Double Issue: Sports Week(s)
Much has occurred in the last two weeks on many sports fronts. The four big games, NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB have all seen much action.
In the NBA, Pat Riley has taken over as head coach of the Miami Heat, triggering speculation that he forced Stan Van-Gundy out, even though Van-Gundy claims he left for family reasons. In my mind there is no reason not to believe Van-Gundy, and that is the problem with today's sports journalism. one journalist decides that maybe Riley forced him out so then other journalists start reporting that as fact. For whatever it's worth, I believe Stan Van-Gundy.
The NY Knicks continue to shame the name of Madison Square Garden basketball even with Larry Brown at the helm. The leagues highest scoring team, the Phoenix Suns have been held four straight games without 100 points - huh? Tim Duncan and the Spurs continue to soar as do the Detroit Pistons under new head coach Flip Saunders. The Clippers are still the better team in Los Angeles, and despite career games by LeBron James the Cavaliers (including one where he scored 52-points) are struggling, going 3-7 in there last 10 including three loses in a row. Ron Artest has requested a trade jumping on the wagon of multi-millionaire athletes not being happy where they are.
In the NHL, the NY Rangers continue their resurgence, while the Pittsburgh Penguins continue to struggle to the point that led them to fire the head coach. Wayne Gretzky and the Phoenix Coyotes continue their come back as Gretzky proves he can translate the greatness to coaching. The St. Louis Blues checking in at 6-17-4 this morning, have put their incredible playoff streak in jeopardy. After having qualified for the playoffs 25 consecutive seasons, it's looking more and more unlikely. That streak is the longest current postseason streak in professional sports and the third-longest of all-time.
In the NFL, the last two weeks I have gone a combined 21 for 32 in my picks, having been victim of a couple of upsets. Week 13 saw the Jaguars march out and win a game even with their star quarterback sidelined - possibly for the rest of season. Also in week 13 the Panthers managed to finally beat Michael Vick, the Dolphins and Ravens scratch out one-point wins with 6 six seconds left and the Chiefs beat the Broncos in the most exciting game of the day, in which the score kept switching back and forth. In the Monday night football game in week 13 the Philadelphia Eagles were handed a slaughtering at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. The final score, 42-0 was the largest margin of victory in a Monday night game in its history.
Week 14 had the Indianapolis Colts continue their march to perfection improving to 13-0, while - surprisingly - the New York Jets manage to pull off a win. The Vikings win their seventh straight game and are in major contention for the playoffs. The Redskins win a 'must-win' and are also surprisingly back in the hunt. The Bengals need a last minute field goal to pull away a victory from the suddenly surprising Cleveland Browns, and the Giants pull out a win in overtime (this time on a good Jay Feeley field goal) vs. The Eagles, albeit an ugly one. The Cowboys managed to maintain their position in the NFC East with a victory over the Chiefs and the Packers win the Sunday night game over the sinking ship being the Lions.
In the Monday night game that saw two second-cousins square off in Michael Vick and Aaron Brooks, the Falcons pull off an impressive victory over the Saints at the hands of Vick's running game and - get this - his passing game! Vick threw a 54-yard TD pass to Roddy White and he also ran for two scores. Before the game however, was when the excitement came for the New Orleans Saints when Brooks went off at commissioner Paul Tagliabue, owner Tom Benson, and the NFL in an exclusive interview on WestwoodOne. Brooks stated his displeasure with the way the team was treated in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.
In other NFL news, Brian Westbrook was added to the long list of Eagles injuries, going down to an injury that may even keep him out part of next season. The Jets, ,with their surprising victory over the Raiders, have made it even more unlikely that they will get the first draft pick improving to 3 wins leaving 3 two teams behind them in that category, the Texans and the 49ers.
In NCAA football, the Virginia Tech Hokies showed that they were not really ready for a high-scale game, losing to the Florida State Seminoles in a a game that was far worse than the final score dictates. The USC Trojans and the Texas Longhorns soared to easy blowout victories, 66-19 and 70-3 respectively.
Reggie Bush wins the Heisman trophy collecting the most first place votes since O.J. Simpson, and becoming the third Trojan to pick up the award in the last four seasons joining QBs Carson Palmer and Matt Leinert. Vince young of Texas came in second and Leinert a distant third.
