By Kalen
So the Sports Cave will now have an extra author, Michael Marino. Bay Area Native, the only guy I know personally who's a bigger Giants fan than me and that's saying something. Super cool dude who knows his stuff, will be cool to get some thoughts from another writer on the blog. Make sure you guys all check back regularly to read what Michael and I have to write. The Sports Cave.
SPREAD THE WORD
Showing posts with label Sports Blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports Blog. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Favorite NFL Players to Watch
By Kalen
So I thought it would be fun to think about who my favorite NFL player to watch is. Now the first and only rule is you cannot choose someone on the team you root for, so for me that means no 49ers. I am going to pick an offensive and defensive player.
Offensive Player
For my offensive player I have to go with a player who should have been a 49er. Recent superbowl winner and QB of the Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers. Back in the 2005 NFL Draft I didn't pay particular attention to the prospects, all I knew is we needed a QB, so at the time I would have been happy with either Alex Smith or Aaron Rodgers. Obviously if I could go back in time, it would be Rodgers 100%. My inner die hard 49er part of me says I should hate Rodgers, not only because he should have been ours, but he plays for the Packers, who have thwarted my Niners way too many times in the playoffs. However, I really don't has any hatred or root against him whenever I watch him (and I try to make that as often as possible). The only time I'm ever wishing him to flat out fail is when he does play my 49ers.
There is just something about the guy, he is confident, a little cocky, but the best thing about him is he (like Bret Favre) just looks like he loves playing the game and is not afraid to express that. For the record I do not like Favre at all. Not only does Rodgers play in one of the most exciting offenses in the NFL, but he has charisma through the roof and you never know what's gonna happen. Whether Aaron is doing his famous championship belt celebration, or running around scrambling looking for an open player or making a seemingly impossible pass through 3 defenders hitting the receiver in stride, its all just awesome. And I feel like Aaron is a guy who uses words like 'Awesome' and 'Sick'. There is zero doubt in my mind that if he had become a 49ers (like he should have) he would be far and away my favorite player in the whole League.
In a way I'm glad that he went to Green Bay, in terms of purely watching the guy play, he would have had a much much tougher time in SF, and I don't know if he becomes the player that he is, had the 49ers taken him. Honestly, I've gotten over the fact we don't and never will have him. Rodgers is definitely a top 5 QB in the NFL along with Brady, P.Manning, Brees and Roethlisberger. As great as those other guys are, some are just too business like (Brady and Manning), one is an asshole (Big Ben) and Brees, well I don't have anything bad to say about the guy, just don't relate to him as much as I do Rodgers. I'm looking forward to seeing him play for the next 5-10 years and hope my 49ers can take him down a couple times.
Defensive Player
This one at first was a little bit tougher than the offensive player, but when the player came to mind, I wondered how I didn't think of him within a micro-second. My vote for favorite defensive player has to be Darrelle Revis of the New York Jets. You know when you have a bunch of nicknames that odds are you're a pretty good player "Revis Island" "Revis Christ" for examples. Look I get that typically the Jets are a kind of team where if you aren't a Jets fan, odds are you hate them. But not me, one of my best friends being a Jets fan, makes them my defacto AFC team. Enough about the Jets though and more about Revis. The NFL has made it so difficult for CB's to actually be shutdown players, you breathe on a Wide Receiver and you see the yellow flags being thrown. But Revis is a legit shutdown CB. The only players who I'd throw to with Revis on them would be Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson and Calvin Johnson. Any other times, I'm using my #1 WR as a decoy, because there is almost no point throwing their way with Revis on them.
What impressed me most was his 2009 season, no receiver had over 60 yards on him in any game. That is insane with some of the talent he was locking down (Randy Moss twice when he cared and had Brady throwing him the ball, and most other top flight AFC receivers). Then in week 17 Revis made Chad Ochocinco look useless. A week later in an AFC Wildcard game and repeat of week 17 matchup between the Jets and Bengals. OchoCinco got essentially shut out and made look a fool after Ocho did his usual talking mid week. But Revis made sure he never had a chance. Every time Carson Palmer would look his way and throw it, you saw #24 all over him....all game long. I questioned so may times why they even would throw his way? Made no sense. Even more impressive was that Revis became Ocho's shadow and had few to no penalties called against him. Now I understand Chad is not the greatest receiver in the NFL, but he was a damn good one and looked like PJ Fleck out there (49er fans would get this).
He along with Asomugha are the only 2 legit Corners, who not make but force offensive-coordinators and QB's to question themselves. I got to witness some years of Deion Sanders, Champ Bailey was a shutdown CB for some years, but Revis and Asomugha are the future at CB.
