Sunday, February 24, 2013

Spring is in the air!

It's Daytona week when it comes to the sports world and knowing that a women is leading the poll coming into the biggest race in America is a pretty awesome way to start of this blog...

But I'm not going to do that.

I'll start off with saying that NASCAR has some serious thinking to do when it comes to fixing it's safety when it comes to the fans. My knowledge on NASCAR is slim, but after watching that wreck on Saturday, it really does put into perspective how precious life can be.

Spring Training started on Friday and the only thing I can wrap my head around is how big Mike Trout got over the off-season. The dude is now up around 240 pounds and the guy looks like he's trying out for the combine this weekend. As long as he can keeps his speed up and steals thirty bases, I don't think anybody will be complaining.

Back to Danica! If she wins the Daytona 500 this Sunday, will it really change the perception of NASCAR? No, because they are still turning left, drafting, and driving 60 miles per hour on pit row. Her winning would boost morale for women's equality, which is always a good thing, but on the whole I think anyone with a thriving pulse is rooting for Tony Stewart to win the race. The guy is arguably one of the best drivers to ever live and he hasn't won the race in his many years of racing. Hopefully he finally gets it this Sunday, I'll be rooting for him.

Back to real sports shall we?

Rory Mcilroy and Tiger Woods were knocked out of match play by the lowest seeded golfers on Thursday, the Olympics are making wresting tap out starting in 2020, the Chicago Black Hawks got off to the hottest start in NHL history with no training camp, and the Sacramento Kings are unloading before they head to Seattle next season by trading their #5 draft pick from 2012, Thomas Robinson, for diddly squat. These stories have almost been as crazy as Manti Te'o at the combine. Apparently dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge are in Manti's brain chemistry now because he doesn't know how to answer a question head on. I guess it makes sense especially when your reality has been blown to pieces by dating a man online who you thought was women, but either way dude, your going to have to answer the questions eventually or your stock will do THIS!

Coach K won his 950th game, still not as good as Pat Summit's 1000+ wins in women's basketball which hopefully Mike Krzyzewski will surpass sometime in the next couple years. There's a reason why Coach K is a Hall of Famer, and why his train just keeps rolling. Congratulations Coach!

Oh speaking of basketball, the NBA All-Star Game was Sunday and the West Coast represented again. Apparently raptors are not as smart as we thought they were, Click Here! Also, CP3 showed why he is the best point guard in the league by winning M.V.P., then getting blown out by San Antonio on Thursday by an actual M.V.P. candidate in Tony Parker. The Spurs are running away with this thing in the west and it almost looks like nobody is going to catch them unless the Thunder take charge here within the next month. Expect a blog on the Spurs after they win their 50th game this season, which will be the 16th straight season they will have done so.

The trade deadline was actually dead this year. I slept through it expecting updates on my phone to start bugging me, and nothing worth waking up for struck my interest. The only deal I found appealing was the J.J. Reddick trade. Now that J.J. Reddick is in Milwaukee with the quickest back court in the league, his presence on the outside when Ellis and Jennings drive the lane should make them a serious dark horse contender in the East. Yeah right you say? Name a quicker back court and get at me. Yes, the Heat have Wade and Chalmers in their back court and maybe the best defensive forward in the league with LeBron, but considering the speed of Ellis and Jennings, it will be up to the outside cast to step up. If that outside cast can put together some good runs and wear down a teams back court, look out.

M.J. and Charles Barkley turned 50 this week, and Matt Birk retired from NFL after a 15 year career and winning his first Super Bowl this past season... Apparently I'm getting older too. Click Here!

Some big upsets in the real basketball world happened this week with Florida losing to Missouri 63-60, and Miami getting blown out by Wake Forest 80-65. There were some great games as well with Michigan State and Indiana facing off in one of the biggest games of the regular season. It was a scrappy, Big 10 classic, and with the way Indiana finished off Michigan State in the final three minutes, it cemented their right at a #1 seed in the NCAA tourney this upcoming March as they won 72-68. 

While the Big 10 has put together quite a power conference this season, the Big 12 had something to say about that on Wednesday night. With a double OT thriller in Stillwater, the Jayhawks came into Oklahoma State and mustard out a win while only hitting one field goal (the game winner) in both overtime periods. The one thing that stuck out to me the most was how consistent the referee's were in both the overtime periods. Every foul was a hard foul, there were no blown calls in the overtime periods, and the game was won and lost between the players instead of the whistle. I want to see more Big 12 referees in the NCAA tourney come March because unlike in the Big 10, they let the players play in the Big 12. We have three weeks till selection Sunday. Select the right referees too.

One tribute that needs to be paid is to the great family of Jerry Buss. The man died on Monday marking a sad day before the start of the second half of the NBA season. The man brought L.A. the best product the NBA had to offer for the past 30+ years and he did it with pure class and dignity to his organization from top to bottom. I never knew who Jerry Buss was, but I also never had anything bad to say about him considering I am a large Laker hater. That should tell you all you need to know about his character when even the most hated of sports fans towards the Lakers have the most respect for your brand. I find it fitting that the way Kobe Bryant finished out the All-Star game was the same passion that he has shown every year he has been in L.A. and that it was the last day of Jerry Buss's life. It goes to show you the dedication and the love for the game Kobe has even though he has made it to the highest level of stardom. He's still willing to play for that kid in the upper deck lucky to get a ticket to the game, while guys like LeBron play relaxed and don't feel the need to perform at 100% because the game doesn't matter. That all trickles down from management to the players, and if there is any player to embody the spirit of competition and love for the game, it's Kobe Bryant. Jerry Buss only helped fuel that fire and give him that opportunity to do so. Watch this, this is a great video.

Hopefully I get a piece of this some day, then my life would be set. Other than that, I'm out of here. Next week, and from now on, I'll be posting my blogs on Sunday night instead of Saturday night/Sunday morning. See you next week!

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