How the Rangers Can Win Game 2

Photo from bleacherreport.com

Wait a second, is he really writing a hockey article? Oh yeah, you read that title correctly. This is in fact my first hockey post since two years ago when I was a freshman in high school and a bad writer. That cringe-worthy, one paragraph rant stood alone in my NHL tab until my 2013 Awards come out.

Oh how times have changed. Back then I was talking about a playoff series between the Flyers and Penguins, while my Rangers were going through a wild playoff push of their own, which included a triple overtime winner by Marian Gaborik in the second round against the Capitals in Game 3, which ended at 12:14 AM, almost 5 hours after its 7:40 start. It also featured a game-tying goal by Brad Richards in Game 5 with 6.6 seconds left (in a game the Rangers went on to win), the last time that his existence didn't anger me. Eventually, they advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Devils, and we're not talking about that.

But now times have changed, and the Rangers are in the Stanley Cup Finals, becoming the first team that I root for (Mets, Jets, and Knicks, if you haven't been paying any attention at all to my articles) to qualify for their league's championship game/series since I began watching sports in 2004. That same Marian Gaborik is playing for the opposing team, and Brad Richards is sort of back on track after being demoted to the fourth line, and even a healthy scratch during last year's postseason.

NBA Finals Chronicles, Saturday June 7

Photo from playmakeronline.com

Wait, so what do I do now? There was no game last night, and there's no game tonight, so I have nothing to preview nor recap. Oh, but there is in fact something to talk about.

While I could certainly go on about the fact that my Rangers are going to bounce back and take Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight, this isn't exactly the place for that story. My topic stands at 6 foot 8, weighs 215 pounds, and is one of the weirdest players in the league. And he's also one of the most exciting.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Boris Diaw. Yes, the man who was shunned by the Bobcats for being fat is now a key player in a championship series, and is about to have a whole article written by me, praising him and only him. The latter honor is the more important one, as he'll join the ranks of legends such as Zack Wheeler, Mike Trout, Matt Harvey, Matt Harvey, Grady Sizemore, who essentially was my entire MLB Preview, Matt Harvey, Dwight Howard, Kostas Papanikolau, James Harden, Mike Trout again, (say it with me...) Matt Harvey, Mack Wheelvey, and Geno Smith; an article which turned out to be six times more popular than everything I've ever written, thanks to it becoming popular in Ukraine, which sounds like a really bad joke. But it's not.

NBA Finals Chronicles, Friday June 6

Photo from bleacherreport.com

Well, that was weird. In the first game on the NBA Finals, the home of the San Antonio Spurs, the AT&T Center simply wasn't ready for this jelly. The air conditioning in the building wasn't functioning prior to the game due to an electrical failure, and nothing could be done to fix it. So, the combination of the already hot day in San Antonio and the 18,851 in attendance, suddenly the game was to be played in 90+ degree conditions, and...

Yes Glenn Frey, it was in fact on.

NBA Finals Chronicles, Thursday June 5

With or without the headband, are we in for a historic LeBron James takeover? Photo from businessinder.com

I began this series in 2012, and caused myself to commit something that I didn't realize would be so hard for the next two years. See, because the 2011-12 NBA season was shortened due to the lockout, the Finals began on a Tuesday, the day after my last final exam. As I found out last year, in a normal season, the championship actually begins right smack in the middle of my finals week, which means I had an awful experience trying to study and write an article everyday. As a high school junior, I really shouldn't be doing this right now.

But hey, I dug my own grave here. Let's get on with it.

First of all, this seems eerily similar to last year's series, as it has been exactly 365 days since the 2013 Finals began. Once again it features the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat representing their respective conferences, and the outcome of the series will the legacies and futures of the players involved, moreso than a normal championship series would. As was the case last year, the Heat are coming off closing out a series against the Indiana Pacers at home to advance to the Finals. Oh, and one of the teams is a #1 seed, while the other is a #2 seed, which was also true in 2013.

