Thanks

Anthony is Now a Knick

At the end of a hectic day, there is finally calm in the NBA.  The trade deadline has passed and now it’s time to look at who benefits and who made the wrong decisions.  When you run short on time, the mind can become desperate and make unreasonable decisions.  For example, in school I was playing monopoly in one class, I had boardwalk and as the bell rang I desperately dealt a large sum of (monopoly) cash and two properties for Park Place.  That didn’t turn out so well, but my friend who benefitted by monopolizing the orange properties went on to win the game.  Yes, this is much smaller scale, but some of these trades may have similar effects.  I’m not saying anyone who made a trade is going to win the NBA Championship, but some trades sure made teams look like they won’t win, not this year at least.

Let’s take a look at some of the notable teams and see which team wins, if both do, or even if neither team seems to benefit.

The Carmelo Trade
Winner: New York
Amidst the exchanging of 100 or so players, the Knicks came out on top.  Now, don’t jump too far, this team isn’t going to win a title.  Yes, Melo had an impressive debut as the Knicks beat the Bucks.  But look closely, they won on 11 fourth quarter points from Melo over the Bucks, the Bucks, the horrible Milwaukee Bucks.  Anyways, the real piece of the puzzle here is veteran Chauncey Billups, who quietly put up 21 points and 8 assists.  This is a start, for a dismal franchise; they have pulled themselves off the bottom, but work still needs to be done.  Continuing the overanalysis of one game (as everyone else is doing), Amar’e Stoudemire fouled out, and that’s called meshing?

As for the Nuggets, they lost their star, their face of the franchise, and their next best player… all for some guys and some picks that aside from the first rounder, likely won’t amount to much.  The Nuggets staff all showed regret in the trade and that will likely be a prevalent theme in the future.  They lost.

Don’t forget about the Timberwolves here, don’t think they won or lost, but they merely shuffled their deck of players and are trying out a new hand, nothing serious.

Deron Williams to the Nets
Winner: None
Why none?  Well, the Nets just added a solid point guard, but in turn, gave up their solid point guard.  Yes, Deron Williams is a star player, but the Nets.  Well, at the very least this could be a start to Mikhail Prokhorov’s spending as the new owner.  Regardless, the Nets are still the Nets and until they bring in several more Deron Williams, they will still be the Nets that we’ve come to know and love to play against.

The Jazz look to build a solid foundation here, but over the past year they have dealt their two best players (Boozer to the Bulls).  The picks may turn to something, in years to come, but for now, the Jazz continue to fall.  First Boozer, then Sloan, now Williams; who’s next?  If one team had to be considered a winner, the Jazz come out slightly higher, but no winner here.

Baron Davis to Cleveland
Loser: Baron Davis
How unfortunate can the man get?  He was in his hometown playing with arguably to most exciting player in the NBA, Blake Griffin, and now he’s headed to the worst team in the NBA.  Granted the Clippers weren’t exactly playoff contenders, the Cavs are the worst team.  The winner here is Mo Williams and Jamario Moon.  Yes, neither is a star and neither will produce a noticable effect, but both get to play in Los Angeles with Griffin.  For Williams, an incredibly overpaid player, good luck falls on him again as a result of this move.  Regardless, both teams are still bad, I feel for Baron.

The Offloading of Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson
Winner: Oklahoma City
Why Boston, why?  Yes, you have the Big 3 and a half, but Kendrick Perkins is the man who keeps a Dwight Howard quiet, he’s the man who marks up across from Andrew Bynum and now he’s gone.  All the top teams who feared Boston exhaled in unison.  KG will have his hands full under the rim now.  Jeff Green is a fine young prospect, and Krstic has been to Boston before, but Perkins was their rock.  Don’t forget little Nate, he’s a crowd favorite who was an excellent player coming from the bench; now both are gone.  The Thunder will miss their two players, especially Green given his impressive work with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but Perkins and Robinson will be welcomed with open arms.  Boston may have forsaken their title hopes this year.  That may be a bit harsh, but I don’t see any reason or rhyme to this move, especially given the age of their current stars.

