The Green Machine's Words of Wisdom

Ready For Some Football

2010-08-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

In case you missed my last post, this blog will not be up for much longer. I will be moving my posts to the Blaze's new website, which should be up and running in a few weeks. Since I will have an expanded role with the station this year, all of my posts will be related to ASU football or basketball. I'm very excited for the potential opportunities in store for me this year. I will post a link to the new website once it is up.

I got to cover Pac-10 Media Day last Thursday at the Rose Bowl for the Blaze. It was a fun experience. I was the only ASU student there, which was sort of surprising. I went straight from Media Day to San Diego for family vacation, so I didn't get to post any notes. Here are some observations from Media Day.

-For the first time since 2002, the media did not pick USC to win the conference. Instead, they went with the defending Pac-10 Champion Oregon Ducks. Here is the official poll with the total points (first place votes in parenthesis)

1. Oregon (15)...............314
2. USC (12)...................311
3. Oregon State (3).........262
4. Stanford (1)...............233
5. Arizona (2)................222
6. Washington (1)............209
7. California..................175
8. UCLA (1)....................134
9. Arizona State...............81
10. Washington State.........39

-ASU is picked to finish 9th in the conference, which is the lowest spot its had in the preseason poll since 2002, when it was also picked to finish 9th.

-Head Coach Dennis Erickson and kicker Thomas Weber represented the Sun Devils at the Rose Bowl. Erickson said the reason he chose to bring along Weber was because he is "invaluable" to the team.

-Erickson said that the offense will be the biggest factor in how successful ASU is this year. The Sun Devils have struggled mightily on the offensive side of the football in the last two years, ranking at the bottom of the conference in nearly every offenseive category. Things could be a lot better this year, however, under new offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone. Erickson praised the work that Mazzone has done so far, as he made clear that the offensive players have had more fun and have been more motivated under him.

-It sounds like the quarterback battle between Brock Osweiler and Steven Threet is wide open. Erickson did not give an indication as to who he will select, and he said he has no problem waiting until the final days of fall camp to make a decision.

-Finally, the Sun Devils don't seem to care about being picked to finish 9th in the conference. They have had two losing seasons in a row, which is enough to motivate them to play their hearts out this year. The players very well know that Dennis Erickson could be fired if ASU has another losing season, and as Thomas Weber put it, they are out "to shock the world."

***
Fall Camp started on Wednesday. The Sun Devils have four weeks to prepare for the start of the regular season.

I will be back at ASU next Saturday, and I will start covering practices on Monday, August 16th. I'll be posting practice news more so on my twitter page, but I will also be writing brief reports on here, until the Blaze website is ready to go.

The End Is Near

2010-07-12T23:51:00.001-07:00

The more I promise to post, the less I actually do it. I haven't posted in over a month, which is nothing new, but you know I'm really lazy when it's the first time I've posted since the Lakers won the championship and LeBron James signed with the Miami Heat. I haven't kept up with the blog, so why should I keep it? Simply put, this blog won't last much longer, in fact I'll most likely stop posting here at the end of the summer.

I'll be moving my posts to the Blaze's new wesbite in the fall, since I will have an expanded role with the station. My posts on the Blaze website will heavily focus on ASU football and basketball since I will be covering both teams. I'm looking forward to my new role with the station, in addition to the new opportunities that will come with it.

Summer back home in Southern California has been very relaxing. I've been making frequent visits to the beach and to Dodger games. So much has gone on in the world of sports since I've been home, so I'll go ahead and give you my top five sports stories of the summer thus far.

5. Washington Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg makes his MLB debut

4. The Lakers beat the Celtics in the NBA Finals and win their 16th championship in franchise history

3. Legendary UCLA Head Coach John Wooden passes away at age 99

2. Spain wins the 2010 FIFA World Cup

1. LeBron James leaves the Cleveland Cavaliers and signs with the Miami Heat

I can no longer promise that I will blog more often, but I'll do my best to post at least twice a week. Hold me to it.

NBA Finals Prediction

2010-06-03T16:41:00.000-07:00

The time is finally here. We're a little under two hours away from the start of the 2010 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. I wouldn't be me unless I waited until the last possible moment to make a prediction, so here we go.

These two teams are clearly different from the last time they faced each other in the 2008 Finals. For the Lakers, they have Andrew Bynum, who did not play at all in the series two years ago. Bynum's not 100% healthy, but his presence alone should make a difference as he'll be in charge of bodying up with Kendrick Perkins, and providing length in the paint against the Celtics guards, mainly Rajon Rondo. The Lakers also have Ron Artest, who will be in charge of containing Paul Pierce, the 2008 Finals MVP. In the two meetings in the regular season, Pierce averaged 13 points and shot under 40% from the floor with Artest guarding him. I don't expect Ron to completely shut down Pierce, but I do think he'll have a decent impact on Pierce's offensive output this series.

The Celtics' bench is also not as good and as deep as it was in 2008. Instead of James Posey, PJ Brown, Eddie House, and Leon Powe, the C's now have Rasheed Wallace, Nate Robinson, Tony Allen, and Glen "Big Baby" Davis. Posey was really important for the Celtics in 2008 because he played great defense on Kobe Bryant, in addition to being a great three-point shooter.

While the points I made above are important, I think the biggest difference between now and 2008 is that the Lakers are more experienced. They know what to expect from the Celtics and won't be as shell struck as they were two years ago. The Lakers are a more physical team now than they were in 2008, and they also have the revenge factor in their heads. LA was humiliated in Boston two years ago, and obviously both sides remember that. Kobe Bryant is arguably playing his best basketball of his career, and I'm sure he will do as much as he can to make sure the Lakers don't lose to the Celtics in the Finals for the second time in three years.

Here are a couple of scenarios that went through my mind before finally making a pick. Keep in mind that the homecourt format for the Finals is 2-3-2. So games one and two will be played in Los Angeles, games three through five will be played in Boston, and games six and seven will be back in Los Angeles.

- The Celtics are too good to lose the first two games at Staples Center. They were the best road team in the NBA this season, and I've got to think that they will win at least one of the games.

- The Lakers are too good to lose games three through five in Boston. I don't think the Celtics will win all three, but at the same time I don't think the Lakers can win two of the three. I've got to think the C's will win two in Boston.

- I can't imagine Kobe Bryant and the Lakers losing an NBA Championship on their homecourt, and especially to the Celtics. If Boston doesn't win this series in five games, they won't win the series at all. With that being said, one of the above scenarios won't happen, and I think it's the first one. The Lakers will win the first two games in Los Angeles. LA is 28-3 at Staples Center in the last three postseasons, and this isn't just any ordinary Finals matchup, it's the Celtics and a it's chance for revenge. The crowd will be fired up and ready to go.

- I doubt this series actually goes seven games, like most people think it will. Only three Finals matchups have gone seven games in the last 27 years.

My prediction- Lakers in six

Let The Rivalry Continue

2010-05-31T22:07:00.000-07:00

The Los Angeles Lakers are headed back to the NBA Finals for the third straight year, and it's only fitting that their opponent is the one team that Laker fans hate the most. It's the only franchise that has more NBA Championships than the Lakers, and it's the one franchise that has caused Laker fans to despise players like Bill Russell, Larry Bird, and Paul Pierce. It's the franchise that has defeated the Lakers nine times in the finals, and has consequently caused misery to the Laker faithful. For the 12th time in NBA Finals history, the Los Angeles Lakers will face the Boston Celtics. These two teams have combined to win 32 of the NBA's 63 total championships, with the Celtics most recent title coming in 2008, and the Lakers' in 2009. Now the two most storied franchises in NBA history will collide once again, this time for the 2010 NBA Championship. Could you imagine it any other way?

Words really can't describe how excited I am for this matchup. There is no other team I'd rather see my Lakers face than the Celtics. Unfortunately since I'm 20 years old, I missed pretty much all of the epic battles between these two teams in the past, but I've read plenty of books and watched plenty of videos/tv/documentaries to understand just how serious this rivalry is. I wish I could have grown up watching Jerry West vs Bill Russell, and Magic Johnson vs Larry Bird, but I'll settle for watching Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol vs Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen.

The only experience I've had with this rivalry since I've been alive came in 2008, when the Celtics beat the Lakers in six games to win their 17th NBA Championship. I remember game six of the series like it was yesterday. The Lakers lost by 39 points, green and white confetti was everywhere, and the Celtic fans were taunting the Laker players as they left the court, humiliated. The Celtics dominated the Lakers in every way there was to dominate. The feeling I had after game six was probably the worst feeling I've had in my 20 years as a Laker fan. I've never felt more depressed about a loss, and at the same time never had more anger towards a team or a city.

I expected the Lakers to be in the finals this year, after all they are the defending NBA champions and I knew there wasn't a team in the Western Conference that could beat them in a seven-game series. However I can't say I expected the Celtics to be in the finals, which is ironic because I've always thought that they were the best team in the East, when healthy. I just figured LeBron James and the Cavs would get there, and we would finally see the Kobe vs LeBron matchup, or that Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic would get back there and we would see a rematch of last year's finals. But I'm excited now that Lakers' opponent is indeed the Celtics.

A lot is on the line in this matchup. Not only is this a chance for the Lakers to redeem themselves from their embarrassing defeat in 2008, but it's also a chance for Kobe Bryant to cement his legacy as one of the greatest, if not the greatest Laker of all-time. A win would give Kobe five NBA Championships, but it would also give him a championship win over the Celtics, which is pretty much the only thing he hasn't accomplished in his illustrious career. You have to beat the Celtics if you want to be considered a true Laker great (i.e. Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Now that's not to say that Kobe won't be considered a great if the Lakers lose again, but that would be the one negative hole in his legacy, and it would be a big one.

In addition, the Celtics' big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen is getting old, and I can't imagine them being in the league much longer. This may be the last opportunity for the current group of Laker players to defeat the current group of Celtic players. If LA wins, they will have 16 NBA Championships, only one behind Boston's 17, but if the Celtics win, they will have 18 championships compared to the Lakers' 15.

This will be the seventh time in my life that I will see the Lakers compete for a championship. I've seen them win four titles, and lose out on two. The one thing I haven't seen in my 20 years as a Laker fan is a purple and gold championship victory over the green and white. I can die a happy man if that happens this year.

It's the Boston Celtics vs the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2010 NBA Championship. Could you imagine it any other way? I can't.

I'll have a prediction post up before game one, which is Thursday night in Los Angeles.

You can see more of my daily thoughts by following me on twitter

From Zero To Hero

2010-05-28T11:39:00.001-07:00

After Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference Finals, the game in which Derek Fisher hit the "0.4" shot, Shaquille O'Neal said, "One lucky shot deserves another." Six years later that quote came to fruition, as Ron Artest hit the game-winning layup at the buzzer last night to give the Lakers a 103-101 victory against the Phoenix Suns. The layup came after Jason Richardson banked in a three pointer to tie the game with 3.5 seconds.

The Lakers now lead the best-of-seven series 3-2, and are one win away from reaching the NBA Finals for the third straight year.

I was glad to see Artest redeem himself last night after the horrible offensive decision he made that could have very well cost the Lakers the game. He took a three-pointer with 51 seconds left, but more importantly when there was 23 seconds left on the shot clock. I'm sure he would have been subject to scrutiny if the Lakers lost. It seems like Artest has been trying to fit in with the Lakers all season long, and last night he finally made his mark on the team.

As happy as I am that the Lakers won, I'm also a bit nervous. LA had an 18 point lead at one point in the third quarter, yet the Suns came all the way back and nearly forced overtime. The Lakers did a much better job defensively last night than they did in Game 4, but I'm a little worried about the offense. The Suns' zone defense has really limited LA's inside game. Andrew Bynum's been a complete non-factor in games 3-5. In 19 minutes last night, Drew had two points, seven rebounds, and five fouls. People also forget that Artest's game-winning layup was just his third and fourth points of the game.

The Lakers have the opportunity to close out the series tomorrow night in Phoenix. LA is 8-1 in their last nine close out game attempts, with the lone loss coming in the Houston series last year. As much as I'd love to see the Lakers finish the series tomorrow, I think the Suns will win and force a Game 7. Phoenix's bench will play much better at home, conversely I think LA's bench will again struggle on the road. I hope I'm wrong, but the Suns are a resilient group and are a tough team to beat at US Airways Center. With the way the Suns players were acting after last night's loss and when you keep in mind that they played poorly, yet came back from 18 points down on the road, it seems like a forgone conclusion that there will be a Game 7.

On a side note, I think the Lakers are just meant to give the Suns heartbreaking defeats in the playoffs. Flashback to Kobe Bryant's game-winner in 2006, and now last night with Ron Artest.

I'm going to the Angels game tonight. I'm excited since it will be my first time at the Big A. Isn't it funny that I'm going to see the "Los Angeles" Angels, yet I have to drive all the way to Anaheim, which is an hour or so past downtown?

Summertime, and the Living's Easy

2010-05-18T12:08:00.000-07:00

I'm enjoying my time back home in LA. It's been nice to relax after going through a stressful last couple of weeks with finals and such. I've been to the beach three times already (we all know I need to work on my tan). I'll be in St. Louis this weekend for my buddy's wedding. Still can't believe he's getting tied down at age 21, but hey, more power to him.

We're down to the conference finals in the NBA, but I'd like to talk about LeBron James before I talk about the Lakers-Suns series.

I've called LeBron "Prince James" for quite some time now, because I have always felt that he's been overhyped. Now just because I think he's overrated doesn't mean that I hate him. I respect LeBron's talent and ability, but it really annoys me when people call him the next Michael Jordan when he's won nothing in his career. The guy is unbelievable in the regular season, but for whatever reason he always seems to choke in the playoffs. I don't buy into the whole "LeBron doesn't have enough help" crap, because the Cavs had the best regular season record in the NBA the last two years. Everyone was ready to crown Cleveland as NBA Champions in the regular season, yet as soon as they lose in the playoffs LeBron all of the sudden has no help? LeBron is certainly the one player I'd love to build my team around in the regular season, but give me Kobe Bryant all day long in the playoffs because Kobe knows how to win when it matters, unlike Prince James.

The Lakers dominated the Phoenix Suns last night 128-107 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Kobe Bryant led the way with 40 points on an amazing 13-of-23 shooting, and Lamar Odom added 19 points and 19 rebounds for the defending champs, who extended their playoff winning streak to seven games. The Lakers have looked great ever since closing out Oklahoma City in the first round. If they keep playing the way they are now, then I have all the confidence in the world that they will win the championship.

A lot of my friends at ASU are Suns fans, so I'm enjoying this series all the more. I got so many texts from friends that were talking trash once the matchup was set. It amused me that Suns fans felt the need to gloat about reaching the conference finals, but I guess you don't know any better when you're a fan of a franchise that doesn't know what it's like to be successful.

Game 2 is tomorrow night at Staples Center, and I will be there in person. My friend has an extra ticket for me, so I'm pretty excited, as you can assume. The Lakers are 2-0 in playoff games that I've attended, hopefully they will be 3-0 after tomorrow night.

The Final Countdown

2010-05-08T23:08:00.001-07:00

One videography story separates me and the end of my sophomore year of college. Halfway done with college.... I can't even write that without cringing a bit. It's amazing how fast the time has gone. I've had the time of my life these last two years at ASU, but come Wednesday I will be back in beautiful Southern California. I guess I can't complain too much since I'll be able to be at the beach on a daily basis, after all it's starting to get really hot here in Tempe. I'm still waiting to hear back for a possible summer internship. I'll keep you guys posted.

On a different subject, one win separates the Lakers from reaching the Western Conference Finals for the third straight year, as the defending champs took a commanding 3-0 series lead against the Utah Jazz with a 111-110 win tonight in Salt Lake City. No team in the NBA history has ever come back from an 0-3 deficit to win a series, and it will more than likely stay that way.

As good as the Jazz may be, and as hard as their players might play, they simply are not in the same league as the Lakers. Take tonight as a perfect example. The Jazz shot 48% from the field, their bench outscored the Lakers' 46-22, and Andrew Bynum scored 0 points. Just about everything that could have gone the Jazz' way did, yet they still lost. Tonight was Utah's best chance to get a win in the series in my opinion. While I do think Utah can and most likely will win Game 4, I don't see this series going past five games. Looks like we're all but set for a Western Conference Finals showdown between the Lakers and the Phoenix Suns.

I don't even want to talk about the Dodgers. Their performance so far this season disgusts me. I can only hope that General Manager Ned Coletti makes some moves before the trade deadline, otherwise this season could get ugly very quickly. I can also only hope that the Dodgers have at least a .500 record by June 18th, because my dad and I will be in Boston to see them take on the Red Sox at Fenway Park. If the Dodgers keep playing the way they are now, then we'll be flying out to Boston to see them get swept.

NBA Playoff First Round Predictions

2010-04-18T01:18:00.000-07:00

My deepest apologies for the break between posts. I have been very busy with school and other related materials over the past month or so. Speaking of school, I only have three weeks left in my sophomore year at ASU. It's absolutely crazy to think that I will be halfway done with college. Where has the time gone? I'm waiting to hear back from a company for a possible summer internship. I won't say anything unless I know it's official, but I can tell you that I will be a very happy person if I land an internship at this place.

Anyways a lot has gone in the sports world since my last post. Baseball is back, the Duke Blue Devils won another NCAA Basketball Championship, and Tiger Woods made his long awaited return to golf. But above all, (at least for me) the NBA playoffs have begun, as the Los Angeles Lakers will try to repeat and win championship number 16. Here are my predictions for each matchup in the first round, beginning in the East

Eastern Conference

#1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs #8 Chicago Bulls- Cavs in four

#2 Orlando Magic vs # 7 Charlotte Bobcats- Magic in six

#3 Atlanta Hawks vs # 6 Milwaukee Bucks- Hawks in five

#4 Boston Celtics vs # 5 Miami Heat- Celtics in six

Western Conference

#1 Los Angeles Lakers vs #8 Oklahoma City Thunder- Lakers in five

#2 Dallas Mavericks vs #7 San Antonio Spurs- Spurs in seven

#3 Phoenix Suns vs #6 Portland Trail Blazers- Suns in five

#4 Denver Nuggets vs #5 Utah Jazz- Jazz in six

I'll be posting a lot more over the next few weeks, as I'll be writing about the Lakers and anything else that comes to mind.

Finally, I have to mention that I am hooked on the NHL Playoffs (Maybe it has to do with the fact that I finally have a team to root for in the LA Kings?) I found myself watching more of the NHL playoffs today then the NBA playoffs, which is something I thought I'd never do. The Kings have given me a reason to care about hockey. They are tied 1-1 with the Vancouver Canucks in their best of seven series. Game three is Monday night in Los Angeles, and I'll certainly be watching that over 24.

NIT Bound

2010-03-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

As expected, the Arizona State Sun Devils were not one of the 65 teams that received an NCAA Tournament at-large bid on Selection Sunday. Instead the Sun Devils will be competing in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), which starts on Tuesday. ASU is one of the four #1 seeds in the 32-team tournament, and will start off by hosting the #8 seed Jacksonville Dolphins Tuesday night.

If the Sun Devils beat the Dolphins then they will move on to the round of 16, and face the winner of Seton Hall- Texas Tech, who are the #4 and #5 seeds respectively. My Sports Lounge co-host Andrew Gruman told me that ASU will likely have to play Seton Hall or Texas Tech on the road, since Wells Fargo Arena will be hosting the Women's NCAA Tournament, and the Women's NIT next weekend (Of course this is all assuming that ASU beats Jacksonville in the first place). If the Sun Devils have to go on the road, then I would not be surprised to see them lose in the round of 16, but what do I know? After all I picked ASU to beat Stanford in the Pac-10 Tournament, and look what happened there.

I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't upset that ASU is in the NIT. It's disappointing knowing that the Sun Devils could have easily been in the NCAA Tournament. Even though ASU likely would have lost in the first round, getting to the tournament would have been a major accomplishment in itself, especially when you consider that this year's tournament berth would have come after losing James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph, who accounted for 68% of ASU's offense last year, to the NBA draft.

I'm hoping that ASU going to the NIT will send the message to Coach Herb Sendek that he needs to put together a tougher out of conference schedule. ASU has won 20 or more games in Sendek's last three seasons here in Tempe, yet they have just one NCAA Tournament appearance to show for it. A big reason for the NIT berths is because of the weak out of conference opponents that ASU plays. This season the Sun Devils played teams like Western Illinois, USC Upstate, San Francisco, and Delaware State, to name a few. That's four wins that you can essentially throw away, because the NCAA Tournament selection committee is not impressed by those cupcake opponents.

Look at the Pac-10 Champion California Golden Bears for example: They had just one more win in the Pac-10 than ASU, but they had a highly respectable out of conference schedule in which they played teams like Syracuse, Ohio State, and New Mexico, who are all teams that are a #3 seed or higher in the NCAA Tournament. Even though Cal lost all three of those games, in addition to other high RPI games, a loss to a team with a good RPI is more respectable and resinates more with the committee rather than a win over a cupcake team. Don't get me wrong, I love Coach Sendek, and he's done a marvelous job rebuilding the ASU Basketball program, but it seems to me that he and ASU favor easy wins rather than challenging themselves.

Another example of a tough out of conference schedule paying off is back in 2008, when Arizona got in the NCAA Tournament over ASU. Even though the Sun Devils had a better overall record (19-12) than Arizona (19-14) and even though the Sun Devils swept Arizona during the regular season, the Wildcats still made the NCAA Tournament over ASU. Why? Because the Cats had a top five schedule while the Sun Devils had a horrible out of conference schedule. ASU must win games and play tough competition in order to get more respect from the selection committee.

With that being said, I do believe Herb will schedule a tougher out of conference in the next couple seasons. ASU is a more established program now than it was two or three years ago, so I've got to think that big name teams will have no problem facing the Sun Devils. Not only will a tougher out of conference schedule help ASU's future tournament chances, but it will also put more people in Wells Fargo arena.

For now I'm sure the only thing Coach Sendek and company are focused on is Jacksonville. The game is Tuesday night, at 8:oo p.m. on ESPN2. Here's to hoping that ASU comes out strong and plays with some fire. Go Devils!

Crumbling on the Big Stage

2010-03-12T12:11:00.000-08:00

I've got friends who grew up as ASU fans that have repeatedly told me that they've suffered from "ASU heartbreaks" for over 20 years. I didn't understand what they were referring to since I never really followed ASU football and basketball until last year, however after last night's Pac-10 Quarterfinal game against Stanford, I finally realized what they meant when they referred to "ASU heartbreaks."

The #2 seeded Sun Devils laid an egg last night, as they lost to the #7 seed Stanford Cardinal 70-61. I wrote in my preview of the game that the only way Stanford would win is if ASU couldn't hit their outside shots, and if Stanford was able to pick apart ASU's zone defense. Unfortunately both of those scenarios took place, as the Sun Devils shot just 39% from the field, while Stanford shot 55%. ASU committed 17 turnovers in the game, against a Stanford team that ranked last in the Pac-10 in nearly every defensive statistical category.

ASU's loss most likely means that they will not receive an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. Had the Sun Devils defeated Stanford, I think they would have been in since so many other bubble teams lost yesterday. ASU will now have to wait until Selection Sunday to learn their postseason fate, but in the meantime they can reflect on how they played one of their worst games in arguably the most important game of the year. The Sun Devils beat Stanford twice in the regular season, yet when the stakes were high, they came out looking lethargic and looking like a team that figured that they would win if they simply just showed up to the arena. It looked like they were playing with no sense of urgency, where as Stanford was the team that played with more desperation, as they were up by as many as 15 points in the second half.

There are still some people that believe ASU should be in the NCAA Tournament, but to be completely honest, ASU has no business being the big dance. If you really look closely at their record and the opponents that they played, there is nothing impressive that stands out. ASU's best win of the year was against San Diego State, who's in fourth place in the Mountain West Conference. ASU had a record of 3-6 in the "big games of the year," take a look:

Duke 64- ASU 53

Baylor 64- ASU 61

ASU 55- San Diego State 52

ASU 71- Washington 46

Arizona 77- ASU 58

California 78- ASU 70

Washington 79- ASU 56

ASU 73- Arizona 69

California 62- ASU 46

Sure ASU has a 22-10 record, but seven of those wins came against garbage opponents: Western Illinois, Texas State, San Francisco, Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Delaware State, UC Santa Barbara, and USC Upstate. ASU has won 20 or more games in the last three seasons, but they will only have one NCAA Tournament appearance to show for it assuming they don't get an at-large bid this year.

I think the loss to Stanford is so painful for Sun Devil fans because expectations were so low at the beginning of the season, and no one could have imagined that ASU would get over 20 wins or even be in a position to make the NCAA Tournament. The fact that ASU worked so hard to be on the verge of getting an at-large bid, then let it all slip away with a terrible effort against a terrible team is heartbreaking. Like I said before, I believe the Sun Devils would have been in the NCAA Tournament had they defeated Stanford. Could you imagine how impressive back-to-back tournament berths would have looked for the ASU program, especially considering that this year's team would have made it a year after losing James Harden and Jeff Pendegraph, who accounted for 68% of ASU's offense last year to the NBA? Instead the Sun Devils will likely settle for the NIT for the second time in three seasons, in what is certainly another case of "ASU heartbreaks."

Anyways the Pac-10 Tournament Semi-finals are tonight, and I will be there live at Staples Center. Here are my picks for the two games.

#1 Cal vs #5 UCLA: my pick- UCLA

#3 Washington vs #7 Stanford: my pick- Washington

My record in my quarterfinals picks: 3-1 (Correctly picked UCLA, Cal, and Washington. I picked ASU to beat Stanford.)

