“Give the Big East a Break”

At a school dance, you either get asked to dance or you do not.  Those who are asked to dance are generally much happier than those who are not.  Well 68 teams will be asked to dance come Selection Sunday (March 13th).  68 schools will be thrilled to accept the invitation.  While 279 teams will be disappointed and pray to receive an invitation to either the NIT or the CBI.  Only 19.6% of teams in the entire country get a shot to showcase their abilities on College Basketball’s biggest stage, and arguably the best sporting event in American sports.

“Stars Aligning: Is this Good for the NBA?”

 

With the major move of Carmelo to New York and Deron Williams to New Jersey, could Chris Paul (pictured above) be next? Our very own Wesley Kaminsky touches on the current state of the NBA.

Wesley is a sports expert and journalist out of Philadelphia that writes for Bleacher Report.  You can check out all of his work at  http://bleacherreport.com/users/88810-wesley-kaminsky or follow his twitter @Wesley_Kaminsky

 

Remember back in the old NBA days where stars wanted to compete against one another and not join forces for the sole purpose to win a ring? I am talking about back in the days of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird. These guys did not want to play together and dominate the NBA for years to come, they wanted to battle it out and compete against each other. No, I was not around during the days of Bird and Magic, and was a baby while Jordan was in his prime, but I do know one thing, that the NBA has completely changed since then.

“Food for Thought 2-22-11”

In the big news of the day, the New York Knicks just added the likes of Chauncey Billups (left), Carmelo Anthony (right), and others to their team. New York appears to finally be relevant again for the first time since the Ewing days.

“You had me at Melo.”  That is what the whole city of New York is saying today in light of recent developments where their beloved Knickerbockers picked up scoring machine, Carmelo Anthony.  The former Syracuse star is finally heading to play in the Mecca.  Its about time.  There is so much going on in the sporting world.  There is so much to talk about. 

So lets jump right into the day’s main headlines.

You Had Me at Melo

“Weekly Nickel”

We have an amazing week of College Basketball ahead and I foresee Jay Wright (pictured above) leading his Villanova squad to 2 major victories. Expect Nova to be in the top 10 come Monday.

I will admit that I enjoyed All Star Weekend more than I normally do.  The Dunk Contest had a little spice to it, unlike last year’s fiasco.  Though it did seem a bit rigged to go in Griffin’s favor.  JaVale McGee put on a pretty strong showing in his own right.  Then the game.  Though very boring for a while, really picked up in the 4th.  The play of the game in my eyes was when Kobe flushed home the dunk on the break in King Jame’s grill.  And then he gave him a little pat on the butt.  Kobe sent a message last night to the Heat, Celtics, and other contending teams.  The Lakers will be ready come playoff time.  You can count on it.

“Steve Lavin: A Genius?”

Steve Lavin's arrival in New York appears to be a match made in heaven. Can he bring the St. John's program it's first National Championship?

St. John’s is at it again.  Another top ten team fell at the hands of the Red Storm today.  A Pittsburgh team that had seemed to have mastered the rigors and challenges of the Big East Conference was unable to handle the athleticism and toughness of St. John’s on this day.  And lets be entirely real, Pittsburgh is quite possibly the “baddest” team in the land.  No team can play the grind it out physical style that Pittsburgh plays.  They have mastered what the term “winning ugly” means during the Jamie Dixon tenure.  Watching Pitt play brings back memories of the Bob Huggin’s Bearcat “Bad” Boys of the 90s and early 2000s.

“D. Rose is the Real Deal”

Derrick Rose (pictured above) is making a strong case for the League MVP Award. The 22-year-old can do it all and is definitely the real deal.

A few weeks ago, our very own Wesley Kaminsky wrote an article entitled,“The Hype is Real: How Derrick Rose Can win MVP” (https://sportskraze.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/the-hype-is-real-how-derrick-rose-can-win-mvp/) highlighting how D Rose is a definite MVP candidate.  And last night confirmed it.  This kid can do it all.  In the words of Greg Jennings, “He puts the team on his back.”

