract expired in 2002, Kobe took his talents to the Nike brand in 2003. The line started off slowly. Kobe took the court mostly wearing Nike Air Huarache sneakers for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. The Nike Zoom Kobe I made its debut, and the rest was history. There have been 15 Kobe sneakers, and they have been the best performance basketball shoe for 15 years.
3. Kobe’s Musical Impact
Kobe has wanted to do music since his rookie year. His name has been put into hundreds of rap lyrics of the past 20 years. He has been an influence to rap artists just do to his work ethic, and that makes everyone better. He has had relationships with Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Drake among others in the rap world. He has a rap verse on R&B artist Brian McKnight’s “Hold Me” remix. His name will live on through music for generations to come.
4. Impact on The City of Los Angeles
Kobe Bryant played all 20 of his NBA seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. He won 5 championships in a decade from 2000-2010. He helped bring the Lakers back to prominence after a mediocre 90s decade. Everyone wanted a Kobe Bryant jersey. He was cocky but yet a silent assassin at the same time. All ethnicities loved Kobe, and Southern California is such a melting pot of cultures. People felt connected to Kobe, and some felt like they grew up with him. He was a player who battled through adversity, and the working class people can relate to that. When you think about that “mamba mentality” you think about working harder than everyone else, and that is what Los Angeles stands by. LA is the city of champions, and Kobe helped establish that.
5. Mamba Mentality
Kobe has always had a drive like no other. Nobody has worked harder than Kobe Bryant, and he had always stressed that. He was the first to get to the facility for practice, and always the last to leave. When he was still playing he would be bothered by teammates who didn’t have the work ethic that matched his. So that means he was bothered all the time, because the only person with that similar drive and dedication is Michael Jordan. He even taught himself how to play “Moonlight Sonata” for his wife... HE TAUGHT HIMSELF. He has always given it his all and then some in everything he has done. From being a perennial All-star, to being a recording artist & musical influence , to being an Academy Award winner, and most importantly being a dad and teacher, Kobe has always given it everything he’s had. We need to keep that mentality going forever. Mamba forever.
Preview : NFC/AFC Championship
The final four is set for the NFL playoffs. If you had told me at the beginning of the season that these four teams would be playing for a Super Bowl, I would’ve thought you were insane. All four of these squads have really shocked the world during some part of the season. Whether you’re surprised or not these teams showed that they deserve to be on this stage, and play to go to Miami, Florida for a chance to win the Lombardi Trophy. Let’s take a look at the two upcoming games happening Sunday.
NFC Championship : Green Bay Packers @ San Francisco 49ers
This is a classic playoff matchup that’s gone on for years. Whether a Wild Card game, NFC Divisional, or a NFC Championship the two never disappoint when they square off in January. The two have already seen each other this year. In a week 12 matchup at Levi’s stadium where the Kyle Shanahan led 49ers discombobulated the Packers 37-8. However, the Packers have not lost a game since (probably due to the pathetic schedule). The 49ers defense is even more healthy then week 12, with star LB Kwon Alexander being a full go for this NFC Championship. Although this is the playoffs, and anything can happen. Especially with future hall of famer, Aaron Rodgers. I don’t expect the Niners to do anything different than the first time around, but I do expect rookie head coach Matt LeFleur to make a ton of adjustments and put up a better fight. The Niner defense and the run game will do it’s thing to take the pressure off of Jimmy Garoppolo. This will be closer than people expect.
AFC Championship : Tennessee Titans @ KC Chiefs
This is probably a shock to most. The Titans have the opportunity to knock off the 1,2,&3 seeds while playing all games on the road. All on the back of Derrick Henry. The Heisman Award winner has had nothing short of a legendary playoff run so far. The Titans defense was impressive in last week’s surprise victory over Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. However, they are playing their toughest opponent yet. The Kansas City Chiefs have the best offense of the teams left standing. That’s due to quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid. This matchup is going to come down to a few simple things. Can the Titans offense run the clock out and keep the ball out of Patrick Mahomes’ hand, and can the Chiefs’ defense make Ryan Tannehill beat them. If the Titans can manage to run Derrick Henry the whole game, and control possession of the ball that will be crucial because this Chiefs offense can score often and fast. This was evident in the Chiefs comeback victory against the Houston Texans. The Chiefs defense needs to just focus in on Derrick Henry, and I know that sounds obvious, but they need to put all of their eggs into this basket, so that Ryan Tannehill has to throw the ball to win. That’s more possibility for turnovers which will lead to more points. This is an exciting matchup, and this could go either way.
NFC Wild Card Round Preview
It’s early January, so you know what that means, playoff football. After an unforgettable NFL season, the best of the best teams play each other with the same ultimate goal, to win the Lombardi Trophy. Now it’s easy to say that every team in the playoffs, deserve to be in the playoffs. No matter what seed, every team has proven they are a playoff team. So let’s review the second day of the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs.
Minnesota Vikings V. New Orleans Saints
The sixth seed Minnesota Vikings will try to knock out the number three seed Saints at the Superdome. The NFC North runner-ups are one of the more complete teams in the NFL. With a solid defense led by UCLA alum, Eric Kendricks and a A-list run game with Dalvin Cook at the helm, they deserve to be in the playoffs. Kirk Cousins was able to not turn the ball over and be efficient, with a respectable 69.1 completion percentage he’s done enough to keep his team in every game they’ve played. However they are just another team in the way. Drew Brees and the Saints are a team on a mission. Drew Brees is playing like the best QB in the NFC, which is due to the fact that he’s throwing to the best receiver in the league in Michael Thomas. Alvin Kamara has been able to get healthy, and he will make a significant impact in balancing out the offense as a whole. Head coach Sean Payton’s use of utility player, Taysom Hill has left defensive coordinators second guessing their play calling. The bottom line is will Kirk Cousins show out and play the game of his life? If not then it will be an early vacation for the Vikings.