Pac-10 Tournament Quarterfinals Predictions Part 2

2010-03-11T15:22:00.000-08:00

I correctly picked both winners in the early session of the Pac-10 Tournament Quarterfinals, now let's see if I can correctly pick the late session winners too. Here are my quick thoughts and predictions.

#2 Arizona State vs #7 Stanford

The Sun Devils swept the season series with the Cardinal, and what stood out in both games was the dominance of ASU senior center Eric Boateng. Take a look at his combined stats from the two meetings

14-of-14 shooting from the field

32 points

13 rebounds.

The fact is Stanford has nobody down low that can match up with Boateng, which the senior used to his advantage in both games during the regular season. Other than Landry Fields and Jeremy Green, Stanford really doesn't have anyone to turn to in a "must score situation". The Sun Devils' defense gave Stanford numerous problems during the regular season, and I expect much of the same in tonight's game. ASU has won eight of its last 10 games and has surprised everyone with their regular season accomplishments, in which they finished 22-9 a year after losing 68% of its offense to the NBA. The Sun Devils must win tonight's game if they want to get an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, and I think Pac-10 Coach of the Year Herb Sendek will have his team ready to play. A big key in determining ASU's fate will be by how well they shoot the ball from the field. The Sun Devils are 40-2 in the Herb Sendek era when they shoot 50% or better from the floor. Despite their recent struggles, Rihards Kuksiks, and Ty Abbott should pick up their play. The only way ASU will lose this game is if they struggle from the floor, and if Stanford is able to pick apart the zone defense.

My pick- Arizona State

#3 Washington vs #6 Oregon State

Washington, who has won the last six meetings against the Beavers, was a team that everyone thought would be contending for a Pac-10 Title at the beginning of the season. Now the Huskies, who were the once ranked in the top 25, must win the Pac-10 Tournament in order to be in the NCAA Tournament. Washington is led by Quincy Pondexter and Isaiah Thomas, who players that can take over a game at any given time like when the Huskies defeated the Beavers 82-70 just five days ago. Washington will also need a strong performance from Matthew Bryan-Amaning, who has formed into one of the top players for the Huskies. The key to this game is the turnovers. Oregon State is one of the best defensive teams in the Pac-10, as they implement a 1-3-1 zone that is tough to break down. Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year Seth Tarver and the Beavers led the Pac-10 in steals during the regular season, and a lot of their offense comes in transition scoring. If the Huskies turn the ball over a lot, then the Beavs could pull off the upset. Despite Washington struggling on the road this season, I still think they are the second best team in the Pac-10 behind Cal. They are very athletic, and their style of play suits very well in a tournament. Unless Washington struggles hitting their shots, I see them winning this one and moving on to the semi-finals.

My pick- Washington

Pac-10 Tournament Quarterfinals Predictions

2010-03-10T22:48:00.000-08:00

I'm back home for Spring Break. In less than two months I will be home for the summer. It's amazing how fast the time goes. It seemed like it was just the other day that I was at ASU Basketball Media Day getting ready for the 2009-2010 regular season, and now four months later it's time for the postseason tournaments.

The 2010 Pac-10 Tournament started last night with the play-in game, as the 8th seeded Oregon Ducks defeated the 9th seeded Washington State Cougars 82-80 in overtime. The quarterfinals begin in about 40 minutes, so here are my quick thoughts and predictions for each game, starting with the early session.

#4 Arizona Wildcats vs #5 UCLA Bruins:

UA defeated UCLA both times in the regular season. The two teams met in Tucson last weekend in a game that ended in dramatic fashion, as the Wildcats were down by as many as 13 points in the second half, but followed the lead of Nic Wise in a furious comeback that propelled the Cats to a 78-73 win. UCLA then proceeded to lose its following game to Arizona State, as the Bruins only managed to put up 46 points against the Sun Devils' stout zone defense. Despite the fact that UA has had UCLA's number this year, it's hard for me to envision them beating the Bruins three times in one season, and especially since UCLA is coming off of two bad losses. Ben Howland will most certainly have the Bruins ready given that he's had four days to prepare for the Cats. These two historically rich teams have a lot to play for, as winning the Pac-10 Tournament is the only way either team can make the NCAA Tournament ( Arizona has the longest NCAA Tournament appearance streak in the nation at 25). Since USC is banned from the tournament due to NCAA violations, UCLA will be the only team representing Los Angeles, and therefore will have more fans in attendance than any other team, giving them the home-court feel, which I think will help spark the Bruins to victory.

My pick- UCLA

#1 California vs #8 Oregon

This game should be an easy win for Cal, who is clearly the hottest team in the Pac-10 right now. The conference champions have won seven of their last eight games, and their margin of victory has been in double-digits for all seven of those wins. Cal also has the advantage in the fact that they will be playing an Oregon team that had to play a late overtime game less than 18 hours ago. While Oregon may have Tajuan Porter, who showed last night that he can take over a game offensively, the fact is Cal has too many weapons for most teams in the Pac-10 to handle. The Bears' big senior combination of Patrick Christopher, Jamal Boykin, Theo Robertson, and the Pac-10 Player of the Year Jerome Randle all average more than 12 points per game, and should prove to be way too much for Oregon. This should be the last game in the Ducks' season, and the last game in the Oregon coaching career of Ernie Kent.

My pick- Cal

My predictions for the late games will be coming in a couple of hours.

Trade Deadline Talk

2010-02-18T09:40:00.000-08:00

The Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards, and Los Angeles Clippers completed a three-way trade that sent Antawn Jamison and Sebastian Telfair to Cleveland, Al Thornton, Zydrunas Ilgauskaus, and a 1st round pick to Washington, and Drew Gooden to Los Angeles.

This is a big move on Cleveland's part, as they are clearly doing whatever it takes to try to keep LeBron James from signing with another team this summer. By bringing in Jamison, the Cavs get a versatile 6'9 forward that averages 20.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Before they traded for Jamison, the Cavs were rumored to possibly be trading for Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns. Danny Ferry and the Cleveland management want to show LeBron that they are willing to do whatever it takes to win a title THIS season, even if it means trading away a guy in Ilgauskas who was the face of the Cavs before LeBron showed up.

On paper this looks like a great move for a Cleveland team that already has the best record in the NBA (43-11), and perhaps the best player in the game in James. But in my opinion this move may actually hurt Cleveland more than it helps them. Now you probably think I'm crazy for saying that, but let me explain my reasoning here.

I think we can all agree that Cleveland is the clear cut favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals, and rightly so given the way that they have played this season. Now we can probably also agree that the team they would face should they get to the finals is the Los Angeles Lakers. The Cavs have beaten the Lakers twice this season, including once without their All-Star point guard Mo Williams. I think one of the main reasons why the Cavs had so much success against the Lakers is because Zydrunas Ilgauskas gave the Cavs the size to matchup with the Lakers big men, as he and Shaquille O'Neal would guard Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. Lamar Odom is a matchup problem for any team the Lakers face, but now the Cavs just gave away one of their two seven-footers for a guy who's three inches shorter, and certainly is not as much of a presence down low.

If the Lakers and the Cavs do face each other in the finals, the Lakers will have almost every matchup to their advantage, with the exception being LeBron James and Mo Williams. Think about it, now the only true presence down low the Cavs have is Shaquille O'Neal. You can't tell me Shaq is going to play 35+ minutes in an NBA Finals game, because we all now that won't happen. He's old, and he'll get too tired if he does. In the two games against the Lakers this season, Shaq only played 22 and 28 minutes. The Lakers now have Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol to throw at Shaq, in addition to the 6'11 Odom who is a huge matchup problem from the start.

I'm not saying Ilgauskas was the reason why the Cavs beat the Lakers, but it certainly didn't hurt having him in the lineup. Jamison is a better scorer and rebounder on paper than Z has ever been, but you also have to consider that Jamison was the number one option on a mediocre Washington team, where as in Cleveland he could be the number three option once Mo Williams returns from his injury.

A lot of basketball experts always talk about how important team chemistry is, and how critical it is to not mess with anything when a team is rolling. The Cavs are currently on a 13-game winning streak, yet they just traded away an important piece to their team. I don't cover the Cavs and I'm not an expert, so I very well could be wrong, but I'm assuming that Ilgauskas was a great guy to have in the locker room, and that he was probably very well liked by his teammates given that he had played all of his 12 seasons in the NBA in Cleveland.

I'm not as worried about this move as other Laker fans are. The Lakers are still the team to beat, but they have clearly had problems with Cleveland this season, and that has a lot of Laker fans worried. When you really look at it, this move may have just reversed the roles and put the Lakers in the drivers seat to win another title should they face the Cavs in the finals. I could be completely wrong about all of this, but hey, only time will tell if this was the right move for Cleveland.

Dunk Contest Letdown

2010-02-15T00:14:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure NBA in-game dunks translate well to a competition, because if that was the case then I could guarantee that Shannon Brown would have won the 2010 NBA Dunk Contest, a contest that will certainly go down as one of the worst in history. I'm not sure what went wrong with Shannon's performance. Maybe he had stage fright, or maybe he was overhyped, but one thing I don't understand is why people I'm friends with had so much hate for the Los Angeles Lakers' reserve after the contest.

For about a month and a half I had been one of many that had been hyping the movement for Shannon to be in the dunk contest. The movement simply became known as "LetShannonDunk", a website whose title states its purpose. The website got recognition shortly after its launch, as ESPN SportsCenter Anchor Robert Flores and TNT's Marv Albert and Kenny Smith gave the site shoutouts during live broadcasts. On January 18th it was announced that Shannon Brown would be a participant in the dunk contest, along with Gerald Wallace, Nate Robinson, and either DeMar DeRozan or Eric Gordon.

As soon as I found out who the other participants were, I immediately assumed Shannon would win because of one reason: he has had the best dunks of all the participants this season. From his ridiculous highlight reel poster dunk in the preseason to his dunks in which he jumps like a kangaroo , Shannon has electrified Laker fans around the world with his amazing vertical leap.

With that being said, Shannon was a huge letdown in the contest on Saturday night. Both of his dunks were subpar, at least for Shannon's standards and for dunk contest standards. His dunks were dunks that would've brought a regular season crowd to its feet, but not a crowd that was expecting to watch the best dunkers in the league.

In his first attempt, Shannon attempted a 360 Statue of Liberty, but he missed, which surprised just about everyone, including himself. He then went on to take off from the foul line area and switched from his right hand to his left hand in a dunk that scored a 38 from the judges. In his second attempt, Shannon attempted to do a double-pump dunk on an alley-oop from Kobe Bryant, but he overjumped the pass and had to settle for a left handed slam that scored a 40.

So after all of the hype and all of the expectations people had for Shannon, he didn't even make it out of the first round. Was I disappointed? Absolutely. I truly believed Shannon was going to win the contest, especially after he said a couple of weeks ago that he had some special ideas up his sleeve. But you know what? It's not the end of the world. At the end of the day the only thing I and other Laker fans hope to see Shannon do is help the Lakers win another NBA Championship. This is an obvious statement, but I'd rather see Shannon sport another ring than hoist up a slam dunk contest trophy any day of the week

I was amused over the fact that some people I go to school with thought I'd be heartbroken if Shannon didn't win the contest. A perfect example of this is with the sports director of the Blaze. He put the following on his twitter a few minutes after Shannon was eliminated: "The NBA wishes they never LetShannonDunk. He really let down his fans who supported his campaign." I found that funny because he only has 27 followers, none of whom are Laker fans other than me. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he wouldn't even know what LetShannonDunk was if he hadn't seen my tweets, so why not just joke around to my face as opposed to try to mock me indirectly?

I also heard from a friend that someone was rooting for anyone other than Shannon for the simple fact that he did not want to hear me "shoving it in everyone's face" had Shannon won. I love the fact that people know I'm a dedicated Laker fan, but come on I really wouldn't be doing much trash talking if Shannon Brown had won a dunk contest. It would have been great had it happened, but all I care about is the Lakers winning another title. Like I said before, I still believe Shannon Brown is the best in-game dunker out of the four that participated in the contest. In-game dunks may just not translate well to a competition.

One final word for those reading this: the guy who launched LetShannonDunk.com is an ASU alum, and is a friend of mine. So I hope all you morons from ASU that were mocking LetShannonDunk take that into consideration after reading this.

Second Semester

2010-02-03T15:02:00.000-08:00

I told all of you in one of my final posts in 2009 that I would do my best to avoid month long breaks in between posts, and I apologize because I haven't lived up to that promise yet. This is my first post of 2010, so now I really mean it when I say that I will not go another month without updating this blog.

Second semester at ASU is underway, and I've had about three weeks to get adjusted to my new schedule and classes. I'm already a lot busier than I was last semester, and I'm not at my apartment nearly as much as I was in the fall. I'm writing this and listening to ESPN Radio in an edit bay on the third floor of the Cronkite School. I'll give you a little rundown of my day to day schedule so you can see what I'm up to as I did in first semester.

Monday's and Wednesday's

11:00 a.m.- I wake up, take a shower, eat some lunch, and do any homework that I forgot to do the night before, or was just too lazy to do. I'm up at 7 a.m. on Tuesday's and Thursday's, so that's why I sleep late on Monday's and Wednesday's. (I'm 20 years old, I need my rest, so cut me come slack)

1:00 p.m.- I board the shuttle headed from Tempe to Downtown Phoenix. It's about a 20 minute drive and there's usually a lot of people on the bus. There's always a person on his or her cell phone the entire ride, or a group of people talking very loud, so I pop in my Ipod touch and enjoy my playlist of Lil' Wayne and other rap artists.

1:30 p.m.- I arrive at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication, and usually stop at the local Starbucks for a few minutes before I start my first class.

2:00 p.m.- First class of the day: Spanish Conversation and Composition. This class is very similar to the Spanish 5 class I took in my senior year of high school, the only difference is that my professor is very attractive, so it's safe to say that I enjoy all of the hour and 15 minutes of class time.

3:15 p.m.- Class is over and I have a break until 6:20 p.m. I usually go up to the third floor of the Cronkite building and hang out in one of the edit bays, kind of like what I'm doing at this very moment. I catch up on 24 and other T.V. shows I missed, in addition to listening to LA Sports Live and the Mason and Ireland Show on 710 ESPN.

6:20 p.m.- Final class of the day: Videography. Interesting class, as I'm learning how to shoot video packages. We're learning the basics of filming since we're just starting, but we get to use very nice equipment and my professor is a videographer for Fox, so he knows what he's doing.

8:30 p.m.- Done with classes, and I get on the shuttle headed back to Tempe. I spend the remainder of the night hanging out at my apartment.

Tuesday's

7:00 a.m.- Wake up bright and early for morning class.

8:00 a.m.- On the shuttle headed back downtown, and instead of listening to my Ipod on the way, I take a 20 minute nap.

9:00 a.m.- First class of the day: World Literature. The only reason why I'm taking this class is because the professor who teaches it is the same professor I had for an English class last year. She's very easy, so I think it's safe for me to guarantee that I will get an A in this class.

10:15 a.m. Done with class, and I've got about an hour and a half break. During this time I watch a replay WWE Monday Night Raw online, since I usually don't get to watch it live since my roomates are wrestling haters.

12:00 p.m.- Final class of the day: Political Science. I'm really not into politics, so maybe this class will change my ways and I'll be motivated to pay more attention once I'm done with the class? (Psh, who am I kidding, I still won't care about politics after this class, the only reason why I'm taking it is because it's a required course.)

1:15 p.m.- Done with class for the day, on the shuttle back to Tempe.

4:15 p.m.- I arrive at the Blaze studios, and get ready for an on-air update that I do at 4:30.

5:00 p.m.- Update is done, and now I'm on-the-air for The Squared Circle, one of my two radio shows I do at the Blaze. The Squared Circle is a wrestling show, where me and my co-hosts discuss the latest news and events in the world of the WWE. Now I know you probably think that an on-air show about wrestling is a joke, but it gives me practice and let's face it, if I can talk about wrestling for an hour, then I can probably talk about anything.

6:00 p.m.- The Squared Circle is done, and now I have an hour break before I go on-the-air for The Sports Lounge. I'm hungry, so I go right across the street to the best burger joint in Tempe, The Chuckbox. I get my bacon cheeseburger and onion rings, and then head back to the Blaze to do some prep work.

7:00p.m.- I'm on-the-air for The Sports Lounge, and unlike the Squared Circle, we talk about real sports.

8:00 p.m.- Sports Lounge is done, and I head back to my apartment for the remainder of the night.

Thursday's- Same schedule as Tuesday's, except I don't have my radio shows in the afternoon/evening. My roomates and I have a tradition to go to Buffalo Wild Wings every Thursday night. We all order 24 boneless wings, eat as much as we can, and then bring the rest back as leftovers. Thursday nights also mark the beginning of the weekend for me, since I don't have any classes on Friday's.

Friday-Sunday consists of my roomates and I watching a lot of sports, catching up on sleep, and going to parties. I'm having a blast with second semester thus far, I'll keep you posted as the semester progresses.

Don't want to wait for my new posts? Then check out my twitter and become a follower to see what I'm up to on a daily basis.

My Personal Top 10 Sports Moments of the Decade

2009-12-31T18:14:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to you all. With the end of 2009 comes the beginning of 2010. A new decade is upon us, and I'm sure there will be as many great moments in the world of sports as there have been this past decade. I compiled a list of my personal top 10 moments of the decade. Keep in mind that I am a Los Angeles native, therefore mostly all of these moments have something to do with an LA team. So here we go, starting from #10.

10. January 4th, 2006. The BCS National Championship Game: USC vs Texas

USC was attempting to become the first team in college football history to win three straight National Championships. Standing in their way from history was Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns. Young had perhaps the single best performance in a National Championship, as he accounted for 467 total yards, and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 4th and 5 play.

9. March 23rd, 2006. UCLA beats Gonzaga in the Sweet 16

The Bruins trailed the entire game, but then scored the final 11 points of the game to defeat the Zags 73-71. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute scored the go ahead basket with 10 seconds left, as the victory punched the Bruins' ticket to the Elite Eight. This game was memorable because the then Gonzaga star Adam Morrison was sprawled out on the court and was crying after the game.

8. April 14th, 2004. Kobe Bryant beats the Portland Trail Blazers in OT

Kobe Bryant won the Lakers the Pacific Division, as he nailed a three pointer in overtime to give the Lakers a 105-104 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Kobe also hit a three pointer at the buzzer in regulation just to send the game to overtime. The best part of this was that Kobe made the incredible shots over Ruben Patterson, who had dubbed himself "The Kobe Stopper."

7. The 2008-2009 Arizona State Basketball season.

The Sun Devils swept UCLA and Arizona in the same season for the first time in god knows how long, and made it to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. It was a pleasure to watch the team in person, as I got to see guys like Jeff Pendergraph and James Harden. Many great memories from my first basketball season as a Sun Devil.

6. December 2nd, 2006. UCLA beats USC.

This was without a doubt the best football game I have ever been to in person. USC was ranked #2 coming into the game, and would have been in the National Championship had they beaten the Bruins. Eric McNeal intercepted a pass from John David Booty with a little over a minute left, to secure the 13-9 upset for the Bruins. This quite possibly could be the greatest upset in the history of the storied rivalry, as no one thought UCLA had a chance to win.

5. May 13th, 2004. Derek Fisher's 0.4 shot.

Game 5 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals between the Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs thought they had the game won after Tim Duncan hit a miraculous shot to put them up 73-72 with 0.4 seconds remaining, but Derek Fisher had plans of his own. As Shaquille O'Neal put it best, "One lucky shot deserves another."

4. June 14th, 2009. The Lakers win their 15th NBA Championship.

This title was special for me because Kobe Bryant is my favorite basketball player, and for years and years I had to put up with all of the Kobe haters saying that he could never win a title without Shaquille O'Neal. It felt great when the Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic in five games, as all the doubts and all the haters of Kobe Bryant were silenced.

3. April 30th, 2006. Kobe Bryant beats the Suns.

In Game 4 of the 2006 Western Conference First Round Series, and the Lakers leading the series 2-1, Kobe made a looping runner with seven-tenths of a second left to send the game into overtime. In the extra period, Kobe hit a 17 footer that gave the Lakers a 99-98 victory. Unfortunately the Lakers blew the 3-1 series lead, as Phoenix won the next three games. This probably would have been the #1 moment had the Lakers won the series.

2. October 2nd, 2004. The Dodgers win the NL West

The best moment I've had as a Dodger fan came on this day. The Dodgers were down 3-0 going into the bottom of the ninth against the San Francisco Giants. It was the final Saturday of the regular season, and the two bitter rivals were fighting for a spot in the playoffs. Dodger Stadium was packed, and in the Dodgers last chance to win the game, they scored seven runs, capped off by Steve Finley's grand slam. The Dodgers won the NL West for the first time in 16 years, and in doing so, eliminated the Giants. Unfortunately there is no youtube video, however if you click here, then you can scroll down and watch the video.

Ladies and gentlemen, my personal #1 moment of the decade

1. May 26th, 2002. "The Shot That Finished The Queens"

Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Sacramento Kings in a series that the Kings led 2-1 at the time. The Kings led by as many as 24 points, and led by eight points with under four minutes to play. But the Lakers were resilient and never gave up, as Robert Horry's three pointer at the buzzer shot capped off the miraculous comeback. The Lakers went on to win the series and the 2002 NBA Championship. This shot has become known simply as "The Shot That Finished The Queens".

So there you have it, my top 10 moments of this decade. Here's to plenty more to come in the next.

Up and Running Again

2009-12-27T22:42:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a good Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or whatever you celebrate. I sincerely apologize for the month-long break between posts. I really don't have an excuse other than the fact that I had finals and then I just got lazy. My last post was on Thanksgiving Day, so what's happened since then?

I called two ASU basketball games. One of the calls went great, and the other one didn't go so great. I had a good time regardless, and I'm looking forward to the two games I will call after the holidays. ASU starts Pac-10 play Thursday against UCLA in Los Angeles. The Sun Devils finished their out of conference schedule with a 10-3 record.

I'm done with first semester of sophomore year. I'm on winter break and have been home for about a week and a half now. It's been nice spending time with the family and catching up with old friends from high school.

Those of you who listened to the Sports Lounge/Face-Off Bowl Preview Show remember that I made picks for all 34 bowl games. Ten games have been played as of tonight, and I have picked the winner correctly for six of those games (Rutgers, Middle Tennessee, Marshall, Pittsburgh, USC, Clemson).

Here are the remaining 24 games with my picks (in parenthesis) for those of you who did not listen to the show, or do not remember my picks. Starting with the list of Bowl Games before New Years Day.

Independence Bowl- Texas A & M vs Georgia (My pick-A & M)

EagleBank Bowl- UCLA vs Temple (My pick-UCLA)

Champs Sports Bowl- Miami vs Wisconsin (My pick-Miami)

Humanitarian Bowl- Bowling Green vs Idaho (My pick-Bowling Green)

Holiday Bowl- Arizona vs Nebraska (My pick-Arizona)

Armed Forces Bowl- Houston vs Air Force (My pick-Air Force)

Sun Bowl- Oklahoma vs Stanford (My pick-Stanford)

Texas Bowl- Navy vs Missouri (My pick- Navy)

Insight Bowl- Minnesota vs Iowa State (My pick-Iowa State)

Chick-fil-A Bowl- Virginia Tech vs Tennessee (My pick-V-Tech)

Moving onto the New Years Day Bowl Games (Excluding the two BCS Bowl Games)

Outback Bowl- Northwestern vs Auburn (My pick-Auburn)

Capital One Bowl- Penn State vs LSU (My pick-LSU)

Gator Bowl- West Virginia vs Florida State (My pick-West Virginia)

Games after New Years Day (Once again excluding the BCS Games)

International Bowl- South Florida vs Northern Illinois (My pick-USF)

Cotton Bowl- Oklahoma State vs Mississippi (My pick- OSU)

PapaJohns.com Bowl- South Carolina vs Connecticut (My pick-UCONN)

Liberty Bowl- Arkansas vs East Carolina (My pick- Arkansas)

Alamo Bowl- Michigan State vs Texas Tech (My pick-Texas Tech)

GMAC Bowl- Central Michigan vs Troy (My pick-Central Michigan)

Now to the BCS Bowl Games

Rose Bowl- Ohio State vs Oregon (My pick-Oregon)

Sugar Bowl- Cincinnati vs Florida (My pick-Florida)

Fiesta Bowl- Boise State vs TCU (My pick- Boise State)

Orange Bowl- Iowa vs Georgia Tech (My pick-G-Tech)

BCS National Championship Game- Texas vs Alabama (My pick-Texas)

I promise you it won't be another month until my next post.

The Day of Thanks

2009-11-26T22:24:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone had a great Turkey Day. It sure didn't feel like Thanksgiving considering it was 80 degrees here in LA during the daytime.

So in the spirit of the holiday, I'll go ahead and list some sports-related things that I'm thankful for, in no particular order.

I'm thankful that...

1. The Arizona State Football team has only one game left in their season. The Sun Devils are 4-7, and I'm not sure how much more of this mediocrity I can take. For the first time since the 1940's, ASU will finish with back-to-back losing seasons. By the way, what are the odds that the first time in 60+ years that that happens just so happens to be my first two years at ASU? Just my luck, right? The Sun Devils play host to the hated University of Arizona Wildcats for the Territorial Cup this Saturday. This will be my first time attending a UA-ASU game as a student, and I'm looking forward to it. Sun Devil Stadium should be pretty electric. A win over the Wildcats will make the season for the Sun Devils.