NBA Playoffs: Conference Finals Preview

As Serge Ibaka exits stage right for the rest of the playoffs, what happens to the Thunder? Photo from bleacherreport.com

In a second round that was significantly less exciting than the first round, all of the higher seeds advanced, leading us to the exact conference finals matchups that everyone has been expecting since the beginning of the season. Left standing are the two best teams in each conference (only on some days in the case of the Pacers) and now it's time to see who will advance and play for the championship, and the right to have me write about them everyday over a span of about two weeks. That's quite the honor if you ask me.

NBA Playoffs: Second Round Preview

John Wall and the Wizards will continue the rejuvenation of Washington basketball. Photo from 5thquartermag.com

Wow. That's my reaction to the amazing first round that we just witnessed. Coming off of probably the best round in the history of the NBA playoffs, and maybe, in all sports, I'm certainly looking forward to round two, which should be pretty good as well. Obviously, with only four matchups instead of eight, it will be hard to live up to the same excitement that came with the first round, but this time, the games will be closer, and there will be more at stake. All four series have are very intriguing, and I wouldn't be totally surprised at an upset in any matchup. Let's begin with the Eastern Conference:

Eastern Conference
1 Indiana Pacers vs. 5 Washington Wizards. After struggling in every game of the series, and still finding itself tied 3-3 with the Hawks (because they were, in fact, facing the Hawks), the Pacers get it together and advanced with a great Game 7 win. On the other hand, the Wizards totally blew the Bulls out of the water in their first round series which surprised even me, and I picked them to win the series, albeit in seven games, and not five. Back in my full playoff preview, I predicted this matchup, and for the Pacers to win it in 6, because I assumed that they would have figured out their issues by the time this series rolled around. It turns out, I was mistaken. The only reason why the Pacers are still alive, and not sitting at home watching the Wizards feast on the Hawks, is because the Hawks are not a very good team in the end. As horribly as the Pacers played at times, their talent was able to prevail in the end and lead them to victory over DeMarre Carroll and the boys. The Wizards are a much better team, and will be able to exploit Indiana inside unless Roy Hibbert returns to form, which I do not see happening. Without him being a true rim protector, which was one of the main problems for the team not only against the Hawks, but in the second half of the regular season, when the team was trending downwards, not only will Nene and Marcin Gortat have their way inside, John Wall will be able to attack the rim without fear. The Pacers cannot afford to play sloppy offense in this series, because that leads to turnovers, which leads to multiple fastbreak opportunities for a Washington team that loves to fly up and down the floor. Hold on...does this mean? Yes, the Wizards are going to the Eastern Conference Finals. Wizards in 6. 

2 Miami Heat vs. 6 Brooklyn Nets. Okay, the Nets did in fact sweep the Heat in the regular season. Does that mean that Brooklyn will win this series? Not at all. This time around, a fully rested team, featuring a healthy and spry Dwyane Wade will be ready to attack the rim. And, Mason Plumlee wasn't so great during the Raptors series when he did play, which means that the Heat will have to test him early to see how he is defensively. If he's in any way less than he was during the regular season, I see no way that the Nets win this series. Even if he plays, well, I don't really see any advantages that the Nets have. Deron Williams is quite inconsistent, and if he's passive early on, the game is essentially decided in favor of Miami. With a relatively old team, it will be hard for the Nets to stop Miami in transition, despite what occurred between these two in the regular season. Things are different now. Heat in 5. 

Western Conference
1 San Antonio Spurs vs. 5 Portland Trail Blazers. Yet another great matchup to watch, it will be exciting to see the upstart Blazers take on the Spurs. Overall, San Antonio is a much more disciplined team, and they have more talent, but that doesn't mean that Portland will go down without a fight. LaMarcus Aldridge can singlehandedly win this series for him team if he plays great. I'm not asking him to play like he did in the first two games of the first round series in Houston, but, around that level. But, on the other side, Tony Parker will have his way with Damian Lillard in their one on one matchup, which will be hard for the Blazers to defend, because their only rim protector is Robin Lopez. Look for Parker to attack consistently, and score a lot of points. But, don't rule out Aldridge's ability to take the game into his hands. Spurs in 7. 