Let me know yours guys' favorite players to watch!
Kalen from the Sports Cave
So I thought it would be fun to think about who my favorite NFL player to watch is. Now the first and only rule is you cannot choose someone on the team you root for, so for me that means no 49ers. I am going to pick an offensive and defensive player.
Offensive Player
For my offensive player I have to go with a player who should have been a 49er. Recent superbowl winner and QB of the Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers. Back in the 2005 NFL Draft I didn't pay particular attention to the prospects, all I knew is we needed a QB, so at the time I would have been happy with either Alex Smith or Aaron Rodgers. Obviously if I could go back in time, it would be Rodgers 100%. My inner die hard 49er part of me says I should hate Rodgers, not only because he should have been ours, but he plays for the Packers, who have thwarted my Niners way too many times in the playoffs. However, I really don't has any hatred or root against him whenever I watch him (and I try to make that as often as possible). The only time I'm ever wishing him to flat out fail is when he does play my 49ers.
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| AARON RODGERS 'BELT' CELEBRATION |
In a way I'm glad that he went to Green Bay, in terms of purely watching the guy play, he would have had a much much tougher time in SF, and I don't know if he becomes the player that he is, had the 49ers taken him. Honestly, I've gotten over the fact we don't and never will have him. Rodgers is definitely a top 5 QB in the NFL along with Brady, P.Manning, Brees and Roethlisberger. As great as those other guys are, some are just too business like (Brady and Manning), one is an asshole (Big Ben) and Brees, well I don't have anything bad to say about the guy, just don't relate to him as much as I do Rodgers. I'm looking forward to seeing him play for the next 5-10 years and hope my 49ers can take him down a couple times.
Defensive Player
This one at first was a little bit tougher than the offensive player, but when the player came to mind, I wondered how I didn't think of him within a micro-second. My vote for favorite defensive player has to be Darrelle Revis of the New York Jets. You know when you have a bunch of nicknames that odds are you're a pretty good player "Revis Island" "Revis Christ" for examples. Look I get that typically the Jets are a kind of team where if you aren't a Jets fan, odds are you hate them. But not me, one of my best friends being a Jets fan, makes them my defacto AFC team. Enough about the Jets though and more about Revis. The NFL has made it so difficult for CB's to actually be shutdown players, you breathe on a Wide Receiver and you see the yellow flags being thrown. But Revis is a legit shutdown CB. The only players who I'd throw to with Revis on them would be Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson and Calvin Johnson. Any other times, I'm using my #1 WR as a decoy, because there is almost no point throwing their way with Revis on them.
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| TEAMS OFTEN LEARN THE HARD WAY PASSING ON DARELLE REVIS |
What impressed me most was his 2009 season, no receiver had over 60 yards on him in any game. That is insane with some of the talent he was locking down (Randy Moss twice when he cared and had Brady throwing him the ball, and most other top flight AFC receivers). Then in week 17 Revis made Chad Ochocinco look useless. A week later in an AFC Wildcard game and repeat of week 17 matchup between the Jets and Bengals. OchoCinco got essentially shut out and made look a fool after Ocho did his usual talking mid week. But Revis made sure he never had a chance. Every time Carson Palmer would look his way and throw it, you saw #24 all over him....all game long. I questioned so may times why they even would throw his way? Made no sense. Even more impressive was that Revis became Ocho's shadow and had few to no penalties called against him. Now I understand Chad is not the greatest receiver in the NFL, but he was a damn good one and looked like PJ Fleck out there (49er fans would get this).
He along with Asomugha are the only 2 legit Corners, who not make but force offensive-coordinators and QB's to question themselves. I got to witness some years of Deion Sanders, Champ Bailey was a shutdown CB for some years, but Revis and Asomugha are the future at CB.
Let me know yours guys' favorite players to watch!
Kalen from the Sports Cave
Thursday, June 16, 2011
NFL Next Stop - Los Angeles?
By Kalen
The NFL is so popular that it has vaulted to the top of North American sports and all this without the 2nd largest sports market (LA) not even having a team. I go back and forth as to which team or even should there be a team to move to LA. Yes I do think a team should be relocated to Los Angeles, while many will speak about how the NFL is fine the way it is so why mess with what works? While true in some regards I feel the strength of the NFL the last 10 years has been its ability to adapt and change for the better at the right time. I think now is the right time to get serious about putting a team in LA.