Aaron Brooks for Goran Dragic
Winner: Houston
Goran Dragic was set to be the heir apparent to two-time MVP Steve Nash.  Don’t get me wrong, Brooks is a fine player, but Dragic continued to impress as he watched Nash work his magic, came off the bench and did his best, usually fairly accurate, imitation of Nash.  The Suns lost their possible future point guard.

Blake Griffin

To preface this article, this is currently Blake Griffin’s rookie season as the NBA also considers it that for him given he missed all of last season with a stress fracture.

All of that aside, Blake Griffin – well – isn’t human as far as I’m concerned.  Ok, yes, he is human, but the way he plays and the effect he’s had thus far is unreal and, by the numbers, unprecedented.  Moreover, the Staples Center is used to being filled near capacity… when the Lakers play.  The Clippers have fallen under such pseudonyms as the other team or the jv team among other negative nicknames. 

Enter Blake Griffin.

Now the Clippers fill the arena, now the Clippers aren’t just another team, now the Clippers are a team worth watching.  This is almost completely due Griffin’s arrival in Los Angeles.  The 6’10″ stud has singlehandedly become a marketable name in less than one full season.  ESPN has recently included “Blake Griffin Alerts” in their highlight reels in regards to Griffin explosively dunking the basketball yet again given that it’s become a common occurrence. 

Yes, the Clippers are still 16 ½ games under .500, but people want to see the Clippers and what does this generate?  Money is the basis for everything in sports, cynical but true.  On a brighter note, their has been a growing trend in the NBA where stars are willing to share the spotlight for a greater goal (see Miami and Boston).  However, the commonality between most NBA stars revolves around how much money they can make and which teams are willing to pay such wages.  Regardless, success can be bought – to a degree, and Blake Griffin is drawing viewers, selling tickets and bringing more out of his teammates.  The aging Baron Davis has stated that he hasn’t been this excited to play in some time and every game, in some form or another, Griffin ends up momentarily taking flight and soaring towards the rim, shortly throwing the ball through the rim thereafter.

Blake Griffin added to his growing résumé by not only being the first rookie since Yao Ming to start in an all-star game, but also, in no subtle manner, winning the dunk contest by a landslide fan vote.  Blake Griffin has become a household name.  His name echoes in and out of every basketball highlight reel and his name is known to even those casual fans who can list LeBron, Kobe, and maybe a handful of other players.  What’s he’s doing for the Clippers franchise, much less every team he plays on the road against, is generating a ton of revenue and, in that, breathing life into a once forsaken “other” franchise placed in Los Angeles.  He will have a lasting effect, whether he becomes an NBA icon in years to come, whether he draws other stars to the Clippers or even if the team offloads him to help build the franchise.  Wherever he goes, cameras, lots of cameras, will follow.

This is only the beginning of what looks to be an exciting, entertaining, storied career.  He is the future of the NBA.

Unfortunately this post doesn’t exactly deal with any sports, but I am proud to say that Yes, I Like Sports will be running strong once again.  Summer came and I took a break and fall was, well, fall and I did not get around to blogging.

Actually, for whatever reason, I thought I lost the blog due to inactivity or some other reason only to realize I was on the wrong site.  No worries because I have returned and plan to begin blogging on anything and everything sports again.

Come to think of it, my first statement in the second paragraph was a lie, I’ll throw in a quick piece: Aaron Rodgers to cover Madden 2012, and Greg Jennings put the team on his back… see youtube for that one.

Thanks again everyone, hope you enjoy!

ESPN moves to the Tigers-Indians game, on national TV.  ESPNews and every other newscast mentions that Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga has gone eight strong innings with one remaining.  Three perfect games?  Unfathomable.  Jason Donald steps up to the plate knowing he could break up history.  On the third pitch he swings, a grounder to Miguel Cabrera away from first base.  Armando Galarraga runs to cover, Cabrera fields cleanly and fires, Galarraga catches, tags, SAFE!  WHAT!?  First base umpire Jim Joyce called Donald safe.  At a glance it looked like a tie, which often goes to the runner.  In such circumstances I would’ve given it to the pitcher, but I’m not an umpire.  However, upon review, Galarraga had him beat by more than half a step.

Pitiful.