2 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 3 Los Angeles Clippers. I'll venture to say that this is the best second round series in the league. Both of these teams are well equipped to win the championship should they win this series. Usually, the biggest offensive advantages that the Clips have are at the point guard and power forward positions, but those will be taken away somewhat thanks to the defensive abilities of both Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka. Westbrook will certainly be able to bother Chris Paul with his defensive energy. Ibaka, along with Steven Adams and Nick Collison will defend Blake Griffin, and force him into foul trouble, which does not bode well for the Clippers. In addition, the Thunder have the best player in the series, Kevin Durant, so that will allow them to take this series. Obviously the Clippers are still really good, but these particular advantages will lead to a close Thunder victory. Thunder in 7. 

2014 NBA Playoff Preview

Photo from stupiddope.com

It's time for the probably the best time of the year, as both the NBA and NHL playoffs kick off this week, giving us two months of wild finishes, great comebacks, and of course, the glory of winning. I'm not nearly informed enough about the NHL outside of New York to write a playoff preview (Let's go Rangers!) But, I've got you covered on basketball. Yes, that's right, I will be breaking down the first round matchups, and predicting what we will be seeing for the rest of the postseason. At the beginning of every round, I'll be previewing the upcoming series, leading up to the Finals, when I will post a preview or recap everyday throughout the series. Hopefully I'll be able to throw in another live blog, as I have in the last two years.

First, we have to look back at the beginning of the year, and my season preview. I got twelve of the sixteen playoff teams correctly, leaving the Wizards in the ninth seed in the East, while missing the Raptors, Bobcats, and Mavs as well. I also predicted that the Bulls would win the championship, but, without Derrick Rose, that looks almost impossible. I still stand by my prediction of the Heat finishing third in the conference had Rose played a full season, but we'll never know.

So, I'll take my 75% accuracy into the playoffs and see what happens.

2014 MLB Preview

We're nearing the end of March, which means...

It's baseball time ladies and gentlemen!

The season already kicked off this past weekend in Australia when the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in a two game series that absolutely no one watched. But, the season truly began last night in a matchup between the Dodgers and the barn burning....San Diego Padres? Yes, the Dads were in a nationally televised game that is meant to kick off the season. I don't know how the MLB decided to let that happen. Also, what made the Dodgers the Kings of the league? Why'd they get the privilege of being the team to start off the season in two different countries? The league is full of many options that would have been a lot more interesting to see in place of the Dodgers, both in Australia and in the featured Opening Night game.

Why not the Houston Astros? They could have really set the tone for the year, making sure that we all have very low expectations for this baseball season. From there, literally anything remotely competent will be considered a miracle. So that only rules out all things related to the Astros, including their uniforms, logos, stadium, players, former players, or, really, anything tangentially related to the brand of the Houston Astros. It also rules out all trades made by Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers, Rickie Weeks, Jonathon Niese's bones, tendons, and ligaments, the elbow of any Atlanta Braves pitcher, UCLs in general, the contracts that Giants GM Brian Sabean dished out this winter, contract values as a whole, and the very existence of Dee Gordon. Otherwise, thanks to the 'Stros setting the bar at negative 15 on Opening Night, even a pop fly will be riveting TV. It will also make their opponents look like Murderer's Row...on steroids. Though, showing the Astros off to Australia might not give them the best opinion of the sport.

Los Angeles Angels, anyone? Trout. That would have been an excuse to show Mike Trout on national TV. And that's always a good thing. More Trout. Yes, the rest of the team is bad, but all around the country, we'd be able to see Trout. Also, Bud Selig would have all sorts of cash flowing in after introducing Trout to Australia firsthand. Think of all the young, future baseball players down under that would have been able to look back on the time that they saw Michael Nelson Trout in action as the moment when they fell in love with the sport. Now they'll just talk about Paul Goldschmidt and Yasiel Puig. Certainly not a bad duo, but not at the level of Trout.

