Weekly Nickel 7-2-2012

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Tiger Woods (pictured above) leapfrogged Jack Nicklaus with PGA Tour win number 74 yesterday.

By Josh Kramer

Spain took their place among the elite teams in soccer history this weekend after taking home a third consecutive major title.  Wimbledon has had a March Madness type of feel with Venus Williams exiting in Round 1 and Rafael Nadal going down in Round 2.  Brad Keselowski was the king of the Kentucky Speedway.  And the “Dwight Howard Soap Opera” has opened up Season 2.  Last week was a great one, but this week will be jam-packed in its own right.  Here are the events to keep an eye on.

5.  Kentucky Speedway got it right this year.  Brad Keselowski was a happy man on Saturday night as he moved into 10th in the Sprint Cup Standings.  Now the NASCAAR crew heads to Daytona to see who can take home the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Daytona.  David Ragan came out victorious last year at this event, while the current leader of the Spring Cup Standings, Matt Kenseth, finished second.

4.  Tiger Woods is back in the building.  Or at least in the win column.  Woods has leapfrogged Jack Nicklaus in terms of PGA Tour wins and now ranks second all time at 74.  I am not going to get carried away though.  He is still out in the “Woods” in my eyes and the Tiger we once knew will never return.  Next stop, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia for the Greenbrier Classic.

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Food for Thought 3-6-2012

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Could Danny Ainge and the Celtics really trade Rajon Rondo (pictured above) after watching the show he put on against the Knicks on Sunday?

By Josh Kramer

Trade me?  You must be crazy.

This Sunday was definitely a “Fun Day” in the NBA.  Not only were there great matchups though, there were memorable performances.  Deron Williams dropped 57 as he continues to make his ploy for Dwight Howard to join him in Brooklyn (New Jersey heads to Brooklyn next year).  Kobe Bryant put on a heck of a show in which he scored 18 points in the first quarter to set the tone as LA handled Miami 93 to 83.  And of course there was the exceptional performance put on by the Celtics point guard, Rajon Rondo.

I seem to remember heavy gossip about a possible trade of a certain Celtic’s point guard before the March 15^th trade deadline.  Well after watching the show that Rondo put on yesterday against the Knicks, could you really imagine trading this guy?  Three numbers sum everything up.

18, 17, and 20.

Food for Thought 2-28-2012

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. How many of you knew who Jeremy Evans (pictured above) was before Saturday night? At least he has a cool nickname (The Human Pogo Stick).

By Josh Kramer

Saturday Night Bust

NBA All-Star Saturday Night was one for the ages this year.  And not in a good way.  Your three-winners of the main competitions were Tony Parker, Kevin Love, and Jeremy Evans.  Though the vast majority are well aware of whom Parker and Love are, how many of you actually knew who the guy that “some” people call the “Human Pogo Stick” was before Saturday?

Food for Thought 2-14-2012

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. "Linsanity" has taken over the sporting world during the course of the past week. Jeremy Lin (pictured above) is a true Cinderella story.

By Josh Kramer

Happy Va’Lin’tine’s Day.  A week ago , Jeremy Lin had 114 total points in his NBA career.  Since February 4^th, he has scored 134 in five games. No matter what happens for the rest of Jeremy Lin’s life, nobody can ever take away his astounding first five “real” games with the New York Knicks (games he actually played significant minutes).  This little-known player that went undrafted out of Harvard has truly shaken up the basketball world with a real-life Cinderella story.  In doing so, he has opened up the door for hopefully more Asian-Americans to star in the sport of basketball.  I thought what Tim Tebow did this past season was insane.  Something that truly defied logic.  And it was.  But what Jeremy Lin has treated NBA fans across the globe to over the past week and a half is truly a miracle.

Let’s take a step back for a minute and fully understand where this guy is coming from.  Lin was a high school star who led Palo Alto High School to a state championship in California. This kid willed his team to a victory over nationally renowned Mater Dei High School. Yet he received no division one offers.  In addition, not even the Ivy League schools had an interest.  After much debate, Harvard eventually caved, and decided to take a chance on Lin.   After an outstanding career in which he proved to be one of the best Ivy League players of recent memory, Lin went undrafted.  Then Lin was eventually was signed by Golden State.  After going back and forth between the D-League, Lin was waived on the first day of training camp following the 2011 Lockout.  Houston claimed the former Harvard star off of waivers and then waived him on Christmas Eve.  A few days later the New York Knicks took a chance on Lin.

The first couple of months of Lin’s stay with the Knicks were not exactly eventful to say the least. Jeremy was living on his brother’s couch, and recorded a total of 55 minutes through February 3rd (23 games).

Throwback Saturday Part IV

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. A little over a year ago today, Jerry Sloan (pictured above) was forced into stepping down from his position as the Head Coach of the Utah Jazz.

By Josh Kramer

So when I originally constructed the idea of “Throwback Saturdays,” I figured I would do it for a month or so.  It would be a change of pace for you all and give you some time to reflect a bit. With that being said, I feel as if this idea has been a rousing success thus far, at least from the feedback you all have given me.  Please provide further feedback in the comments section.  I have a feeling next week you may be seeing “Throwback Saturday Part V.”

Unfortunately, I did not put up a post on February 11^th in either 2010 or 2011.  So I apologize for letting you all down on those particular dates.  We will just have to settle for dates very close in proximity.

One year ago (February 10, 2011)..

Sayonora Sloan

Here is a snippet from the middle of the post..

Sloan is one of the greatest offensive masterminds of our generation.  The guy has won his entire career.  He handles his business the right way.  No ridiculous off court mishaps with this guy.  Yet ownership has chosen Deron Williams as the future?

Unless you live under a rock, you probably know who Deron Williams is.  He is a 5th year All Star point guard who played college ball at Illinois.  The guy is arguably the best point guard in the League (I would currently rank him behind Rose, Rondo, and Paul in all honesty though).  Any guy that puts up 20 points and 10 assists a night is doing something right.  But it has been well documented that Williams and legendary coach Sloan have had their fair share of tussles over the past year (To finish reading the post, click this link).

Food for Thought 7-19-2011

Photo courtesy of caringmedical.com.

By Josh Kramer

This past weekend was absolutely wild in the sporting world resulting in some Twitter records (compliments of USA Today).  There was some great soccer, great golf, and of course great baseball as is always the case in July.

The following is what has caught my attention.

The USA Women most definitely choked

Euro Trip?

Photo courtesy of nj.com.

By Josh Kramer

There is nobody in America who has an inkling of a clue when the NBA Lockout will come to a close.  I will tell you this much.  There is not even “cautious optimism.”  That could be a major issue considering “cautious optimism” is still 114+ days of a lockout.  The NFL players really have no other options until the lockout is settled football wise.  NBA players do have options though, and some are already taking matters into their own hands.

“Food for Thought 4-12-11”

Even though Boston has slid into the 3 seed in the East, I think in the last year of the "Big 3" in Beantown, they still will win the Eastern Conference.

After the crazy week that was in sports, there is so much to talk about.  So much going on.  And the fun is just beginning.  Both the NBA and NHL playoffs are right around the corner, while the MLB is already starting to heat up.

Here is a look into some of the main headlines that have caught my attention.

“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

“Sayonora Sloan”

Jerry Sloan, the longest tenured coach in any of America's 4 major sports resigned today. Did anybody see this coming?

As the saying goes, in life, there are only two real certainties.  Death and taxes.  And in my lifetime, there has been one other certainty.  Jerry Sloan as the Head Coach of the Utah Jazz.  The guy has been patrolling the sidelines since 1988 (23 years).  He has accomplished many amazing feats during his tenure in Salt Lake.