This leads us into the chaotic debate of implementing more or less replay in baseball.  Does it ruin “the spirit of the game” or its integrity?  No, that’s pure rubbish.  The NFL makes scintillating use of replay, as does NBA, when it’s necessary.  Maybe I’m too young and ignorant of the games traditions, but then again, I’m part of the future generations that will watch and be entertained by these games.  I was set to witness history, monumental history.  I watched the ball roll to Cabrera and Galarraga touch the base, and Jim Joyce crush those dreams of witnessing such history, for now at least. 

Now if replay were implemented, what a different situation we would be in.  Everyone, minus anyone affiliated with the Indians, would be rejoicing that history in the making was saved by practical use of technology.  I know that the MLB has been beyond hesitant in implementing replay, only using it for home runs so far, but it’s necessary.  I’m tired of “human error” being a part of the game.  All that it can be is missed calls, there is no 100% of the time.  Computers will be flawless and faultless, or at least better than the naked eye.  This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. 

Jim Joyce later said, “It was the biggest call of my career,” and there is no doubt to that.  It’s the biggest call for a reason he did not want though.  Replay, please come soon.

Lionel Messi: Simply the Best

Just reading the title should excite a fan of international football, sending images of a short Argentinian winger dribbling through countless defenders or firing a shot through a crevice in the defense the size of a ball.  In short, Messi is the best player in the world.

The 5’7″ man from Argentina was drawing comparisons to Diego Maradona before the 2006 World Cup, as a young player who could reshape the game.  Not only is Maradona his Argentinian compatriot, but Messi has matched, if not bettered, two of Maradona’s most famous goals: “the Hand of God” and “the Goal of the Century” and seems to be set as one of the all-time greats despite being so young.

A Brief Bio:
Messi burst onto the scene after signing with Barcelona and breaking the record for youngest player to play in La Liga at 17 years, a record broken a few years later by teammate Bojan Krkic.  Since then, Messi has become a prolific scorer, recently passing Rivaldo as Barcelona’s all-time scorer.  He has played for his country, Argentina, since he was 18, participating in the 2006 World Cup and 2008 Olympics and will be part of the 2010 World Cup Squad.

Is he the best?
Two years ago, Manchester United won the English Treble, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring goals almost at will.  With that said, Ronaldo seemed to sit atop the list with Messi not far behind.  Last season, Messi closed that gap to a virtual tie.  This season, no dispute, Messi is the greatest in the world.  This isn’t a revelation of any sort, he’s been a fantastic scorer for years, but he’s matured into a more deadly player which seemed inconceivable considering the amount of prowess and skill he already possessed. 

While Ronaldo broke the transfer record in his move to Real Madrid, he has been spotty all year, scoring in patches.  He’ll hit a brace one day and not score for weeks.  Messi has already 26 goals in 27 games including three hat tricks, the third being part of a four goal rampage against Arsenal; four goals in a four to one victory over a world-class opponent, unbelieveable.  That gives new meaning to carrying a team, incredible.  Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, recently stated, “At the moment I would say [Messi] is the best player in the world.”

Barcelona manager “Pep” Guardiola has recently stated that he’s running out of superlatives to describe Messi, and I couldn’t agree more.  Messi is simply phenomenal, and that might not even do enough justice to how talented the young man is.

Why?
He scores goals left and right, beats practically every defender he challenges, and is an ambidextrous striker of the ball.  He looks likes he’s blanketed by the defense, two, three, or four men; then the shot comes whizzing from the crowd into the corner of the net, brilliant.  His nimble feet mezmerize and wrong foot defenders as he scurries by almost effortlessly; or one of Barca’s skilled midfielders play a ball through, Messi sprints past defenders and makes the keeper look like a novice.  If soccer were a language, Messi would be one of the most fluent speakers.  If soccer were music, Messi would be it’s Mozart. 

Remember, he’s only 22.

I can’t imagine what’s still to come.

Ben Wallace (left) Holding Up the Larry O'Brien Trophy as Chauncey Billups Displays the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Trophy

The Detroit Pistons, 2003 NBA Champions, Eastern Conference Champions in six of the last ten years, are terrible.  What happened?  

The Pistons are currently 22 games below .500 and any and all playoffs hopes have been dashed.  At first the decline was gradual and then the Pistons fell of a cliff.  Chauncey Billups, arguably the centerpiece of the team, was traded for (what a joke) Allen Iverson.  That’s when it all went downhill.