This begs the question, which team should move to LA? In a recent report, Tim Leiweke CEO of AEG (the company building the proposed stadium in LA) has contacted 5 potential teams about coming to the city of Angels Story Here . The 5 teams were: the Chargers, Raiders, Rams, Vikings and Jaguars. I look at this list and immediately, I wanna take the Vikings and remove them from this list. Minnesota has had the Vikings for what seems like an eternity, they have too much history there and it would be too big a shame to just up and get rid of the great rivalries they have with the other NFC North teams.
The next team I look at and don't buy may be a little surprising but I really don't think the Raiders will be moved back to LA. They have history in LA obviously, but I feel like the team left under bad circumstances. While a team should be in LA, I feel the Bay Area has proven to be big enough to support both the 49ers and Raiders. Plus the Oakland Raiders just sounds right and I feel they a too big a part of the East Bay community to go without a fight. If given the choice between no team or the Raiders, I'm guessing they would take the Raiders, but I just feel like Leiweke would prefer to go in another direction. Al Davis while probably nearing the end of his ownership, is too unpredictable for LA, he could be there for 5 years and then up and move back to Oakland. Too many question marks with the Raiders.
While the Jaguars seem to be the likely choice to move to LA because they are a newer team, lets not forget that they have been around for some time now, 16 years to be exact. They do have history there, and while I could imagine the Jags relocating in the future, I just don't think it will be all the way over to the West Coast. The NFL doesn't have a history of moving teams that far (Oakland to LA, LA to St. Louis, Houston to Tennessee). If the Jags move I feel it would be to a closer location, especially somewhere in football country like Alabama or Oklahoma.
This leaves us with 2 options then, the Rams and the Chargers. Both would be very good options for LA in my opinion. Between these two teams I feel that it should be the St. Louis Rams that move. The Rams have also received a lukewarm reception in St. Louis besides for the winning seasons with Kurt Warner and the Greatest Show on Turf. Besides for that whenever the 49ers or other teams visit the Edward Dome in St. Louis, I see way too many empty seats and it just feels like St. Louis has always been a Baseball town, with the Rams playing 2nd to the Cardinals and the Blues having big support there too.
The Rams have a bright future with their franchise QB in Sam Bradford, and Steven Jackson and Chris Long provide other superstar players. I feel that if the Chargers are moved up to LA that, fans in LA would feel the team still belongs to San Diego and would be more of a Southern California Chargers and not their own team. One thing is for sure, a team will be in LA sooner or later, I think the Rams should be the team to move.
I look forward to hearing your guys opinion on my ideas and would like to hear your own ideas.
Kalen from the Sports Cave, SPREAD THE WORD
The NFL is so popular that it has vaulted to the top of North American sports and all this without the 2nd largest sports market (LA) not even having a team. I go back and forth as to which team or even should there be a team to move to LA. Yes I do think a team should be relocated to Los Angeles, while many will speak about how the NFL is fine the way it is so why mess with what works? While true in some regards I feel the strength of the NFL the last 10 years has been its ability to adapt and change for the better at the right time. I think now is the right time to get serious about putting a team in LA.
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| THE PROPOSED STADIUM IN DOWNTOWN LA |
This begs the question, which team should move to LA? In a recent report, Tim Leiweke CEO of AEG (the company building the proposed stadium in LA) has contacted 5 potential teams about coming to the city of Angels Story Here . The 5 teams were: the Chargers, Raiders, Rams, Vikings and Jaguars. I look at this list and immediately, I wanna take the Vikings and remove them from this list. Minnesota has had the Vikings for what seems like an eternity, they have too much history there and it would be too big a shame to just up and get rid of the great rivalries they have with the other NFC North teams.
The next team I look at and don't buy may be a little surprising but I really don't think the Raiders will be moved back to LA. They have history in LA obviously, but I feel like the team left under bad circumstances. While a team should be in LA, I feel the Bay Area has proven to be big enough to support both the 49ers and Raiders. Plus the Oakland Raiders just sounds right and I feel they a too big a part of the East Bay community to go without a fight. If given the choice between no team or the Raiders, I'm guessing they would take the Raiders, but I just feel like Leiweke would prefer to go in another direction. Al Davis while probably nearing the end of his ownership, is too unpredictable for LA, he could be there for 5 years and then up and move back to Oakland. Too many question marks with the Raiders.
While the Jaguars seem to be the likely choice to move to LA because they are a newer team, lets not forget that they have been around for some time now, 16 years to be exact. They do have history there, and while I could imagine the Jags relocating in the future, I just don't think it will be all the way over to the West Coast. The NFL doesn't have a history of moving teams that far (Oakland to LA, LA to St. Louis, Houston to Tennessee). If the Jags move I feel it would be to a closer location, especially somewhere in football country like Alabama or Oklahoma.