Seattle Seahawks v. Philadelphia Eagles
The Seattle Seahawks, who were two inches away from a bye week, travel East to Philadelphia to battle Carson Wentz and the Eagles. The Seahawks are going to have to take their talents to the road, after losing week 17 to the 49ers at home. They are definitely a beat up team, who is missing some essential pieces on both sides of the ball. As long as Russell Wilson is the player behind center the Seahawks will be competitive in every game they play. Most see them as the favorites in this game, due to still being 12-4 against a 9-7 Philadelphia squad. The Eagles are definitely the Cinderella team in this year’s playoffs. Carson Wentz has played his best ball this season with the worst weapons he’s had to play with since college. Wentz has been able to rally his entire team to play their hearts out, despite not having the most talent. This game will be a close one due to Carson Wentz, and weapons Miles Sanders and Zach Ertz returning from injury. Philadelphia could be a serious threat if they can get past a very capable Seattle team.
AFC Wild Card Round Preview
It’s early January, so you know what that means, playoff football. After an unforgettable NFL season, the best of the best teams play each other with the same ultimate goal, to win the Lombardi Trophy. Now it’s easy to say that every team in the playoffs, deserve to be in the playoffs. No matter what seed, every team has proven they are a playoff team. So let’s review the first day of the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs.
Buffalo Bills v. Houston Texans
The Buffalo Bills will head to Houston to battle the Texans in the first professional playoff game of the decade. On the Houston side, the main question is how big of an impact can defensive end J.J Watt make. After suffering a pectoral tear in October, the rest of his season was in doubt. However after a lot of rehabbing, and maybe a touch of luck, the three-time Defensive Player of The Year is set to return to the field. His job is to help shut down quarterback Josh Allen, and the Bills offense. Even though Houston is the favorite in this matchup of 10-6 teams, the Bills won’t be a pushover team. Even though their offense showed inconsistency throughout the year, their defense is what makes this team a threat. They’ve only given up 16.2 points a game which is good for second best in the league. The key stat to look at before this game is the 195.2 passing yards allowed per game. All-Pro cornerback, Tre’Davious White will have the responsibility to cover one of the game’s best in DeAndre Hopkins. If Josh Allen just plays mediocre, the Bills will compete for a win based off the strength of their defense. However this won’t help them succeed past the divisional round.
Tennessee Titans v. New England Patriots
This game might be the most competitive wild card game, and that may surprise some people. The Tennessee Titans are the sixth seed in the AFC, but they may be the hottest team in football. With the Titans finding their QB in Ryan Tannehill to help balance the running attack of Derrick Henry, the Titans are a new force to be wrecking with. Let’s not takeaway from their opponent, who is the best ever when it comes to playoff football. That opponent is Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots. Most expect this to be the end of the dynasty, and with a young Bills team just behind them in the AFC East, the Patriots time at the throne could be limited. Don’t count out Tom Brady in Foxborough during the playoffs. The 42-year old QB quietly put up another 4,000 yard season. This is the David vs. Goliath matchup, but Belichick’s defense will find a way to eliminate the run game and test Tannehill’s arm.
Buffalo Bills v. Houston Texans
The Buffalo Bills will head to Houston to battle the Texans in the first professional playoff game of the decade. On the Houston side, the main question is how big of an impact can defensive end J.J Watt make. After suffering a pectoral tear in October, the rest of his season was in doubt. However after a lot of rehabbing, and maybe a touch of luck, the three-time Defensive Player of The Year is set to return to the field. His job is to help shut down quarterback Josh Allen, and the Bills offense. Even though Houston is the favorite in this matchup of 10-6 teams, the Bills won’t be a pushover team. Even though their offense showed inconsistency throughout the year, their defense is what makes this team a threat. They’ve only given up 16.2 points a game which is good for second best in the league. The key stat to look at before this game is the 195.2 passing yards allowed per game. All-Pro cornerback, Tre’Davious White will have the responsibility to cover one of the game’s best in DeAndre Hopkins. If Josh Allen just plays mediocre, the Bills will compete for a win based off the strength of their defense. However this won’t help them succeed past the divisional round.
Tennessee Titans v. New England Patriots
This game might be the most competitive wild card game, and that may surprise some people. The Tennessee Titans are the sixth seed in the AFC, but they may be the hottest team in football. With the Titans finding their QB in Ryan Tannehill to help balance the running attack of Derrick Henry, the Titans are a new force to be wrecking with. Let’s not takeaway from their opponent, who is the best ever when it comes to playoff football. That opponent is Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots. Most expect this to be the end of the dynasty, and with a young Bills team just behind them in the AFC East, the Patriots time at the throne could be limited. Don’t count out Tom Brady in Foxborough during the playoffs. The 42-year old QB quietly put up another 4,000 yard season. This is the David vs. Goliath matchup, but Belichick’s defense will find a way to eliminate the run game and test Tannehill’s arm.
Joe Burrow Has Record Setting Win For the Heisman Trophy
On Saturday December 14, 2019 LSU stand-out quarterback, Joe Burrow was named the Heisman Award winner for the 2019 college football season. His win was the biggest margin ever. He was able to get 90% of the first place votes. The Ohio State transfer was also able to get the most points ever with 1,846 total points in the voting. He is the third straight transfer player to take home the honors. The senior QB helped lead LSU to a perfect 13-0 regular season, and the number one seed in the College Football Playoff. With 4,715 yards on an impressive 77.9 completion percentage to go with 51 total touchdowns, it was an obvious choice who was taking home the most prestigious college sports award. You saw glimpses of how high Burrow’s ceiling is late last season, as he lead the Tigers to a 10-win season and a number 6 ranking in the AP Top 25. The attention was really on the 6’4 righty when he threw for four touchdowns against UCF in the Fiesta Bowl to close out the season. This season was special for not just Burrow himself, but for the whole Ed Orgeron coach team. They managed to beat a then #9 ranked Texas team on the road, as Burrow put the world on notice by passing for 471 yards with just 8 incompletions on 39 attempts. They played another top ten team just two weeks after, in the Florida Gators. With a convincing 45-28 win, and another efficient game by Joe Burrow, the college football scene knew that LSU was the truth. With two more top 10 wins against SEC West rivals, Auburn and Alabama, Joe rose to the occasion and was able to keep his team on top. LSU was able to knock off then #4 Georgia in the SEC Championship. They have Oklahoma in the first round of the CFP, as Burrow is up against the Heisman runner-up, Jalen Hurts. Definitely an unforgettable season for both Burrow and his Tigers, as they look to use this momentum to a National Championship.