The team that was revered around the league was made up of staters Ben and Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton along with Billups.  Ben Wallace made his go with a few teams, essentially had little to no impact and is now playing for Detroit once again after being signed as a free agent.  Wallace, however, is not the player he once was.   Hamilton and Prince have been with the Pistons ever since those glory years and continue to be solid players.  Rasheed Wallace, the energy and passion of the team was recently signed by the Celtics, who wouldn’t want to do that?  Lastly, Chauncey Billups has enjoyed successful years in Denver, combining with Carmelo Anthony.  The two are yet to win a title, but are currently sitting second in the Western Conference, a tad bit better than the Pistons are doing in the east.

Let’s not forget about Flip Saunders either.  The mastermind behind the squad is currently coaching the Wizards and trying to resurrect a dismal franchise.  Saunders was fired after losing the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals and signed with the Wizards after Washington fired Eddie Jordan.  Since his departure, the Pistons have been, to put it bluntly, terrible.

The pinnacle of their success was the 2003-04 season when they won it all, throughout the decade Detroit finished first in the east six times and have a record above .500 seven times.  The only blemish is that they failed to win another title or so, but the Pistons of the 2000′s were definitely one of the NBA’s dominant dynastys.

Anyways, the World Cup draws nearer each day, with only a few months to go.  Last summer the United States national team struck down the incumbent number one team in the world, Spain.  Their 2-0 victory gave the U.S. a chance to face another one of the world’s finest squads, Brazil.  Unfortunately the U.S. blew a two goal lead.  However, the U.S. continues to creep closer to becoming an elite team in the world of soccer.

With their run in the 2002 World Cup into the quarter-finals, the states burst onto the scene after being a mediocre, but solid team for so long.  A defeat to Germany left the U.S. waiting until 2006, a World Cup that the U.S. would like to forget.

However, in light of recent matches, the United States is moving up in the rankings, currently sitting 18th in the FIFA World Rankings.  This summer is the time when the young United States National Soccer Team can change all of that, especially with the first fixture pitting the states against England.

England, a favorite team of mine other than the states, boasts a recently nearly unblemished record in qualifying and features some of the most feared players such as Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, and many others.  The other two teams in the group, Algeria and Slovenia, should be victories for the states, but a victory of England would make yet another statement and propel them into the next round, provided they beat the other two teams.  From there the U.S. will face a team from group D, likely Germany or Ghana, both of whom are very strong teams.

In short, the United States just needs to make a run, which isn’t unheard of or out of the question.  South Korea did it in 2002, Greece did it an won Euro 2004, and now the U.S. has a shot at glory.  The 2009 Confederations Cup was only the tip of the iceberg.  Anchored behind captain Carlos Bocanegra and striker Landon Donovan, the U.S.  Besides, Donovan already took a stab at England by injuring defender Ashley Cole while playing for Everton in the Premiership (I’m sure the relation between that and the World Cup isn’t present, but it’s still interesting).

So what needs to be done to reach elite status among the world’s best soccer teams: make a run in the world cup, defeating England would be nice, and don’t end up like the 2006 World Cup.  It’s possible and not unreasonable, soccer in the states continues to grow, not just on the national level, but the MLS continues to rise as well.  Glory is not far off, but sooner is better than later, the United States National Soccer Team continues to inch towards greatness.

A Dejected Brett Favre

As a licensed lifeguard I can safely say that the Minnesota Vikings were choking, badly, on Sunday.  There is no doubt about that.

Ryan Longwell hit both field goals of 50 or more yards this season, and barring the first choke by the Vikings, he would’ve been setup for an attempt at another 50 yarder.  Back to the first choke; after calling the timeout the Vikings were penalized 5 yards for having 12 men in the huddle, 3rd down.  Now Longwell was faced with a 55 yarder, matching his career long.  Yes, he definitely had the leg to make it, and if he does the game is theirs, if he misses then it goes to overtime, but he didn’t have to worry about any of that.

