NBA playoffs... God I hope Lakers get swept..

Last night, the Clippers beat the Grizzlies at the buzzer. Chris Paul hit a one handed push shot with great defense played on him by Tony Allen enabling the Clippers to take a 2-0 lead in the best of seven series. So I got up this morning to hear the pundits talk about the inept Clipper half court offense or how they squandered a 12 point lead in the fourth quarter.  I was waiting for them to talk about how Chris Paul is a killer and how he would not let the Clippers lose.  I turn on ESPN first take and they open with the Lakers? They open with twitter gate? They talk for 20 minutes about an interview Coach D'Antonio did on the Dan Patrick Show about Kobe Bryant's reaction to the game on Sunday.  I hate the Lakers... The Lakers are the Tim Tebow of basketball. All season long tedious stories about this dreadful old team that is going nowhere. Just like Tebow. I have never wanted to scream at people I respect so much in my life.  Who cares if the Clippers can't win the title. Who cares even if Memphis had won the game last night. The Lakers are not the story. The NBA had two good games last night, the NBA gave out its sixth man of the year award out yesterday, and there were several other stories to talk about. How about David Lee being out for the playoffs. How about Derek Rose not playing in the post season. Who cares about the Lakers? Delusional fans who truly understand that they are going home within a week? 
There are three games tonight. If I hear anything about the Lakers, I will personally go to ESPN pull out the satellite feed nationwide. The funny thing is that the pundit shows originate in Connecticut. Who wants to wake up in Connecticut, Boston or New York and be deluged with Los Angeles Lakers nonsense? My niece does. She loves the Lakers. Maybe she is in charge of the programming.. The L.A. Tebows

The next two weakest divisions are...