Carmelo Anthony’s Impact on the Portland Trail Blazers, and the rest of the NBA
On Monday, December 2, Carmelo Anthony was named Western Conference Player of the Week. He hadn’t played in the NBA since January 21st. After putting in the hours in the gym and staying in playing shape at 35 years old, he was finally given the opportunity to play the game he loves on November 19, 2019. He signed a one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the Portland Trail Blazers to return to the NBA. The Blazer’s were a struggling 4-11, and little to no scoring from the small forward position when they signed Melo. Whether the signing was out of desperation, or because they knew they had nothing to lose. That stays with the front office. He was thrown right into the starting small forward position by day one. In Anthony’s return to the NBA court, you could definitely see the rust coming off. He shot 4/14 in 24 minutes of play. As Melo is getting back into the swing of things, Terry Stotts is giving him more minutes. His play is sparking a fire for the Blazer’s offense, especially as of late. If you watch the games you can tell that Carmelo still has that drive to play, and is not letting this opportunity slip away. Anthony is taking quality shots, getting to the line, he’s grabbing rebounds, and is getting his teammates involved by spreading the ball around. With star point guard, Damian Lillard returning from back spasms to help out CJ McCollum in the backcourt, the Blazer’s could go on a run for the playoffs. Melo was the player needed to fill the void that the team had. You can argue that Luka Doncic, James Harden, or Anthony Davis all had better weeks. They all lost within the last week, and Melo lead this Portland squad to a 3-0 record. You can criticize Carmelo Anthony’s play, but you can’t deny that he’s proven that he deserves to play in the NBA.
MLB Award Predictions
The only major sport organization that waits until the entire season is over to announce who wins the big awards. With the award winners being announced from Monday, November 11 to Thursday, November 14. We will find out who the winner of the Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, Cy Young, and MVP in each league, respectively. Although Sporting News already released their award winners two weeks ago, the BBWAA awards are what matters the most. Now let’s make some predictions before the real thing is announced.
Rookie of The Year
NL Nominees
Pete Alonso, 1B, Mets; Mike Soroka, RHP, Braves; Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, Padres
Predicted Winner:
Pete Alonso, 1B, Mets; Mike Soroka, RHP, Braves; Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, Padres
Predicted Winner:
Pete Alonso played 161 out of 162 games in his rookie season. That alone is impressive. He annihilated Cody Bellinger’s home run record for a rookie of 39 by hitting 53 bombs. He added 120 RBI’s for the Mets. However his 183 strikeouts may be the one thing that may prevent him from winning this award. Fernando Tatis Jr. isn’t winning this award because of his inability to stay on the field this season. He only played in 84 games compared to Alonso’s 161. If Tatis would’ve been able to stay healthy he would’ve been the winner, and it wouldn’t of been close. Pitcher Mike Soroka pitched a 2.68 ERA in 29 starts for the Braves. However that won’t be enough to beat out Alonso’s 53 home runs.
AL Nominees
Yordan Alvarez, DH/OF, Astros; Brandon Lowe , 2B/OF, Rays; John Means, LHP, Orioles
Predicted Winner:
Yordan Alvarez, DH/OF, Astros; Brandon Lowe , 2B/OF, Rays; John Means, LHP, Orioles
Predicted Winner:
Yordan Alvarez batted a .313 and 27 home runs in 87 games for the Astros. Lowe and Means both had good rookie seasons, but can’t compare to the record setting season Alvarez had. It won’t be a land slide, but a comfortable win for the Astro outfielder.
Manager of The Year
NL Nominees
Craig Counsell, Brewers; Mike Shildt, Cardinals; Brian Snitker, Braves
Predicted Winner:
Craig Counsell, Brewers; Mike Shildt, Cardinals; Brian Snitker, Braves
Predicted Winner:
AL Nominees
Rocco Baldelli, Twins; Aaron Boone, Yankees; Kevin Cash, Rays
Predicted Winner:
Rocco Baldelli, Twins; Aaron Boone, Yankees; Kevin Cash, Rays
Predicted Winner:
Mike Shildt led the Cardinals to a 91 win season and a NL Central division title. Although Craig Counsell was able to take the Brewers to the playoffs without Christian Yelich, Shildt shocked most of baseball not only won the division, but ended up going to the NLCS.
With no real high paid players, Kevin Cash was able to win 96 games in a difficult AL East. The Rays were not supposed to be in the playoffs, but Cash was able to lead them there. Baldelli will be a close second after leading the Twins to 101 wins and an AL Central title.
Cy Young
NL Nominees
Jacob deGrom, RHP, Mets; Hyun-Jin Ryu, LHP, Dodgers; Max Scherzer, RHP, Nationals
Predicted Winner:
Jacob deGrom, RHP, Mets; Hyun-Jin Ryu, LHP, Dodgers; Max Scherzer, RHP, Nationals
Predicted Winner:
Jacob deGrom will win back to back Cy Young Awards. With only 11 wins for the season, the Mets righty still racked up a league leading 255 strikeouts in 204 innings pitched. Max Scherzer has an injury that kept him out for a significant amount of time. Dodgers lefty, Hyun-Jin Ryu lead all of baseball in ERA with a 2.32. A sub-par September is what kept Ryu from not winning his first Cy Young.
AL Nominees
Gerrit Cole, RHP, Astros; Charlie Morton, RHP, Rays; Justin Verlander, RHP, Astros
Predicted Winner:
Gerrit Cole, RHP, Astros; Charlie Morton, RHP, Rays; Justin Verlander, RHP, Astros
Predicted Winner:
No disrespect to Charlie Morton, but this is a two man race. Gerrit Cole’s 326 strikeouts and a league leading 2.50 ERA will just edge out his 2019 teammate, Justin Verlander. However, Verlander beats out Cole in wins, with 21 compared to Cole’s 20. Verlander also has one more start than Cole so the voters probably won’t look at wins to decide a winner. Verlander has 223.0 innings compared to Coles 212.1. It’s going to be a close result, but Cole’s ERA and strikeouts put him over Verlander.