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| DESTINED FOR A COMEBACK? |
The Rams have a bright future with their franchise QB in Sam Bradford, and Steven Jackson and Chris Long provide other superstar players. I feel that if the Chargers are moved up to LA that, fans in LA would feel the team still belongs to San Diego and would be more of a Southern California Chargers and not their own team. One thing is for sure, a team will be in LA sooner or later, I think the Rams should be the team to move.
I look forward to hearing your guys opinion on my ideas and would like to hear your own ideas.
Kalen from the Sports Cave, SPREAD THE WORD
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
The NFL Lockout - Where do you stand?
By Kalen
The most popular sport in the US has been locked out for over 3 months now and while we do hear rumors of progress being made, how much? We really don't know. What makes this Lockout so difficult is that both sides have valid arguments. Now while fans in general tend to agree with the players, there are numerous issues where I do have to side with the owners. I think that, ultimately the game will be better for the fans if the owners come out on the winning side of this (and they most likely will).
Now I don't think they should get everything they want, I do agree with several issues. Such as:
Installing a rookie salary cap - The draft was designed in order to help the bad teams get better, correct? Well the Raiders take Jamarcus Russell #1 overall, and at the time I think most people thought it was a solid choice. That Russell had all the talent, tools etc etc etc. 3 years and a guaranteed $32 million dollars later, Jamarcus is not only out of the NFL but out of sports. There is no such as a sure thing when it comes to the draft, why put teams in a horrible position should the draft pick not work out. It defies the logic of the draft. Also think about this, a lot of the guys coming in to the league are maybe 21 or 22? And they are being guaranteed $30-40 million now? What incentive do they have to put in the work? I know I know, the draft screening process should reveal this, but if so many draft "experts" get it wrong so often then can we really blame teams for this? I think the NBA has it right here, I think there should be a price slot allocated to each draft position and a contract of 3-4 years. Paying crazy money to rookies is already an insult to veterans who are proven, why potentially cripple an entire franchise over 1 selection not working out?
The future ramifications to fans - Should the owners lose out in the new CBA, you know prices for basically everything football related is going to increase significantly. Imagine ticket prices? Jersey prices? That $10 beer suddenly turns in to $15. And the NFL owners know they can do this and get away with it because of the popularity and demand for basically anything football related. Who knows how far owners could take things in order to recuperate the losses made, should the players come out on top.
Salary Cap needs to be reinstated - I'm not 100% sure on how the owners or players feel on this issue. I tend to feel that the owners would be in favor of the Salary Cap. It keeps things fair and keeps every team at a similar competitive level. Do we really want to see the Redskins and Cowboys turn in to the Red Sox and Yankees? I feel if owners are able to budget and know exactly where they stand financially with player contracts, we can expect better prices. Put a decent size Salary Cap in place and I think a minimum amount needs to also be implemented so the NFL does not have a Pittsburgh Pirates on their hands (18 straight losing seasons would never fly in the NFL).
A get out of Contract Clause - I think this should be implemented in most professional sports. What I mean by "get out of contract clause" is that teams should be able to terminate a contract with zero financial consequences under certain circumstances. I feel that a team should be able to put forth 1 contract per year for review by a neutral party (or else a party with an even vote between players association and league representatives). For example, lets say the San Francisco 49ers signed Nnamdi Asomugha and gave him a 7 year $100 million dollar contract. Now if Nnamdi comes in and plays well the Niners will have no problem paying him that. Now lets say if Nnamdi has constant injuries or else his level of play drops dramatically and he comes in to camp out of shape and is basically a huge bust, then the 49ers should be allowed put forth that contract to the 3rd party and from there a verdict can be made on how to restructure or terminate the contract. A good real life example would be Albert Haynesworth in Washington. Now there would have to be a drastic significant decrease in the level of play for a change to be made.
These are just some of the issues that I think I would favor the owners in AND would benefit the League. There are however many issues that I disagree with; such as retirement medical insurance, wanting players to play 2 extra regular season games without improving the current contracts or medical coverage. While 4 preseason games can be torturous, think about this, each team will have maybe 10 fringe players to make the 53 man roster and 8 to make the practice squad. That is 18 per team. We times that by 32 (for all the teams) and we get around 575 players who need all those 4 games to prove themselves to make the team in some capacity. Plus owners keep complaining about their high priced stars getting injured, yet you want more games to put them in harms way? In these cases it clearly can be perceived that the owners care about their wallet and not for the players health and safety.
The whole CBA issue is so complex, and there are so many issues which can be looked at so many ways that it's hard to even digest the whole issue. This is why it has and will take a long time to solve. Ultimately all I can ask for is we still have the game we all love back ASAP and not ruined by this whole ordeal.