2. Arizona State Basketball is just getting started. The Sun Devils fought hard in a loss against the #7 Duke Blue Devils last night in New York. ASU is 4-1, and should be able to finish in the top four of the Pac-10 this year since the conference is so weak. Coach Herb Sendek is doing some great things with the ASU Basketball program, and I'm happy to be here while it happens.

3. Pau Gasol is back in the Lakers lineup. The defending champions are 3-0 since his return, and they have won all of those games by double digits. The Lakers are very tough to beat with Gasol in the lineup, and if everyone can stay healthy, (and that is an important if) the Lakers should have no problem getting back to the NBA Finals.

4. All of the sports-related opportunities I've had at ASU. Not a lot of broadcast journalism sophomores around the country can say that they have been an on-air radio personality for their first two years of college, which I'm fortunate to say that. I've been able to do play-by-play and color commentary for Pac-10 sporting events, which is another thing that not a lot of people my age can say. I've had the pleasure of meeting a lot of people in the sports media industry, and I've also had the pleasure of interviewing some high profile people, such as ASU Men's Basketball Head Coach Herb Sendek, and Petros Papadakis of Fox Sports Radio. I'm looking forward to the new opportunities I will have in my last two and a half years of school.

Go Devils! Beat the Cats!

Weekend Wrap

2009-11-16T01:18:00.001-08:00

Well this weekend in sports wasn't exactly a good one for me. The Lakers got humiliated twice, and Arizona State lost yet again.

Let's start with the Lakers. On Friday they got embarrassed by the Denver Nuggets, as they lost 105-79. I stated in my weekend preview that the Lakers could have made an early statement to the rest of the NBA if they came away with a win, but instead they came out and looked nothing like the team that beat the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals in May, not to mention the team that won the championship in June. They scored 23 points in the 2nd half, which is a franchise low, and they shot just 35% from the floor.

I figured the Lakers would rebound from the bad loss in Denver, and come back home and defeat the Houston Rockets last night, but I was wrong. Instead Houston came into Staples Center and handed the Lakers their second straight loss in their 101-91 victory. The Rockets outplayed the Lakers in nearly every aspect of the game, but most noticeably in the rebounding category, as Houston outrebounded LA 60-38. The Lakers' shooting woes carried over from Denver, as they shot just 38% from the floor.

The Lakers' record is now 7-3, which is somewhat disappointing considering some NBA experts thought they could be 20-1 after their first 21 games. I think the Lakers are finally feeling the effects of not having Pau Gasol in the lineup. With Gasol, the Lakers are a bigger team, they are a more physical team, and they are a better offensive team.

I'm not disappointed over the fact that the Lakers have lost their last two games, but I'm disappointed with the ways in which they have lost. It seems to me like they're in a championship hangover, and that they're playing with zero effort and nothing to prove. Teams are gunning for them this year since they're the champions, and I would hope to think that they would be more prepared. You rarely hear a Staples Center crowd boo the Lakers, but last night they did, and they had every reason to do so.

Let's talk about the Sun Devils of Arizona State University, who lost their fourth game in a row Saturday night against the Oregon Ducks. ASU is now 4-6, and has two games remaining: at UCLA, and home against Arizona. Even if ASU wins their final two games and becomes bowl eligible, it is highly unlikely they will go to a bowl since there are six teams in the Pac-10 that are already bowl eligible (USC, Cal, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, and Arizona). At this point I'm just hoping ASU can beat Arizona (That will make up for this lost season).

I will be coming home this weekend to cover the ASU-UCLA game at the Rose Bowl for The Blaze.

I've jumped on the Stanford bandwagon since my sister is an alum, and since their football team is actually good. Stanford beat the hell out of USC this weekend, and in doing so ended the USC dynasty, much to my delight. I hate Pete Carroll, I hate the USC marching band and the only two songs they know how to play, and I hate everything about the USC football program, so seeing them get their butts kicked in their home stadium made my weekend. If Stanford somehow makes it to the Rose Bowl, I will be going (assuming my sister can hook me up with some tickets).

No Sports Lounge this week due to The Blaze's coverage of ASU Basketball, so I will be off-the-air until after Thanksgiving.

Weekend Preview

2009-11-13T13:38:00.001-08:00

Tonight the Los Angeles Lakers face a tough road test against the team they beat in the Western Conference Finals last year: The Denver Nuggets. The Lakers are 7-1, and have won six in a row, including an impressive victory over the Phoenix Suns last night, while the Nuggets are 6-3, and are coming off of a loss to the lowly Milwaukee Bucks.

The Lakers have played every game thus far without Pau Gasol, but that may not be a bad thing. Andrew Bynum looked like a All-Star in last night's victory over the Suns, in which he had 26 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks. The absence of Gasol has also allowed newcomer Ron Artest to settle in with the Lakers, but more importantly the absence of Gasol has allowed Artest stay under the spotlight since everyone is wondering when Gasol will return.

It's only the 9th game of the season, but tonight's game is huge for the Lakers. It would be nice to see the defending champions win on the road in the second game of a back-to-back without Gasol, seeing as though Denver is arguably the biggest challenger to the Lakers in the Western Conference. The Lakers can flex their muscles early on and send a message to the rest of the NBA with a nice win tonight, in a game that happens to be on ESPN.

The Arizona State Sun Devils are in Eugene to take on the # 13 Oregon Ducks. Brock Osweiler will start at quarterback for ASU, but at this point it doesn't matter who is behind center for the Devils, because this game will be ugly. Oregon is coming off of a humiliating loss to Stanford, which ruined any chance the Ducks had at a BCS National Championship Game, and the Devils have shown all season long that they cannot put up points unless they play Idaho State or Louisiana-Monroe. As good as the ASU defense has been all year, Oregon's offense simply will be too much for them to handle, and ASU's offense will not be able to keep up. I expect Oregon to win by at least three touchdowns, but it will probably end up being uglier than that.

The Arizona State Men's Basketball team tips off their 2009-2010 regular season tonight, as the Sun Devils play host to Western Illinois. Unfortunately ASU Basketball won't be anywhere near as good as it was last year, when the Sun Devils had James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph, and advanced to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. Nonetheless it's basketball season, so let the fun begin.

A Small Step Towards The Big Stage

2009-11-03T23:54:00.000-08:00

I can honestly say that today was one of the best days I've had in my time here at Arizona State. I had the privilege of interviewing Petros Papadakis of Fox Sports Radio for my sports radio show. Many people find Petros to be obnoxious because of his loud voice and his exaggerative personality, but I find him to be one of the best radio personnel in the country, and one of the nicest guys in the business.

It all started when I was up in the press box for the Washington-Arizona State football game a couple of weeks ago. Petros was calling the game for Fox Sports Net, and I just so happened to run into him outside his booth. We had a short conversation which ended with him telling me to let him know if I ever needed anything from him. I emailed him that night thanking him for being so kind, and he got back to me quickly and once again reiterated to let him know if I ever needed anything. Since ASU is playing USC this weekend, I figured I would ask if he would come on the show I co-host since he was a former USC tailback, and is quite knowledgeable about college football. He got back to me and said he would be more than happy to come on, and after a couple of back-and-forth text messages, I arranged to have a one-on-one interview with him.

He called in this morning, and we talked for about 15 minutes. We talked about the state of the USC football program in addition to the ASU football program. I thought the interview went very well, so did Petros as he emailed me saying that was the best prepared college radio station interview he has ever done. He was very genuine and sincere about the whole interview process, and he said he was very happy that he could help out Arizona State student radio.

I know it's only one interview and I know Petros is human just like we all are, but it felt great to interview someone of his stature, and the interview once again reiterated my passion for wanting to go into sports media. Petros is a big name in the broadcast and radio industry, as he is a co-host for the most popular radio show in Los Angeles, which also happens to be a nationally syndicated show on Fox Sports Radio. I listen to his show everyday, and being that I'm a big fan of his, it was quite an honor to interview him one-on-one.

To listen to my interview with Petros, check out this week's podcast of the Sports Lounge. The interview takes place in our 2nd segment, which is about the 15 minute mark. To get to the podcast, click here

2009-2010 NBA Western Conference Predictions

2009-10-27T14:10:00.001-07:00

In order of how I see each team finishing

Playoff teams

1. Los Angeles Lakers: If Andrew Bynum stays healthy and Ron Artest behaves, then the Lake Show should be better than they were last year. I don't see them reaching 70 wins, but regardless this is their conference to lose.

2. San Antonio Spurs: Biggest threat to the Lakers in the West. Tim Duncan is healthy and motivated, which is scary to think about. The addition of Richard Jefferson makes them a faster and better overall team. Add in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, and you'll see a Spurs team that will win the Southwest Division with ease.

3. Denver Nuggets: They will take a step back from last year, but I still see them winning the division over Portland. They can be threats for a Western Conference Championship, but they have so many egos on the roster that I don't see it happening.

4. Dallas Mavericks: The addition of Shawn Marion will help this team with defense and rebounding. Josh Howard's health could be a reason for concern, but with Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Marion, and Jason Terry, this team should have no problem finishing in the top five.

5. Portland Trail Blazers: Portland is a team that is better in the regular season than they are in the playoffs. They'll compete with Denver for the division title, but in the end they are still a very young team with a very bright future. I'm not sure how Andre Miller will fit in, and I'm not sure if Greg Oden can play 20 games without getting hurt, but if everyone is healthy and everyone has good chemistry, this could be a team that finally makes some noise in the playoffs.

6. Utah Jazz- Deron Williams is one of the best point guards in the NBA, and he'll have a great roster to work with with guys like Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap, Mehmet Okur, and Andre Kirilenko.

7. New Orleans Hornets: I see the Hornets struggling a lot this year, but ultimately I think Chris Paul is too good of a leader and playmaker for his team to miss the playoffs.

8. Oklahoma City Thunder: Call me crazy, but I see the Thunder being the surprise team in the West. Kevin Durant will become a superstar this year and could quite possibly lead the league in scoring. Russell Westbrook will improve, and now he has solid complement in the backcourt with rookie James Harden, who is very NBA ready. The Thunder will storm everyone by surprise, and beat out the Suns and Clippers for the last playoff spot in the West.

The rest

9. Phoenix Suns

10. Houston Rockets

11. Los Angeles Clippers

12. Minnesota Timberwolves

13. Golden State Warriors

14. Memphis Grizzlies

15. Sacramento Kings

2009-2010 NBA Eastern Conference Predictions

2009-10-27T01:46:00.000-07:00

It's been a long 135 days, but finally the NBA is back! Here is my prediction of how I see the Eastern Conference playing out.

Playoff teams (In order of how I think they'll finish)

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavs finished with the best record in the East last year, and this year will be a little more interesting for LeBron James since he becomes a free agent next summer. If Cleveland doesn't win it all, does he go elsewhere, or does he stay? The addition of Shaquille O'Neal will help, but it's guys off the bench like Jamario Moon and Anthony Parker that will probably have the biggest impact for a Cavs team that has lacked depth in the past. Cleveland will finish with the best record in the East, but I don't see them hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy at the end of the year.

2. Boston Celtics: In my mind the Celtics are the best team in the East if they are at full health. The problem is Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, and Ray Allen are all aging faster then you know it, and consequently are more prone to injuries. Rajon Rondo will emerge as one of the top point guards in the East this year, but like I said the main key to Boston's success is their health. If they are at full health by the end of the regular season, they will be in the NBA Finals.

3. Orlando Magic: I'm not sold on the signing of Vince Carter just yet. I still think the loss of Hedo Turkoglu will hurt the Magic more than what they will gain in Carter. Nonetheless the defending champs from the East are still loaded with Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis, but I still see them finishing below Cleveland and Orlando.

4. Atlanta Hawks: The addition of Jamal Crawford will help the Hawks on offense. Their defense is less than stellar, and they are a horrible team on the road, but they play in the East and have one of the more talented teams.

5. Washington Wizards: This is a team that won only 19 games last year, but the big three of Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler will be back and rejuvenated under new head coach Flip Saunders, who knows how to win and has been one of the more successful coaches in the NBA. I see Washington being the team that improves the most from last year.

6. Toronto Raptors: Toronto will be back in the playoffs this year after only winning 33 games last year. They brought in Hedo Turkoglu, and drafted DeMar DeRozan who I think will be very good. Combine that with Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani, and Jose Calderon, and you're looking at a Raptors team that could make some serious noise come playoff time.

7. Philadelphia 76ers: This is a Sixers team made the playoffs last year without Elton Brand, so assuming Brand is healthy, there is no reason why they shouldn't be back. Andre Igoudala is a great young player, and look for Thaddeus Young to have a breakout year.

8. Chicago Bulls: With Luol Deng back, and Derrick Rose entering his second year, the Bulls should be back in the playoffs. They lost a big weapon on offense when Ben Gordon signed with the Detroit Pistons over the summer. I see Chicago fighting it out and clinching the final playoff spot in the East.

The rest

9. Detroit Pistons

10. Miami Heat

11. Charlotte Bobcats

12. New Jersey Nets

13. Milwaukee Bucks

14. New York Knicks

15. Indiana Pacers

Western Conference Predictions to come later today.

Weekend Wrap

2009-10-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

Let's start with the good news from the weekend, which is that Arizona State improved to 4-2 after a 24-17 victory over Washington last night. Sun Devil Quarterback Danny Sullivan threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Chris McGaha with five seconds left to win the game for the Sun Devils. ASU is now 2-1 in Pac-10 play, and will travel to Palo Alto next weekend to take on the Stanford Cardinal.

With his late heroics, Sullivan somewhat redeemed himself for his terrible play this season. It's funny that the same Sun Devil fans that were booing him two weeks ago against Oregon State are now acting like he's a hero. Obviously they've forgotten that Sully is the reason why ASU lost in Georgia, and that he is one of the main reasons why ASU lost to Oregon State. Call me crazy, but if ASU had a decent offense, they would be undefeated right now. Nonetheless Sullivan's confidence is high right now, which is good since the Sun Devils are entering the toughest part of their schedule. I just can't help but to think that the Sun Devils will have a letdown against Stanford. I hope I'm wrong, but until ASU can prove that they can follow up a big win with another win, I'll always be skeptical to pick them, therefore, I'm picking Stanford to beat ASU.

I was up in the press box for the game, and since I was with other members of the media, I got to meet Petros Papadakis, who was doing to TV commentary for FSN West. Papadakis, the co-host of the Petros & Money Show on Fox Sports Radio, is one of my favorite radio personalities and broadcasters. A lot of people dislike him because he's a little loud and obnoxious, but I think he's hilarious and I find him to be a great on-air talent. It was great being able to meet him in person, and I have to say he's a very down-to-earth guy considering he is one of the best in the business at what he does.

I also got to meet Michael Eaves, a reporter for Fox Sports West. He came and spoke to some students at the Cronkite School about the challenges of being a sports reporter. He's a very nice guy as well. I was able to get a picture with him which is up on my twitter page, along with some pictures from last night's ASU game.

Let's move to the bad news, which is the NLCS. The Los Angeles Dodgers were absolutely humiliated tonight, as they were destroyed 11-0 at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Dodger offense has been terrible in the last two games, as they have only managed to get eight runs, and score two runs. Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee dominated the Dodgers tonight, as he went eight innings, struck out 10, and only allowed three hits. I guess it really didn't matter that the Dodger pitching was terrible, because with the way Lee was pitching, there was no way the offense was going to put up runs.

I've never doubted Dodger manager Joe Torre up until tonight. I don't know why he decided to start Hiroki Kuroda instead of Randy Wolf or Chad Billingsley. Kuroda had not pitched in over three weeks, and it showed tonight, as he couldn't even get out of the 2nd inning. He allowed six runs on six hits in just 1 1/3 inning. This was the most important game of the series, yet Torre decided to pitch Kuroda in a hostile environment, I just don't get it.

At this point it's the Phillies series to lose. They are up 2-1, they still have two more games at home, and they can still send Cole Hamels, Pedro Martinez, and Cliff Lee to the mound again. It will be a miracle if the Dodgers come back and win this series. Game 4 is tomorrow in Philadelphia, with the first pitch scheduled for 5:07 AZ time.

Dodgers Fall In Game 1

2009-10-15T22:19:00.001-07:00

Well that wasn't exactly the start I had hoped to see. The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS 8-6 in front of a sold-out crowd at Dodger Stadium. Two three-run homers for the Phillies is really what did the Dodgers in. The Dodgers gave a valiant effort, but in the end it was the Phillies who came away with the win, and in doing so gained homefield advantage in the series. The winner of Game 1 of the NLCS has advanced to the World Series 14 out of the last 17 times. If the Dodgers want to win the series, then it must be their pitching that wins it for them. The Dodger offense is not good enough to get into an offensive shootout with the Phillies, as proven tonight. The Dodgers left way too many men on base, and did not convert on golden opportunities. The Dodgers had six runs on 14 hits, whereas the Phillies had eight runs on eight hits.

Vicente Padilla will be on the mound for the Dodgers tomorrow, and the Phillies will counter with Pedro Martinez. Tomorrow is a must win game for the boys in blue, because there is absolutely no way they will come back from an 0-2 deficit heading back to Philly.

The ALCS starts tomorrow in the Bronx, as the New York Yankees take on the "LA" Angels of Anaheim. I'm pulling for the Yankees simply for the fact that if the Dodgers don't win the World Series, then I sure as hell don't want to see the Angels win it. I never have liked the Angels, and my disliking for them and their fans has only increased since their idiot owner Arte Moreno decided to put Los Angeles as part of their team name. Honestly, nobody outside of Orange County gives a horse crap about the Angels, so what's the point of trying to make it seem like they are LA's team? The Angels don't have half the tradition and name that the Dodgers do, and it's stupid that their fans think they are better than the Dodgers just because they have won a World Series this decade.

Some noteworthy college football games this weekend include #20 Oklahoma vs #3 Texas, #4 Virginia Tech vs #19 Georgia Tech, #22 South Carolina vs #2 Alabama, and #6 USC vs #25 Notre Dame.

NLCS Insight: Dodgers Improved From Last Go Around

2009-10-15T00:02:00.000-07:00

The National League Championship Series gets underway today, as the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. These two teams met in the NLCS last year, which the Phillies won four games to one. The Dodgers won four of the seven meetings between the two during the regular season.

So what's changed in the last year? Well for one, the Dodgers are no longer dependent on Manny Ramirez like they were last year in the NLCS, in which he batted .533, hit two home runs, and drove in seven runs. Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp have emerged as very productive hitters this season, as the two hit 57 home runs, and drove in 207 runs combined during the regular season. In addition, the Dodgers bench is much better than it was last year. Guys like Jim Thome, Mark Loretta, Orlando Hudson, Juan Pierre, and Brad Ausmus really give you everything that you need in a bench. They are experienced, and they are versatile, both of which are factors that gives any team a great chance to win in the playoffs. The Dodger offense was able to beat Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals, both of whom are favorites to win the NL Cy Young Award. The offense will have their work cut out for them again, as they will face the Phillies duo of Cole Hamels, last year's World Series MVP, and Cliff Lee. The fact is this Dodger offense has found ways to win all season long, and they are going to have to do so again in this series.

Another thing that has changed in favor of the Dodgers is their pitching. Unlike last year, the Dodgers have lefty pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Randy Wolf, both of whom were brilliant in the Divisional Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Kershaw had the third-best OPS against left-handed batters this year, which bodes well for the Dodgers since the Phillies have three left-handed batters who hit 30+ home runs this season in Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Raul Ibanez. Another pleasant surprise for the Dodgers pitching staff has been Vicente Padilla, who is slated to be the starter for Game 2. Padilla, who was let go in the middle of the season by the Texas Rangers, has done nothing but good things for the Dodgers. He went 4-0 in his seven starts during the regular season, and had an ERA of 3.20. Padilla was on the mound for Game 3 of the Divisional Series, in which he threw seven scoreless innings en route to a win. In the NLDS, the Dodgers pitching staff had a combined ERA of 2.00, and shut down a St. Louis Cardinals offense that was one of the best in the majors during the regular season.

The final thing that has changed for the Dodgers is their bullpen. They are more talented, and they are deeper than they were last year. The Dodger bullpen had the best ERA and WHIP in baseball this year, in addition to having the second-most wins. Jonathan Broxton is one of the best closers in the game, George Sherrill is a great lefty who is perfect for late innings, and Hong-Chih Kuo gives the Dodgers another lefty to match up with the Phillies left-handed bats.

The biggest factor that could work in LA's favor is the revenge factor. Last year the Dodgers were embarrassed by this Phillies team, and they haven't forgotten that at all. The Dodgers have a bit more on their side this year with a more experienced team, and homefield advantage. The problem is homefield advantage is a little overrated in baseball, so I don't see that being a deciding factor in this series. The fact is this Phillies team has one of the best offenses I have seen in a while, and it's hard to take down the defending champions, especially when they added former AL Cy Young Award winner in Cliff Lee to their pitching staff. I think it will be a lot closer than the 4-1 series last year, but I still see the same result, as the Philadelphia Phillies will win the series and move on to the Fall Classic.

Prediction- Phillies in six

Two More Weeks Until Life Becomes Relevant Again!

2009-10-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

Arizona State plays host to the University of Washington this Saturday at 7:15 p.m. local time. ASU is 3-2 and coming off a 27-14 win against Washington State, while Washington is 3-3, and coming off a 36-33 win against Arizona. This is a very big game for both teams, as it will go a long way in determining whether or not both teams will make a bowl game. Washington's quarterback Jake Locker is the best in the Pac-10, and quite frankly I don't think ASU's offense is good enough to hang with a team that can put up 20+ points in a game like Washington can. If ASU wants to win, their defense is going to have to clamp down on Washington and hold them to two touchdowns or less. In the end I see Washington winning this one, and in doing so, ending ASU's hope of getting to a bowl game since they still have to play USC, Cal, Oregon, and Stanford.

The National League Championship Series begins this Thursday in Los Angeles, as the Dodgers take on the Philadelphia Phillies in a rematch of last year's NLCS, which the Phillies won 4-1. The American League Championship Series begins Friday night in the Bronx, as the New York Yankees take on the "Los Angeles" Angels of Anaheim. I'll have my preview of each series up by Thursday afternoon, but in short I hope to see a Dodgers-Yankees World Series matchup.

The World Champion Los Angeles Lakers begin their 2009-2010 regular season in exactly two weeks, as they will open up against the Los Angeles Clippers. I can't begin to describe how excited I am for this upcoming season. Let's put it this way, in two weeks life will become important again. The NBA is by far my favorite sport, and the Lakers are by far my favorite professional team. I'm expecting nothing less than another championship from the purple and gold this year, and I'm more than confident that they will repeat. There is no team in the NBA with the amount of talent or depth that the Lakers have, and when the Lakers play at their very best, there is no team that can contend with them.

I will be seeing U2 in concert one week from tonight at the University of Phoenix Stadium! I'm very excited for that concert, as U2 is one of my favorite bands of all-time.

Listen my weekly radio show "The Sports Lounge", it's on Tuesday nights from 7-8 p.m. Arizona time. Tune in online by clicking here, or you can check out our podcast by clicking here.

Catching Up On Lost Time

2009-10-06T00:52:00.000-07:00

I apologize for my long break between posts. I've been very busy with school work and I'm also trying to come to grips with the fact that my school's football team is god awful. Arizona State is now 2-2, after losing to Georgia and Oregon State. Quarterback Danny Sullivan is one of the worst players I have ever seen in my life, and that's saying something considering I grew up a UCLA fan. Even though there have only been four games, the season is lost for the Sun Devils. I don't see them winning more than five games, considering they still have to play USC, Cal, Oregon, and a much improved Stanford team. But hey, only one more month until basketball season!

If you want full, in-depth analysis of ASU football and other sports news, then listen to my radio show "The Sports Lounge" every Tuesday night from 7-8 p.m. Pacific Time. You can tune in online to the Blaze website, or you can check out our podcast.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will face the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS starting tomorrow at Dodger Stadium. The boys in blue had many problems with the Cardinals during the regular season, and I have no reason to believe that things will change. The Cardinals pitching is better than the Dodgers, and pitching is really all that matters in the playoffs. When you combine that with the fact that the Dodgers offense has been dismal in the last week or so, it means bad news for the Blue Crew. I expect the Cards to win the series in four games.

Speaking of the Dodgers, I am fairly certain that I will be seeing them in historic Fenway Park next summer when they take on the Boston Red Sox. Last time I heard from my father, he said it was likely that we will make the trip out east.

The World Champion Los Angeles Lakers start their regular season in exactly three weeks! I can hardly wait to see my beloved team back in action. Early reports are that center Andrew Bynum will start the season by coming off the bench. Lamar Odom will get the nod in place of Bynum in the starting lineup. I will talk more about the Lakers as their season opener nears.

I will try to post more often from now on. Having a twitter definitely makes me think about blogging less, since I can update my thoughts right away, as opposed to writing in bulk like I am right now. For those of you that have a twitter and want to follow me, you can find me by clicking here.

Weekend Preview

2009-09-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

Arizona State will take on Georgia tomorrow, in what is the biggest game for the Sun Devils thus far this season. ASU comes in with a 2-0, while Georgia comes in with a record of 2-1. The Sun Devils have played two cupcake games in Idaho St. and Louisiana Monroe, while the Bulldogs have played at Oklahoma State, Arkansas, and South Carolina. This is the first time ASU is playing a non-conference road game since 2006, when they played in Colorado. If ASU wants to win they will have to play a near perfect game on both sides of the ball.