MVP
NL Nominees
Cody Bellinger, OF/1B, Dodgers; Anthony Rendon, 3B, Nationals; Christian Yelich, OF, Brewers
Predicted Winner:
Cody Bellinger, OF/1B, Dodgers; Anthony Rendon, 3B, Nationals; Christian Yelich, OF, Brewers
Predicted Winner:
Cody Bellinger is the National League MVP. It’s been that way since April. His out of this world numbers came down to earth in the second half as he went in and out of slumps. 47 home runs, 115 RBI’s, 121 runs scored, and a .629 slugging percentage to go along with his versatility defensively. He won a Golden Glove as a right fielder, but he could’ve won that at first base as well. Yelich’s season-ending injury might’ve made the difference in Bellinger’s favor. Anthony Rendon lead the league in RBI’s, but that won’t be enough to beat Bellinger.
AL Nominees
Alex Bregman, 3B, Astros; Marcus Semien, SS, A’s; Mike Trout, OF, Angels
Predicted Winner:
Alex Bregman, 3B, Astros; Marcus Semien, SS, A’s; Mike Trout, OF, Angels
Predicted Winner:
Another season-injury effects the MVP result. Mike Trout had 45 home runs and 104 RBIs before a foot injury took him out for the rest of his season. Alex Bregman will edge out Trout because of his durability down the stretch. Even though he has less home runs than Trout, he has a better average, more hits, and more RBIs. His defense at third base will also be a factor.
Washington Nationals Win Their First WS
The Washington Nationals won their first World Series after taking down the Houston Astros in 7 games. They won after upsetting the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, and sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in the LCS. They won the first two games at Minute Maid Park in Houston, before blowing a 2-0 lead and losing 3 straight home games in D.C. In Game 6, Stephen Strasburg pitched 8.1 innings as the offense got to Justin Verlander early and the Nationals evened the series at 3 wins a piece. After suffering back and neck spasms pitcher, Max Scherzer started game 7, and pitched 2-run ball through 5 innings. In a series where the home team lost in all 7 contests. Stephen Strasburg was named the World Series MVP after going 2-0 with a 2.51 ERA in 14.1 innings pitched. They have been the underdogs since letting Bryce Harper go to NL East rival, the Philadelphia Phillies. They were 19-31 on May 23, and manager Dave Martinez was on the hot seat. Just over 5 months later they have won their franchise’s first World Series.
Takeaways From Night 1 of the NBA
After a long wait for competitive basketball, after all the deals that occurred this summer, basketball is finally back. The only two games played on opening night were two of the most anticipated games of the season. There were a lot of questions about the four teams coming in. We all wanted to know how Anthony Davis would fit with Lebron in the purple and gold. If Kawhi Leonard could lead the Clippers to the promise land, after winning the Toronto Raptors their first championship in franchise history. Could the Toronto Raptors be successful without Kawhi? Will the new look New Orleans Pelicans be a threat in a heavily competitive Western Conference? Now it was just the opening night, and there are 81 games left for each team. However, some questions may have already been answered, while others are still left to be answered. Let’s keep it simple and take a look at the good, the bad, the unexpected, and what the future is going to look like after Tuesday night.
The Good:
Let’s start with the winners from Tuesday night. The Toronto Raptors beat the New Orleans Pelicans at home in double OT with a score of 130-122. On a night where the team was given their Finals rings and rose their banner in the rafters of Scotiabank Arena. Fresh off of signing a four-year, $130 million max contract extension, forward Pascal Siakam put up an impressive stat line of 34 points, 18 rebounds, and 5 assists. Fred Van Fleet exceeded expectations, but we’ll get to him later. Kyle Lowry added 22 points on 15 shots from the field in 45 minutes of play, including a clutch three-pointer with less than a minute left to seal the win in double overtime. Now let’s go to the other winner, the Los Angeles Clippers, now led by Kawhi Leonard took down Lebron and the Lakers with a score of 112-102. Leonard, in his Clippers debut put up a stat line of 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Lou Williams added 21 points off the bench in 37 minutes off 8/14 shooting from the field. Pat Beverly added 10 rebounds but only shot 1/7 from the field. For the New Orleans Pelicans, they were able to take the reigning champs to double overtime, that alone is impressive. Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans in scoring with 22 points off of 8/19 shooting. Josh Hart added 15 points in 28 minutes off the bench. Although they took a tough loss they still performed well without their number 1 overall pick, Zion Williamson. The Pels could surprise some people. Now with the Lakers although they lost there is still positive takeaways from Tuesday night. Anthony Davis, in his Lakers debut put up 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Lebron James put up 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. Also making his Lakers debut, Danny Green scorched the Clippers defense with 6/6 shooting from the three in the third quarter. He finished the night with 28 points.
The Bad:
Lebron and Anthony Davis combined for an atrocious 2 points in the 4th quarter. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope didn’t contribute offensively with 0 points in 27 minutes of action. Pat Beverly only shot 1/7 from the field for the Clips. Other than that it was good basketball all night long for the most part.
The Unexpected:
Toronto Guard, Fred VanVleet put up 34 points on an impressive 12/18 shooting performance.
The Future:
With 81 games to go for each of these 4 teams, the future is bright for all four. The Lakers didn’t play terribly, but they could’ve played better and they will with Kyle Kuzma and Rajon Rondo returning to the team. The Clippers played a strong game on both ends without their new All-NBA wing, Paul George. The Raptors have a new star in Fred VanVleet to go along with Kyle Lowry in the backcourt. The Pelicans can hold their ground if they keep playing how they played Tuesday night, the new off season additions compliment each other nicely. After the first night of the NBA, you can tell this season will be special. Stay tuned for more news.