The next play was not completely a choke in terms of play calling.  Favre rolled to his right for a pass and had loads of green in front of him; he could’ve picked up a MINIMUM of 5-10 yards, making it fourth down and taking some of the yardage off for Longwell - BUT, (time for the huge choke) Favre chose not to run and went for his favorite target, Sidney Rice, and was picked off by Tracy Porter.  Overtime was soon to follow, it came down to the coin toss.

But for choking, there were many other times where the Vikings choked, and choked, and choked. 

Adrian Peterson, arguably the best back in the game, fumbled twice in the same game after fumbling 7 times all season.  Oh wait, there’s more!  Four other Vikings fumbled the ball, all of which were lost, and this is all on top of Favre’s 2 interceptions!

Statistically the Vikings dominated in every category from total yards (475 – 257), 4 fewer penalties for 56 fewer yards, and just about every other statistical category – exept turnovers (3-1).

So who is to blame?

One could argue it was Favre’s foolish decision to throw it, but then one could argue that Brad Childress should’ve never called a passing play with 16 seconds and 1 timeout remaining.  Even then, Longwell’s kick is not guaranteed.  There are too many ifs and buts, but all of that aside, the New Orleans Saints will be the ones playing in Miami in 2 weeks.  The Saints were the team with the better record, and were the ones lucky enough to win the overtime coin toss.  Lucky?  Sure, but does it hurt?  Not at all, at least for the Saints. 

Did the Vikings choke?  No doubt.

Author’s Notes:
-Brett Favre: anything regarding his potential re-retirement is a Pandora’s Box that I don’t want to open in this post.  However, I am writing an article for my school paper that should be posted on thehno.com in the future.

-Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation was not needed however.

Mike Hart's Glory Days at Michigan are Long Gone

Yep, it’s Tuesday, what a dismal day.  Tuesday: the second day of the work/school week, with Friday being a dim light at the end of the tunnel.  Anyways, I will now be writing a weekly column, in hopes of trying to slightly brighten Tuesdays.

As for the column, it will reference a player whose success is behind him or her. The idea behind it is that the column will bring attention to those former stars who have had little success since, just hoping to peak the interest of other sports enthusiasts like myself.

For the introductory article in what hopes to be a long running column, Mike Hart will be the athlete whom not all of us remember.

I was watching the Indianapolis Colts face the Ravens in last week’s playoff games, and in the midst of a blitz, a small running back, not Joseph Addai or Donald Brown, picked up the rushing man.  Lo and behold there was Mike Hart.  With that said, memories of a once great running back flashed through my mind.

The former Michigan star flourished at the big house.  Under Lloyd Carr, Hart ran for over 5,000 yards, only the 5th player in Big Ten history to do so.  Hart was one of the many stars on Carr’s final roster.  Along with teammates Chad Henne, Jake Long, and other once recognizable names, Hart was a key player on a strong Michigan team. 

Yes, Michigan lost to Appalachian State in Hart’s senior season, but the Wolverines did finish 9-4, defeating #9 Florida, 41-35 in the Capital One Bowl.  In Hart’s final outing, he rushed for 129 yards on 32 carries, passing the 5,000 yard mark. 

However, Hart is one of the many college stars who wouldn’t translate to the professional level.  He was selected by 202nd (6th round) by the Indianapolis Colts.  Part of his slow NFL career may be due a knee injury that sidelined him most of his rookie season.  However, since then he was been cut by the Colts twice, only to be resigned each time.  Hart has improved in his sophomore season, but then again, he is third string at best. 

Hart is a mere 5’9” and he is not a speed back.  Darren Sproles and Maurice Jones-Drew are both shorter, but both are lightning quick backs.  Hart is not going to burn anyone with his speed, rather he is a between the tackles runner.  Isn’t that ironic?  Hart is a bruiser with the frame of a speed back, a combination that doesn’t work so well. 

Yet, Hart hasn’t sat the bench – the entire time.  While receiving limited touches, Hart managed 6 carries in last week’s game, just as many carries as rookie Donald Brown.  Brown, however, took 52 more carries than Hart this year.  Hart’s college numbers will always tower over his professional ones, but those college numbers are still there. 

No one will likely remember what Mike did in the NFL, but he will always be a Michigan great. 

Mike Hart, you may be beyond your glory days, or perhaps they are to return; however, you are not forgotten.