The biggest challenge for ASU will be how they move the ball against a Georgia defense that has struggled mightily so far this year. In their last two games, the Bulldogs have allowed a combined 78 points. The problem is I don't think ASU's offense is that good. Sure they've put up 88 points in their two games this year, but that was against garbage teams in Idaho State and Louisiana-Monroe. Sun Devil quarterback Danny Sullivan will make his first career start on the road, in a hostile SEC environment. The fact that he's inexperienced doesn't bode well for the Devils, who will need to have great leadership if they want to win. If the Sun Devil defense can limit Georgia's offense, I think ASU has a chance to win. If it turns into an offensive oriented game, then Georgia will win easily. When it comes down to it, I simply don't see ASU making the plays to win this game. I think Georgia will win easily.

Other college football games of note this weekend include #9 Miami at #11 Virginia Tech, #6 Cal at Oregon, and Iowa at #5 Penn State.

The Dodgers magic number to clinch the National League West Division is four games. The boys in blue are in Pittsburgh this weekend for a three-game series with the Pirates.

Weekend Wrap

2009-09-20T22:33:00.001-07:00

Arizona State defeated Louisiana-Monroe 38-14 last night to improve to 2-0 on the year. ASU now faces their biggest test of the year, as they play #21 Georgia in Athens this Saturday. I don't think ASU has a chance to win this game, but then again I didn't think Washington had a chance to beat USC, and look how that turned out.

Make it four years in a row that USC has lost to a pathetic Pac-10 team. The Trojans were upset by the Washington Huskies yesterday 16-13 in Seattle. What a difference a year makes. Last year Washington won a grand total of ZERO games. So far this year they are 2-1, with one of the wins coming against SC. Apparently top 25 voters think Washington's win was no fluke, since the Huskies are now ranked #24 in the country. USC fell from #3 to #12.

The Dodgers took two of three games from the San Francisco Giants this weekend. The Dodgers finished the season series with the Giants, and won 11 out of the 18 games played played between the two this year. The Dodgers still lead the National League West by five games, with 12 games left to play.

I'm trying to convince my dad to take a father-son trip to Boston next year, because the Dodgers will be playing the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Fenway Park is one of the three ballparks I've always wanted to visit, with Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium being the other two. Hopefully it works out, it would truly be a dream come true to watch the Dodgers play at one of the most historic ballparks in baseball history.

This week is going to be hell. Two exams, and a ton of homework due by Wednesday night. Who would have thought I'd have so much work to do at Arizona State? Just kidding.... sort of.

Into The West

2009-09-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

Arizona State is playing host to Louisiana-Monroe this Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium. I'm picking the Sun Devils to win, but I won't be surprised if they get upset, considering they are playing Georgia in Athens in a week and a half. The reason for me not having so much confidence in ASU is because last year they lost to UNLV the week before Georgia came to Tempe. I will be in the press box for the first time ever this Saturday. I usually sit in the student section, but since the sports director for The Blaze will be at a concert, I will be filling in as the role of the spotter for the guys who will be calling the game.

Tonight was the fourth episode of the year for my radio show "The Sports Lounge". I am on the show with two of my good friends every Tuesday night. I wasn't too pleased with tonight's show, especially since I felt that the past two shows were very good. I guess we all have our "off weeks". You can listen to The Sports Lounge by tuning in online at www.blazeradioonline.com every Tuesday night at 7 p.m. pacific time. We are working on having podcasts for our episodes.

Andre Ethier came through yet again for the Dodgers tonight, as he hit a two-run, walk-off home run. Ethier now has six game-winning hits on the year. The Blue Crew now lead the National League West by five games, and their magic number to clinch the division is 14.

We are 42 days away until the start of the World Champion Lakers' regular season.

For those of you who have a twitter or want to see what's going on in my world, check me out at

https://twitter.com/Josh_P_Green

You Talking About Soccer?

2009-09-10T01:24:00.000-07:00

The Dodgers lead in the National League is now two and a half games after falling to the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 last night. The Colorado Rockies have won six in a row, and show no signs of letting up their fantastic play of late. The Dodgers have the day off before heading to San Francisco for a huge three-game series with the Giants. The Rockies play host to Cincinnati Reds before traveling to San Diego for the weekend to take on the Padres.

The USA Soccer team is one win away from clinching a spot in the World Cup. The U.S. beat Trinidad & Tobago 1-0 last night in a qualifying game. Ricardo Clark scored the lone goal for the U.S., who can clinch a trip to South Africa when they play Honduras on October 14th.

I never thought I'd say this, but recently I've been very into soccer. It took me long enough to realize that it's a fun sport to follow and watch on tv. My appreciation for soccer began over the summer, when I started watching Spanish League powerhouse FC Barcelona. They came to the United States to play some MLS teams, and ESPN televised the games. I got to watch players like Lional Messi, Thierry Henry, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. My personal favorite is Carlos Puyol, who is one of the best defenders in the world. I would also argue he has the best player of any soccer player I've seen. I'll say right now that I have pledged my allegiance to Barcelona. They'll be the soccer team I'll be rooting for from now on. Call me a bandwagon fan, but rooting for Barcelona gives me a legitimate reason to follow soccer.

ASU Football has the week off, but I'm looking forward to watching Ohio State vs USC, which is this Saturday at the Horseshoe.

The NFL season starts tonight, as the Pittsburgh Steelers will play host to the Tennessee Titans. All I have to say is football is back, so life finally matters again.

At Least We Won't Go Winless

2009-09-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

The Arizona State Sun Devils opened up their 2009 season Saturday night with a 50-3 win over the Idaho State Bengals. The story of the night for the Devils was the defense. Senior linebacker Mike Nixon became the first Sun Devil in 20 years to have three interceptions, while the Sun Devil defense held Idaho State to just 37 total yards. Highly touted freshman Vontaze Burfict recovered a fumble in his Sun Devil debut.

Senior quarterback Danny Sullivan made his first career start, as he threw for 165 yards on 13-25 passing. Overall I wasn't too impressed with the ASU offense. Sure they accounted for 407 total yards, and sure they put up 50 points, but it was against Idaho State, who is one of the worst teams in the country. The fact that ASU had to settle for five field goals is a bit troubling. Last year ASU's biggest problem was not scoring touchdowns when in the red zone. I guess I can't have too high of expectations for this team, considering they were 5-7 last year.

When all is said and done, ASU is 1-0. The Devils have a bye this week and will return to action on September 19th when they play host to Louisiana Monroe. I'm hoping by this time next week ASU will have a better record than USC, who has to play at Ohio State this Saturday.

The Start of Sophomore Year

2009-08-28T18:39:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the long break between posts. Now that I'm up and running again, I'll go through what's been going on in the last week or so.

A week ago today I moved back to ASU. I am in an off-campus apartment with three of my good friends from last year. The apartment complex is absolutely amazing, it's almost like I'm living in a resort. There is a pool and spa, a movie theater, a gym, basketball and volleyball courts, and billiard and foosball tables. Not to mention there are plenty of good looking women everywhere.

I started classes on Monday and finished my first week of sophomore year yesterday. Here are the classes I'm taking and my thoughts on each one.

Psychology- 500 people in this class. It seems easy so far and the professor is very nice. This is your typical college lecture class.

United States History- Boring class. The good news is it seems identical to my AP US History class I took in my junior year of high school. The bad news is I got a C both semesters in that class. There is a lot of required reading and my grade depends on four tests. I'm predicting this to be my toughest class this semester.

Spanish- My teacher is possibly the dullest teacher I have ever had. The course itself is easy, should be a guaranteed A.

Radio Reporting and Broadcasting- This should be my favorite class this semester. Basically covers everything I will need to learn as I go into the radio industry. This is probably the most important class I will have this year.

Principles and Ethics of Journalism- My professor is a writer for the Arizona Republic. It is self-explanatory on what we will talk about based off the title of the class.

On Tuesday the premiere of my new sports radio show "The Sports Lounge" aired. I am with two other guys on the show, which is an hour long. I didn't think it was anything special, but nonetheless it feels great to be back on-the-air. The show is Tuesday nights from 7-8 p.m. and you can listen by tuning in online to www.blazeradioonline.com.

Sophomore year has been great so far, and it's only going to get better. It feels great to be back.

Happy 50th Magic!

2009-08-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

Today, August 14th, is a great day for Laker fans. Not only has it been two months to the date since the Lake Show won the 2009 NBA Championship, but it's also a very special day for a very special person within the franchise. Earvin "Magic" Johnson, one of the greatest Lakers ever, turns 50 today. The leader of "Showtime, and the five-time NBA Champion is one of the main reasons why the Lakers have such a rich and storied tradition. In his great career, Magic averaged 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 11.2 assists. Magic is known as one of the 50 Greatest Players of All Time, and is in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Here is a video showing some of the greatest moments in Magic's career with the Lakers. Happy 50th to Magic Johnson, the best point guard to ever play the game.

Weekend Wrap

2009-08-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

The Dodgers have lost 10 of their last 15 games, and their lead in the NL West that was nine games at the All-Star Break is now only five and a half games. The Blue Crew lost three of four games to the Atlanta Braves this weekend, and now will travel to San Francisco for a three-game series with the Giants. This has to be the biggest series of the year for the Dodgers, as they can either get some padding on their division lead, or allow the Giants to pull to within two and a half games of them. It's likely that Dodger pitcher Chad Billingsley will miss his start on Tuesday because of a sore hamstring, so whoever gets the nod will have to bring his A game since Giants ace Tim Lincecum will be on the mound. Lincecum is 12-3 this season, and he has the best ERA in all of baseball at 2.20. They say all teams go through funks during the season, and the Dodgers are in theirs right now, hopefully they snap out of it and get back to winning immediately.

The New York Yankees swept the Boston Red Sox in a four-game series in the Bronx. The Evil Empire now has the best record in baseball at 69-42, an lead the AL East by six and a half games. I'm not a big Yankees fan, but there's nothing better than seeing Boston franchises lose.

Today is Derek Fisher's birthday, which reminds me that even though the Dodgers likely won't win a World Series anytime soon, I still have the world champion Lakers to cheer on. Only two and half months until the start of the regular season.

U2 is coming to the desert on October 20th for a concert at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. Hopefully I'll be able to go as U2 is one of my favorite bands. The Black Eyed Peas will also be playing, so it should be quite the show. Let's just say I gotta feeling that October 20th will be a good night. (Hopefully you get my reference to the Black Eyed Peas latest song)

I can now say that I'm friends with people who have been infected with the swine flu! Two of my friends got the disease this past week after attending Hume Lake Christian Camps up in the Sequoia Mountains. One of them was supposed to go to a Jonas Brothers concert tonight, but maybe God got her sick so she would be spared of having to watch the performance? I'll be making fun of both of them for being infected, but in all seriousness I hope they both feel better soon.

I will be back at Arizona State in a week and a half. Hallelujah!

The Return of Lamar

2009-08-01T22:33:00.001-07:00

The biggest news this week in Los Angeles sports came on Thursday, when after 31 days of long negotiations, Lamar Odom decided to re-sign with the world champion Los Angeles Lakers. Odom agreed to a four-year deal worth $33 million if the Lakers exercise their option on the fourth year.

Off-season moves appear to be over for the Lakers, as they were successful in bringing back their top five scorers and top four rebounders from the squad that won it all just a month and a half ago. The only loss for the Lakers was Trevor Ariza, who signed with the Houston Rockets.

With Odom back I'll go ahead and guarantee that the Lakers will repeat.

The Dodgers have flopped so far on their seven game road trip, going just 2-4. They play their final game of the trip tomorrow in Atlanta.

The Blue Crew made some changes to their team, as they traded for reliever George Sherrill in attempt to bolster their bullpen that has struggled as of late.

I think the Dodgers made a huge mistake in not trading for Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay. The Philadelphia Phillies traded for AL Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee, the St. Louis Cardinals traded for All-Star slugger Matt Holliday, and the Dodgers respond by trading for a closer? I'm sorry but a closer is not going to win you a World Series. The Dodgers needed an ace for the playoffs, and Halladay was that guy. Even if it meant trading away prospects, the Dodgers should have pulled the trigger. I don't think the Dodgers can get to the World Series with the roster they have now. Philadelphia has a great offense which nows complements a great pitching staff, and for whatever reason the Dodgers cannot beat the Cardinals, so I'm going to say right now the Dodgers will not make the World Series.

This is why Los Angeles will always be a Laker town, because the Dodgers never do what they have to do to win. They are complacent with getting to the playoffs and then losing. When is Frank McCourt and the rest of the Dodger management going to realize that getting to the playoffs is not enough? The Dodgers haven't been to the World Series in 21 years, which is truly unacceptable. I guess this makes me appreciate Lakers owner Jerry Buss all the more, because he settles for nothing less than championships.

European League Soccer powerhouse FC Barcelona came to the Rose Bowl to take on the Los Angeles Galaxy in a friendly match in front of more than 90,000 people. Barcelona won 2-1, with the lone goal by the Galaxy coming from David Beckham. I find it pathetic that LA fans booed Beckham every time he touched the ball because they are angry he played in Europe for a season, yet they gave Manny Ramirez a standing ovation after he came back from a 50-game suspension for cheating. Shows the true colors of Los Angeles sports fans these days.

20 days till ASU.

Dodger Blues

2009-07-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm a bit spoiled with the Dodgers' success this year if I start to worry over the fact that they've lost three games in a row. Things haven't been going so well lately for the Blue Crew, who were crushed 10-0 tonight by the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dodgers offense has been subpar, as they have only been able to score one run out of the 20 hits they have so far in their first two games with the Cardinals. The Dodgers still have the best record in baseball at 62-38, and they still have an eight game lead in the National League West, but they may need to make a move before the trade deadline, which is this Friday.

There were rumors via twitter yesterday that said the Dodgers are interested in starting pitcher Cliff Lee, and catcher Victor Martinez, both of whom are on the Cleveland Indians. The rumors suggested the Dodgers would be willing to trade first baseman James Loney and some prospects for Lee and Martinez. The Dodgers need an ace for their pitching staff, which is something that Lee can be, and they need depth for their offense, which is something that Martinez can bring. Lee won the AL Cy Young Award last year, as he compiled a 22-3 record with a 2.54 ERA. So far this season Victor Martinez is batting .285 with 15 home runs and 67 runs batted in. Conversely, James Loney is batting .284 with seven home runs and 62 runs batted in.

There have also been reports that the Dodgers are among the many teams interested in Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay. While it would be great to see Halladay in a Dodger uniform, the Blue Crew would probably have to give up quite a bit to get him, which would likely have to include pitchers Chad Billingsley or Clayton Kershaw, which are two players that I think shouldn't even be considered tradeable.

Whatever the case may be the Dodgers still have some kinks to figure out. Every team goes through a funk at some point in the year, and the Dodgers are in theirs right now. I do think the Dodgers need to make a move to either bolster their pitching rotation or to bolster their offensive lineup. I'm just not sure if the roster they have now is good enough to win a World Series. Either way I'm happy with the way the Dodgers have played thus far, and if they don't win a World Series this year, well I still have the Lakers!

24 more days until ASU.

Latest With Lamar

2009-07-25T22:07:00.000-07:00

Only an idiot like Lamar Odom would leave the Lakers right after they win an NBA Championship and go to a team that has ZERO chance of winning a championship. According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, Odom is "leaning towards accepting an offer from the Miami Heat." Odom has not accepted an offer, but it appears as though he is seriously considering leaving the world champions to go back to the team that he played for during the 2003-2004 season.

Odom has already turned down two offers from the Lakers this summer. One of them was a three-year deal worth $30 million, and the other was a four-year deal worth $36 million. Apparently Odom thinks he is worth more money than guys like Manu Ginobili and Ron Artest since he's turning down those kind of deals. The best part and maybe the saddest part depending on how you look at it is if Odom goes to Miami, he'll be getting a five-year deal worth $34 million. So let's do a little math here kids. Odom would be making a little less than $7 million a year in Miami, whereas if he had accepted either of the Lakers offers, he would have been making $10 million or $9 million a year. If Odom chooses to stay with the Lakers, he will still be making more money than he will get if he chooses to go to Miami.

If Lamar wants to continue winning championships, then his best bet is to stay in Los Angeles. Miami has no chance of winning a championship next season, whereas the Lakers are the favorites to repeat. As far as fame and glory is concerned, well that's in store for Odom right here in Los Angeles as well. Odom is treated like a God in LA. Why? Because basketball actually matters here. The Lakers are arguably the greatest franchise in the NBA, plus the Lakers are the most beloved franchise in Los Angeles since there is no football team. Nobody in Miami gives a rat's ass about the Heat, so the likelihood that Lamar would get all the fame and glory in Miami is slim to none.

Despite all of the media reports, I still believe Lamar will be a Laker next season. I think he is using the media to try to get Lakers owner Jerry Buss to offer him more money. I can't see Lamar leaving because he really wants to be a member of the Miami Heat. But who knows, I could be wrong. Los Angeles is not for everybody, and since Lamar is a low key guy, maybe he wants to go to Miami where it is more laid back. Also if Lamar comes back to LA, there will be a lot of pressure to perform since nobody expects the Lakers not to repeat and everyone will be expecting him to put up spectacular numbers because of the money he would be making. Hopefully Lamar will make his decision within the week, and hopefully he chooses to remain a Laker, because without him I'm not sure the Lakers can repeat.

You Stay Classy San Diego

2009-07-24T17:33:00.000-07:00

Quick news in the NBA before we get into the MLB. The Portland Trail Blazers have signed point guard Andre Miller to a three-year deal worth $21 million. The Blazers get a veteran guard in Miller who will provide leadership to a very young nucleus. Miller averaged 16.3 points and 6.5 assists last year with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Lamar Odom is still a free agent since he was dumb enough to turn down not one, but two offers from the Lakers. I'm convinced Trevor Ariza's agent is somehow behind this.

The Los Angeles Dodgers start a three-game set with the Florida Marlins tonight at Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers have the best record in baseball at 61-34, and lead the National League West by nine games.

What a game it was on Wednesday night for the Dodgers. They beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-2, but the story of the night was Manny Ramirez, who hit the game-winning pinch-hit grand slam. Manny wasn't in the lineup because he got hit by a pitch on his hand the night before, yet the sold-out crowd of 56,000 was treated for a pleasant surprise when he came to the plate as a pinch-hitter in the sixth inning with the bases loaded in a tie game. And what do you know, on the very first pitch Manny blasted a line-drive into the Mannywood section. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Wednesday night was also Manny Ramirez Bobblehead Night, making him the first Dodger ever to hit a home run on their bobblehead night. Dodgers play-by-play announcer Vin Scully said that it was the loudest he's heard Dodger Stadium since Kirk Gibson's legendary home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Hollywood could not have wrote a better script.

The St. Louis Cardinals made a huge trade today, as they acquired Matt Holliday from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for some prospects. Holliday is a three-time All-Star and will provide protection in the lineup for Albert Pujols. This move should all but assure St. Louis of winning the National League Central.

I'm on vacation in San Diego with my family right now. I've always said that San Diego is the best city in California. The weather is perfect, so are the beaches and the bays, and the scenery is amazing. (If you know what I mean)

Less than one month until I go back to ASU and it can't come soon enough. ( Well 28 days to be exact, but who's counting?)

RIP Uncle Walt

2009-07-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

America has lost another icon. Walter Cronkite, the man people called "the most trusted man in America", and perhaps the greatest anchorman there has ever been died on Friday at the age of 92. Cronkite started anchoring the CBS Evening News when he was 45-years-old. During his time, Cronkite covered stories such as the assassination of President Kennedy, the Watergate Scandal, and the Vietnam War. His signature sign-off to end his broadcasts was "And that's the way it is."

Cronkite retired in 1980, ten years before I was born. While I never got to see him anchor the news, I have watched videos of his best moments in the industry. Cronkite was simply the best at what he did. He was a natural at delivering the news, and even after his retirement was considered one of the most trusted men in America. I think of Tom Brokaw or Larry King as far as people that could be modern day versions of Walter Cronkite. It's too bad Cronkite's death isn't getting nearly half of the coverage that Michael Jackson's death got, because I feel like some people don't realize just how big of a loss this is.

It is an honor for me to attend the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. I will always be able to say that I attended one of the premier journalism schools in the country which is named after the best that there was in the business. Even though Walter Cronkite has passed away, his legacy will continue to live on forever. And that's the way it is, and that's the way it will be. May he rest in peace.

More Than A Feeling

2009-07-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

It's been exactly one month since the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Championship for the 15th time in their storied history. Watching videos from the championship clinching victory and the parade never gets old, and as a tribute to the champions here is a video from the final moments of Game 5. This was also the final Laker game that AM 570 KLAC served as the flagship station for the Lakers. KLAC has been the flagship station of the Lakers for the past 32 years, but as they say all good things must come to an end. Lakers radio announcers Spero Dedes and Mychael Thompson are on the call.

NBA Free Agency Updates

2009-07-11T23:05:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since my last post, so let's get up to speed on what's going on in NBA Free Agency.

The Los Angeles Lakers officially signed Ron Artest to a three-year deal worth $18 million, however the World Champions are still negotiating with Lamar Odom. Talks are somewhat complicated because Odom wants $10 million per year, but due to salary cap issues, the Lakers can only afford to pay him around $8 million per year. Rumors are that Odom will sign with a team within the next week or so, and all Laker fans should be praying that that team is the Lakers because without him the Lakers will not repeat. Other teams that could potentially sign Odom are the Portland Trail Blazers and the Utah Jazz, however the Lakers are probably still the favorites to sign him.

Trevor Ariza signed a 5-year deal with the Houston Rockets. Ariza's contract is worth $32 million, which is the same amount of money he would have been making had he stayed with the Lakers.

The Boston Celtics signed power forward Rasheed Wallace to a three-year deal at the mid-level exception. Wallace brings depth and veteran leadership to a Celtics team that is looking to rebound from last year, during which they lost to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

Antonio McDyess signed three-year with the San Antonio Spurs that is worth $15 million. McDyess spent the past five seasons in Detroit.

Mike Bibby has verbally agreed to a three-year deal to stay with the Atlanta Hawks.

Jason Kidd re-signed with the Dallas Mavericks, as the nine-time All-Star agreed to a three-year deal worth $25 million.

One of the biggest moves in the off-season came via a four-team trade, which was highlighted by Shawn Marion going to the Dallas Mavericks and Hedo Turkoglu going to the Toronto Raptors. The Mavericks are now serious contenders in the Western Conference, while Toronto hopes that landing Tukoglu can convince four-time All-Star Center Chris Bosh to re-sign with the team next summer.

Stay tuned for more updates and other sports-related news to come this week.

Artest To Play In The City of Angels!

2009-07-02T23:35:00.000-07:00

Well the rich just got richer, as the Los Angeles Lakers announced today that Ron Artest will become a member of the team! Artest has verbally agreed to a three-year contract worth $18 million, although he cannot officially sign with the team until July 8th. Artest is taking a pay cut in an attempt to win an NBA Championship for the first time in his somewhat troubled career. The 2004 Defensive Player of the Year averaged 17.4 points, and 5 rebounds with the Houston Rockets last season.

This is a fantastic move for the Lakers since Artest comes at a very cheap price. The Lakers are basically paying Artest what they were willing to pay for Trevor Ariza, and I think we can all agree that Artest is the much better player at this point. Artest gives the Lakers another presence in the post, to go along with Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, and Kobe Bryant. Those are all big guys that can post up on smaller guys which will be a tough matchup. He is a great three point shooter, as he shot 40% last season, however his biggest contribution to the Lakers will be on the defensive side. He will be an excellent perimeter guard on the two's and the three's, and he will all but put an end to the thought that the Lakers are a "soft" team.

Now all the Lakers need to do is re-sign Lamar Odom, and if everything goes according to plan, they should all but seal AT LEAST a return to the NBA Finals. The Lakers window of opportunity is now, and General Manager Mitch Kupchak realized that as he essentially picked Artest over Trevor Ariza. If the Lakers re-sign Odom, then it will be hard for me to see any other team in the NBA winning it all.

The one downside to Ron Artest coming to the Lakers is that Trevor Ariza will not be returning. Ariza verbally agreed to a five-year deal with the Houston Rockets, that is reportedly worth $32 million. So in essence, Ariza and Artest swapped spots. I feel bad for Ariza since Los Angeles is his hometown. He became a fan favorite and people started to love him as a player. I'm sad to see him go, but the NBA is a business and sacrifices have to be made. I was going to buy an Ariza jersey if he re-signed with the team, but it looks like I saved myself some money.

This is the start to a great off-season for the World Champions. Now they just need to re-sign Lamar Odom, and everything will be put in place for a REPEAT! (And dare I say dynasty?)

This a great way to kick off what should be a great sports weekend for the city of Los Angeles. Ron Artest is a Laker, and Manny Ramirez returns to the Dodgers tomorrow night! I love LA!

NBA Free Agency & The Return of Mannywood

2009-07-02T00:03:00.000-07:00

The Detroit Pistons made the biggest news in NBA Free Agency thus far, as they signed Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva yesterday. Gordon, who averaged 21 points last season, will receive a 5-year deal worth between $55 and $60 million, while Villanueva, who averaged 17 points and 6 rebounds last season, will receive a 5-year deal worth $40 million.

The Los Angeles Clippers continued with their busy off-season by trading power forward Zach Randolph to the Memphis Grizzlies for swingman Quentin Richardson. Randolph averaged 21 points and 9 rebounds last season, but he only played in 39 games due to injuries. Richardson, who averaged 10 points with the New York Knicks last season, will return to the team who drafted him in 2000. The move also assures that the Clippers overall #1 draft pick Blake Griffin will get a spot in the starting lineup.