Let me know what you guys think about my points, let me know what issues of the CBA are on your mind and maybe we can get a discussion going. Thanks for reading (if you made it this far).
This is Kalen from the Sports Cave.
SPREAD THE WORD.
The most popular sport in the US has been locked out for over 3 months now and while we do hear rumors of progress being made, how much? We really don't know. What makes this Lockout so difficult is that both sides have valid arguments. Now while fans in general tend to agree with the players, there are numerous issues where I do have to side with the owners. I think that, ultimately the game will be better for the fans if the owners come out on the winning side of this (and they most likely will).
 |
| THE LEGACY OF ROGER GOODELL WILL HINGE ON THE OUTCOME OF THE LOCKOUT |
Now I don't think they should get everything they want, I do agree with several issues. Such as:
Installing a rookie salary cap - The draft was designed in order to help the bad teams get better, correct? Well the Raiders take Jamarcus Russell #1 overall, and at the time I think most people thought it was a solid choice. That Russell had all the talent, tools etc etc etc. 3 years and a guaranteed $32 million dollars later, Jamarcus is not only out of the NFL but out of sports. There is no such as a sure thing when it comes to the draft, why put teams in a horrible position should the draft pick not work out. It defies the logic of the draft. Also think about this, a lot of the guys coming in to the league are maybe 21 or 22? And they are being guaranteed $30-40 million now? What incentive do they have to put in the work? I know I know, the draft screening process should reveal this, but if so many draft "experts" get it wrong so often then can we really blame teams for this? I think the NBA has it right here, I think there should be a price slot allocated to each draft position and a contract of 3-4 years. Paying crazy money to rookies is already an insult to veterans who are proven, why potentially cripple an entire franchise over 1 selection not working out?
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| THE FUTURE OF FOOTBALL RESTS IN THE HANDS OF THESE GUYS |
Salary Cap needs to be reinstated - I'm not 100% sure on how the owners or players feel on this issue. I tend to feel that the owners would be in favor of the Salary Cap. It keeps things fair and keeps every team at a similar competitive level. Do we really want to see the Redskins and Cowboys turn in to the Red Sox and Yankees? I feel if owners are able to budget and know exactly where they stand financially with player contracts, we can expect better prices. Put a decent size Salary Cap in place and I think a minimum amount needs to also be implemented so the NFL does not have a Pittsburgh Pirates on their hands (18 straight losing seasons would never fly in the NFL).
A get out of Contract Clause - I think this should be implemented in most professional sports. What I mean by "get out of contract clause" is that teams should be able to terminate a contract with zero financial consequences under certain circumstances. I feel that a team should be able to put forth 1 contract per year for review by a neutral party (or else a party with an even vote between players association and league representatives). For example, lets say the San Francisco 49ers signed Nnamdi Asomugha and gave him a 7 year $100 million dollar contract. Now if Nnamdi comes in and plays well the Niners will have no problem paying him that. Now lets say if Nnamdi has constant injuries or else his level of play drops dramatically and he comes in to camp out of shape and is basically a huge bust, then the 49ers should be allowed put forth that contract to the 3rd party and from there a verdict can be made on how to restructure or terminate the contract. A good real life example would be Albert Haynesworth in Washington. Now there would have to be a drastic significant decrease in the level of play for a change to be made.
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| WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON? |
These are just some of the issues that I think I would favor the owners in AND would benefit the League. There are however many issues that I disagree with; such as retirement medical insurance, wanting players to play 2 extra regular season games without improving the current contracts or medical coverage. While 4 preseason games can be torturous, think about this, each team will have maybe 10 fringe players to make the 53 man roster and 8 to make the practice squad. That is 18 per team. We times that by 32 (for all the teams) and we get around 575 players who need all those 4 games to prove themselves to make the team in some capacity. Plus owners keep complaining about their high priced stars getting injured, yet you want more games to put them in harms way? In these cases it clearly can be perceived that the owners care about their wallet and not for the players health and safety.
The whole CBA issue is so complex, and there are so many issues which can be looked at so many ways that it's hard to even digest the whole issue. This is why it has and will take a long time to solve. Ultimately all I can ask for is we still have the game we all love back ASAP and not ruined by this whole ordeal.
Let me know what you guys think about my points, let me know what issues of the CBA are on your mind and maybe we can get a discussion going. Thanks for reading (if you made it this far).
This is Kalen from the Sports Cave.