Mohamed Sanu Traded to New England
Atlanta Falcons’ wide receiver, Mohamed Sanu was traded to the New England Patriots for a 2nd round pick in the 2020 draft. Sanu will join a receiver corps of Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, and rookie N'Keal Harry, although all three are injured. The 30-year old was in his fourth season with Atlanta. With receivers, Julio Jones & Calvin Ridley locked up under contract for the future, Sanu was on the market. Atlanta is a disappointing 1-6, and New England turned 7-0 last night. Sanu is a consistent receiver who stays healthy. He has 33 receptions with 313 yards and a touchdown through the first 7 games. Sanu will fit this offense like every receiver addition before him. This is a good addition to the leagues best.
Top NBA Players Set For Breakout Seasons
With the 2019-2020 NBA season set to start in just a couple days we take a look at some players with serious potential to have a breakout season. Last season we saw Pascal Siakam help the Toronto Raptors win their first Finals in franchise history. We also saw D’Angelo Russell breakout into a leader and lead the Brooklyn Nets into the playoffs. Here’s seven players who can breakout into potential all-stars, and even the Most Improved Player of the year.
Terry Rozier- PG Charlotte Hornets
After signing a 3 year, 58 million dollar contract this summer, the Louisville guard has a lot to prove. He’s going to takeover for Kemba Walker to be the starting one for the Hornets. Although Rozier won’t have very much help offensively, the 25-year old plays his best when he’s the starter, and the main ball handler. His ceiling is an all-star in a fairly weak Eastern Conference. He can average 16 points on 40% from the field. 16 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 4.4 APG is a reasonable stat line for Scary Terry.
Lonzo Ball - PG New Orleans Pelicans
After being apart of the deal that sent Anthony Davis to the Lakers, the former number 2 overall pick is now the starting point guard for the Pelicans. With number one overall pick, Zion Williamson expect a lot of assists from Ball. Lonzo will be the court general, and will have different weapons. Familiar faces, Josh Hart & Brandon Ingram will get solid minutes. Sharp shooter, JJ Redick is another addition to this team. Lonzo has tweaked and improved his shot in the offseason. Expect Lonzo to find his groove as a playmaker, and as a shooter. 14 PPG, 8.6 APG, 7.4 RPG for the 22-year old guard.
Colin Sexton - PF Cleveland Cavaliers
After a rookie season where he averaged 16.7 PPG, expect Colin Sexton to make strides in his second season in the league. The guard out of Alabama played in all 82 games and put up an impressive 40% 3-point percentage. Sexton is a score first guard, a lot like former Cavalier, Kyrie Irving. With offensive guru, John Beilein as the new head coach, expect to see Sexton’s game go to the next level once he masters the new offensive scheme. With a new head coach and a young team, the Cavaliers could surprise some people with Sexton as the starting point guard. Expect 19.6 PPG, 3.7 APG, 3.6 RPG for the second year guard.
Kelly Oubre Jr - SG/SF Phoenix Suns
After signing a 2-year, $30 million deal to return to the Suns in free agency, the 6’7 wingman has the opportunity to breakout. He may have to fight for the starting job with rookie and 11th overall pick, Cameron Johnson. However, Kelly Oubre can be crucial to the Suns offensive scheme. Before his March thumb injury that took him out for the rest of the season, he was playing his best basketball. With Ricky Rubio distributing the ball, Oubre will get his shots. Expect a career high in every offensive category for the Kansas alum. 17.8 PPG, 5.6 APG, 4.8 RPG for Kelly Oubre.
Jonathan Isaac - PF Orlando Magic
The 6’10 forward was a cornerstone for the Orlando Magic, a team that squeaked in to the playoffs as the 8th seed. After missing significant time in his rookie season, the former number 6 overall pick proved to the league that he’s meant for the NBA. His defense makes him one of the best young forwards in the league. He helped the Magic finish the season ranked 8th in defensive rating (107.6). He is only 21, and his ceiling is high. He could be apart of the All-Defense team this season.
Jamal Murray - PG/SG Denver Nuggets
Denver’s 2016 7th overall pick had a career high in points, assists, rebounds, and minutes per game a season ago. This summer Murray signed 5-year, $170 million maximum deal with the Nuggets. His second half of the season showed signs that he’s the real deal. He also played very well in the playoff averaging 20 points on 44% from the field. Another score first guard, his game is similar to Damian Lillard. With top-3 big man, Nikola Jokić the Nuggets can go deep in the playoffs. Jamal Murray can be an all-star this year in a deep Western Conference. 22.3 PPG, 5.1 APG, 4.3 RPG this season for the Kentucky alum.
OG Anunoby - SF/PF Toronto Raptors
With Kawhi Leonard going to the Clippers this past summer, OG Anunoby is set to be the starter at the three. The 6’8 forward out of Indiana, will need to step up and play well if Toronto wants any chance of repeating as champions. He can have the same success that Siakam had a season ago. If he can stay healthy and play 72-76 games this season, he can average a solid 14-16 points on 48% field goal percentage. However, his strength is his defense. He’s capable of covering all five positions with his 7’2 wingspan. He’s a great defensive replacement in the starting lineup for Kawhi Leonard.
Jalen Ramsey Traded to the LA Rams
Pro Bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey, was traded from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Los Angeles Rams Tuesday afternoon. He was traded for two first-round picks in 2020 and 2021, and a fourth-round pick in 2021. Ramsey was rumored to be traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, but the Rams offer was too good to turn down. The Jaguars general manager, David Caldwell initially did not want to trade his All-Pro cornerback. However, with an injured team turning down two first round picks in the next two drafts would be moronic. This is the Rams’ second trade of the day. They shipped cornerback, Marcus Peters to the Baltimore Ravens for 24 year old linebacker, Kenny Young. The Rams were able to upgrade at cornerback, and also acquire linebacker help all in a matter of hours. After this year Ramsey has an additional season under contract before being an unrestricted free-agent in 2021. He is set to make 16 million dollars for the rest of the contract. Overall I think the rams paid a reasonable price for a top-3 cornerback in football.