There are many rumors surfacing with the Lakers and Trevor Ariza. ESPN.com is reporting that Ariza is leaning towards leaving the Lakers, since they are not offering him the kind of money he is seeking. Now if Ariza were to leave the Lakers, there is a possibility LA could pursue Ron Artest. While the possibility of Artest coming to LA is strictly talk, the possibility of Ariza leaving LA seems very likely. Ariza wants $8-9 million a year, which is about $3 million more than the Lakers are willing to offer. I would be more than happy having Artest if Ariza indeed leaves the Lakers. Artest is a great defender and creates his own shows. As much as I love Trevor, he's had one good year and in my opinion is not worth more than the mid-level exception of $5.6 million.

Onto baseball now. Dodger fans the wait is finally over: Manny Ramirez will return to action tomorrow against the San Diego Padres! The 12-time All-Star has served his 50-game suspension and will now look to bring energy to a Dodger offense that has struggled as of late. The Dodgers went 29-21 in Ramirez's absence, and increased their lead in the National League West from six and a half games to seven games. While I won't be giving a heroes welcome to Manny, I'm certainly excited that he is back simply because the Dodger offense has been in a funk recently and is in need of some power! Manny's return should ignite the team and the city of Los Angeles. The Dodgers currently have the best record in baseball at 50-29. They play their final nine games before the All-Star break on the road, starting tomorrow in San Diego, followed by three games in New York and Milwaukee.

NBA Draft Results

2009-06-25T22:52:00.000-07:00

The 2009 NBA Draft has come and gone. As expected the Los Angeles Clippers selected Blake Griffin with the #1 overall pick. Here are the results of the top 10 picks.

1. Los Angeles Clippers: Blake Griffin- No surprise here, even the Clippers weren't dumb enough to pass on him.

2. Memphis Grizzlies: Hasheem Thabeet- He may not be the best offensive player, but Thabeet is a monster on defense and will immediately help a Grizzlies team that was in need of a dominant big man.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder: James Harden- I was surprised Harden went this high, but I'm very happy for him. He's a great player with a great IQ for the game. The Thunder now have a great shooting guard to complement Russell Westbrook.

4. Sacramento Kings: Tyreke Evans- Evans is a very physical player. I'm surprised the Kings didn't pick Ricky Rubio, but nonetheless Evans will have a positive impact for Sac town.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves: Ricky Rubio- Fantastic pick for Minnesota, and quite the steal at #5. They are a rebuilding team, and now they have a great young point guard. It will take some time for Rubio to develop, but in four or five years he could be one of the best point guards in the game.

6. Minnesota Timberwolves: Johnny Flynn- I was surprised that Minnesota took two point guards back-to-back, but nonetheless Flynn is a great player with great defensive skills and great leadership skills.

7. Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry- Great pick for Golden State, even though they already have Monta Ellis as a point guard. Curry is a small guy, but he's a great scorer and should fit in well with Don Nelson's up-tempo style of play.

8. New York Knicks: Jordan Hill- Solid pick for the Knicks. All the fans at Madison Square Garden were booing because they wanted Stephen Curry, but Hill is a great big man that could thrive in Mike D'Antoni's offensive game.

9. Toronto Raptors: DeMar DeRozan- He could be the most athletic player that was taken. DeRozan has a ton of upside and could be a great scorer. Look for the Raptors to build around him since Chris Bosh will probably leave the team next summer.

10. Milwaukee Bucks: Brandon Jennings- Interesting pick since I thought the Bucks were going to take Jrue Holiday. Jennings is somewhat of a risk since he didn't play in college and went to Europe instead. He needs to work on his jump shot, but this could be a great pick for Milwaukee down the line.

Former Arizona State Sun Devil Jeff Pendergraph was taken with the first pick in the second round by the Sacramento Kings. I'm very happy for both Harden and Pendergraph. They represented ASU Basketball very well, and hopefully they will do great things in the NBA. I hope Coach Herb Sendek can use Harden and Pendergraph as examples that players who come to ASU can be just as successful in getting drafted as players that go to powerhouses like North Carolina, Duke, and UCLA.

I said in my previous post that the NBA world had been changed with the Shaquille O'Neal trade, but that was only the beginning. The Orlando Magic traded Rafer Alston, Tony Battie, and Courtney Lee to the New Jersey Nets for eight-time NBA All-Star Vince Carter and former California Golden Bear Ryan Anderson. All I have to say is WOW. What a great move for the Magic. In my opinion this trade makes Orlando the clear cut favorites to win the Eastern Conference and get back to the NBA Finals next year. If they can re-sign Hedo Turkoglu, then the Magic's starting lineup will be as follows: Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, and Dwight Howard. That would by far be the best starting five in the NBA. Carter averaged 20.8 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in 80 games with New Jersey last season. I sure hope the Lakers re-sign Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom, because the biggest competitors in the NBA are only getting better.

There are still plenty of NBA Trade rumors that are surfacing, but my oh my what an incredible 24 hours it has been for the NBA. Only four more months until the beginning of the regular season!

NBA Frenzy

2009-06-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

The NBA world has changed a lot in the past 12+ hours. Last night the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Shaquille O'Neal from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, and $500,000. Apparently Cleveland thinks the answer to winning a championship is bringing in a 38-year-old who is way past his prime. I'm sure David Stern is already dreaming of a Cavaliers-Lakers Finals matchup next year. As if the comparisons with Kobe and LeBron weren't enough, now you throw Shaq in the mix, and you've got quite the dramatic matchup.

The NBA Draft is tonight and Blake Griffin's promising career will be cursed as soon as he is drafted by the Clippers. The Lakers sold their first round pick to the New York Knicks for $3 million. That money will be used to attempt to re-sign Trevor Ariza, Lamar Odom, and Shannon Brown. The draft begins at 4:30 Pacific time. Here is my mock top 10 picks. I'll post tonight or tomorrow about the actual results.

1. Los Angeles Clippers- Blake Griffin

2. Memphis Grizzlies- Hasheem Thabeet

3. Oklahoma City Thunder- Tyreke Evans

4. Sacramento Kings- Stephen Curry

5. Minnesota Timberwolves- Ricky Rubio

6. Minnesota Timberwolves- James Harden

7. Golden State Warriors- Jordan Hill

8. New York Knicks- Johnny Flynn

9. Toronto Raptors- DeMar DeRozan

10. Milwaukee Bucks- Jrue Holiday

Summer Spending

2009-06-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

It's been over a week since the Lakers won their 15th NBA Championship, yet I'm still on a high. I still get pretty fired up every time I watch youtube videos from Game 5 or when I look at pictures from the parade.

So now that the Lakers have a couple months off, what's next? Well they need to make sure that they bring everyone back for next year. There are two unrestricted free agents on the team that the Lakers NEED to make sure they re-sign: Trevor Ariza, Lamar Odom. Both Ariza and Odom have made it clear that they want to return to the Lakers next year. Odom even went as far as to say that he would take a pay cut to come back (Yeah like that'll really happen). Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said that he intends to do whatever he has to do to make sure both guys are back next year.

The Lakers may be able to re-sign both players simply because the economy is horrible and teams aren't willing to spend as much money on players as they would in years past. The Lakers really have no excuse not to bring back Odom and Ariza. They have the money to do it, it's just a matter of how much Lakers Owner Jerry Buss is willing to spend. In my opinion, you cannot break up a championship team. The Lakers MUST re-sign both if they want to have a chance to repeat, they cannot settle for one. Odom and Ariza officially become free agents on July 1st, at which then other teams can start making offers. Odom and Ariza will be certainly getting big offers from other teams, but I've got faith in the Lakers management that they will re-sign both.

Another big question mark is whether or not Phil Jackson will return to coach the team next season. Jackson, who is the all-time winningest coach in NBA History with 10 championships, said his health will be the determining factor in whether or not he comes back. Jackson plans on going through a series of medical tests, after which he will make his decision.

It will be an interesting off-season for the World Champions, but we Laker fans can only hope for nothing but the best in the next couple of months.

Lakers Championship Parade!

2009-06-17T19:53:00.001-07:00

Today was truly a remarkable day, and one that I will never forget. Five of my friends and I went to the Lakers Championship Parade to celebrate the 15th NBA Championship of the Lake Show's glorious franchise history. It really was an experience unlike any other and is one that every Laker fan should partake in at least once in his or her lifetime.

The ceremony was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, home to many historic moments in sports, now including a moment in Laker Basketball. The gates opened at 9:00 am, yet people started lining up as early as 3:30 in the morning. My friends and I got down there at 6:45 am, and there were already at least 20,000 screaming Laker fans waiting to get in. There were many gates for fans to enter through, but this was the gate I came through. As you can tell it was just a huge mob trying to get in as quickly as possible.

The stage setup was awesome. They actually brought in the court from the Staples Center and used it for the platform from which the players spoke.

This was one of the many signs that were given to Laker fans prior to entering the Coliseum. I was in Laker heaven today. As a die-hard fan, I couldn't think of anything better than being with 95,000 other die-hard fans cheering for arguably the greatest franchise in sports. An hour before the Lakers even arrived at the Coliseum, there were thunderous chants of "Let's Go Lakers", "MVP" (referring to Kobe Bryant of course), and "Boston Sucks". It was great.
As mentioned there were close to 100,000 people in attendance. I should note that almost 50% of the stadium had been filled by the time I had entered. It was crazy. Today really proved that the die-hard Laker fans are the best fans in the NBA, hands down.
In the end, the Lakers gathered at the center of the stage and jumped around. The team is in the white, you can't see them too well, but I tried my best to get a picture with the zoom on my camera. Purple and gold confetti fell onto the fans of the city and franchise that had been hungry for a championship for the past seven years. Dreams became a reality, as the championship season was complete. What a way to end such a memorable year for the Los Angeles Lakers. A year ago they were embarrassed by the hated Boston Celtics, and now they are NBA Champions. The past few days have been the happiest days of the year for me. It's going to be a long few months until next season, but with another season comes the hopes of another championship and another parade. I tried finding the youtube video of "I Love LA", but I was unsuccessful. You should all know it, it's the song for the best fans in the world that honors the best city in the world. Right now there are four words that I can say in honor of the Lakers: REPEAT and I LOVE LA!!!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

2009-06-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the break between posts, I've been too busy rioting in Downtown Los Angeles because the Lakers are NBA CHAMPIONS! By the way I was kidding about the whole rioting part, I was actually up in the Bay Area for my sister's graduation from Stanford. Anyways, the dream of every Laker fan at the beginning of the season has become a reality. With a 99-86 win over the Orlando Magic Sunday night, the Lakers became NBA Champions for the 15th time in their glorious franchise history. With the win, Phil Jackson became the all-time winningest head coach in NBA History, as he won his 10th championship as a coach, passing the great Red Auerbach. Everyone on the Lakers not named Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant became champions for the first time in their careers, while Bryant and Fisher became 4-time NBA Champions. In winning the championship, Kobe finally silenced his critics by winning one without Shaquille O'Neal. Kobe also became the Finals MVP for the first time in his great career.

Listen I'm not going to sit here and say that I saw it coming all along, but I just had a feeling from the beginning of this season that the Lakers would end up winning it all. I have said all year long that when the Lakers play at their very best on a consistent basis, there is NO team in the NBA that can beat them....I mean NO ONE. I will say this now: if the Lakers bring everyone back next year, they will repeat. They are only going to get better since their nucleus is very young, and with a couple more championships, Kobe could potentially become the greatest player to ever play the game. Nonetheless the Lakers are World Champions and will have a target on their backs next season.

It's been a long seven years, but I can finally rejoice that my beloved Lakers are champions once again. I have not been this happy in God knows how long. People might think it's sad that my mood depends on how the Lakers do, but you know I really don't care. I'm a die-hard fan and there absolutely nothing that will make me to support any other NBA team more than I support the Lakers. So when occasions such as winning championships happen, I'm going to be in a good mood for a long time.

So for the next year all the Laker haters can shut up, and all the Kobe haters can shut up. Because Kobe and the Lakers are Champions!!! I will be going to the Championship Parade tomorrow, so I will try my best to post tomorrow night about it.

Game 4 Preview

2009-06-10T23:20:00.000-07:00

The Orlando Magic saved their season last night by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. If the Magic had lost, the Lakers would have had a 3-0 series lead and would have essentially won the NBA Championship since no team in the history of the NBA has come back from an 0-3 deficit. Instead the Lakers now have a 2-1 series lead, with the all important Game 4 being tomorrow night in Orlando.

Usually my mood for a Laker Gameday depends on whether or not the Lakers win. As sad as that may sound, it's true. If the Lakers win, I'm usually very happy, and if they lose, I'm usually sulking in my room wishing I could drink away my sorrows. However after the Game 3 loss I wasn't upset to be honest. The Lakers played a great game, it's just the Magic played a little bit better. The Magic shot an NBA Finals record 63% from the field in Game 3, yet only managed to win by four points. The Lakers were in the game and had their chances to win, they just did not execute down the stretch. Kobe Bryant played uncharacteristically bad in the final few minutes, which is something that probably will not happen again the rest of the series. Orlando also had huge games from Rafer Alston and Mickael Pietrus, as the two combined for 38 points, which again is something that probably will not happen again.

So even though the Lakers lost Game 3, I'm still very confident they will win the series and the championship. I expect the Lakers to win Game 4, then lose Game 5, and then win it all in Game 6. I knew the Lakers would not sweep Orlando, simply because the Magic are too good of a team to have been swept. The fact that Orlando played a near perfect game last night and only won by four is something to be very encouraged about if you are a Laker fan.

Now that this series is now going to at least five games now all but guarantees the fact that I will be able to go to the Lakers Championship Parade if they do indeed win it all. If the Lakers win in five games, the parade would likely be next Tuesday, which is a day I have off of work. Similarly if the Lakers win in six games, the parade would probably be next Thursday, which is another off day for me.

The song "All The Above" by Maino & T-Pain has been stuck in my head for a few days now. So, here is a video montage I found with the song combined with some of the best plays of the amazing career of Kobe Bryant. Enjoy, and let's go Lakers!

Weekend Wrap

2009-06-08T22:06:00.001-07:00

Work has kept me from posting over the past few days. So for those of you who might have been living in a hole this past weekend, I've got some news for you. The Los Angeles Lakers are two wins away from winning their 15th NBA Championship! The Lake Show defeated the Orlando Magic 101-96 in overtime yesterday, and now have a 2-0 series lead. The Lakers will look to take a commanding 3-0 series lead in Game 3, which is tomorrow night in Orlando.

In Game 1 the Magic shot a dismal 29% from the floor and ended up losing 100-75. Kobe Bryant, who is making his sixth NBA Finals appearance, had 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Some other noteworthy stats from Game 1: Orlando's star center Dwight Howard took SIX shots from the floor, and the big trio of Howard, Rashard Lewis, and Hedo Turkoglu combined to shoot 6-of-27 from the floor, good for 33 points. I knew coming into Game 2 that there was no way Orlando would play as poorly as they did in Game 1, and I also knew that Orlando would not shoot 29% from the field again.

In all honesty, the Lakers got pretty lucky to win Game 2. I felt like the refs bailed out the Lakers on a few plays down the stretch, and after a stellar Game 1 performance, Kobe Bryant came out and played "subpar" to his standards. Orlando could have easily won this game in regulation if Courtney Lee had made a layup with .06 seconds left. For those of you who may not have seen the play, Lee came off of a pick set by Dwight Howard and was driving to the hoop with nobody near him. Rashard Lewis threw a lob pass to Lee, which he caught in midair and attempted to lay the ball in at the same time. Lee was unsuccessful, and the game went into overtime, where the Lakers eventually won. In Lee's defense, the angle on the layup was pretty bad, and I don't know how many people would have been able to convert that play.

Even though I'm a Lakers fan, it really annoys me when people say the Magic lost the game because Lee didn't make the layup. First of all, the dude is a rookie, cut him some slack. Second of all, if anyone is to blame because of Orlando losing, it's either the entire team or head coach Stan Van Gundy. Orlando still could have won the game in overtime, but they didn't. Also, Lee shouldn't have even been in the game! He played a whopping 12 minutes prior to that play, yet Stan Van Gundy put him in why? Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that JJ REDICK PLAYED 27 MINUTES!!!! How retarded is Van Gundy, I mean really? Why the hell would you play a guy who played maybe a game or two in the Eastern Conference Finals at all, let alone 27 minutes??? Does Van Gundy know this is the NBA Finals? Maybe he's just trying to get his brother Jeff to make fun of him on national television.

So Game 3 is tomorrow night in Orlando, and I'm picking the Magic to win because there is NO way the Lakers are sweeping them. Everyone usually plays much better when they are at home, a team usually execute much better when they are at home, and a team usually get more calls from the refs when they are at home. If the Magic lose, the series is over, so I expect them to play with a lot of desperation. I expect the game to be close, but I'm still picking the Magic to win.

By the way the Dodgers still have the best record in baseball at 39-20.

On a sad note, I had to say goodbye to one of my best friends who is enlisted in the armed services. He leaves next week for Georgia, where he will receive his basic training. I remember when he told me he was going to enlist a few months ago, and how quickly the time has gone. I'm going to miss the guy a lot, but it's because of the selfless people like him that I do not have to enlist. May God bless Ben Guido, he truly is a hero and one of the best human beings I have ever met.

NBA Finals Preview

2009-06-04T17:02:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, this is the moment we have all been waiting for. Game 1 of the 2009 NBA Finals is upon us as the Los Angeles Lakers will look to win their 15th NBA Championship, while the Orlando Magic will look to win the first NBA Championship in their franchise history. This is going to be a very interesting matchup. The Magic defeated the Lakers both times in the regular season, yet the Lakers have arguably played their best basketball in the last two games they played against the Denver Nuggets. The Magic have the best center in the game in Dwight Howard, yet the Lakers have the best player in the game in Kobe Bryant. Here are my thoughts on the series.

Orlando is a great team, their road to getting to the Finals included taking down the defending champion Boston Celtics, and the Cleveland Cavaliers who had the best record in the NBA. The Lakers in my opinion have been the best team in basketball all year long. They were tested in the Conference Semifinals against the Houston Rockets and in the Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets.

The key for me is whether or not the Lakers will be able to contain Orlando's fantastic 3-point shooting. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Magic shot over 40% from the 3-point line throughout the series. Now a big part of that was because of the shooters that were left open due to Cleveland double-teaming Dwight Howard, which is something that Phil Jackson will not do. Another important key is whether or not Howard can stay out of foul trouble. The Magic cannot win if Howard fouls out, or if he is on the bench for a long period of time. If the Lakers play the way they did in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals for the whole series, I will have a hard time seeing them lose.

I am one of those people who believes that home-court advantage makes all the difference in the world. The way the 2-3-2 format works is that Games 1 & 2 will be played in Los Angeles, Game 3, 4, & 5 will be played in Orlando, and Games 6 & 7 will be played in Los Angeles. This format plays a big part in why I think the Lakers will win the series. Let's face it, Orlando will not win the series in five games or less which means if they want to win the series, they will have to do it on the Lakers home-court, which is something I have a lot of trouble envisioning.

This is the golden opportunity for the Lakers, they have not worked so hard to get back to the Finals just to fall short again. Ever since the Lakers were embarrassed in Game 6 of the Finals last year in Boston, Kobe Bryant has played with something to prove. Kobe's window of opportunities is closing, and if the Lakers fall short this year, it's possible they may not have a better chance to win the title with Kobe on the team. This is Kobe's chance to finally win a championship without Shaquille O'Neal.

It's fair to say that the Celtics last year were better than the Magic are this year. With the Lakers having home-court advantage, it's very tough for me to pick against them, even if they lost twice to Orlando in the regular season. This is the NBA Finals, Orlando is a young team and they have no experience in this type of situation. The Lakers have everything to prove, and everything to lose. Just like last year was the Celtics year, this is the Lakers year.

My Pick- Lakers in six

Weekend Wrap

2009-06-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

Well if you haven't heard, the Orlando Magic will be facing my beloved Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Dwight Howard and the Magic took care of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, and consequently thwarted the NBA's dream of having a Kobe Bryant-LeBron James Finals matchup.

The one thing I said all year long was that the Cleveland Cavaliers were not as good as everyone thought, and what do you know I was right. I called it when everyone was bowing down to Cleveland in the middle of the season. I said they wouldn't win the championship or even make the Finals for that matter. I can't even begin to tell you how much grief I got for that, after all I was disrespecting LeBron James, and God forbid I say anything bad about LeBron! Well I wasn't saying anything bad, I was saying the truth, which is Cleveland is overrated. Here's something else I said earlier this year: LeBron James WILL NOT win an NBA Championship in Cleveland as long as the roster remains the way it is right now. I'm sorry, but were people really that stupid to think Cleveland was going to win it all when the second best player on the team is freaking MO WILLIAMS????? That's why I said Cleveland would not win it all, because outside of LeBron James, the rest of that team SUCKS! I don't care if LeBron is the best player in basketball, the fact is he CANNOT and WILL NOT win with the roster Cleveland has now. The Cavs front office needs to make some changes and bring another superstar to complement LeBron. If they are smart, then they should free up some cap space for next summer when guys like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will be free agents. Of course they also have to make sure that they bring back LeBron since he will be a free agent as well.

My first thoughts on the NBA Finals: It's a very interesting matchup and one that should provide for an intruiging series. The Magic beat the Lakers both times they played in the regular season, however Jameer Nelson was the thorn in the Lakers side when they played, and Nelson likely will not play in the Finals due to a shoulder injury. The Magic have the best center in the game in Dwight Howard, yet the Lakers have the best player in the game in Kobe Bryant. This will be a tough matchup, and I will write a preview on Thursday, but I really do believe the Lakers will win this series, largely in part to the fact that they have home-court advantage. The format in the NBA Finals is 2-3-2, so Game 1 & 2 will be in LA, Game 3, 4, & 5 will be in Orlando, and Game 6 & 7 will be in LA. Let's face it, the Magic are not going to beat the Lakers in five games, so if they are going to win the title, they will likely have to do it on LA's home-court, which will be difficult. Finals preview to come Thursday

Great news today as I found out I'll be going to the Dodger game tomorrow night. Tomorrow night will be my first game at Chavez Ravine this season as the Dodgers will play host to the Arizona Diamondbacks. I saw the Dodgers play at Arizona earlier this year, so this will not be my time seeing the Dodgers in person this year. Should be fun, and I'm looking forward to eating quite a few Dodger Dogs and hopefully witnessing a victory.

Finals Bound

2009-05-30T16:47:00.000-07:00

For the second year in a row, the Los Angeles Lakers are Western Conference Champions! Their reward is representing the Western Conference in the NBA Finals for an unprecedented 30th time. The Lake Show finished off the Denver Nuggets last night in convincing fashion with a 119-92 victory. The Lakers finally looked like the team that dominated the West the entire year, as five players scored in double figures. They were lead by the best closer in the NBA in Kobe Bryant, who had 35 points and 10 assists. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom each scored 20 points, and Trevor Ariza added 17 points for the Lakers, who without question played their best game of the postseason last night.

The way the Lakers played last night reminded me of the way they played in the 2006 playoffs, when they nearly upset the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers play at their very best when Kobe Bryant is the facilitator of the offense. Of course you're going to get better results when you have guys like Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol around you as opposed to 2006 when the Lakers had guys like Kwame Brown and Smush Parker. Last night Kobe was the facilitator, as he got other players involved early, and then took over when he had to. It didn't hurt that the team shot a scorching 57% from the field. The stat that impressed me the most was that of the 43 field goals the Lakers made, 28 of them were assisted. It also was very encouraging to see the Lakers go a perfect 24-24 from the free throw line. At this point it really doesn't matter who comes out of the Eastern Conference, because if the Lakers play the way they did last night during the entire Finals, they will win the championship easily.

So who will the Lakers face in the Finals? It will either be Cleveland or Orlando. Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals will tip-off at 5:30, and Orlando has the opportunity to finish off the Cleveland since they have a 3-2 series lead. This is must win game for Orlando. If they don't win tonight, there is no way they are winning a Game 7 in Cleveland, especially now that the Lakers are in the Finals and the NBA will do anything to have a Kobe vs LeBron Finals. If I had a preference on who I would rather see the Lakers play, I would say Orlando. The Lakers would have home-court advantage, plus I would love to see LeBron James not get to the Finals.

I emailed Matt "Money" Smith from AM 570 KLAC last night. It was pretty cool, we messaged back and forth on our opinions on the Eastern Conference. I was very surprised that he was able to email me back so quickly, but it was great and he was very friendly. I plan on emailing him regularly from now on. Money is really a great guy. I love listening to him on the PMS Show and on all the Laker pregame and postgame broadcasts. I actually met him in person one time at the Staples Center, and he is one of the nicest guys out there.

Thank God for online podcasts. Since I've had a lot of free time the past couple of weeks, I have spent nearly five to seven hours a day listening to sports radio shows online, and getting a feel for how the professionals act on-the-air. I've been listening to "The Loose Cannons" and "The PMS Show" on AM 570 KLAC, in addition to "The Mason & Ireland Show" on 710 ESPN. If I'm up early enough, I sometimes listen to "The Herd" with Colin Cowherd, and "The Jim Rome Show". Since I won't be on-air with the Blaze for another two months, I figure listening to the very best professionals is the next best thing to do.

I started work at 8:00 a.m. this morning, so I was up at 7:00 a.m. and now I'm tired as hell. If only Arizona State didn't cost so much so I wouldn't have to pay for part of it....Damn out of state tuition.