(to be continued...)
oVeR AnD oUt!!
In the NBA, Pat Riley has taken over as head coach of the Miami Heat, triggering speculation that he forced Stan Van-Gundy out, even though Van-Gundy claims he left for family reasons. In my mind there is no reason not to believe Van-Gundy, and that is the problem with today's sports journalism. one journalist decides that maybe Riley forced him out so then other journalists start reporting that as fact. For whatever it's worth, I believe Stan Van-Gundy.
The NY Knicks continue to shame the name of Madison Square Garden basketball even with Larry Brown at the helm. The leagues highest scoring team, the Phoenix Suns have been held four straight games without 100 points - huh? Tim Duncan and the Spurs continue to soar as do the Detroit Pistons under new head coach Flip Saunders. The Clippers are still the better team in Los Angeles, and despite career games by LeBron James the Cavaliers (including one where he scored 52-points) are struggling, going 3-7 in there last 10 including three loses in a row. Ron Artest has requested a trade jumping on the wagon of multi-millionaire athletes not being happy where they are.
In the NHL, the NY Rangers continue their resurgence, while the Pittsburgh Penguins continue to struggle to the point that led them to fire the head coach. Wayne Gretzky and the Phoenix Coyotes continue their come back as Gretzky proves he can translate the greatness to coaching. The St. Louis Blues checking in at 6-17-4 this morning, have put their incredible playoff streak in jeopardy. After having qualified for the playoffs 25 consecutive seasons, it's looking more and more unlikely. That streak is the longest current postseason streak in professional sports and the third-longest of all-time.
In the NFL, the last two weeks I have gone a combined 21 for 32 in my picks, having been victim of a couple of upsets. Week 13 saw the Jaguars march out and win a game even with their star quarterback sidelined - possibly for the rest of season. Also in week 13 the Panthers managed to finally beat Michael Vick, the Dolphins and Ravens scratch out one-point wins with 6 six seconds left and the Chiefs beat the Broncos in the most exciting game of the day, in which the score kept switching back and forth. In the Monday night football game in week 13 the Philadelphia Eagles were handed a slaughtering at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks. The final score, 42-0 was the largest margin of victory in a Monday night game in its history.
Week 14 had the Indianapolis Colts continue their march to perfection improving to 13-0, while - surprisingly - the New York Jets manage to pull off a win. The Vikings win their seventh straight game and are in major contention for the playoffs. The Redskins win a 'must-win' and are also surprisingly back in the hunt. The Bengals need a last minute field goal to pull away a victory from the suddenly surprising Cleveland Browns, and the Giants pull out a win in overtime (this time on a good Jay Feeley field goal) vs. The Eagles, albeit an ugly one. The Cowboys managed to maintain their position in the NFC East with a victory over the Chiefs and the Packers win the Sunday night game over the sinking ship being the Lions.
In the Monday night game that saw two second-cousins square off in Michael Vick and Aaron Brooks, the Falcons pull off an impressive victory over the Saints at the hands of Vick's running game and - get this - his passing game! Vick threw a 54-yard TD pass to Roddy White and he also ran for two scores. Before the game however, was when the excitement came for the New Orleans Saints when Brooks went off at commissioner Paul Tagliabue, owner Tom Benson, and the NFL in an exclusive interview on WestwoodOne. Brooks stated his displeasure with the way the team was treated in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.
In other NFL news, Brian Westbrook was added to the long list of Eagles injuries, going down to an injury that may even keep him out part of next season. The Jets, ,with their surprising victory over the Raiders, have made it even more unlikely that they will get the first draft pick improving to 3 wins leaving 3 two teams behind them in that category, the Texans and the 49ers.
In NCAA football, the Virginia Tech Hokies showed that they were not really ready for a high-scale game, losing to the Florida State Seminoles in a a game that was far worse than the final score dictates. The USC Trojans and the Texas Longhorns soared to easy blowout victories, 66-19 and 70-3 respectively.
Reggie Bush wins the Heisman trophy collecting the most first place votes since O.J. Simpson, and becoming the third Trojan to pick up the award in the last four seasons joining QBs Carson Palmer and Matt Leinert. Vince young of Texas came in second and Leinert a distant third.
(to be continued...)
oVeR AnD oUt!!
posted by Levi M. at 1:26 PM
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