NBA Mid-Season Awards

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Chris Paul (pictured above) has made "Lob City" possible and turned the Clippers into a contender. He is also Wesley Kaminsky's pick for the MVP thus far.

By Wesley Kaminsky

With half of the condensed season done, the NBA world has seen everything from the Clippers becoming relevant to the legend of Jeremy Lin, also known as “Linsanity.” For NBA fanatics, this season has been fantastic, as there are games on every night. With a much-needed All-Star break coming up for the players, who is making the biggest impact this season? Here are my mid-season awards.

MVP: Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers:

Look, the obvious choice for the MVP award this season is LeBron James, who has been simply sensational from Day 1. He’s averaging 27.6 points, 8 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game. He’s also on the team that has the best record in basketball. Having said that, he doesn’t get my vote. Chris Paul does. Paul inherited a 32-50 Clipper team and has turned them into a contender. At 20-11, the Clippers are sitting atop the Pacific Division, with Paul averaging 19.2 points and 8.6 assists per game. He has been the catalyst all season long and is the main reason why the Clippers are for once relevant. I continue to try to make my case that on a team that features both LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, neither of them should win the MVP award.

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Food for Thought 2-21-2012

Photo courtesy of ESPN.com. Iona point guard Scott Machado (pictured above) has been simply sensational all year long and will make some noise in March.

By Josh Kramer

Want to hear a cool name?  Try “Machado.”  Now many of you are probably confused as to why I would share a cool name with you.  Granted, the vast majority of you are already aware of plenty of cooler names.  For example, God’s Gift Achiuwa.  And though God’s Gift is having a stellar freshman campaign for a very young St. John’s team, a man by the name of “Machado” is absolutely stealing the show in the MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference).  Currently, the Gaels sit atop the “Mighty MAAC (it is not really mighty but I like the sound of the expression)” and are a likely tournament team.

Now many of you are probably still scratching your heads as to where I am going with this.  Well a few weeks ago, I had the distinct pleasure of introducing you all to Creighton star, Doug McDermott.  A star that is making it rain from long-range in Omaha like Kyle Korver did back in 2002/2003. Well today, I am going to introduce you to another big-time player that could make some real noise at the “March Dance” and beyond.  Meet Scott Machado.

Food for Thought 12-13-2011

Photo courtesy of sportsillustrated.cnn.com. UK lost for the first time this season on Saturday. Still there is no reason for John Calipari (pictured above) and Big Blue Nation to panic by any means.

By Josh Kramer

The past few days in sports have been anything but ordinary.  In fact, it has been an extraordinary past few days in regards to sports, just the way we like it.  Here are the items that have caught my attention.

Have no fear, UK is here

-Any of you that know me personally are well aware that I am not the biggest advocate of the Big Blue Nation (University of Kentucky).  By no means am I a guy that you will find at Rupp Arena for a showdown on a Saturday afternoon.  But I will admit one thing; this year’s version of the “Calipari All Stars” is the real deal.  Yes, I realize it is ironic that I am talking about this team following their first loss of the year.  A heartbreaking defeat at the hands of an Indiana program that finally appears to be back from the dead.

“Is This the End of the Laker Dynasty?”

The Kobe and Phil Laker Era appears to be coming to a close. Will it be a happy ending?

The door is almost shut, but it is not entirely closed yet. Anybody who says they saw this coming is full of it.  I realize that Charles Barkley makes his outrageous and obnoxious picks, and makes sure you know it.  But outside of Sir Charles, who I struggle to give credit for predicting this, I do not know anybody who saw this coming.  Things were not supposed to end like this.  This was supposed to be the epic finale to Phil Jackson’s illustrious coaching career.  It was supposed to be Kobe’s time to tie the greatest player of all time with his 6th Championship ring and to start the arguments of whose the greatest.  Everyone knew the LA Dynasty was heading down the home stretch.  But nobody foresaw it ending before June.

“Are the West’s 5-8 that Great?”

Allan Houston (pictured above) played a key role in helping lead the 8th seeded New York Knicks to the 1999 NBA Finals. Do not expect the Memphis Grizzlies, despite a big time win today, to roll all the way to the Finals. But the Western Conferences 5 through 8 teams are pretty solid.

2 shockers already on this first Sunday of the NBA Playoffs.  The top 2 seeds in the Western Conference went down at home.  Could the Spurs and Lakers legitimately lose these series and turn the NBA Playoffs into April/May Madness?  It would be totally awesome with a capital A, but it will not happen.

“NBA Playoff Preview”

As I predicted in the preseason, I am taking Kobe, Phil, and the Lakers to complete the 3-peat with another amazing playoff run. Will this be the end of the line for Phil Jackson?

The grueling 82 game regular season is finally over and playoff time is upon us.  Most casual fans do not invest a heavy interest in the regular season, but come playoff time, the NBA takes center stage.  There is no questioning the effort of these amazing basketball players at this time of year.  It is all or nothing.  This is where the men are separated from the boys.  As promised, I am going to provide my predictions on how this year’s postseason will play out.

“Food for Thought 4-5-11”

The reigning National League MVP and Red's star 1st Baseman Joey Votto (pictured above) appears determined to lead Cincinnati back to the playoffs. And this time he appears to be playing for keeps.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s “Weekly Nickel,” this is an absolutely wild week in sports.  Here are a few things that have been on my mind over the past 24 hours though.

Reds Look Determined to go Wire to Wire

“Weekly Nickel”

A rivalry renewed on Friday. All eyes in the baseball world will be on Fenway Park (pictured above) come Friday, as the Yankees and Red Sox square off for the first time of the 2011 season.

It’s another Monday.  And what a great week of sports in store for the upcoming 7 days.  Championship games, MLB Action, NFL Court Cases, and I could go on.  Strap in, because this week will be a wild ride.

Here is a look at the top 5.

“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