Category: sports

Looking Up

smackyjackjack1 Comment

F.I.N.A.L.L.Y.

The Lakers are actually starting to look like a team. Or rather, the team they were supposed to be at the beginning of the year. I hate to be too optimistic, like I was after Christmas, but this team looks like they could actually make the playoffs.

Today, the Lakers actually beat one of the top seeded teams: the Thunder. Now, granted that the Thunder were just coming off of a six game road trip, Westbrook shot 6-22 from the field, and Durant was just 10 for 26, the Lakers still pulled off an impressive win.

Kobe, stunning his critics, got 14 assists, 9 rebounds and 21 points. He’s still the MVP. I said it. In fact, the Lakers had six players in double digits for points (not counting Howard. Because he only had eight points.)

Howard has actually been proving nerds wrong all year. He proved that Superman’s weakness is NOT kryptonite, but it is, in fact, shooting the ball from the free throw line. Howard has not been showing up to everyone’s expectations. He’s been acting like a little baby because he hasn’t been getting as many touches as everyone else. Well, actually, he does get as many touches, but he just messes them up when he does get them.

But, as badly as Howard is playing, a playoff appearance by the Lakers seems very possible now. Plus, with Rondo out anywhere from the rest of the year to two more seasons, things are looking up for Laker fans.

Why the Pro Bowl doesn’t matter

backinphillyLeave a comment

A lot of people await the rosters for the NFL Pro Bowl each year. I am guilty of the same thing. However, much like 95% of the NFL population, we couldn’t care less about the outcome of the game.

The Pro Bowl is the unlike any of the Big 4 All star celebrations. By the Big 4, I mean NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB. The NBA, which I despise, has the All Star game, the rookie and sophomore game, the Dunk competition and the 3 point shot competition.

The MLB is the only one to my knowledge whose All Star game actually has an impact on the actual season. The NL and AL compete. The winner is granted the majority (4 games) in the World Series. Home field is always nice. Anyway, the game is preceded by the Home Run Derby, which I am an annual viewer.

The NHL has the most impressive All Star break of them all. Along with the game, which is always exciting and VERY high scoring, there are numerous skill competitions throughout the weekend, which include the Sniper competition and the Hardest shot, which isn’t much because Zdeno Chara is a freak of nature.

Anyway, the Pro Bowl is useless in every way. There’s a game that has no lasting implications on the season and no side competitions. It’s used to fill the gap between the Conference Championship games and the Super Bowl. It’s simply a waste of time. I almost never watch the game and will very rarely watch any of the highlights following.

I can’t stand the Pro Bowl, and neither do the players.

Except these guys…they seem to be enjoying themselves with some very attractive hula girls.

Winter X Games

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

The Winter X Games have been held in Aspen for the past ten years, and since I can remember my family has made a habit of sitting around the TV and watching them. When we moved to Aspen, this was made a lot easier, and I finally began to understand the excitement.

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The X Games begin on Thursday, and carry on until late Sunday night. Over the weekend, Aspen is packed. Tons of people fly in for the event, and none are disappointed. Especially the students in the Aspen School system.

It used to be a school holiday, and it might as well should be because of the amount of students that actually turn up. When we heard the contract for Aspen had been renewed, it was all anyone could talk about for days. Some of the classes make a field trip of walking over to the base of Buttermilk, where it is held, and watching. At night, you can see the lights, and hear the music, announcers, and roar of the crowd from the other side of town. It’s mayhem, but the locals love it.

When I first came to school here last year, my dad called me and told me the X Games were gonna be in town. I immediately went to my computer to see if there was a way for me to watch them live, but I couldn’t figure it out. I resigned myself to the TV in the girls’ lounge. I pretty much camped out there all weekend, and my classmates thought I was crazy.

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To me though, it was perfectly normal. I mean come on, it’s the Winter X Games. In Aspen.

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The Making of the Chip Kelly Era

backinphilly1 Comment

Obviously, as a huge NFL fan, I would love to cover the games that happened today. However, I believe that since we have a full two weeks before any meaningful NFL action, that can all wait until next week sometime. I have wanted to publicly address Chip Kelly, the new Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach for a few days and never got the chance.

So, here goes.