How The 49ers Started the Season 5-0
With the San Francisco 49ers being the only undefeated team in the NFC after week six, it definitely has turned heads. Most preseason predictions had the Niners going a modest 8-8. Experts said that the 49ers would be the third place team in the NFC West, behind the Rams & the Seattle Seahawks. There’s three main reasons why the Niners have been so strong to start the 2019 NFL season. The defensive unit, the running game, and the offensive line.
Now let’s start with the defensive unit. They are the number one ranked defense in the NFC and the second ranked in all of football, only behind the reigning Super Bowl Champions, the New England Patriots. The Niners defense is giving up just 10.6 points a game after week six. They only allow 257.5 yards per game, which is the second best in the league. They get a lot of takeaways in all three phases of the defense. They stay off the field a lot of the time. This is because the offense stays on the field with their time of possession.
The offense is able to stay on the field because of the run game. The 49ers lead the league with a whopping 200 rushing yards per game. With shifty running backs Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert, and Tevon Coleman, the Niners are able to balance the offense. All three backs average at least 60 yards per game. The running game is crucial for Kyle Shanahan’s offense. It opens up the play action part of the playbook, which allows Jimmy Garoppolo to take shots down the field to our deep threat receivers for eventual big chunk plays.
Before the running game can succeed they need a solid offensive line, and that’s exactly what they have. The Niner O-Line is ranked first adjacent
line yards with 5.40. They’re second in the adjacent sack rate at 5.6%. With these three variables, the 49ers can ride this win streak out all the way into deep in the playoffs.
Why being a Dodger Fan is the Hardest Thing in Sports
After watching the Los Angeles Dodgers blow a 3-1 lead in the 8th inning due to back to back home runs given up by Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers went on to lose 7-3 in 10 innings. After having the best record in the National League, it only led to a first round exit. Seven straight National League West titles. Two National League pennants in the last three seasons. Still couldn’t win the last game of the season. Since 2011 we’ve had many individuals win prestigious honors. Kershaw has 3 (should be 5) Cy Young Awards, and an MVP. We should have three MVP awards (Kemp in 2011, lost it to Ryan Braun), if Cody Bellinger wins it in November. Dave Roberts has a Manager Of the Year award. Corey Seager and Bellinger went back to back for Rookie of the Year. My point is that, on paper we should have made a dynasty by now. We have the ownership, the front office, the manager, the farm system, and 25-man roster to win a championship. The game isn’t played on paper though. We make all the right moves in the off-season and during the season for October and every year we come up short. No other team feels this way in sports. This is similar to the Buffalo Bills in the early 90’s but this isn’t supposed to happen to us. We have our opportunities and then the baseball gods bend us over. Are we not worthy enough of a World Series title? It’s not that teams are beating us because they’re the better team, but it’s because we beat ourselves in the most crucial times. The hardest part is that our arch rival, the San Francisco Giants have won 3 titles this decade. After continuous heartbreak to the fan base from Kershaw’s dud playoff performances to controversial managerial decisions, the Dodger faithful always returns to Camelback Ranch in March. After an 106 win season, everyone thought that this would be THE year. The MVP and Cy Young Runner-Up on the same team. Just to lose to the Wild Card winner. Kershaw isn’t going anywhere for two seasons, as well as Dave Roberts. The Dodgers will be back and win the NL West one more time. All the heartache will make that World Series win that much sweeter.
Antonio Brown has been released by the New England Patriots. It is unknown if there are any teams that are interested in the former perennial pro-bowler. This is a shame, and a waste of talent. Hopefully this isn’t the end for the great receiver and that he can play the game he loves once again. However, I would not be surprised if the great wideout calls it a career due to all the drama that has happened in the last 6 months.
Top Disappointments from Week 1
Now there’s still two more games going on for Monday Night Football, but after watching the rest of the teams play Sunday there were a lot of disappointments. If you’re just a fan, or you have that player or team on your fantasy team, there’s always let downs. You always expect the best from your team and if you expect 300 yards and 5 touchdowns and you get 180 yards and 3 interceptions you’re obviously going to be upset. Here’s your top let downs of week 1.
Baker Mayfield, QB Cleveland Browns
285 yards, one touchdown, & THREE interceptions against a Tennessee Titans team. With a receiving core that strong, a young offensive line, and Freddie Kitchens offensive scheme, this whole offensive performance was a let down. That’s not including the fact that he only scored 9.4 fantasy points. This team was overrated the whole offseason, and the Cleveland faithful deserves a better performance for next week against the Jets on Monday night.
Pittsburgh Steelers, D/ST
With a young front seven & a well coached defense in general, giving up 30- plus points is unacceptable. The amount of young talent and athleticism gives them an immediate advantage, even if it’s against the reigning champs in the New England Patriots. They’re home against Seattle next week.
Jameis Winston, QB Tampa Bay Buccaneers
With a pass-friendly offense with Bruce Arians at the helm, this is the perfect situation for Winston. With a top five elite receiver in Mike Evans & a solid up and coming tight end in OJ Howard, Winston has the weapons to succeed. He scored a pathetic 7.1 fantasy points. After giving up three interceptions to a 49ers team that only had two interceptions all of last season, Winston needs to improve soon if he wants to score a big extension in the offseason.
Adam Vinatieri, K Indianapolis Colts
The 46-year old kicker is the oldest player in the league by almost 10 years. This isn’t any excuse for an NFL kicker to miss two field goals and an extra point. The Colts lost by six, so those missed seven points by Vinatieri would’ve won them the game. This performance spoiled a solid game from Jacoby Brissett. The ancient place kicker is definitely on the hot seat if he doesn’t deliver and execute.
Mitch Trubisky, QB Chicago Bears
The former first-round pick was responsible for leading an offense that only put 3 points on the scoreboard against Green Bay. Chicago was a horrid 3 for 15 on third downs and 0 for 2 on fourth downs. Trubisky and the Bears lost last year week 1 against the Packers & went on to win the division. Hopefully this year they can do the same. The defense stood out as always, but the offense just couldn’t get the ball in the end zone. Only 8.2 fantasy points for Trubisky. The Bears are at Mile-High next week to take on Von Miller & the Denver Broncos.