So i guess the next two "weakest divisions" by default are the NFC South and AFC east.  Both divisions are extremely top heavy and extremely weak at the bottom.  In the NFC South, the Saints and Falcons are coming off of playoff seasons that  ended in shocking performances.  The Falcons got smacked around by the Giants.  They scored 2 points and looked quite intimidated in Giant stadium.  The Saints went into San Francisco and played the way the normally play but could not stop the anemic offense of the Niners and allowed Alex Smith to drive 80 yards for a victory.  No one could have ever predicted that the niners would score 39 points in a game.  The AFC east is headlined by the Patriots.  They represented the AFC in the Super Bowl and fell shortto the New York Giants. They have a loaded offense but defense failed them last year. I think they ran into a team that simply has their number. The Giants defeated the Patriots during the season and ended their 20 game home winning streak on a fourth quarter drive. The Patriots need to just simply avoid the Giants and they would have several more championships. Lets analyze both divisions..
The AFC east has three quarterbacks trying to find themselves and Tom Brady.  The New York Jets play solid defense but cannot get a pass rush.  They try blitzing everyone but once the blitz gets picked up they are vulnerable except of course on Revis island.  On offense the Jets need to get back to running the ball and with the departure of L.T. they brought in Tim Tebow to bolster that attack.  He can run and he needs to work on his throwing.  The Jets have no receivers.  They have Dustin Keller who can play but he cannot be affective if the Jets core of receivers cannot get open.  The Jets talk alot and are media darlings for not doing anything.  They are the Kardashians of sports and it is time to show up, put up or quietly shut up...
The Buffalo Bills got off to a great start last year.  Then Ryan Fitzpatrick got a huge contract extension and then the Bills fell off a cliff.  They couldn't beat Alabama after week 5.  They have seriuos weapons on offense.  They can run the ball with jackson and Spiller.  Johnson is a star in the making.  They play probably in the worse play to play for a team that can pass the ball as well as they do.  Their defense thinks that this year their line is the best in football. The signed Mario Williams to give them the pass rush they need to cover up their weaknesses at linebacker and cornerback.  If they can stay healthy and confident,they have enough to compete for a wild card spot.
The Miami Dolphins just named Ryan Tannehill their starter for the season.  He has serious upside, but he has only play 19 games as a starting qb in college and he needs more class room time. Reggie Bush had his first season as a 1000 yard rusher. He is poised to prove that last year was not a fluke.  They just released Chad Johnson and traded away Brandon Marshall.  So who is Tanneyhill going to throw the ball to?  They have a solid tight end in Fasano but who else?  Defensively the Dolphins have a pulse. They can rush the passer quite well.  Cameron Wembley was a sweet surprise last year. They are starting a new with a new coach and coordinator.  They are a work in progress.  They will struggle this year some.
The Patriots needed defensive help and drafted 6 new defensive players.  they realize that they cannot win the big game with offense only.  If their offense does not get on the field then they are being wasted.  They still need a running game. Brady is Brady and he has made stars of both tight ends and Welker is in his final year with the Pats.  They have not given him a longterm deal which is a joke.  The Patriots improve on defense they could unbeaten in the regular season...
The NFC south has star potential all over the place.  The Tampa Bay Bucs flopped last year.  They have to regroup with a new coach in Schiano and get Freeman his confidence back.  Theyhave weapons on both sides of the ball and last year clearly the coach lost that team.  They have running backs and young talented receivers who can stretch the field.  The defense is fast and opportunistic.  They just don't know how to play yet.  This year they will improve some but Freeman has to healthy and play with the confidence of two years ago.
The Carolina Panthers has no where to go but up.  Cam Newton re-wrote the rookie record books with his play last year.  Steve Smith found the fountain of youth.  They ran the ball well and really are a couple of defenders away from being ready to compete for the division.  Newton still has a lot to learn and he must take care of his body this season because teams will be gunning for him.  Football cannot be this easy.  If they can run it better than they did last they could contend for a wild card.  Their defense has a lot of promise.  They just play in the division that youhave to be able to score points or you cannot compete.
The Atlanta Falcons need a defense to match their offense.  They can score with anyone.  They have great running backs and receivers and tight ends.  The Qb play is all pro level.  They need someone on the defense to make a play and get off the field on 3rd down.  They need better play calling and smart play calling.  They should be ashamed of themselves for what they did last year. They think that winning comes in the form of outscoring people.  They need to understandthat you have to make a stop once in a whlie or ball control to keep Brees or Rodgers off the field.  If the Falcons can figure that out, they could have a super season...
The Saints have the pressure of hosting the super bowl this year, a scandal that has rocked the league, and no head coach to guide them through.  Drew Brees set the NFL record for yards in a season last year and just got paid a beaucoup dollar contract.  They have the offense of the present but dont have a defense at all.  They bend but dont break. They can intercept any pass, cause thousands of fumbles, but always have at least 2 or 3 games that defy logic.. This season they have to prove that they are even more special than ever because they are being asked to coach themselves.. It should be wild..
The outlook this season.. New England:14-2, Buffalo:9-7, New York Jets 9-7, Miami 3-13
The outlook this season.. New Orleans: 13-3, Atlanta: 11-5, Carolina: 7-9, Tampa bay 5-11
The player to watch in the AFC east: Mark Sanchez. the jets go as far as he takes them
The player to watch in NFC south: Drew Brees The pressure is squarely on his shoulders.

Who is the villain now?

I am back!!! I have missed blogging and hopefully i will continue to do this for this is my release.. So lets begin..