As the reports had shown two weeks ago, Chip Kelly, then the head coach of the University of Oregon, had decided to decline the jump to the NFL and stay in college. 10 days later, Chip was hired as the Eagles coach. I was ecstatic to say the least. He was my pick to replace Andy Reid since day 1 of interviews. I wanted him even while we still had Andy on the payroll.

I strongly believe in this man as our head coach in Philly. He has so far built a very reasonable staff chock full of NFL experience, including our new offensive coordinator and former Browns’ head coach Pat Shurmur.

While a lot of skeptics don’t particularly care much about the signing, I love the move.

Shurmur is a former Eagles QB coach and very skilled in the West Coast offensive formations, meaning that Chip, who brings the run and spread options to the NFL, is willing to compromise and is open to many different mentalities. I also like the fact that we now have two head coaches on our staff. Chip and Pat both have that type of experience.

I will be talking about a certain theory I have in the upcoming week. It pertains to Alabama coach Nick Saban and DC Kirby Smart, who is a leading candidate in the Eagles’ DC search.

Keep on reading! I’m very close to something huge!

Lakers: Proving it IS in fact possible to lose with this team

smackyjackjackLeave a comment

Kobe, Nash, Howard, World Peace, Gasol.

What could go wrong with such a winning lineup?

Well, apparently, a lot. The Lakers proved today that it is possible to lose with a team so star studded as this. In fact, they can make it look easy.

You have to admit, today’s game was almost comically bad. Howard got kicked out before the half, Kobe hitting TEN for THIRTY-TWO shots, and Gasol flopping his lanky arms around the rim every play in a feeble attempt to make the ball go in.
FLOP
I honestly don’t know what’s going on with the Lakers. The talent is obviously there. Is it the age factor? Is it that no one on the team can play together? Is it that D’Antoni’s  mustache has cast a spell over the entire team? The latter seems quite possible.
What is he hiding under there?

Whatever it is, the Lakers need to figure it out, and fast. They’re falling dangerously close to not making it to the playoffs, with an even more dangerous schedule ahead. I say dangerous with my tounge-in-cheek because we did just lose to the Raptors. The TORONTO Raptors. Canada is not notoriously great at basketball.

And we’re back!

callmemaybe32Leave a comment

Well, Saturday marked the first day of the 2012-2013 NHL season, well I guess the 2013 season at least.

It was a long and frustrating lockout, but the teams are back lacing up the skates and getting out on the ice.

I witnessed a moment in history that will only happen once, and that was watching my beloved Los Angeles Kings raise their first Stanley Cup banner up into the rafters at Staples Center.

While watching the captains of the team skate the flag out to center ice I started to feel something.

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Worst Person #26-Gregg Williams

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Well, the Saints’ bounty gate case has been resolved, and each person involved has been freed from his suspension.

That doesn’t really matter now that the season is 3 games away from concluding. However, the Saints still have a slight mathematical shot to reach the playoffs. So anything is possible. Sean Payton might come back.

But there’s still one more guy that hasn’t been relieved of his suspension.

That man is Gregg Williams, the head of the entire bounty operation.

Well, the reason he’s bad this time around isn’t because he decided to pay Jonathan Vilma to break someone in half.

He decided to say that Joe Vitt was the mastermind and wouldn’t allow him to stop the bounty system.

This just sounds like another excuse he came up with to try and get back in the league.

As an athlete myself, I understand that taking benefits to break someone is unacceptable.

While I do not condone the actions taken by Gregg Williams, I also believe that this is part of the game. This isn’t just the Saints. Each team has their own type of bounty system set up. These players are glorified criminals. I love this league, but the players are maniacs. I love the league because of it.

Gregg Williams, take your blame and don’t throw the blame on someone like Vitt who had nothing to do with the continuation of the program.

Something Happened? Guess I gotta write about it

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So I know I said that I wasn’t going to talk Eagles anymore after last week. The team has been completely deflated and it was just a waste of time to talk about these guys. Well, this week is a different story.

The Eagles actually won a game today.

Going into today’s game, the Eagles’ last win was on September 30th, which is over 2 months ago. That’s a long time in the NFL. The last 2 months have been increasingly depressing. Loss after loss, the Eagles just looked sloppier and sloppier.