The Chicago Bulls are dangerous.  Forget all the noise about Melo or any other trade rumors.  It is extremely unnecessary.  All the talk in the East begins in Boston and ends in Miami (or vice versa).  The Bulls are just fine with that.  In a first half where they dealt with major injuries to Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah, and others, they are still 22 games above 500 heading into the break.  They have won 4 straight games and are dangerous. 

I had the Bulls as my sleeper pick in the East in my NBA Preseason Preview back in October, but if I had known the Bulls were going to sustain injuries to stars Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer, I would have had this team struggling to even be in the playoff picture.  I would have been wrong.  It all comes down to one guy.

Derrick Rose.

This guy has done it all in the first half.  25 points a night to go with over 8 assists.  The numbers don’t lie.  But the stats do not possibly demonstrate all that this guy does on a given night. 

Ever seen lightning strike? If you live in Chicago you see it every night.

The kid flat-out flies around the court.  Watching him get up and down the floor is a thing of pure beauty.  The point guard is arguably the most important position on the floor at any level of organized basketball.  Your PG is your general.  Your floor leader.  And a point guard who can penetrate, shoot from the perimeter, and dish out dimes is impossible to defend.  Derrick Rose has become nearly impossible to stop.

Just ask San Antonio about the joys of playing defense against Mr. Rose.  The 22-year-old went off.  42 points, 8 assists, and just 1 turnover.  Rose made it look easy against the team that sports the best record in the League.  Now is Derrick the MVP of the first half of the season?

There is definitely an argument.  Most of the other candidates are members of teams that have other stars.  Lebron and D Wade have each other in MIA.  Durant has Westbrook in Oklahoma City.  Kobe has Pau in Los Angeles.  And I could go on.

It will be an intriguing 2nd half in regards to the NBA MVP award.  All I know is that Chicago is a team to be reckoned with and Derrick Rose is without question the real deal.

Stay tuned for the next edition of TheSportsKraze.

-TheSportsKraze

“Buckeye X Factor”

Ohio State Senior sharpshooter Jon Diebler (pictured above) is the Buckeye X Factor in my opinion. Watch him set the Big Ten all time mark for 3 pointers made on Sunday against Purdue.

As I have mentioned many times on this blog, dating back to well over a year ago, Ohio State will go to the Final Four this year.  In my opinion, they are the nation’s best team.  I do feel that Duke would have been the favorite had Kyrie Irving not have gone down.  But injuries happen.

“Food for Thought 2-15-11”

Jimmer Mania has taken the nation by storm. I will admit that I am finally jumping on the bandwagon. There are two key questions though. Is Fredette Adam Morrison Part II and can anyone "Teach Me How to Jimmer?"

I have been getting hungry all day and now it is time to quench that hunger with the typical Tuesday “Food for Thought.”  So much going on.  So much to talk about it.  Lets jump right into the main headlines.

Teach Me How to Jimmer

Jimmer Mania has taken the country by storm.  I will admit that I am about a month late.  But I am finally jumping on the Fredette bus.  Let Jimmer Mania reign.  Sue me for being a month behind the times.  I am not easily sold on guys like that this playing in the smaller conferences.  But after witnessing how Mr. Fredette “Put the team on his back” against Utah on Saturday, I am finally sold.

The real question though is Jimmer going to become Adam Morrison Part II?  The two have eerily similar numbers. 

Fredette:  27.3PPG, 4.3APG (assists), 3.4RPG (rebounds), 1.4SPG (steals per game)

Morrison (his junior year):  28.1PPG, 1.8APG (assists), 5.5RPG (rebounds), 1.1SPG (steals per game)

In addition, both guys take 19 shots per contest.  It is kind of scary honestly how similar their numbers are.  But I am going to go with my gut on this one.  Jimmer may not become a star in the League, but he will become a very solid player.  The kid is able to create his own shot much easier than Morrison could and he also D’s up at a much higher level.  If you are not sold on Mr. Fredette, check this video out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqX_b_Bu4hI  (Teach Me How to Jimmer)

Captain Cardinal Controversy

St. Louis Cardinal’s legendary manager Tony Larussa is at it again.  This time he is calling out the MLB Player’s Union.  He claims the Union is pressuring Cardinal star Albert Pujols to hold out for a record-setting contract.  Either way, could you really blame the guy?  Pujols is the unquestioned best player in the game.  It would be hard not to expect some sort of record pay-day.  But that is besides the point here.