SPREAD THE WORD.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Updates Coming Tomorrow
Haven't wrote anything these lately, been very busy with work. I am planning on getting 2 posts out tomorrow. Hope that every one will check them out and give thoughts and opinions. and you guys know the drill
SPREAD THE WORD
SPREAD THE WORD
Thursday, June 9, 2011
MLB Weekly Power Rankings
Here again is another issue in my weekly MLB Power Rankings. This weeks version will be shorter than previous weeks but will certainly get the job done. In my rankings I take overall record and how well the team has played recently in compiling my Power Rankings. Here goes, starting with the top 5:
Top 5
1 (1) - St. Louis Cardinals (37-26) - What can I say about the Cards, Pujols is back to being Pujols, Matt Holliday coming back from injury soon, pitching has been great. Not much else to say except I'm glad my Giants don't play them again and they are right now, the best team in Baseball.
2 (NR*) - Boston Red Sox (35-26) - Red Sox have won 5 in a row, have beaten the Yanks in New York in back to back games, Carl Crawford has come to his usual form and Adrian Gonzalez has been better than advertised. Also they have the best pitcher in the AL with Josh Beckett.
3 (NR) - Detroit Tigers (33-28)- The hottest team in the Majors. 8-2 over their previous 10 games and have their sights firmly set on taking over the Indians who have come way back down to Earth. This team can hit, and the pitching has improved significantly.
4 (NR) - Texas Rangers (35-28) - They have been getting great pitching recently out of Alexi Ogando, CJ Wilson and Colby Lewis. They have a legit closer in Feliz, and we all know how well this team hits. 7-3 in their last 10. The Rangers are gonna open up a gap at the top of the AL West.
5 (NR) - San Francisco Giants (35-27) - The Giants have been without star catcher Buster Posey for 2 weeks. Giants lost 3 of their first 4 games after the injury, since then they (we) have won 7 of 10 and are eagerly awaiting Pablo Sandovals return to send Tejada to the bench.
Bottom 5
26 (30) Minnesota Twins (23-38) - The Twins have gone 6-2 since last weeks rankings, they are playing better for sure. Hopefully they can get Morneau going and Mauer back soon. Their overall record is what keeps them in the bottom 5. They may not be here next week.
27 (28) Houston Astros (24-38) - They are showing some signs of life, a red hot Cardinals team with Pujols hitting like crazy is tough for any team to stop. Will they trade Hunter Pence in July?
28 (27) Kansas City Royals (26-36) - 3-7 in their last 10 games, a pathetic 6-16 road record. Imagine where they would be without all those walk off wins.
29 (29) Chicago Cubs (24-36) - They have gone 1-5 since last weeks rankings, pitchers can't pitch, problems all over the clubhouse and have such an overrated and overpaid lineup.
30 (NR) Oakland Athletics (27-36) - They have lost 9 in a row, they can't hit and have injuries all over their good pitching staff. Yikes.
Oakland A's have found Wins hard to come by the last 2 weeks
That concludes this weeks rankings. Be sure to check out the blog daily, give feedback, and tell me what you think of my rankings and where you might make changes. Power Rankings will be back next week. Until then, enjoy the other posts I will be making.
SPREAD THE WORD
* NR = Not Ranked Top 5 or Bottom 5 last week
Top 5
1 (1) - St. Louis Cardinals (37-26) - What can I say about the Cards, Pujols is back to being Pujols, Matt Holliday coming back from injury soon, pitching has been great. Not much else to say except I'm glad my Giants don't play them again and they are right now, the best team in Baseball.
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| Gonzalez and Crawford have been red hot for Boston |
3 (NR) - Detroit Tigers (33-28)- The hottest team in the Majors. 8-2 over their previous 10 games and have their sights firmly set on taking over the Indians who have come way back down to Earth. This team can hit, and the pitching has improved significantly.
4 (NR) - Texas Rangers (35-28) - They have been getting great pitching recently out of Alexi Ogando, CJ Wilson and Colby Lewis. They have a legit closer in Feliz, and we all know how well this team hits. 7-3 in their last 10. The Rangers are gonna open up a gap at the top of the AL West.
5 (NR) - San Francisco Giants (35-27) - The Giants have been without star catcher Buster Posey for 2 weeks. Giants lost 3 of their first 4 games after the injury, since then they (we) have won 7 of 10 and are eagerly awaiting Pablo Sandovals return to send Tejada to the bench.
Bottom 5
26 (30) Minnesota Twins (23-38) - The Twins have gone 6-2 since last weeks rankings, they are playing better for sure. Hopefully they can get Morneau going and Mauer back soon. Their overall record is what keeps them in the bottom 5. They may not be here next week.
27 (28) Houston Astros (24-38) - They are showing some signs of life, a red hot Cardinals team with Pujols hitting like crazy is tough for any team to stop. Will they trade Hunter Pence in July?