Today was our day as rookie QB NICK FOLES (sorry I’m still excited), led the Eagles to a 4th quarter comeback, bringing the team to victory after suffering an 11 point deficit.

There are a lot of things to talk about after a game like today. There were a ton of highlights. Let’s talk about them.

First, I want to give the defensive player of the game to Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Nnamdi Asomugha, who looked like the players we thought they were when they came to Philly. The two gelled very well today as the team has completely eliminated the wide 9 formation from their playbook. The only times I saw either get seriously beat was on zone coverage once again. However, on man coverage, the two were superhuman. DRC didn’t allow many catches today at all. Nnamdi allowed another touchdown pass, but he needed to make a split decision on his coverage. He made the right call, but noticed it just a bit too late. He also suffered a neck injury early in the game. He returned later on and finished up.

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Birds Gettin’ It Goin’ Again

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Well, the Eagles looked pretty good again tonight. I’m very pleasently surprised to see new quarterback Nick Foles play with a LOT of poise in the pocket tonight. He’s made a lot of smart plays and really looks like a seasoned veteran tonight. I wouldn’t change a whole lot that has gone on. The team looks pretty solid. The offensive line is holding their own against a Cowboys defense that doesn’t rush the quarterback all that much, but keep in mind that DeMarcus Ware is still on that defense.

You are never safe on offense with THAT guy on the defense coming to find you.

The Eagles defense looks weak once again. It’s a disgrace. Tonight, however, the problem isn’t Nnamdi Asomugha or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The problem with the passing defense is the zone defense calls and the safeties Nate Allen and Kurt Coleman. These two are complete garbage. To be honest, I’m in complete shock that Coleman has a job. He doesn’t look to be good enough to play for a Pop Warner team. He goes for the big hits and 9 times out of 10 he misses. He’s a disgrace. I’m not as hard on Allen. He has played well for a long time but is completely overshadowed by the disgusting play of Coleman. Kurt Coleman is a big guy but at this point, I’d rather have Gary Coleman over Kurt.

No, there’s no relation.

While the outcome was not a victory, there were some highlights.

Minus his fumble resulting in a Dallas touchdown, Bryce Brown had a flawless night in LeSean McCoy’s absence. We now know that we have two running backs worth playing and third option, Dion Lewis, that could be used in specific situations. We knew coming into the season that the running back core was going to be deep. But we were never certain as to how well Bryce was going to play.

So far so good for the rookie.

Another big play was when another rookie, Damaris Johnson, took a punt all the way to the house. A 98 yard return from a rookie is something I haven’t seen the Eagles do since DeSean’s rookie season.

It was a good night for the most part. Only thing missing was the win. But we will get back at it next year. I only have to bare through four more Eagles games.

Hopefully, next season will be without that fat sack o’ losses we call Andy Reid.

Los Lakers!

smackyjackjackLeave a comment

Well, I’ve made it a little bit without blogging about the Lakers. But, it’s time to end the streak of silence and do a quick summary of the season so far.

Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace…what could go wrong?

Well, a lot.

Nash has fractured his leg and no one knows when he’s coming back.

Dwight Howard has the power to be the best center in the league and, to his benefit, he certainly is sometimes. BUT! He definitely has some off nights. In our last game against Memphis, Dwight only had 7 points a 4 rebounds. Hrrrm.

Kobe’s still Kobe. Anyone trying to doubt that needs to look at the list of the league’s highest scorers.

And finally Gasol. Oh Gasol, you fickle, fickle man. As terribly as he’s been playing recently, I still think he should still be kept on the team. There are a lot of trading rumors, but I think they’re a waste of time. He’ll smarten up when Nash comes back.

So, having said all of that, the Lakers still have a losing record (.467). This is 15 games in too. Sure, a lot of that was to do with Mike Brown, but D’Antoni still has to prove himself to L.A. We’ll see how the season pans out. The very first game of the year I predicted that the Lakers would go to the finals and win in six against the Heat. Well, now I’m not so sure. Kobe needs to lead some of the younger players and show a bit more charisma. But so does D’Antoni. Hopefully the team starts to win some games, because I’m not comfortable with the only sport team I follow having a losing record.