So who are the villains in sport now? Cant say i see anymore athletes to hate!!! Lebron has finally won!  John Calipari has too. Dale Jr. has his monkey off of his back with a win two weeks ago.  Eli was lambasted for saying he was an elite quarterback and then went out and defeated BOTH Rodgers and Brady en route to a super bowl title!! Favre is gone.  T.O. is being blacklisted from the N.F.L by all of the teams, and the STEROID cases have all blown up in the face of the sports world and the Government. Sharapova won the French Open and Tony Stewart won the Nextel Sprint Cup last fall and the entire media treated him like he needed to be "held" throughout his season.  Who does that leave?  Floyd Mayweather is in jail.  Lance Armstrong is being chased down again but the evidence hasn't changed in ten years. I will tell you who is the villain in sports:  (Wait for it). ESPN and all of the sports writers in this lovely country
Would I kill to work at a reputable sports network? Absolutely. My biggest dream in life is for you to turn on your television and see me pontificating about the world of sports. There is a difference between me and them. Number 1, I dont want to tell you what is news and what isn't news and they do.  When i was a kid, i loved sports because the media seemed to romance the heroes, and try to uplift the zeroes.  When we beat Russia in 1980 it was the greatest accomplishment by this country in sports. We were so proud and happy to defeat that team. Think about your childhood for a moment.  Don't you remember more stories about triumph, accomplishment, and pride than you hear today?  Ali is my hero. Never heard anything about Ali.  Especially the way they do things today.  Lawrence Taylor and Micheal Jordan my other favorite two athletes, were never made a villain like today.  How about Mickey Mantle? We read about the crazy days of his life but he never faced this nonsense. Broadway Joe, Joe Louis, Wilt Chamberlain, Babe Ruth. All of these men were lauded.  Yes it took Wilt a long time to win a title but people understood that it was a team that won titles and individual greatness could not overcome the team concept.  The Celtics of the 60's owned him. The Yankees owned the Brooklyn Dodgers.  The MEDIA never made themselves the story.  The stories were all about the athletes who achieved and who were great.
Today we are inundated with stories about Tim Tebow because he has infused religion into sports and that he is supposedly unable to play the position of quarterback.  Eli Manning said recently that its fascinating that his team just won the super bowl and he is the third least talked about quarterback in his own city.  Why does it matter what Tebow does?  Why do the media try and create stories instead of allowing the true stories develop and be what the sports fan truly want?  Before Matt Kemp got hurt he was off to an epic season.  Instead of pumping up Mat Kemp, the stories were about the failure of Albert Pujols. One sentence about Kemp, but forty pages about Pujols slow start.  There is so much hatred of today athlete that it is a wonder why people want to be a professional athlete.  Bryant Gumbel last week in his closing statement went off about how Mayweather, Schilling, T.O., were finally feeling the brunt of karma.  Tebow is going to be the story for the next 7 months unless he gets hurt.  Last year there was so much to talk about in the N.F.L. and week end and out all we heard about was Tebow.  Brady,  Brees and Stafford threw for 5,000 yards and Cam Newton in his first year as a starter threw for 4,000 plus as a rookie. The Giants are the most forgettable champion in years. 
The reason that I say it is Espn and others, is simply because they are the ones who seem to create the buzz of the sports world.  They are the ones who for months when Brett Favre was retired killed us with Favre's every move. They are the ones who send Sal Pal over to Jets training camp  or Rachel Nichols over to see Lebron. The Kings won the Stanley Cup and it was swept under the rug like it didn't happen.  Novak Djokovic had a chance to win four tennis majors in a row.  He is never mentioned in the pantheon of the best athletes today.  The LPGA is non existent even though Yani Tseng keeps winning majors. Lebron won the title four days ago and they keep showing interviews of him and roundtables about what he has to do next to eclipse Jordan or Shaq , or Magic. Why cant they just leave sports one night to the actual sports and talk about the great action on the field.  Arizona just became the second team to win the College World Series history to sweep through the championship.  The Giants and Pirates are playing series that move them closer to first place in their divisions.  Wimbeldon has started and Venus Williams is fighting a serious disease that affects her play.  Edwin Encarnacion is having a year to remember.  The top 8 picks in the NFL draft have not signed. Bounty gate?  Why wont the league show the proof to the players about what they have on the players?  I guarantee if there was more attention put on the positive things in sports, maybe the athletes wouldn't be so negative to the press.
 There has to be a change in what is more important in sports than speculation and innuendo or potential.  I am soooo tired of hearing about things that don't matter. Sports era of the 60's is lauded because teams were bigger than the individuals.  Jim Brown was greatest athlete of that time but only won one title.  People to this day still bow to him. Wilt was a the single most dominating force in sports but the Celtics kept winning.  Mickey Mantle could not win a title without the dominant pitching from that team.  The Packers of that era was about team.  (Jerry Kramer should be in the hall of fame).. We understand talking about Tiger, Manny Pacquiao, Serena, they play individual sports.  Micheal Phelps needs to win 16 medals or he is a failure.  Appreciate him for who he is and what he did four years ago. I miss the days of having sport heroes.  I hope Christian Ronaldo is getting ready to be ridiculed because Spain is too good.   When did sports become so villainous?  Why does sports have to be negative?  We escape to watch sports.  We understand that there are bad people and bad stories need to be told, but there are lot of positive things in sports that need more attention.  Dont Be afraid to tell us those stories too..