What about the St. Louis Cardinals? Who wouldn't want to see the best team in baseball in action? A team that is beautifully constructed, beautifully run, and beautiful to watch. Easily the most complete team in the game. How could the MLB deny us, and Australia, of seeing them in action, for the entire country to see?

Most importantly, did the league forget about the Boston Red Sox? They would have been the perfect team to throw into those two slots. But not because they're the reigning World Champions. It's because of one player on their team. One man that's going to take the league by storm, and remind us why we all love sports.

Photo from flickr.com

The one on the left. Stop looking at Xander Bogaerts and his smile, this is all about Grady Sizemore. His presence alone warrants the entire team taking a trip to Australia. The Aussies would have loved watching him live. And what American wouldn't love to spend their Sunday night watching the MLB return of the Great Grady. Not only is his story of redemption amazing, he was a great player when he was healthy many years ago. He's still only 31 years old, which means that he's still technically in his prime. You may have forgotten how good he was back in Cleveland, but he's back. What better way to kick off America's pasttime in 2014 with the personification of 'Murican perseverance?

Just a warning, is not at all the last time the name Grady Sizemore will appear in this article. He'll be all over it. He was Mike Trout before Mike Trout for me; the first player that I ever fell in love with. Surprisingly, it wasn't Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, or David Wright, but rather, a Cleveland Indian that caught my attention. Soon he was joined by then-Marlin Carlos Delgado, so of course when Delgado jumped ship to the Mets, Sizemore was no longer clearly my favorite baseball player. But he'll always be an important part of my love of baseball.

And now he hath returned. Is he going to challenge Mike Trout in my heart? Probably not, but we'll see.

As for the rest of the league, here are my projected standings, along with my thoughts on every team, in some cases, much longer than others:

The Big Name Acquisitions

With the NFL's free agency period now two weeks old, we've seen a lot of important moves that will have a major bearing on the upcoming season and beyond. In a later post, I'll get to the signings that garnered less attention from the general public, but for now, here's my take on the moves that I loved (or hated) involving the household names. I'll also be grading each deal on Albert Haynesworth(less)/Jason Bay/Jerome James/Wade Redden Scale for disaster potential.

DeMarcus Ware, DE/OLB Denver Broncos (3 Years/$30 Million)- I don't really understand what the Cowboys were thinking in getting rid of Ware, who despite injury issues was still a pretty productive player last year. He has more than enough left in the tank, and in Denver he will give a major boost to this defense. He'll fill the Elvis Dumervil role from 2012, which the Broncos really missed last year. Paired with Von Miller, Ware gives this team almost unquestionably the best pass rushing linebackers in the NFL, which will really make up for their now deficient secondary.

Photo form denver.cbslocal.com

AHJBJJWR Scale: 1 out of 5.

Aqib Talib, CB Denver Broncos (6 Years/$57 Million)- Another way to fix the pass defense is by directly augmenting the secondary. This Talib singing was almost necessary since it's now clear that Champ Bailey is not returning to the Mile High City, Chris Harris will be coming off of a knee injury, and the Broncos had no plans to retain Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Talib has played extremely well over the last couple of seasons, being a shutdown corner when healthy. But that's the key. He has had notable injuries in the past, and struggled to stay on the field last year. The contract is a bit...large to say the least, especially when compared to the money they other corners (specifically Tampa's Alterraun Verner, which I'll get to in a later article) receiver, but it fills a need for the Broncos and can pay off huge dividends in the end.

Photo from veooz.com 

AHJBJJWR Scale: 3.5 out of 5. The injury concerns are an issue. And yet, I still don't totally disagree with this deal.

NFL Picks: Super Bowl

Photo from socialnewsdaily.com

Finally, it's that day. The moment we've all been waiting for. Teams and players on these two teams have been working for a year towards this goal, and it's only 60 minutes away for either the Seahawks or the Broncos.

But, you already know that. You also know that, in terms of the spread, I got both of my picks wrong last week (I did pick the Broncos to win outright, but not in the fashion in which they did). But that's all in the past, and it's time to play the most important game in all of sports.

UPSET ALERT if I think the underdog will win outright, not just cover.