Weekend Preview

2009-05-28T22:56:00.000-07:00

The Los Angeles Lakers will try to finish off the Denver Thuggets in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals tomorrow. Should the Lakers win, they will become back-to-back Western Conference Champions and advance to the NBA Finals for the second straight year. The Lake Show is coming off of an impressive 103-94 victory in Game 5, a game in which Lamar Odom redeemed himself from his dismal Game 4 performance by scoring 19 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and adding four blocks. Game 6 will be in Denver, with tip off scheduled at 6:00 p.m.

By the way if your wondering why I'm referring to the Denver Nuggets as the "Thuggets", then take a close look at the players on the team. I really want to know how much money has gone to all of their tattoos, it's crazy. I mean the guys on Denver have tattoos everywhere, and when I say everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE. If I didn't know any better, I would think Denver is a team full of ex-convicts.

Getting back to basketball, the Lakers were in the exact situation in the Conference Semifinals against the Houston Rockets as they are now. They had a 3-2 series lead, and had to play Game 6 on the road. Instead of finishing off the Rockets, the Lakers came out and played one of their worst games of the year. I really hope things are different this time, although beating the Thuggets in Denver is going to be very tough. I'd like to have some confidence in the Lakers, but they are just so inconsistent that I really can't see them winning tomorrow's game. The one scenario in which I can see the Lakers winning is if Kobe Bryant dominates the game, and the Lakers play exactly the way they played in Game 5. The problem is the Lakers won't be getting all the calls from the referees that they got in Game 5, and bench players normally play better at home, which is bad news for the Lakers. I'm expecting Chauncey Billups, J.R. Smith, and Chris "Birdman" Andersen all to have huge games. Ultimately I see Denver winning this game and forcing a Game 7. But hey, I thought the Lakers were going to lose Game 5, so what do I know?

The Cleveland Cavaliers kept their season alive, as they beat the Orlando Magic 112-102 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Magic now lead that series 3-2, with Game 6 being played in Orlando on Saturday night. LeBron James had a phenomenal Game 5, scoring 37 points, while adding 14 rebounds and 12 assists. I trust that Orlando will hold on to win this series, but in the back of my mind I can't help but to think that LeBron will somehow lead Cleveland back from a 3-1 deficit and pull off one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history. I really hope that doesn't happen since I don't like seeing LeBron win, yet for the Lakers sake, it may be better if they play Cleveland and not Orlando. Who knows, all I can say is both of the Conference Finals have been absolutely spectacular, and I'm hoping for the best with the Lakers.

So how about them Dodgers? I'm so preoccupied with the Lakers that I can't fully enjoy the fact that my baseball team is absolutely dominating right now. The Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 today, as the Blue Crew improved their record to 34-15, which is best in the MLB. The Dodgers have a 4-game winning streak, and have three games left with the Cubbies before returning to Chavez Ravine next week for a 9-game home stand. Tomorrow's game in The Windy City is scheduled to start at 11:20 a.m., and Chad Billingsly will be on the mound for the Dodgers as he will attempt to win his seventh game of the season.

Denver Debacle

2009-05-26T00:27:00.000-07:00

I predicted a Lakers loss in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, but I didn't think they would be embarrassed the way they were last night in Denver. The Lakers were outrebounded, outhustled, and outplayed by an inspired Thuggets team who clearly played with more desperation. The Lakers lost 120-101 in what was one of their worst performances of the year. In what was an opportunity to take a 3-1 lead and virtually end the series, the Lakers came out and played much like they did in Game 4 in their series against the Houston Rockets. The Lakers were outrebounded 58-40, and allowed J.R. Smith, Chris Andersen, and Linas Kleiza to combine for 40 points and 18 rebounds. Here's a stat: Nene, Kenyon Martin, and Andersen combined for 42 rebounds, THE ENTIRE LAKER TEAM COMBINED FOR 40 REBOUNDS! Lamar Odom and the rest of the Laker bench was atrocious, but Odom in particular as he went 1-of-8 from the field. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol seemed to be the only Lakers who got the memo that there was an important basketball game being played, as the duo combined for 55 of the Lakers 101 points. The Lakers also missed 11 free throws in the game. I don't understand how these players can get paid millions of dollars, yet they can't make free throws.

Not to be a sore loser, but Denver got a lot of calls going their way. I'm usually not one to complain about the officiating, but my gosh Denver got almost every call in the second half. The officials didn't call a flagrant foul on Dahntay Jones for intentionally tripping Kobe Bryant, yet they called a flagrant foul on Andrew Bynum for knocking the ball out of Chris Andersen's hands. I don't think the NBA could have made it anymore obvious as to who they wanted to win this game. Conspiracy theory anyone?

I was disgusted with the Lakers play. They frustrate me just as easily as they make me happy. I don't know if I have ever seen a championship caliber team play as inconsistent as the Lakers do. One night they look unbeatable, and the next night they look like a team that should have never made it this far into the playoffs. Not only did the Lakers get blown out, but they also gave the Thuggets a lot of momentum headed into Game 5. The Thuggets beat down LA even with Carmelo Anthony playing his worst game of the series. I'm certain the winner of Game 5 will win the series, and I hate to say it, but I really don't know if it will be the Lakers. Inconsistency doesn't win championships, and you can argue that the Lakers are lucky to have even won the two games they have in this series. If it weren't for costly Denver mistakes in the final minutes of play, they could have easily swept the Lakers by now. The one thing I will say is that every time the Lakers have been tested and every time they have had to win, they have. They will have home-court advantage and Denver will have to win at least one game at Staples Center to win the series. Game 5 is Wednesday at 6:00 in Los Angeles.

Weekend Wrap

2009-05-24T23:02:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends who goes to the University of Illinois and lives in Texas came back to Agoura Hills to visit this weekend. It was definitely nice to see him and catch up again. Four of my best friends from high school and I were all together this weekend for the first time in a few years. It's crazy how things change from year to year. My friend who came out to visit is engaged, and he's only 20 years old. At this time next year he will be a married man. The wedding will be in St. Louis, Missouri, and I'm hopeful that I will be able to attend and be an usher in the ceremony. I've never been to the midwest before, so that's definitely an event I am looking forward to.

Other than the Dodgers losing two out of three games to LA's fake team a.k.a the Angels, the weekend in sports was a great one. The Lakers won Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, a win that is the Lakers biggest of the year without question. The Lakers now have a 2-1 series lead headed into Game 4, which is tomorrow at 6:00. I hope the Lakers realize the opportunity they have in front of them. With a win tomorrow, the Lakers can go up 3-1 headed back to Los Angeles, where they could close out Denver at Staples Center. The Lakers were up 2-1 in their last series against Houston, and then got blown out in Game 4 and consequently ended up going seven games. I hope I'm wrong, but I have a feeling Denver will win. I'd be both surprised and impressed if the Lakers could take Games 3 and 4 in the Mile High City.

Well so much for the Cleveland Cavaliers momentum from Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Forty-eight hours after LeBron James hit his miracle 3-pointer, the Cavs fell to the Orlando Magic 99-89 in Game 3. The Magic now lead the series 2-1, with Game 4 on Tuesday in Orlando.

So What?

2009-05-23T00:29:00.000-07:00

So I guess making one game-winning shot in the playoffs all of the sudden makes you the greatest player ever right? Well, that's the way people are making it seem from LeBron James' buzzer-beater in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Finally, "King James" comes through himself when the game is on the line. LeBron hit a miracle 3-pointer that gave the Cleveland Cavaliers a 96-95 win over the Orlando Magic. There were over 25 status updates from friends I have on facebook that related to LeBron's shot. Statuses ranged from "LeBron James is not human" to "LeBron James will be the greatest player of all-time." I'm sorry, but does ONE game-winning shot all of the sudden make you the greatest player ever? What if LeBron had missed that shot? Would people be saying that Hedo Turkoglu is the greatest player ever? For crying out loud, Turkoglu's shot that put the Magic ahead with one second left in the game wasn't exactly a gimme shot, and I don't hear anyone giving him credit. Settle down people, it's one shot. I only wish that LeBron would have missed that shot, I can only imagine the number of excuses people would have given as to why he was unsuccessful. I'm sure he would have been "fouled" or gotten pushed or something like that, after all LeBron can no wrong, so if he had missed a potential game-winning shot, it wouldn't have been his fault.

The fact is, LeBron's shot didn't just win Cleveland the game, it saved their season. Cleveland was 39-2 at home in the regular season, yet they were one second away from losing the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals in front of their fans. Had it not been for LeBron's miracle, Orlando would have swept the series, guaranteed. Cleveland had a 23 point lead in the game and blew all of it. Once again, were it not for LeBron, this series would be over. Assuming there are no more miracle game-winning shots from LeBron the remainder of the series, I'm expecting Orlando to easily win the series and advance to the NBA Finals. I hope people can finally start to realize that Cleveland is not as good as people think. I have said that this entire year, and even if Cleveland gets to the NBA Finals, they will not win the championship. Cleveland's record against the Lakers, Celtics, and Magic in the regular season was a combined 2-6. Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals is tomorrow at 5:00 in Orlando. Oh I forgot to mention the last time Cleveland played Orlando in Orlando, they lost by 29 points. Best of luck Cleveland!

It really is ridiculous that the media and NBA fans portray everything LeBron James does to be the best thing ever. It's a shame because all of this sucking up to LeBron makes me dislike him, even though I don't want to. I mean my goodness this guy hasn't won a championship and people are already calling him the greatest player that will ever play the game. I try really hard not to mention Kobe Bryant when I talk about LeBron James, but I usually end up having to so I can prove a point. Let's see, when Kobe Bryant was LeBron's age, he had THREE NBA Championships. Whether Kobe winning three titles was because Shaquille O'Neal was on the team is not important, Kobe has the titles, end of story. It is sickening to see the treatment LeBron gets by everyone, it really is. Did you see the expression on LeBron's face after he hit the game-winning shot? He looked like he had never hit a game-winning shot in his life. I'll give the guy credit, the shot he made was incredible, but that is the first time LeBron has won a game that mattered in his career with a buzzer-beater. Enough of my ranting, after all people reading this probably can't believe there is someone who doesn't like LeBron James. It's not that I don't like him, it's just the constant sucking up that bothers me. As a Laker fan, I really hope the Lakers and the Cavaliers can win their respective series so the LeBron-Kobe matchup will take place, and we can see Kobe Doin' Work.

Just Another Night For Kobe

2009-05-20T00:35:00.001-07:00

Well Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals was just another great performance by Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba once again showed just how great he is, as he scored 40 points including 18 in the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers to a 105-103 victory over the Denver Thuggets, I mean Nuggets. The Lakers really had no business winning this game. Denver dominated them on offense, and led for a great part of the game. Carmelo Anthony played the best game of his playoff career, as he scored 39 points on an astounding 14-of-20 shooting from the field. But costly turnovers down the stretch, and missed free throws are what cost Denver this game. It's early in the series, but I think it's fair to say this is going to be one hell of a matchup.

The story of the night of course was Kobe. I mean what more can you really say about the guy other than the fact that he's just amazing? Kobe took over the game in the 4th quarter much like he usually does when the Lakers need him. He put his stamp on the game by scoring 15 points in the final seven minutes of the game, and making clutch free throws that sealed the Lakers victory. Kobe even played with a dislocated finger, yet he fought through the pain and made sure the Lakers did not drop the opening game of the series. Here's a stat for you: Last night was the 17th time Kobe scored 10 or more points in the fourth quarter of a Lakers playoff win in which they were trailing during the final period. Amazing. The Lakers are going to need Kobe to play the way he did last night for the entire series. Only two other Lakers scored in double figures, and while the rest of the Lakers couldn't figure out Denver, Kobe quickly put his stamp on the series. Another stat, and one Laker fans will love to see: Phil Jackson is 42-0 all-time in the playoffs when his team wins Game 1 of a series.

It's games like the one last night that should remind everyone that Kobe Bryant is still the best player in the NBA. Don't get me wrong, I think LeBron James is phenomenal, but Kobe has the best killer instinct of any player really since Michael Jordan. When Kobe is on the floor, you know the Lakers will always have a chance to win. His desire to win and his will to take a game over at any time is truly amazing. The rest of the Laker team was mediocre last night, and Kobe realized that. He knew he had to take over and he did with ease. I have watched Kobe ever since he came into the NBA in 1996, and I am continually amazed at some of the performances he gives on a consistent basis. Again, I think LeBron is great, and in a couple of years he will without question be the best player in the league, but let's not forget what Kobe has already done, and what he is still capable of doing. Maybe when LeBron wins a championship or two, then we can put him amongst the game's greatest.

Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals is Thursday at 6:00 in Los Angeles.

LA's JV team a.k.a the Los Angeles Clippers won the NBA Lottery and now get the #1 pick in the NBA Draft! I'm eager to see how the Clippers screw up this time. The last time the Clippers had the #1 pick, they drafted Michael Olowokandi, and that didn't turn out so great. Yep that's the Clippers for you, drafting a guy who isn't in the NBA anymore, and passing up on guys like Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, and Dirk Nowitzki, just to name a few. If the Clippers aren't absolute retards (which they are but that's besides the point) then they will draft Blake Griffin out of Oklahoma with the #1 pick. As incompetent as the Clipper management is, I don't see them being that dumb to pass up on Griffin. But then again it is the Clippers, so anything is possible. I feel bad for Griffin, he was by far and away the best player in college basketball this past season, and his reward for that is going to the worst franchise in NBA history. Oh well, he'll be getting paid millions of dollars, and I hate to say this, but he'll probably end up like every other Clipper star usually is....injured. Although I love seeing the Clippers fail miserably, I hope Griffin can help turn that franchise around, and by that I mean maybe help the Clippers win more than 20 games next year.

The Dodgers are continuing their stellar play much to my delight. The Blue Crew's 28-13 record is the best in Major League Baseball, and they have won two in a row over the New York Mets, who are considered to be one of the best teams in the National League. I'm pretty certain I will be attending my first game this season at Dodger Stadium this weekend when the Angels come to Chavez Ravine.

Today's forecast in Agoura Hills: Sunny with a high of 83.

Western Conference Finals

2009-05-19T15:56:00.000-07:00

We are less than two hours away from the start of the NBA Western Conference Finals. The Eastern Conference Finals begin tomorrow night, as the Cleveland Cavaliers will face the Orlando Magic. Tonight it is Game 1 between the top two teams in the West, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers won three out of the four meetings in the regular season, including two out of three since Chauncey Billups became a part of Denver.

Denver steamrolled through New Orleans and Dallas in the first two rounds of the playoffs, as they won both series in five games. The Lakers in my opinion have had an easier road to get to the Conference Finals, having faced the Utah Jazz and the depleted Houston Rockets. The problem is the Lakers inconsistent play has many critics wondering if they can get by the Nuggets, who have played extremely well on both sides of the ball so far this postseason. The Lakers have shown that when necessary, they can dominate a game as they did in Games 2, 5, and 7 of their series with Houston.

Believe it or not, I think Denver is a better matchup for the Lakers than Houston was, even though they played four games without Yao Ming. First of all, Denver is going to put Dahntay Jones on Kobe Bryant. Yeah I haven't heard of Dahntay Jones either, and he is nothing in comparison to Shane Battier. I expect Kobe to attack Jones right away since Jones is prone to foul trouble. Kobe torched Denver in the regular season, averaging 31 points on 47 percent shooting. The Nuggets big men may be bigger in size, but they are not as physical as guys like Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes, and Carl Landry were. Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin is tough, but Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum both have the height advantage over Martin and will likely exploit it. The one advantage I see Denver having is at the small forward position with Carmelo Anthony. The Lakers will likely put Trevor Ariza on Anthony to try and slow him down, however if it comes down to critical fourth quarter possessions, look for the Lakers to put Kobe on Carmelo. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum need to dominate. When both play very well, the Lakers are almost unbeatable.

The key to the series for me is the bench play. Denver's bench has been a huge reason why they have been so successful this year, while the Lakers bench is arguably the deepest in the league. Denver will send J.R. Smith, Chris "The Birdman" Andersen, and Linus Kleiza on the floor, all of whom are capable of being difference makers in the game. The Birdman has become Denver's source of energy and defense off the bench, while Smith is averaging over 16 points in the playoffs. The Lakers have guys like Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown, and Luke Walton that can come in and give quality minutes so Kobe and Pau can rest. The Laker bench will need to play well and keep the pressure on Denver.

While Denver could playing the best basketball right now, I still don't think they are the better team. Denver is finally playing a team that is evenly matched to them, plus they do not have home-court advantage. The Nuggets have not won a playoff game at Staples Center under George Karl, and that is something they will have to do if they want to advance to the NBA Finals. With all the criticism and doubts being thrown at the Lakers, they will be fired up and ready to play. I think Houston prepared the Lakers very well for this series, and let's not forget the Lakers have not worked hard to get to this point just so they can lose. Kobe Bryant is the best closer in the game, and when the Lakers play to their full potential, I really don't think there is any team in the NBA that can stop them. Denver is great, but the Lakers are still the class of the West and still the team to beat.

Pick- Lakers in six

And Then There Were Four

2009-05-17T23:36:00.000-07:00

Well I, along with the rest of the city of Los Angeles can breathe a sigh of relief now that the Lakers avoided one of the biggest upsets in NBA Playoff history. The Lake Show defeated the pesky Houston Rockets 89-70, and won the best of seven series 4-3. The Lakers are now in the Western Conference Finals for the second year in a row, and will play the Denver Nuggets for the rights to advance to the NBA Finals.

The Lakers got off to the start they hoped for in Game 7, as they led 22-12 early in the first quarter and never looked back. Pau Gasol dominated on both ends of the court, as he led LA with 21 points and 18 rebounds. Andrew Bynum was very impressive as well, scoring 14 points, grabbing six rebounds, and making his defensive presence felt. Kobe Bryant didn't even play that well, yet the Lakers still dominated and silenced doubters. I can only wish the Lakers play the way they did today in every game in the Western Conference Finals and avoid the unnecessary drama of a Game 7.

Houston deserves a lot of credit for their valiant efforts in this series. They have a great future with guys like Aaron Brooks, Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes, and Shane Battier. Maybe they can hope Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady get hurt again, because they seem to play better when both of those players aren't on the court.

The Nuggets-Lakers series should be very entertaining. I think the Nuggets are a better matchup for the Lakers then the Rockets were, and if the Lakers play the way they did today throughout the entire series, I think the Lakers will win easily.

The Boston Celtics are finished!!! The Celtics lost Game 7 of their series to the Orlando Magic. Not only are the Celtics eliminated from the playoffs, but they are probably done winning championships for quite some time. The big three of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce will be one year older next year, and LeBron James and Dwight Howard are emerging as the top two players on the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. For me, there really is nothing better than seeing Boston sports teams fail. I hate the Celtics, the Red Sox, and the Patriots, so any misery they and their fans suffer is my joy and pleasure.

Getting back to the Eastern Conference, Dwight Howard and LeBron James will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals as the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers will face off. I can see this series going to either team, but Cleveland is playing so well that it's hard for me to pick against them. Besides, the NBA wants a LeBron vs Kobe finals matchup, so they will probably do everything in their power to make sure it happens.

Manny who? The Dodgers are doing just fine without their star slugger, as the Blue Crew have won four out of their last six games, and have won two series on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies and the Florida Marlins. The Dodgers have a 26-13 record, which is currently the best in the MLB.

Tomorrow night is a big night in television. We have the two hour season finale of 24, plus WWE Monday Night Raw. Judgement Day was decent, but not great. Luckily for me I got to watch it for free online instead of dropping 60 dollars on Pay-Per-View. The season finale of Survivor was excellent, and to no surprise J.T., the hick from Alabama ended up winning.

Tomorrow's forecast in Agoura Hills: Sunny with a high of 90.

Rockets Blast Off on Lakers

2009-05-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

Well it's only fitting that the Lakers-Rockets series is going to seven games. After all, who wouldn't expect this since the Rockets are playing without Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady? Oh wait, you mean the Lakers have gotten blown out in the two games in Houston since Yao's injury? The only word that can describe the Lakers performance tonight is pathetic. I'm pretty sure the Clippers could have given a better effort than the Lakers did tonight. I was disgusted watching this team play, and really for the first time was ashamed of the team and the coaching staff. I guess the past two games in Houston have given me an inside look on what it's like to be a Clipper fan. They're used to mediocre performances from their team, and it sure looked like the Lakers were trying to give them some competition tonight.

Tonight's game was a virtual repeat of Game 4. The Rockets dominated from the start, and led by as many as 18. The Lakers were resilient though, as they cut the lead down to two at one point in the 3rd quarter. The Lakers were never able to get over the hump and now must find a way to regroup for Game 7. What bothers me the most is that it's not even the Rockets superstars that are beating the Lakers, it's guys like LUIS SCOLA and CARL LANDRY. Give me a freaking break Lakers! I mean at least let Ron Artest beat you. The way the Lakers played in Game 5 is exactly how they should have been playing all series. Tonight they looked flat, they were horrible on defense, and they could not make shots to save their lives.

I love Derek Fisher, but it's about time Phil Jackson starts Jordan Farmar. Fisher has played like absolute garbage this series. Tonight he shot 1-7 from the field and went a stellar 0-5 from 3-point land. Kobe Bryant had 32 points for the Lakers, who lost for the third time in the past 18 games when they have had a chance to close out a series.

The Lakers focus now shifts to Game 7, which is in Los Angeles on Sunday. Despite how poorly the Lakers played tonight, I can't say I'm terribly worried that they will lose the series. Sure anything can happen in a Game 7, but if there are two people I want on my team for a Game 7, it's Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson. Kobe has averaged more than 35 points in games after the Lakers have lost. Kobe simply will not let this team lose in the second round, especially to a Rockets team that the Lakers have dominated at times in this series. In Game 5, the Lakers won by 40 points. Staples Center will be rocking, and the Lakers will advance to the Western Conference Finals to face Denver, guaranteed. If they lose, so help me God.

What A Year It Has Been

2009-05-13T01:30:00.000-07:00

On my final night of my freshman year at ASU, I was able to enjoy a nice Laker blowout. The Lake Show is one win away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals after they destroyed Houston 118-78 in Game 5 of the best of seven series. This finally looked like the Laker team I have seen all year. They were aggressive on defense, they looked great on offense, and they were energetic. The Lakers more than made up for their pitiful performance on Sunday, when they lost 99-87. Andrew Bynum started at center and played well, scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds. The duo of Pau Gasol and Bynum were unstoppable, and I expect to see the Lakers close out the series in Game 6, which is Thursday night in Houston at 6:30

My freshman year at Arizona State is all but over. I have to write one final story for my news writing class, and then I will be done. How fast the time has gone. It seems like yesterday that I was moving in and meeting a new group of people, and now I am moving out with a year full of unforgettable memories.

It's only been one year, but I already know that coming to Arizona State is one of the best decisions I have made in my life. Over the past year I have gotten to know so many fun, loving, and interesting people. I have met people that are just as crazy about sports as I am. The guys I am living with next year are a few of the closest friends I have ever had in my life. Coming into my freshman year, I didn't know what to expect. Never in a million years did I think I would have as much fun as I did this past year. Everyone I have gotten to know in Cronkite Village has had an impact on me in one way or another, and for that I am very grateful.

Not only has the social life been great, but the extra-cirricular life has been spectacular. It took me all of three weeks before I made my debut on the Blaze 1260 AM. The times I have had at the Blaze have been great. From doing Bottom of the Sixth, to calling three ASU Basketball games this year, I have had a fantastic experience in student radio. The experiences with the Blaze have only cemented the fact that I know Sports Radio is the career I want to pursue. I would be ignorant if I didn't give my praise to the one who has made this all possible for me: God. He has blessed me with the opportunity to be at ASU, and to be involved with the Blaze. Without him, I would be nothing. I also have to give my deepest thanks to my parents, who have supported me and sacrificed so much for me to be here. They have been my biggest supporters, always encouraging me and listening to me every time I was on-the-air. Without their love and support, I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am now.

The time has come, so for now, I say farewell to ASU. I leave the desert later today, and will be back in mid-August. I hope the next three months of summer go by as quickly as this past school year did. This year has been a blast, and I can only hope next year is even better.

Mother's Day Massacre

2009-05-10T16:36:00.000-07:00

The Lakers blew a golden opportunity to put away the Houston Rockets, as they were beat 99-87 in Game 4 of their best of seven series today. Not only did the Rockets beat the Lakers without Yao Ming, they made it look easy. Point guard Aaron Brooks led the way with 34 points, and Shane Battier added 23 for the Rockets, who are now 4-0 all time against the Lakers when playing without Yao.

Houston started the game on a 22-7 run, and from there it was obvious the Lakers were both lethargic and taking the Rockets lightly. They played horrible defense and gave away turnovers, which led to easy points for Houston. The halftime score was 54-36, and at that point I figured the Lakers would make halftime adjustments and come out strong in the third quarter, but I was wrong. Houston outscored the Lakers 29-18 in the third quarter. Oh I forgot to mention Aaron Brooks alone scored 17 points in the quarter. Yes you read that clearly, AARON BROOKS had 1 point less than the entire Laker team in the third quarter. To make matters worse, Laker forward Lamar Odom left the game with back spasms in the middle of the third quarter. Then there is Kobe Bryant, who finished with 15 points on 7-of-17 shooting. In the first three games, Bryant averaged 35 points and took more than 25 shots in each game.