I am not a fan of Tony Larussa.  I never have been.  I understand that the guy has won the World Series with a team in both Leagues.  I realize that he is the longest tenured Coach in any of the Big 4 sports (now that Sloan resigned).  And he has accomplished many other great things.  It does not mean I like the guy.

He took a blind eye to massive steroid usage on his Oakland Athletic’s teams in the late 80s, early 90s.  I am not saying he is the only one who turned a blind eye.  But it is blatantly obvious that he condoned this on his teams.  In addition, he is the biggest micromanager in all of baseball.  Let me repeat. 

Larussa=Micromanager

People wonder why the American public’s interest in Major League baseball has been steadily declining and moving towards the NFL over the past decade.  I give you exhibit A.  People hate long and boring games.  Micromanaging creates this type of ball game.  Just thank Mr. Larussa for being one of the main contributors to this problem in baseball today.  In addition, he had a DUI incident back in 2007.  Had a very controversial incident with Twitter in 2009.  And last summer, he ran his mouth, fueling the fire with NL Central rival, Cincinnati.  I never got to thank him for this.

Either way, Larussa needs to put a plug in his mouth.  I really hope Pujols does not sign tomorrow.  It would serve Larussa right having the future of Albert Pujols hanging over his head all season.  Maybe thinking about Albert Pujols would make him think twice about batting his pitcher in the 8 hole.  Since apparently he knows something that the rest of baseball doesn’t in batting his pitchers 8th.  Guy must be a genius.

Philly Tag Usage

Today was a big day for franchise and transition tagging across the board in the NFL.  No city was more active though than Philadelphia.  Michael Vick, coming off a phenomenal season, was franchised tagged.  And Pro Bowl Kicker, David Akers was transitioned tag.  Now this is all good and well.  We already knew Vick would be the Eagle’s QB next year.  But what team will Kevin Kolb be suiting up for next season?

Many see this guy starting somewhere.  I have never really understood what all the hype was regarding Mr. Kolb.  But I do know he will forever be a backup in Philly as long as Michael Vick is alive and well.  This guy must have some sort of ability though.  I mean, Kolb was the Eagle’s original starter last season until an injury gave Michael Vick the ability to flap his wings and fly away with the job. 

Now this is all hypothetical talk though in that he will not be going anywhere if a new collective bargaining agreement is not formed.  But say a new CBA passes.  Where will Kolb end up? 

The frontrunners are as follows:  Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals, and Miami Dolphins.

The sleepers are as follows:  San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings

And my dark horse is none other than the Cincinnati Bengals.  Carson Palmer’s house is currently on the market.  The guy has stated that if Cincinnati does not trade him, he will retire.  And believe me, the Bengals are not planning on having Jordan Palmer be their starter come September.  So why not pick up Kevin Kolb?  It is just a thought.  I know it is a longshot, but I would not be utterly shocked if it happened.

Just some “Food for Thought.”

Let me hear your thoughts though.  Please comment below with any questions or insights that you may have or shoot me an email at contact@thesportskraze.com.

Stay tuned for the next edition of TheSportsKraze.

-TheSportsKraze

“Weekly Nickel”

I got the 22-year-old scoring machine Kevin Durant (pictured above) bringing home the All Star Game MVP on Sunday.

It is yet another Monday in the sporting world.  And things are as good as ever. Basketball is at full blow in both the Collegiate and the Professional ranks.  The hockey ice is beginning to heat up.  And Spring Training is upon us!

Lets take a look at this week’s top 5.