28 (27) Kansas City Royals (26-36) - 3-7 in their last 10 games, a pathetic 6-16 road record. Imagine where they would be without all those walk off wins.
29 (29) Chicago Cubs (24-36) - They have gone 1-5 since last weeks rankings, pitchers can't pitch, problems all over the clubhouse and have such an overrated and overpaid lineup.
30 (NR) Oakland Athletics (27-36) - They have lost 9 in a row, they can't hit and have injuries all over their good pitching staff. Yikes.
That concludes this weeks rankings. Be sure to check out the blog daily, give feedback, and tell me what you think of my rankings and where you might make changes. Power Rankings will be back next week. Until then, enjoy the other posts I will be making.
SPREAD THE WORD
* NR = Not Ranked Top 5 or Bottom 5 last week
Lebron James - Where for art thou?
Tuesday the 7th of June, I get off work and quickly rush home to watch game 4 of the NBA Finals. I tune in with 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter, I see the score is close and am prepared for an excellent finish. As far as I'm concerned, if the game is close, all you need to watch is the final half of the 4th quarter.
So there I am, the game is going back and forth, the Heat stretch out a lead, then Dallas gets it close, all of a sudden there is 2 minutes left in the game. It was great fast paced action, despite both teams playing some sloppy basketball and missing easy shots, the tension is palpable. Then at the 2 minute mark, it dawned on me, I couldn't recall hearing or seeing much of Lebron James. So I make it my business to focus more on Lebron and see what he is doing. What did I notice? Not a whole lot really. I saw a guy who wanted no part of the ball, look I get it, he was having a bad game, his shot was way off and hey, everyone has a bad night, right? Sure, but this is the guy who is meant to be the next Jordan, the guy even Scottie Pippen hailed Lebron as possibly the greatest player of all time. I just don't understand what Lebron was doing, why not take the ball, drive the lane and get a foul call? or kick it out to shooters like D-or Chris Bosh or Mike Miller? Lets face facts here, if Lebron didn't wanna hurt the team by taking shots, and didn't wanna be part of the offense, then why are you out there?
Lebron isn't Jordan, lets get that out of the way, but that isn't the point I'm trying to make. Lebron is a superstar, and he became shy and lacked confidence when so many others thrive in that role. I used to think guys like Skip Bayless were too harsh on Lebron, but now I get it. Lebron James is to Basketball as Marty Schottenheimer was to coaching Football. Lebron will give you a great regular season, and like many of Schottenheimers teams, Lebron just has so much talent that sometimes even when he lacks confidence and becomes conservative he will still get the job done to a certain point, but he just doesn't have the 'it' factor in crunch time. Even his defense in crunch time of game 4 in this series was pathetic.
Trust me Lebron, all Miami Heat fans had to facepalm watching your performance in Game 4, only mustering 8 measly points.
Let me set the scene, 25 seconds left in the game and 19 on the shot clock, Dirk has the ball and is guarded by Udonis Haslem at the top of the key, Dallas up by 1. Dirk makes an amazing play and let me tell you how. Common sense says that Dirk will hold the ball until the final second of the shot clock, based on Dirk's tendency, he will take the ball to the left, and then go for a fade away jumper. What does Dirk do? Catches Haslem napping and takes the ball to his right with 10 seconds left on the SC, gets by Haslem with relative ease. If you look closely at this play, you see Lebron have a chance to make a play, heck even foul him if you have to, but Lebron stands there, watches Dirk go by and looks helpless, while teammate Dwyane Wade seems to dart half way across the baseline to make a great effort to at least try and stop Dirk.
Lets not forget Lebron was only able to come up with 8 points, while Wades lowest scoring output on Basketball's biggest stage is 22.
No way does Jordan shrink in these moments, no way does Jordan disappear for the final 7 minutes of a close 4th quarter game, especially a finals game, no way does Jordan give up an easy lay up. Lebron will never be Jordan, I don't care about size or raw talent, that's only half the battle, Lebron quits on the Cavs in the playoffs against Boston, disappears here. He doesn't belong in the same conversation as Jordan ever.
So I guess I kind of trailed off topic here, I tend to just start writing and see where it takes me. I really just can't wrap my head around Lebron. It will be a shame looking back and have so many "what if" questions. Such a shame.