It's as if the Lakers were surprised to see the Rockets play with heart after they lost Yao Ming for the year. The Rockets are down two centers, so why Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum didn't get the ball down low every possession is a mystery. When the game was over in the fourth quarter, the Lakers finally went to Pau over and over, and what do you know, they won the quarter by 17 points. With Yao out, a faster pace favors Houston. The Lakers cannot get caught playing Houston's style of play. They need to slow it down, and hold Houston to perimeter shots, but CHALLENGE them.

The Lakers blew a golden chance to put Houston away. If they had won, they would have taken a 3-1 series lead going back to Los Angeles, and they would have sucked away any momentum from Houston. Now the Rockets believe they can win, and frankly the Lakers should be worried. They are not playing anywhere near the level they can, and considering that Cleveland and Denver are playing out their minds right now, I don't even know if you can guarantee the Lakers can win the Western Conference. I love Phil Jackson, but part of the blame of this pathetic performance today has to fall on his shoulders. The Lakers need to make adjustments, and they need to wake up and realize this Rockets team is for real and out for blood. The positive thing is that the Lakers split the two games in Houston, and now have home court advantage again. All they need to do is win on their home court and they will advance to the Western Conference Finals. Game 5 is Tuesday night at 7:30 in Los Angeles.

It's Just Manny Being Manny...

2009-05-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

A day after the Dodgers set MLB history, they were hit with a....BAM! And no, I'm not referring to the sound of the bat after a Manny Ramirez home run, I'm referring to the hammer that Major League Baseball brought down on the Dodgers slugger today. Manny has been suspended for 50 games effective immediately for violating the MLB's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Now let's make one thing clear: Manny DID NOT test positive for steroids, rather he tested positive for a substance that is on the league's banned list. According to Yahoo Sports, the substance Manny tested positive for is called HCG, which is a female fertility drug (Atta boy Manny!). Manny claims he didn't know the drug was illegal, but the fact is he will now be put in the same category as Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and Roger Clemens as far as people that have been implicated in the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The difference is that unlike Bonds or A-Rod, Manny has been suspended by this drug policy. Say all you want about Barry Bonds, the fact is he has never been suspended. Say all you want about A-Rod, the fact is he has never been suspended. The thing I am most disappointed in is that Manny should have known better than to put something in his body if he had ANY doubt that it could have been illegal. Instead of going to some random doctor in Florida, he should have consulted a team physician and gotten a medicine that is approved by Major League Baseball. Because of his choice, Manny will lose about $8 million of his $25 million salary.

This is a devastating blow not only to the Dodgers, but to all the fans that treated Manny like a God. Never would I have thought that any other athlete in Los Angeles would be on an equal popularity level as Kobe Bryant, but Manny is. He is the reason why so many people pay good money to go to games, I mean for crying out loud there are a couple of sections at Dodger Stadium referred to as "Mannywood". I expect Dodger fans to support Manny through all of this, but even I being the loyal Dodger fan I am will have a hard time looking at Manny the same way I did before. Never did I think Manny would ever be caught using a banned-substance. At this time, I really have to wonder if there is anyone in the game that isn't taking some sort of performance-enhancing drug. It's because of instances like these that so many people look at baseball as a joke.

Manny was batting .348 with six home runs and 20 RBI's. The Dodgers still have the best record in baseball at 21-8, and lead the National League West by 6 1/2 games. Manny's absence will have a huge impact on the play of guys like Orlando Hudson, Andre Eithier, and Matt Kemp. Not only is Manny a leader on the field, but he is a leader off the field as well. He is the calming presence in the Dodger clubhouse, and he taught players to have fun while playing the game. There is still a lot of information to be revealed, but for the time being, Manny has ruined his reputation. He will now be treated like an A-Rod or a Barry Bonds in opposing ballparks (Not that he wasn't already). It's sad that six out of the top 12 leaders in home runs could potentially miss the Hall of Fame due to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

I'm still in shock, I never thought Manny would ever cheat, but I guess at this point, it's not surprising. It is only a matter of time before the next superstar is caught, which is very sad. The thing is Manny came clean and admitted his use, and for that I can forgive him. I am still happy he is a Dodger, God knows the Dodgers would not be anywhere close to where they are now if it wasn't for him. I know that the LA fans will welcome him back with open arms on July 3rd, when he is eligible to rejoin the team. The fact is the Dodgers can win without Manny, and now is the time where manager Joe Torre makes his veteran leadership felt in the clubhouse. Torre has had experience dealing with the media when he was in New York, and he will have to do the same now in LA. If the Dodgers can go .500 in the time Manny is gone, they will be fine and will probably still win the division. But until July 3rd, the Dodgers will be without their best player, and a city will be without its hero.

Tempers Flare, but Lakers Prevail

2009-05-07T00:43:00.000-07:00

Fasten your seatbelts ladies and gentleman, we've got ourselves a series. The Los Angeles Lakers evened things out in Game 2 of the best of seven series, as they defeated the Houston Rockets 111-98 behind Kobe Bryant's 40 points. Pau Gasol added 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who have now won 14 of their last 16 playoff games at home. Lamar Odom got the start over Andrew Bynum and played 34 minutes. Jordan Farmar came off the bench and logged in more minutes in Game 2 than he had in the entire postseason, as he was a big part of why the Lakers outscored Houston 20-5 in fast break points.

After seeing Kobe Bryant shoot poorly in Game 1, I expected him to come out right away and put his imprint in this game. He did that immediately in the first quarter, as he went 7-of-11 from the field and scored 15 points, while Pau shot a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and finished the quarter with 13 points. I have said time and time again that if I was a head coach, and I had to pick one player to have in a must win game, there is no question it would be Kobe. Knowing the magnitude and potential championship implications this game had, Kobe came out on fire and willed his team to victory. Like he did in Game 4 of the Utah series, Kobe put the Laker team on his back and put on a "Jordanesque" performance

This game was boiled with emotions. There were two ejections, five technical fouls, and one flagrant foul called. Derek Fisher was ejected at the end of the third quarter after getting a flagrant-two foul for throwing an elbow at the head of Luis Scola. Fisher's hit was great for football, but his foul will most certainly result in a suspension of Game 3. Ron Artest was ejected for receiving two technical fouls after getting an elbow to the throat from Kobe. I knew this would be a physical series, but there appears to be bad blood between the two teams. The NBA is reviewing Fish's foul, and I'd be shocked if he wasn't suspended for Game 3.

It was a great win for the Lakers, but the next two games in Houston will determine the Lake Show's fate in the series. LA has to win at least one of the games to keep their hopes of advancing alive. If they lost both games in Houston, they will lose the series. Game 3 is tomorrow night at 6:30 in Houston.

Houston, We Have A Problem

2009-05-04T23:29:00.000-07:00

Well that wasn't exactly the result I was hoping to see. The Houston Rockets shocked the world after they beat the Los Angeles Lakers 100-92 in Game 1 of their best of seven series. Yao Ming had 28 points and 10 rebounds, and Ron Artest added 21 points for the Rockets, who are playing in the second round for the first time since 1997. Kobe Bryant scored 32 points and did his best to keep the Lakers in the game despite playing with a sore throat. Bryant scored 22 of the final 42 points for the Lakers, who lost at home in the playoffs for only the second time in the past 15 games.

I can't find the proper word to describe my feelings on this game. Upset? Frustrated? Worried? Annoyed? Well all of those words can apply after watching the Lakers pathetic performance. Give a lot of credit to Houston. They were better on offense, they were more physical, and they were out to prove that they will not be intimidated by the Lakers. Every time the Lakers made a run, the Rockets would respond with a run of their own, as they were in control of the game the entire time. While I'll give credit to Houston, I can't help but to note on how poorly the Lakers played. Two stats that stick out are that the Lakers went 2-of-18 from three point land, and they went 12-of-19 from the free throw line. Pau Gasol was pathetic and so was Lamar Odom. Gasol finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds, however he got a few baskets in garbage time. Odom had nine points and five rebounds, and went 1-of-6 from the free throw line. While Kobe had 32 points, it took him 31 shots to get there. It's clear the Lakers do not do well when Kobe shoots a lot, as they are 2-7 in the last nine playoff games Kobe has taken more than 30 shots.

I love Phil Jackson, I usually don't criticize or judge any coaching moves he makes, but I was not pleased with the fact that Andrew Bynum barely played. In 15 minutes of play, Bynum had 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting. I really don't understand why Bynum was sitting on the bench for most of the second half, he played solid defense on Yao Ming while he was in, and he was actually able to make his shots unlike Gasol. It makes no sense to me, but I don't have nine championship rings so I'll leave it to Phil to make the coaching moves.

The good thing is that it's a seven game series, and there is still plenty of basketball to be played. The Lakers lost home-court advantage, but if there is any team that I can trust to win a game on the road, it's the Lakers. It was a week since the Lakers last played, and they sure showed signs of rust. I expect the Lakers to rebound and win Game 2, but at the same time, I expect Houston to come out with a fire as their confidence is sky high right now. Game 2, which is Wednesday night at 7:30 in Los Angeles is now a must win for the Lakers.

So how about them Dodgers? The Blue Crew won again tonight, as they improved their major league leading record to 19-8, and 11-0 at home, which is the best start at home in National League history. Manny Ramirez and Andre Eithier hit back-to-back home runs for the Dodgers, who have now won five in a row. The Dodgers are one win away from tying the best home start in major league history. Hopefully they can keep up their stellar play, but as I said before, I care way more about the Lakers right now and really can't fully enjoy the Dodgers success just yet.

WWE Monday Night Raw was less than stellar tonight, but it was still entertaining enough to help me forget about the Lakers loss. Randy Orton and The Legacy injured Shane McMahon, as they "shattered" his ankle with a steel chair. Shane O'Mac will probably be out of action for quite some time with his "injury". Judgement Day is two weeks away, but I doubt it will be a good Pay-Per-View as the matches scheduled so far really aren't anything to get excited about.

Tomorrow is my last regular day of class, and then I start finals on Thursday. I am done with school a week from tomorrow. Today's forecast in Phoenix: Sunny with a high of 100.

Second Round Preview

2009-05-03T16:56:00.001-07:00

The second round of the NBA playoffs began today, as the Denver Nuggets defeated the Dallas Mavericks 109-95. I'll give a Lakers-Rockets preview, but instead of giving previews for the other matchups, I'm just going to give my predictions.

#1 Los Angeles Lakers vs #5 Houston Rockets

The Lakers are the deeper, longer and more talented team in this matchup. Coming off a 4-1 series win against the Utah Jazz, the Lakers had a few days to rest before finding out they would be playing Houston. The Rockets are in the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1997 after defeating the Portland Trail Blazers in six games.

The Lakers beat the Rockets all four times in the regular season, and the average margin of victory was 13 points. The Lakers have the advantage at almost every position, with the exceptions being at the center and the small forward. Rockets point guard Aaron Brooks played great in the Portland series, but in his two starts against the Lakers in the regular season, he was very ineffective as he averaged eight points while shooting 5-of-14 from the field. No one will get an advantage over Kobe Bryant, who really seems to enjoy playing against Shane Battier and Ron Artest. Kobe was very effective against Houston in the regular season, and I don't see anything that Artest or Battier can do other than fire him up. The one distinct advantage Houston has is their big man in the middle. Yao Ming is the best offensive center in the NBA, and has improved his defensive play tremendously. Yao will surely be tested on defense in this series with the Laker duo of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. With Bynum expected to be inserted back in the starting lineup, Lamar Odom will now be coming off the Laker bench that played very well against Utah.

While Houston looked good against Portland, I just don't see any way that they give the Lakers a legitimate scare. The Rockets do not have the individual talent to threaten the Lakers, and they are very susceptible to being shut down for long periods of time. At this point the only thing that can stop the Lakers is themselves. Expect the Lakers to play with more intensity, as they have been criticized for seemingly playing careless basketball against Utah. With Kobe leading the way, the Lakers should roll through this series onto the Western Conference Finals. Game 1 is tomorrow night at 7:30 in Los Angeles

Pick- Lakers in five

#2 Denver Nuggets vs #6 Dallas Mavericks

Pick- Nuggets in six

In the Eastern Conference

#1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs #4 Atlanta Hawks

Pick- Cavs in seven

#2 Boston Celtics vs #3 Orlando Magic

Pick- Magic in six

First round prediction results: 6-2

Here Come The Rockets

2009-04-30T21:37:00.000-07:00

The way the Houston Rockets and their fans were celebrating tonight, you would have thought they had just won the NBA Championship. The Toyota Center was in a state of pandemonium after the Rockets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 92-76. Confetti was flying, and players were on top of the media tables pumping up the raucous capacity crowd, which then began the chants of "Beat LA". With the win, the Rockets won the best of seven series 4-2 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1997. Rocket fans will get what they wish, which is the honor of facing the top-seeded Lakers starting Monday night in Los Angeles.

If the regular season was any indication of how this series will play out, then expect the series to be short. The Lakers won all four games, and their average margin of victory was 13 points. In addition, the Lakers forced an average of 19 turnovers in the four games. I'll have a preview of all the second round matchups once they are official, but my prediction right off the bat is that the Lakers will win this series in five or six games.

I can't help but to laugh at the fact that the one year Tracy McGrady is not playing in the playoffs, his team advances to the second round. For those of you who may not know, T-Mac has never gotten out of the first round of the playoffs in the seven times he has been in the postseason. T-Mac had season-ending surgery on his knee in February which was an injury that the Rockets are probably thankful for now. I do feel bad for the guy, I mean he's been criticized his whole career for never getting out of the first round, and then the ONE year he can't play, his team advances.

Ron Artest is officially the biggest idiot in the NBA. He has said several times now that Brandon Roy of the Portland Trail Blazers is the best player he has ever faced. What's wrong with that statement? Hmmm, well maybe the fact that Artest has faced LeBron James, Paul Pierce, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade, all of whom are players that I would guess are just a bit better than Roy. I know Kobe Bryant will not use Artest's statement as motivation to put on a clinic, but I can only hope that Kobe makes Artest look like the retard he is for making such a stupid statement.

The Boston Celtics-Chicago Bulls series is the best non-finals series I have ever seen. The Bulls won in triple overtime tonight, forcing a Game 7 which will be in Boston Saturday night. Four out of the six games in the series have gone to overtime. I hope the Bulls can pull off the upset, but I have a feeling Boston will win, and it won't be close.

Monday and Tuesday are my last days of classes, and then I start finals. Tomorrow's forecast in Phoenix: Sunny with a high of 95. And now I'm off to the midnight showing of X-Men.

1 Series Down, 12 More Wins To Go

2009-04-28T00:06:00.000-07:00

To nobody's surprise, the Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the second round of the NBA Playoffs after they defeated the Utah Jazz 107-96 in Game 5 last night in Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant scored 31 points, and Lamar Odom added 26 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers, who will now have several days off before facing the winner of the Houston-Portland series.

There was never any doubt in my mind that the Lakers were going to win this series, although I can say the way the Lakers played in this series was not close to championship caliber basketball. Yeah the Lakers scored more than 100 points in each game, yeah they shot 50% from the field in the series, but this team did not play to their full potential. Utah outrebounded the Lakers by more than six per game, and the Laker bench was incapable of holding a lead throughout most of the series. In Game 5, the Lakers were up by 22 points in the fourth quarter, yet the starters had to come back on the floor once the lead shrank to six. Let's not forget Andrew Bynum was a virtual non-factor in this series. Bynum averaged a whopping five points in the series, and managed to lose his starting job to Lamar Odom in the process. The matchups were probably a reason why Bynum did not start, but come on, Bynum is supposed to be the man that makes the Lakers unbeatable in the playoffs, he should be able to put up more than five points a game. The fact is he will definitely get more playing time whether the Lakers play Portland or Houston in the next round as Pau Gasol is too soft to guard either Yao Ming or Joel Pryzbilla/Greg Oden.

I was very impressed with Lamar Odom in this series. He definitely made the most of his time in the starting lineup, as he averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds in the series. This just did not seem like a playoff series for me, I don't know maybe it had something to do with Laker fans treating it like regular season games. I can't say I really blame them, I mean at this point does anyone really think the Lakers won't make the NBA Finals? That's the time when the fans will start being loud and standing up during the game (Or maybe not since most of the fans will probably be celebrities).

Nonetheless the Lakers are moving on, four wins down, 12 to go until the championship. The Lakers will have to wait to see whether they will be playing the Houston Rockets, who the Lakers beat all three times in the regular season, or if they will be playing the Portland Trail Blazers, who the Lakers split a four-game series with in the regular season. All signs point to the Lakers facing the Rockets, as Houston has a 3-1 series lead against Portland. Only eight teams in NBA history have come back from a 3-1 series deficit to win. I can't say I really have a preference, the Lakers will win regardless of who they play, but if I had to pick I'd say I hope they play the Rockets since I hate Ron Artest and would love to see Kobe Bryant make him look like a fool much like he did in the regular season.

The Dodgers lost to the San Francisco Giants 5-4 last night. In attendance was Barry "The Roidhead" Bonds. The man is treated like a God in San Fran. I can only wish that some day Giant fans will take their ignorant heads out of their butts and realize Bonds is the biggest cheater to have ever played baseball. If they honestly believe Bonds has never taken steroids in his life, then they have to be about as dumb and helpless as someone who decides to root for the Los Angeles Clippers.

I was not able to watch 24 last night. There was too much on TV, and I have to admit that I turned from the Laker game at 9:00 so I could watch WWE Monday Night Raw (The Lakers were up by 22 at the time, cut me some slack). I have to keep up with the WWE as it's possible I may be doing a wrestling show on the ASU student radio station next year. I'm still upset I won't be able to go to Summer Slam, which is at Staples Center this August. I'll be starting my sophomore year the day after, so I guess that's a legitimate reason not to go.

Today was the beginning of what should be a very stressful final two weeks of school. I finished the rough draft of my paper on the use of steroids in professional sports (Hey I knew that Barry Bonds cheating would help me sometime!) Finals start a week from today. Tomorrow's forecast in Phoenix: Sunny with a high of 89.

The Return of the King

2009-04-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

Last night Kobe Bryant proved why he is the best player in the NBA. After going 5-24 from the field in the Lakers' Game 3 loss, the reigning MVP went 16-24 and scored 38 points and led the Lakers to a Game 4 victory in Salt Lake City. Kobe finally put his stamp in the series, and pretty much ended Utah's season at the same time. The Lakers now lead the best of seven series 3-1 and will most likely finish off the Jazz tomorrow night in Los Angeles. Last night was just another one of the numerous amazing performances from Kobe. Coming off his second worst shooting performance in playoff history, Bryant came out on fire in Game 4. He scored 13 of LA's first 15 points and went 6 0f 8 shooting in the first quarter. Kobe was the reason why the Lakers were even competitive in the first quarter, as the rest of the team shot 2 of 10 from the field while trailing Utah 25-20 at the end of the quarter. The Lakers took control of the game in the second quarter, during which Kobe scored 11 points. Kobe picked up right where he left off in the third quarter, as he shot 4 of 5 from the field and finished with 10 points. Bryant was able to set up open teammates due to the double-teams he was receiving from the Jazz, which resulted in a number of three pointers for the Lakers. At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers led by 19 and the game was well in hand. I have never seen any athlete with the will, passion, and fire as much as Kobe has. He sent a message last night that he will do whatever it takes to win a championship as he willed his team to victory in a game that the Lakers needed to win. Kobe wanted no part of a tie series headed back to Los Angeles, and he did everything in his power to make sure it did not happen. When Kobe takes over and when he plays with the fire that he did last night, there is no one in the NBA that can stop him, just ask Utah. Game 5 of the series is tomorrow night at 7:30 in Los Angeles.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are the first team into the second round of the playoffs, as they completed the 4-game sweep of the Detroit Pistons. The Chicago Bulls evened out their series with the Boston Celtics in a double-overtime thriller today in Chicago.

The Dodgers took 2 of 3 games from the Colorado Rockies this weekend. The Blue Crew have a record of 13-6, which is tied for the best record in the National League. I watched The Wrestler this weekend for the second time, and I still think Mickey Rourke should have received the Oscar for Best Actor. Speaking of wrestling, the WWE Backlash Pay-Per-View is tonight. Only two and a half more weeks until I am done with my freshman year of college

Really?

2009-04-24T00:13:00.000-07:00

Well I can't say I'm really surprised by the outcome of Game 3 between the Lakers and the Jazz, in fact I predicted Utah to win this game. I think irritated is probably the best word to describe my mood at the moment. The Lakers had a golden opportunity to put away the Jazz, and they blew it. Consequently, the best of seven series is now 2-1 in favor of the Lakers, after an inspired Carlos Boozer led the Jazz to a 88-86 victory in Salt Lake City. Boozer scored 23 points and grabbed 22 rebounds for the Jazz. Deron Williams struggled from the field all night long, so it was only fitting that he hit the game winning jump shot for Utah with 2.2 seconds left. The Lakers once again blew a big lead, as this time they were outscored 28-18 in the 4th quarter. The Lakers were up 64-51 with 4:31 left in the 3rd quarter before they were outscored 22-8 over the next 8 minutes of the game. A few stats stick out to me and probably will to anyone who will read the box score: First the Jazz outrebounded the Lakers 55-40. The Lakers shot 37% from the field, after shooting 58% in the first two games in the series and Kobe Bryant went 5-24 from the field. The Lakers shot a whopping 16-26 from the free throw line. I don't even know how many Pau Gasol missed in the 4th quarter alone. Oh yeah and Andrew Bynum graced the Lakers with his presence in this game by playing a grand total of 7 minutes before he fouled out in THE 3rd QUARTER. Good lord I could have gone out there and stayed on the floor longer than Bynum, 7 minutes is unacceptable. The players of the game for the Lakers were Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. The two big guys combined for 41 points and 23 rebounds. The consolation I will take in this loss is that even though the Lakers had one of their worst games of the entire season, they were still in position to win. Kobe missed a potential game winning 3 pointer at the buzzer. If you were to tell me at the beginning of the game that Kobe would be throwing up bricks and Andrew Bynum would play 7 minutes in the game, and that the Lakers would only lose by two, I would have been surprised. It's frustrating because the Lakers could gave gone up 3-0 and virtually put away the Jazz. Now Utah is full of life, and they have a chance to even the series in Game 4. I won't be surprised one bit if Utah wins Game 4, but considering that the Lakers can't play any worse than they did in Game 3, I'm picking them to win Game 4 and take a 3-1 lead. The Lakers have lost 10 out of their last 12 playoff games in Utah. I really hope the Lakers rebound from this pathetic performance and take care of business in Game 4, which is Saturday at 6:00 p.m. in Salt Lake City.

Dwyane Wade: Where Amazing Happens

2009-04-23T00:39:00.000-07:00

Dwyane Wade has quickly become one of my favorite players in the NBA. As a matter of fact, I would say Wade is my 2nd favorite player in the game behind Kobe Bryant of course. I watched Game 2 of the Miami Heat-Atlanta Hawks game last night, which the Heat won 108-93 to even out their series at 1. For most of the game I was in awe of Wade's play. He started to take over the game in the 2nd quarter when he scored 13 straight points for the Heat, and ended up with 21 points in the 1st half alone, which was more than he scored in all of Game 1. The Hawks put several different players on Wade, but it really didn't matter, no one was going to stop him. Wade ended up scoring 33 points, and was 6 out of 10 from 3-point land. Other than LeBron James or Chris Paul, I really don't know if there is a player who is more valuable to his team than Wade with the Heat. Last year Wade missed most of the season with a bad knee, and the Heat won a grand total of 15 games. This year with a healthy Wade the Heat won 43. Wade led the league in scoring, averaging 30.2 points per game while dishing out over 7 assists per game as well. Wade is a true class act and really is a pleasure to watch. I remember the first time I really started to follow Wade was in the 2006 NBA Finals, when over 6 games he averaged 34.2 points and led the Heat to an NBA Championship. I'm pulling for the Heat to win their series with the Hawks as it would most likely set up a Dwyane Wade-LeBron James showdown in the 2nd round. For the time being Wade is my 2nd favorite player, however I see him being my favorite once Kobe retires.

Game 3 of the Lakers-Jazz series is tonight. I'm hoping the Lakers can come away with a split in Utah and then finish off the Jazz in Game 5, which would be in Los Angeles. Utah is a great home team, and their fans are very passionate and will certainly be very loud. I'm predicting Utah to win Game 3 and then lose Game 4.

The Dodgers lost again last night. Manny Ramirez hit his 4th home run of the season in the losing effort. Looks like Man Ram is finally starting to heat up a bit. The Dodgers are 10-5 and still hold the top spot in the National League West.