Why the Running Back Position is Undervalued
After watching OJ Simpson’s tweet on Ezekiel’s Elliot’s contract extension, the question came up if the running back position as a whole is undervalued in the NFL. This statement couldn’t be any more true. Ezekiel Elliot just signed a 6-year 90 million dollar extension with the Dallas Cowboys. Zeke is only getting 50 million dollars guaranteed, which is the highest at his position. This was after a 40-day holdout. Now let’s put that 50 million dollars in perspective. AJ Pollock, the Los Angeles Dodger’s off season free agent, signed a 5-year 65 million dollar contract. All that money is guaranteed. Pollock isn’t even an everyday player in baseball, and his contract will end up making him more money than Ezekiel Elliot’s extension. You see all of these top running backs going on these holdouts, and then you see analysts, coaches, and even teammates calling that player “selfish”. Melvin Gordon, Le’veon Bell, and Ezekiel Elliot all heldout in the past two seasons because of unsatisfactory pay. All of these general managers in the NFL have been undervaluing the running backs for decades. Now the players are finding out their worth and won’t play for the organization until they are paid what they are worth. You see mediocre quarterbacks in the league get these HUGE contracts every off-season, but you also see these top of the line running backs not satisfied with their pay. The quarterback isn’t supposed to take any contact whatsoever and is supposed to avoid any hits possible. The running backs take hit after hit whether it’s running the ball, catching, or even blocking. Saquon Barkley, Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliot, and Christian McCaffery are all top running backs in this league and the faces of each franchise respectively, and still getting paid less than the quarterback on their team. The amount of damage these guys take every season, and the amount of work they do in the off-season to stay healthy for 16 games, are reasons why they should be getting paid what they are actually valued for.
Ezekiel Elliot and the Dallas Cowboys are set to agree to a contract extension sometime this weekend. The two sides have been ramping up the negotiations this past week since the season is about a week away. Elliott is reportedly seeking to become the NFL's highest-paid running back, surpassing Todd Gurley's annual average salary of $14.38 million. The former Ohio State Buckeye is more than deserving to be the highest paid tailback in the league due to him being the face of the franchise and the consistency he’s showed early in his career. For more details regarding his contract, stay tuned.
Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback, Andrew Luck has announced he is retiring. The former number one pick has said that he’s “mentally worn down”. Andrew Luck has struggled with injuries during his 8-year career in the NFL. The Stanford alum is known as one of the most positive players and being a “nice guy”. Jacoby Brissett is the back-up so he is set to start the 2019 season for the Colts. With a quarterback spot open, maybe Colin Kaepernick could be given an opportunity to play for an NFL team again. For more details, stay tuned.
The Lakers have decided to reunite with all-star center, Dwight Howard. They will sign him once he finalizes a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies. This spot is to replace Demarcus Cousins who will most likely be out for the entire season due to a ACL tear. The deal is for the veteran’s minimum. This spot was between Howard, former Defensive Player of the Year, Joakim Noah, and Mo Speights. If Dwight knows his role on this team I think he can contribute with his rebounding with the second strings, and give the Lakers some quality minutes to give Javale McGee a rest. He doesn’t have to be a leader he just needs to show up and play. This is a solid pick up for dirt cheap.
Top Fantasy Sleepers
If you already drafted your team or still waiting to draft with your league, here’s a couple of players who will make a difference on your team.
Austin Hooper, TE Atlanta Falcons
With Julio Jones being put in double coverage especially in the red zone Austin Hooper is left getting a lot of looks for touchdowns inside the 20. Matt Ryan will have another good year passing which will give Hooper more yards and more touchdowns.
Jameis Winston, QB Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Winston is in his final year of his rookie contract. The Heisman award winner has a lot to prove to be the franchise quarterback in the future. With top tier weapons like Mike Evans and OJ Howard, he’s set for a breakout season. Bruce Arians is calling the shots and leading the way in Tampa. A break out season is long overdue.
Kalen Ballage, RB Miami Dolphins
Ballage has been getting RB1 snaps all training camp with Kenyan Drake. The ASU alum is set to break out after a decent rookie season last year. With shaky QB play Ballage is going to get his touches in the backfield and will rack up some points.
Courtland Sutton, WR Denver Broncos
The big 6’4 receiver showed signs he can be a serious WR1 in this league. With better QB play this year he’s going to get the ball for big chunk plays and touchdowns.
Marquis Lee, WR Jacksonville Jaguars
After being cleared to play after his ACL injury, he hopes to return to his former self. With Nick Foles at the helm instead of Blake Bortles he hopes to have his best season. By mid-season he could be Foles’ number 1 target.
Tony Pollard, RB Dallas Cowboys
This all depends on the status of Ezekiel Elliot’s contract status, which doesn’t look so good. If Zeke sits out, Pollard could be the RB1 and with Dallas’ O-Line Pollard’s play could make Jerry Jones take even more time on paying Ezekiel Elliot.
With Julio Jones being put in double coverage especially in the red zone Austin Hooper is left getting a lot of looks for touchdowns inside the 20. Matt Ryan will have another good year passing which will give Hooper more yards and more touchdowns.
Jameis Winston, QB Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Winston is in his final year of his rookie contract. The Heisman award winner has a lot to prove to be the franchise quarterback in the future. With top tier weapons like Mike Evans and OJ Howard, he’s set for a breakout season. Bruce Arians is calling the shots and leading the way in Tampa. A break out season is long overdue.
Kalen Ballage, RB Miami Dolphins
Ballage has been getting RB1 snaps all training camp with Kenyan Drake. The ASU alum is set to break out after a decent rookie season last year. With shaky QB play Ballage is going to get his touches in the backfield and will rack up some points.
Courtland Sutton, WR Denver Broncos
The big 6’4 receiver showed signs he can be a serious WR1 in this league. With better QB play this year he’s going to get the ball for big chunk plays and touchdowns.
Marquis Lee, WR Jacksonville Jaguars
After being cleared to play after his ACL injury, he hopes to return to his former self. With Nick Foles at the helm instead of Blake Bortles he hopes to have his best season. By mid-season he could be Foles’ number 1 target.