So there I am, the game is going back and forth, the Heat stretch out a lead, then Dallas gets it close, all of a sudden there is 2 minutes left in the game. It was great fast paced action, despite both teams playing some sloppy basketball and missing easy shots, the tension is palpable. Then at the 2 minute mark, it dawned on me, I couldn't recall hearing or seeing much of Lebron James. So I make it my business to focus more on Lebron and see what he is doing. What did I notice? Not a whole lot really. I saw a guy who wanted no part of the ball, look I get it, he was having a bad game, his shot was way off and hey, everyone has a bad night, right? Sure, but this is the guy who is meant to be the next Jordan, the guy even Scottie Pippen hailed Lebron as possibly the greatest player of all time. I just don't understand what Lebron was doing, why not take the ball, drive the lane and get a foul call? or kick it out to shooters like D-or Chris Bosh or Mike Miller? Lets face facts here, if Lebron didn't wanna hurt the team by taking shots, and didn't wanna be part of the offense, then why are you out there?
Lebron isn't Jordan, lets get that out of the way, but that isn't the point I'm trying to make. Lebron is a superstar, and he became shy and lacked confidence when so many others thrive in that role. I used to think guys like Skip Bayless were too harsh on Lebron, but now I get it. Lebron James is to Basketball as Marty Schottenheimer was to coaching Football. Lebron will give you a great regular season, and like many of Schottenheimers teams, Lebron just has so much talent that sometimes even when he lacks confidence and becomes conservative he will still get the job done to a certain point, but he just doesn't have the 'it' factor in crunch time. Even his defense in crunch time of game 4 in this series was pathetic.
Let me set the scene, 25 seconds left in the game and 19 on the shot clock, Dirk has the ball and is guarded by Udonis Haslem at the top of the key, Dallas up by 1. Dirk makes an amazing play and let me tell you how. Common sense says that Dirk will hold the ball until the final second of the shot clock, based on Dirk's tendency, he will take the ball to the left, and then go for a fade away jumper. What does Dirk do? Catches Haslem napping and takes the ball to his right with 10 seconds left on the SC, gets by Haslem with relative ease. If you look closely at this play, you see Lebron have a chance to make a play, heck even foul him if you have to, but Lebron stands there, watches Dirk go by and looks helpless, while teammate Dwyane Wade seems to dart half way across the baseline to make a great effort to at least try and stop Dirk.
Lets not forget Lebron was only able to come up with 8 points, while Wades lowest scoring output on Basketball's biggest stage is 22.
No way does Jordan shrink in these moments, no way does Jordan disappear for the final 7 minutes of a close 4th quarter game, especially a finals game, no way does Jordan give up an easy lay up. Lebron will never be Jordan, I don't care about size or raw talent, that's only half the battle, Lebron quits on the Cavs in the playoffs against Boston, disappears here. He doesn't belong in the same conversation as Jordan ever.
So I guess I kind of trailed off topic here, I tend to just start writing and see where it takes me. I really just can't wrap my head around Lebron. It will be a shame looking back and have so many "what if" questions. Such a shame.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Introduction
Welcome to my 1st post of my 1st blog. Will give a short introduction about me and what I plan to talk about.
I'm Kalen, I live in San Francisco, CA. Have either lived here, or Ireland my whole life. Ever since I can remember I have always been a HUGE sports nut. From being a little kid watching my heroes Will Clark of the San Francisco Giants, or Jerry Rice and Steve Young of the 49ers to right now where I watch (admittedly) too much sports for my own good. I will start by saying my teams are, the previously mentioned SF Giants and 49ers. Also have been a fan of the Chicago Bulls ever since I first saw Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, and I root for the San Jose Sharks but have a soft spot for the Boston Bruins having seen them live in Boston and loving that experience.
I will be talking about any and all sports that come to mind, from the football lockout to tennis, from baseball to soccer. There will probably be more of a focus on the teams I root for but will cover as diverse a range of sports and teams as I can.
So that sums that up, I will soon get started when I have all the settings and design the way I want it. Thanks for reading and can't wait to get started and get your guys thoughts.
I'm Kalen, I live in San Francisco, CA. Have either lived here, or Ireland my whole life. Ever since I can remember I have always been a HUGE sports nut. From being a little kid watching my heroes Will Clark of the San Francisco Giants, or Jerry Rice and Steve Young of the 49ers to right now where I watch (admittedly) too much sports for my own good. I will start by saying my teams are, the previously mentioned SF Giants and 49ers. Also have been a fan of the Chicago Bulls ever since I first saw Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, and I root for the San Jose Sharks but have a soft spot for the Boston Bruins having seen them live in Boston and loving that experience.
I will be talking about any and all sports that come to mind, from the football lockout to tennis, from baseball to soccer. There will probably be more of a focus on the teams I root for but will cover as diverse a range of sports and teams as I can.
So that sums that up, I will soon get started when I have all the settings and design the way I want it. Thanks for reading and can't wait to get started and get your guys thoughts.
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