I went to the Phoenix Zoo yesterday with my MCO class, thus the picture of the Tiger. It was a fun trip; I got to see a Giraffe up close for the first time in my life. I'm looking forward to Above The Rim tonight and of course the Laker game. I love having no classes on Fridays; it's nice to know my week ends today. Next week is my last regular week of school, with finals soon after. Today's forecast in Phoenix: Sunny with a high of 96

Too Close For Comfort

2009-04-21T23:11:00.001-07:00

Well it certainly wasn't pretty, but the Los Angeles Lakers took care of business in Game 2 with 119-109 victory over the Utah Jazz. The Lakers now have a 2-0 lead in the best of seven series, which will shift to Utah on Thursday. Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 22, and Lamar Odom scored 19 off the bench for the Lake Show, who once again showed they do not have the "killer instinct" of a champion. The Lakers were up by as many as 22 points in the 1st half, yet allowed Utah to get back in the game much in the same way as they did in Game 1. Utah pulled to within six points SEVEN times in the 3rd quarter, yet were never able to get over the hump. Every time Utah made it interesting, the Lakers would either get a big basket, or Utah would turn the ball over. Utah was led by point guard Deron Williams, who notched a career playoff-high with 35 points. Carlos Boozer added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz, who once again were without their injured center Mehmet Okur. I'll take the win from the Lakers, but I certainly was not happy with the way they played. The Lakers committed 21 turnovers, and missed five free throws in the 4th quarter that kept Utah in the game. If the Lakers want to win the NBA Championship, they MUST have the instinct and the will to put teams away when they have the chance. It is unacceptable to have a 22 point lead in the 1st half and let almost all of that lead evaporate. I hope Phil Jackson really gives it to the players in practice, because the fact of the matter is if the Lakers played the way they did tonight in Utah, they will lose one if not both of the games that will be played there. The Jazz are a completely different team at home as they went 33-8 in the regular season at EnergySolutions Arena, and they will have the support of their fans, who will be loud throughout the whole game unlike the fans at Staples Center tonight. I can't complain too much though, after all seven Lakers scored in double figures, including Shannon Brown who is quickly becoming one of my favorite players on the team. Hopefully the Lakers intensity will pick up a bit, they will need to be on their A game in Utah. I think the Lakers will win one of the games in Utah, but I can't see them taking both. Game 3 is Thursday night at 7:30 in Salt Lake City

The Boston Celtics found out that Leon Powe will be out for the rest of the playoffs. That's the nail in the coffin for the defending champs. Even if the Celtics win their series against the Bulls, they won't get past the 2nd round with virtually no big men. The Celtics will be lucky if they can even get past the Bulls with Kendrick Perkins and Mikki Moore holding down the paint. Cleveland should now be almost assured a trip the NBA Finals, especially if they continue to play they way they did tonight against Detroit. The Cavaliers have a 2-0 lead over the Pistons after their 94-82 win. The Portland Trail Blazers evened their series with the Houston Rockets after they won by a score of 107-103 tonight.

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Houston Astros today by a score of 8-5. The loss ended the Dodgers' eight-game winning streak. I was a bit disappointed, but you can't win them all right? I can't say I have much focus on the Dodgers right now, and I probably won't until the Lakers stop playing.

I get to go to the Phoenix Zoo tomorrow with my MCO class, how lucky am I? I forgot to mention it's going to be 100 degrees tomorrow too....great

The Champs Rebound

2009-04-21T01:10:00.000-07:00

Well the Boston Celtics avoided disaster by defeating the Chicago Bulls 118-115 in Boston Monday night. The defending champs evened out the best of seven series at 1, and more importantly avoided going to Chicago down 0-2. Ray Allen redeemed his dismal Game 1 performance, in which he shot 1-12 from the field, by hitting a 3 pointer with 2 seconds which gave the Celtics the lead. Allen finished the game with 30 points, although the true hero in this game in my opinion was Boston point guard Rajon Rondo. Playing with a sprained ankle, Rondo had a triple-double, finishing with 19 points, 16 assists, and 12 rebounds while adding 5 steals. I'm very interested to see how Boston plays on the road without Kevin Garnett. Last year the Celtics were horrible on the road in the first two rounds of the playoffs, losing 3 games in both Atlanta and Cleveland. We shall see, hopefully Chicago can take care of business on their home-court and put the Celtics on the verge of elimination. Game 3 of the series is Thursday at 5:00 p.m. in Chicago.

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown was named the NBA Coach of the Year. I couldn't disagree anymore with this choice, as I felt this award could have gone to a number of candidates not named Mike Brown. First off let's talk about Nate McMillan of the Portland Trail Blazers, who would have been my pick if it was up to me. Portland went 54-28 this year, which was 13 games better than last season. If Portland had the tiebreaker over Denver in the regular season, they would have been the #2 seed in the Western Conference. Please tell me at the beginning of the season who would have thought that Portland would be this good??? I'll answer that question...NO ONE! Yeah people thought Portland would be a dangerous team that would probably make the playoffs, but as the #4 seed and a win away from the #2 seed? No way! If you were to tell me at the beginning of the season that Cleveland would be the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference, I would have believed you, after all they do have LeBron James who is arguably the best player in the NBA. The point is, Portland exceeded expectations and Nate McMillan did the most with the least amount of talent. I really have to wonder how much of Cleveland's 66-16 record was because of Mike Brown coaching or how much of it was the fact that LeBron had an MVP type of season putting up ridiculous numbers. You could also argue Rick Adelman of the Houston Rockets or Greg Poppovich of the San Antonio Spurs were more deserving of this award. Both coaches led their teams to the playoffs in a superior Western Conference without two of their best players in Tracy McGrady and Manu Ginobili respectively. Heck you could even say Doc Rivers of the Boston Celtics was more deserving of this award for the work he did with a Celtics team who played without Kevin Garnett for the last couple weeks of the regular season. This is only the beginning of the awards for Cavaliers fans as LeBron James will almost certainly be named MVP in a few weeks. The MVP talk will be a good one, I still think Dwyane Wade is the more deserving candidate, but LeBron will get it since he is on the better team.

Game 2 of the Jazz-Lakers series is tonight. Hopefully the Laker fans in attendance will actually be loud during the game, and not just in the final seconds chanting "We Want Tacos" like they were in Game 1. I'm expecting the Lakers to win this game by 10 points or more.

Yesterday was 4-20, and I was really amazed at the amount of idiots on Facebook who made their statuses something related to smoking weed. I mean do people really think they're badasses because they are saying that they smoke weed?

24 was very good last night, as was Monday Night Raw. Today's forecast in Phoenix: Sunny with a high of 99 degrees!

Great Sports Weekend For The Green Machine

2009-04-19T21:32:00.000-07:00

If this weekend is any indication of how the Lakers and Dodgers will fare for the rest of their respective seasons, then I'm going to be a very happy guy. The NBA Playoffs began yesterday, much to my delight. This is the best time of the year for NBA fans, there really is nothing like the atmosphere of playoff basketball. The Lakers opened up their mission for a championship with a nice 113-100 victory today in Game 1 versus the Utah Jazz. Kobe Bryant led the purple and gold with 24 points while Pau Gasol added 20 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. However the two Lakers that I was the most impressed with are two that really didn't get much attention during the regular season: Trevor Ariza and Shannon Brown. Ariza was lights out, scoring 21 points while shooting a ridiculous 8 of 10 from the floor. Brown added 9 points and 3 assists in 22 minutes off the bench. This was the first playoff game in Ariza's career, while this was also the first time Brown played more than 1 minute in a playoff game. Many Laker fans feel that Ariza's absence in the postseason last year was one of the reasons the Lakers did not win the title. Ariza is a strong, athletic and talented player. I thought he made a mistake when he left UCLA after his freshman year a few years back, but he has come a long way in his time in the NBA and has done nothing but marvelous wonders in his time with the Lakers. Shannon Brown came to the Lakers this season at the trade deadline, when he was acquired along with Adam Morrison from the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for Vladimir Radmonovic. I was very happy with the deal at the time, I was never really the biggest Radmonovic fan as I felt he was too inconsistent and underachieving to be earning the salary he was getting, so I was glad to see him get shipped out of town. I never thought Brown would get much playing time at the point guard position, with Jordan Farmar and Derek Fisher already battling for their share of time, but the last few games of the regular season and today Brown has played brilliantly. He ran the offense well, he made his shots when he was open, and played somewhat decent defense on Jazz guard Deron Williams. When all is said and done, if the Lakers can get the kind of performances from their role players like they did today, they will beat the Jazz in 5 games or in a sweep. To put it in perspective, Andrew Bynum had 7 points and played 20 minutes in this game, yet the Lakers won by 13. Game 2 is Tuesday night at 7:30 in Los Angeles.

I wasn't all that impressed with the other playoff series. 4 of the other 7 games were complete blowouts, with the exceptions coming from Boston-Chicago, Dallas-San Antonio, and Philadelphia-Orlando. Chicago Bulls Point Guard Derrick Rose put on the best performance I have ever seen from a rookie playing his first playoff game. Rose had 36 points and 11 assists to lead the Bulls to a Game 1 upset victory over the defending champion Boston Celtics. I'm interested to see how the Celtics respond in Game 2, I still thought they would win this series even without Kevin Garnett, but after watching Game 1 I'm not so sure anymore. I can't say I would be upset at all if the Celtics lose to the Bulls, I would just love hearing the bandwagon Boston fans complain that the only reason they lost is because of Kevin Garnett's injury. Funny because every Celtic fan gave Laker fans a hard time last year when Laker fans complained that Andrew Bynum's injury was why the Lakers didn't win the title; it's funny how karma works isn't it? LeBron James was very impressive, and right now all signs point to a Lakers-Cavaliers finals matchup. I would love to see Kobe make short work of the Cavs in the finals just like he did in the two games this regular season. Maybe then people will finally realize Kobe is still the best player in the league. I really don't hate LeBron, much to the contrary of what people think, I'm just realistic and don't buy into the fact that he will be the next Michael Jordan. I am still standing by a statement I made earlier this year: LeBron James will not win an NBA Championship in Cleveland. It won't happen as long as Kobe Bryant is still with the Lakers, and Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett are still in Boston. If LeBron wants to win a title, he should sign with another team next summer when he is a free agent. I'm sorry but when the second best player on your team is Mo Williams, you're not going to win a championship even if the best player on your team was Michael Jordan in his prime. Unless Cleveland brings in a SUPERSTAR, LeBron won't win a title there. And for those of you saying Mo Williams is an All-Star, yes he was, but he was AN INJURY REPLACEMENT. If you are the point guard on the team LeBron James is on, you should be able to average more than 4 assists per game, which is what Williams averaged in the regular season. I could go on for a while on this subject, but I'll save it for another time, maybe once the Lakers win the title in June.

By the way the Los Angeles Dodgers are on an 8-game winning streak. They are 10-3 right now and their offense is looking very good. Manny Ramirez finally hit his first home runs this weekend, while Andre Eithier and Matt Kemp participated in batting practice against the Colorado Rockies' pitching staff this weekend. So far the Blue Crew have scored 5 or more runs in 7 of their 10 wins. I hope they keep this up, I really didn't expect them to be this solid this early in the season. If they keep this up the whole year, maybe I will be able to celebrate a Dodgers World Series Title for the first time in my life.

There are 2 weeks left of school for me and then finals week. My two favorite shows are on tomorrow night: 24, and of course WWE Monday Night Raw. All is good right now, except for the fact that it will be close to 100 degrees all week.....only 3 more weeks in the desert until I'm back in glorious Southern California for the summer.

Western Conference Playoff Preview

2009-04-17T15:58:00.001-07:00

Here is my look at the first round playoff series in the Western Conference

#1 Los Angeles Lakers vs. #8 Utah Jazz

The Lakers took two of three in the regular season, faltering once in Utah. Andrew Bynum is back for the Lakers, which means trouble for any team standing in their way. Up first for the Lake Show is a Utah team that went 33-8 at home this season, but stumbled on the road with a 15-26 record. The Jazz played a great part of their season without star power forward Carlos Boozer, and were led by Deron Williams who averaged 19.4 points and 10.7 assists this season. While Utah is a dangerous team and can be very pesky, the fact is they don’t have the depth or athleticism to match that of the Lakers. There are far too many weapons for Utah to stop in this series. Unless the Jazz can prove that they can stop Kobe Bryant OR Lamar Odom, OR Pau Gasol, OR Andrew Bynum on a regular basis, they simply will not win this series. LA is the more physical team and their bench has been phenomenal all year. The Lakers are 9-0 all time in first- round series as a #1 seed, and I expect the Lakers to continue that streak rather easily. It will be tough for Utah to win a game at Staples Center, where in the regular season they lost two games by a combined 26 points. The home-court advantage for Utah at EnergySolutions Arena is great for the Jazz, but it won’t be enough to keep the Lakers from winning a game or two. In the end, Utah’s 1-20 road record against teams with winning records gives little hope for the upset. Depending on whether the Lakers win one or two games in Utah will determine how long this series lasts.

Pick- Lakers in five

#2 Denver Nuggets vs. #7 New Orleans Hornets

In my opinion, this is the most intriguing matchup of the first round. This matchup features two of the premier point guards in the NBA with Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups. Billups has been the MVP for Denver this season, establishing himself as the leader of the team, and turning Denver into more a defensive oriented team. Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets in scoring this year, averaging 23 points per game while grabbing 7 rebounds as well. Denver’s bench is much better than New Orleans, and features energy players like J.R. Smith, and Chris “The Birdman” Anderson (who ironically are two former Hornets, and are one of the biggest reasons why Denver's bench has been so good this year). New Orleans is led by Chris Paul; an MVP candidate averaging 23 points, 11 assists, and 3 steals per game this year. Paul has stepped his game up even more since the All-Star break, averaging 25 points and 11 assists. The problem is Paul’s supporting cast really isn’t that great outside of David West. The Hornets low post presence consists of Tyson Chandler, who has been battling injuries all year and really has found no rhythm. They were 24^th in the NBA in rebounding this year, the lowest rank of any playoff team. Both teams had nearly identical defensive ratings in the regular season, but Denver’s offense has been superior to that of New Orleans. The Hornets struggled mightily down the stretch, going 10-11 in their final 21 games, while the Nuggets have been eliminated in the first-round of the playoffs six years in a row. With home-court advantage, and veteran leadership from Billups, the Nuggets should advance to the second round.

Pick- Nuggets in six

#3 San Antonio Spurs vs. #6 Dallas Mavericks

This could be the upset of the first round in the Western Conference. Manu Ginobili is out for the Spurs, Tim Duncan’s knees aren’t in the best shape, and the Mavericks will have Josh Howard back. Dallas is 33-19 in games that Howard has played in this year, while San Antonio is 22-16 without Ginobili. Dallas has been a very up and down team this year, and always seems to have trouble guarding Duncan and Tony Parker. The positive for the Mavericks is that they have arguably played their best basketball down the stretch. I think Dallas has the upper hand in this series with Ginobili not playing. Lets not forget the Spurs have just as much trouble guarding Dirk Nowitzki as the Mavericks do guarding Tony Parker or Tim Duncan. Ginobili is so important to this Spurs team that I am picking the upset here and going with Dallas. The combination of Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, and Josh Howard plus the likely Sixth Man of the Year Jason Terry will be too much for San Antonio to stop.

Pick- Mavericks in six

#4 Portland Trail Blazers vs. #5 Houston Rockets

This is going to be a very interesting series in the fact that if someone is going to beat the Lakers in the Western Conference, I really think it will be one of these two teams. Portland exceeded many expectations this year, winning 13 more games than last year and turning the Rose Garden back into one of those venues where nobody wants to play. Both of these teams are fairly even on paper, and the Rockets have played very well without Tracy McGrady, going 22-8 since his injury that ended his season. I think they only thing in this series that favors in Portland is home-court advantage. The Blazers went 34-7 at the Rose Garden this year, while winning eight games by 15 or more points since the All-Star break. The Rockets took two out of three from the Blazers during the regular season, with the lone loss coming thanks to Brandon Roy’s miracle three pointer at the buzzer. This will also be the first trip to the playoffs for many of the players on Portland, which works in Houston’s favor. Houston should have the advantage on defense with guys like Ron Artest and Shane Battier guarding Brandon Roy, and the Rockets ability to crash the boards with Yao Ming and Luis Scola will be a lot for Portland to handle. Having said all that, I still like the Blazers to win this series, their slow paced steady of play will not be affected in this series. The young players on Portland have improved quite a bit during the second half of the season, which should bode well in the playoffs. I think this series will go all seven games, with home-court advantage giving the edge to Portland.

Pick- Blazers in seven

Eastern Conference Playoff Preview

2009-04-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

The NBA Playoffs start in two days. This is the time where legends are made, and legacies are born. There are many interesting questions to ask ourselves as we get ready for the start of the postseason: Will Kevin Garnett's injury cost the Celtics a chance at a repeat? Will this finally be the year LeBron James wins the title? Can Kobe silence his critics by winning a championship without Shaq? Here is my first round preview, starting with the Eastern Conference

#1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. #8 Detroit Pistons

The Cavs are making their fourth consecutive postseason appearance, and this year marks the first time in franchise history they are a #1 seed. The Pistons have made the postseason eight years in a row, which is the third-longest active streak in the NBA. This is not the same Pistons team that we have seen in years past. I have said all season that the biggest mistake this team made was trading away Chauncey Billups. They traded the heart and soul of their team for Allen Iverson, who by the way is hurt and won’t be playing in the playoffs. Smart move Joe Dumars! I’m sure Piston fans are happy with that! I forgot to mention Cleveland is led by a guy named LeBron James, maybe you have heard of him? LeBron led Cleveland to a 66-16 record, and also led his team in total points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals, which is a feat accomplished by only 3 other players in NBA history. Cleveland’s record at home this year was an astounding 39-2, and the last time the Cavs played the Pistons in a playoff series was 2007, when LeBron single handedly beat Detroit and led Cleveland to the finals. The point is, Detroit has nothing that can stop LeBron, and this Cleveland team is on a mission to win the title. As great as Detroit has been in the past, their time is up. Maybe if they still had Chauncey Billups I would reconsider my pick, but I don’t see any way how Detroit makes this series interesting.

Pick- Cavs in 4

#2 Boston Celtics vs. #7 Chicago Bulls

The Celtics received horrible news today when they found out that Kevin Garnett’s knee might keep him out of the playoffs. The good news is KG’s absence probably won’t have any effect on the outcome of the Celtics first round matchup against the Bulls. In the 25 games KG has missed this year, the Celtics have a record of 18-7, including a 12-2 record in the final 14 games with losses coming at Orlando and at Cleveland. Leon Powe has been a solid replacement for KG, and lets not forget this Celtics team still has the best defensive mindset of any team in the NBA. The Chicago Bulls are a very young team, and have improved a lot over the past few weeks. The additions of John Salmons and Brad Miller have done great things for this team. The problem is even without Kevin Garnett, the Celtics have rolled through Eastern Conference opponents this year, with the exception of Cleveland, and Chicago probably will be no different. Look for this to be a learning experience for Bulls point guard Derrick Rose, and the rest of the Chicago organization.

Pick- Celtics in 5

#3 Orlando Magic vs. #6 Philadelphia 76ers

This to me is the one matchup where an upset is very possible. The Sixers have played very well this year, even with the loss of Elton Brand early on in the season. Theo Ratliff, Samuel Dalembert, and Reggie Evans are all very capable of playing physical down low with Orlando sensation Dwight Howard. While Rafer Alston has played well for the Magic since he was acquired at the trade deadline, Orlando will miss their All-Star leadership of Jameer Nelson. Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu have been great complements to Howard this year, but the Sixers are very capable of playing great defense on those role players. I like the backcourt of Andre Miller and Andre Igoudala for Philadelphia, and Thaddeus Young has made his case to be the most improved player in the NBA this year. The key for Philadelphia will obviously be whether or not they can contain Dwight Howard. Howard has shown he is capable of having games where he can score 20 or more points and grab more than 20 rebounds, however he has also shown he can disappear on any given night. I like the Sixers chances of shutting down Howard, and I like Philly’s role players better than Orlando’s, however I am still going with the Magic based on the fact that they have steamrolled through opponents this year even when Howard hasn’t been at his best. I won’t be surprised if Philadelphia wins this series, but I look forward to seeing a Magic-Celtics showdown in the second round.

Pick- Magic in 6

#4 Atlanta Hawks vs. #5 Miami Heat

This will by far be the most entertaining series of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. It will be a high-flying team in the Hawks against a high-flying one-man show in Dwyane Wade. The Hawks are a great home team but are a horrible road team. Look for this series to go on home court advantage most of the way. The thing is, I see Miami being able to win one in Atlanta because of Dwyane Wade, which is why I am picking the Heat to win this series. The last time Miami was in the playoffs in 2006, they won the NBA Championship due to one of the best performances in playoff history by Wade during which he averaged 34.6 points per game in 6 games. He should be the MVP this year even though it will be LeBron as he took a Miami team that won 15 games last season under his wing, and led them back to the postseason almost single handedly. Wade can take over a game whenever he wants, and I don’t think Atlanta has what it takes to slow him down. In any case, this will be a fun series and I expect this one to go all the way.

Pick- Heat in 7

Western Conference preview to come tomorrow

Thoughts On The Lakers

2009-04-14T22:14:00.002-07:00

The Los Angeles Lakers 2008-2009 regular season came to an end tonight with an impressive 125-112 victory over the Utah Jazz, who ironically will be the Lakers opponent in the first round of the playoffs. The Lake Show finished the regular season with a 65-17 record, 2nd best in the NBA, and 8 games better than their 57-25 mark last season. Despite the fact that the Lakers didn't have the best record in the NBA, you can argue that they were the best team in the league this year. Their record against the top 10 opponents in the league this year was 21-7, and included sweeps over the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. Sure the Cavs may have had more wins, but their record against the Lakers, Celtics and Magic was a combined 2-6. Sure they can beat up on the horrible Eastern Conference teams, yet they stumble when they play tough competition. Life is good for the Lakers, why? Well for one Andrew Bynum is back, he is healthy, and he is playing like the dominate force he was before he hurt his knee in January. In tonight's game against the Jazz, Bynum scored 22 points, had 4 rebounds and 3 blocks. There is no one in the Western Conference that serves as a legitimate threat to beat the Lakers, as they went 17-5 this year against the other 7 playoff teams in the conference. Lets not forget this is a Laker team that clinched the #1 seed in the Western Conference over a month ago. This team really has no excuse not to be in the NBA Finals, and for that matter not to win the NBA Championship. Their starting lineup of Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum is the best in the league, however the real strength of this Laker team which separates them from others is the depth of their bench. Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar, Josh Powell, Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton, and Shannon Brown have all been great role players this season. Laker fans used the excuse that Andrew Bynum was hurt during the playoffs last season when asked how they lost to the Celtics in the NBA Finals. Well this season there is no excuse, the Lakers have shown they can beat anybody, anywhere. They were the only team that beat the Cavaliers in Cleveland this year, and they beat the Celtics in Boston without Bynum. All this to say come June, Laker fans should expect another banner to be hung in the rafters of Staples Center. Anything short of a championship will be considered a failure for the Laker faithful. It has been 6 years too long since Laker fans have been able to flood the streets of Figueroa. Come Sunday night, you can throw those 65 wins in the garbage. For Laker fans, the NBA Playoffs is the real season. My predictions on the 1st round of the playoffs will come tomorrow night once all the seedings are final.

THINK BLUE

2009-04-13T23:26:00.000-07:00

As a Dodger fan, there really is nothing more that I enjoy than a nice Blue Crew beat down of the San Francisco Giants, which was exactly what happened today. In the home opener for the Boys in Blue, the newest member Orlando Hudson hit for the cycle, leading Los Doyers to an 11-1 rout. Hudson became the first Dodger to ever hit for the cycle at Chavez Ravine. A stadium record 57,099 were on hand to watch the blowout. I have to wonder how many people that were there actually were there to watch the Dodgers or if they were just there to watch Manny Ramirez. I love Dodger fans, but they need to realize that this Dodger team has much more than just Manny. Perfect example is Andre Eithier, an ASU alum I may add. Eithier hit 2 Home Runs today and had 4 RBI. Other great young talent on this Dodger team include Russell Martin, James Loney, and my personal favorite Matt Kemp. I was at 2 of the 3 games this past weekend when the Dodgers came to town to play the D'Backs. I would say 90% of the Dodger fans I saw there had some sort of Manny Ramirez gear on. He has become the Kobe Bryant of the Dodgers, the fans come out to watch the dude, and hey I don't blame them, he was lights out in 53 games last year, but lets not get caught up too much in Manny-Mania. I'm still shocked he hasn't hit a Home Run yet, and for my fantasy team's sake, I sure hope he starts knocking some out of the park soon.

Getting back to the Giants though, other than the Boston Celtics, I really don't know if there is another sports franchise I hate more than them. Granted, a big part of my hatred comes from the fact that for 14 years, the biggest douche bag thats ever played baseball was the star of the team. I'm talking about Barry Bonds of course, the "All-Time Home Run King Who Never Roided Up" yeah try saying and truly believing that, its impossible. The guy was a jackass to the media and to his teammates too. I'll give the guy credit for being able to hit, but his constant denial of not taking steroids really is ridiculous. There is no way that a guy who is 37 years old can hit 73 Home Runs without being on some substance, there just isn't. Mark McGwire took steroids, Sammy Sosa took steroids, and so did Barry.

Speaking of steroids, I just finished watching another edition of WWE Monday Night Raw. Why I watch wrestling I don't know, its fake, the storylines are stupid, and the dialogue is worst than whatever the dumbest movie out there is, but for some odd reason I find myself in room 234 with 4 other dudes watching it every Monday night. As my buddy Drew put it best, "It's the soap opera for males". It's entertaining and funny because it is so stupid, but hey thats all I really care about, anything that can take my mind off the huge workload of school is great. It's amazing that a month from now I'll be back in Agoura Hills for the summer. Seems like yesterday I was just movin out to the desert. I've had a great year, made some incredible friends, I will definitely be enjoying every moment from here until my last final May 13th

And So It Begins

2009-04-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

So I decided to give in and start one of these things. After all, I am at a journalism school and writing is required, so why not write about stuff that I actually want to talk about in my free time? In my News Writing class a couple weeks ago, one of the professors said its good to practice writing at least 500 words a day, so I figure I'll give my best attempt to do that. I'll try to blog every day, but the majority of the stuff that goes up here will probably be sports related. Should be fun, I'm looking forward to it