Tony Pollard, RB Dallas Cowboys
This all depends on the status of Ezekiel Elliot’s contract status, which doesn’t look so good. If Zeke sits out, Pollard could be the RB1 and with Dallas’ O-Line Pollard’s play could make Jerry Jones take even more time on paying Ezekiel Elliot.
As preseason continues, Eric Reid and Kenny Stills are still kneeling during the national anthem. The Panther safety & the Dolphin receiver were some of the first players to protest after Colin Kaepernick. Both players are still in the league and still playing at a high level for their position and team, respectively. With Jay-Z planning to own majority of an NFL team, Colin Kaepernick might get his second chance to prove the doubters. Jay-Z has been an avid supporter of Kaepernick’s cause, and how he’s bringing awareness to police brutality & racism in general. With more people in the NFL supporting the protesters, expect more players this season to not be afraid to kneel during the national anthem. Leaders like Kenny Stills, Eric Reid, & Jay-Z are going to make a difference in how the NFL accepts protesting this season. Both Stills and Reid are set to have strong seasons for each of their teams. For more details on Colin K’s status on playing professional football and Jay-Z’s ownership status, stay tuned.
Major League Baseball has suspended Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias for 20 games for violating the league's joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy. He missed some time after being arrested for his May domestic violence incident. He is set to be a key piece of the Dodgers playoff bullpen. He has been one of the best relievers in a struggling bullpen. Hopefully he can get back in to his rhythm and be ready, and mentally & physically prepared for the playoffs. This is a big blow to the Dodgers. The Dodgers need him to finally win the World Series in October.
Pro Bowl wide receiver, Josh Gordon has been reinstated to play and join the Patriots for the 2019 NFL season. He hasn’t played since December for being suspended for violating an NFL policy. The Baylor alum missed the final two games of the regular season last year and all of the playoff games. He can return and practice with New England this weekend, but has to only watch the next Patriots preseason game. Look out for Josh Gordon as a reserve for your fantasy team. Hopefully he can last a full season and finally take that next step to be an elite receiver in this league.
Demarcus Cousins has suffered a torn ACL after injuring himself during a workout in Las Vegas. He will most likely miss the entire season. He signed a one year deal for the veterans minimum with the Lakers in July. He was supposed to be completely healthy for this season, and now he’s injured once again. Hopefully he has a speedy recovery.
Manchester City winger, Raheem Sterling is considering an 100 million dollar endorsement deal with Jordan Brand. This would make him the first soccer player endorsed by Jordan. His contract would be 25 million dollars more than what Zion Williamson is going to make on his endorsement deal. Jordan is trying to do more than just basketball. Schools like Oklahoma, Michigan, and Florida are all Jordan Brand sponsored for football and basketball. Neymar Jr. has done a Jordan collaboration in 2017. For more details stay tuned.
Oakland Raider’s star receiver, Antonio Brown may retire before playing a single game with his new team. He had a two hour call with the NFL about the helmet. If the organization does not lets him use his old helmet that is now banned in the NFL, he will never play football professionally again. He missed 10 of the 11 team training camp sessions with frostbite on his foot. It would be a big blow to Oakland’s upcoming offensive scheme. More details coming soon, so stay tuned.
October 22 is when the NBA is having its opening night. The planned games that day are a highly anticipated Lakers vs Clippers, and the Pelicans playing the reigning champs, the Toronto Raptors. It will be a big night for the NBA, after a big off-season. It will be Kawhi & Paul George taking on Lebron James & Anthony Davis for the first time. The Pelicans rookie forward, Zion Williamson and new teammates; Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, & Lonzo Ball will face Kyle Lowry and the Kawhi-less Toronto Raptors. These two games will help answer a lot of questions about this upcoming season. It’ll be a special season.
Carolina Panther’s Safety, Eric Reid who’s an elite safety in the NFL, is best known for being the first player to kneel after Colin Kaepernick. He announced yesterday that he would continue to kneel during the 2019 season. He’s going to continue to do this until he sees change in the world. It’ll be three years since him & Colin Kaepernick started the movement, and with all the criticism, they’ve brought notice to the problem. The racism in general is not going anywhere, however we should hear these athletes’ stories. Most of them have college degrees and are intellectual. They always say that when the players kneel it’s disrespectful to the military, but isn’t that the reason the military is doing it’s job, so there can be a freedom of speech. The criticizers always just look to bash players for kneeling, when they’re doing no harm to anyone, and trying to make the world a better place.
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Perennial Pro-Bowlers wide receiver, Antonio Brown & running back Ezekiel Elliot both sat out the first day of their teams training camps. Brown was put on the non-football injury list to start training camp with his new team, the Oakland Raiders. The issue is unknown for now but sources say it’s “very minor” so expect him to start participating in team activities soon. As for Ezekiel Elliot, the Dallas Cowboys tailback is in a holdout for a new contract. He has has two years and $12.9 million remaining on his rookie deal. After seeing Todd Gurley getting a four-year, $57.5 million deal last year, Elliot wants a contract worth more than that, I say pay the man for the touches and how the offense is built around him you definitely don’t want a talent like that go somewhere else. Stay tuned for more news.
The Los Angeles Clippers are trying to construct a whole new arena in Inglewood, CA. Inglewood is also the same city where the The Forum is located, a building where the Lakers won many championships. The Clippers organization is trying to produce a practice facility, team offices, a medical facility, retail stores, restaurants and parking all in Inglewood. They are simply trying to win Los Angeles away from the Lakers and trying to get out of the “shadow” of the 16-time champions.
Los Angeles Chargers, Pro Bowl running back, Melvin Gordon is reportedly not going to show up to the teams training camp that started today due to a contract dispute. Gordon wants a contract that pays around 13-14 million dollars a year. This would put him up with the top paid tailbacks in the league.
Russian Boxer Maxim Dadashev is dead at 28. He passed away after suffering brain injuries from his Friday light-welterweight fight with Subriel Matias in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
Dodger Stadium will reportedly undergo $100 million dollars worth of renovations that will be ready for the 2020 MLB season.