So, after much buildup and a few tweets back and forth, Kevin Durant matched up against LeBron James last night in Akron Ohio for the much anticipated Flag Football game between the two. First off, I am absolutely shocked that the Heat and Oke City were okay with this. Now, I know the CBA isn’t “official” yet, but if I am either organization’s owner and I know the season is starting on December 25, and I know how much money that I have already lost, you better believe that I would have these superstars on 24 hour lockdown. God forbid KD comes down awkwardly and rips up an ACL (cause honestly I know half the country was hoping LeBron got lit up coming across the middle) and Oke City is legit done for the year. That being said, the athleticism that was in this game was insane (except Durant’s brother who could have been the worst quarterback ever). I was rather upset that ESPN (as usual) put the entire spotlight on LeBron. The highlights only showed Durant when he was making a play on Lebron. All of this aside, I don’t think there is a doubt in the world that Lebron could not play in the NFL. You think Deon “Prime Time” was nice for playing baseball and football? Imagine playing – and dominating – in the NBA and NFL. Holy hell. Just saying, Lebron as a 6’8” wide receiver with speed and strength? Hate if you want, but this guy would make Calvin Johnson look like Muggsy Bogues.
A Fall for the Ages
Since when is it already December? I could of sworn we had a beach day a little over a week ago. Regardless, it’s been one wild fall season so far in sports, especially in Boston.
We should probably get the most drawn out news out of the way, so let’s start with the NBA. One of the biggest factors in this notion of a unique fall has to be the fact that we just began the month of December and there hasn’t been any basketball (professional) yet. Not to mention we still have to wait til the end of the month to see the Celts hit the parquet. Better late than never.
The Red Sox put us through a world of shame back in September. Since the fallout, constant bad news followed. A poor club house, unhappy players, losing Theo, Tito, and Heidi (most importantly Heidi). We could blame the Red Sox for possibly one of the most incredibly depressing starts to fall season in Boston. At least the team’s recent headlines have them moving in the right direction.
With all this chatter, it was an unusually difficult transition into Pats season. We watched as a weary Patriots team showed signs of slipping, despite Brady having, once again, a career season at the helm. It’s crazy that we’ve already reached Week 13, but it’s great to see the team entering the home stretch with continuous improvement and constant dominance from the QB spot.
Finally we get to our reigning Stanley Cup Champs. After a slow start, the Bruins managed to shake off the hangover and get back to work. The month of November was good to hockey fans in Boston. The B’s finished off the month 12-1, gaining points in each of their 13 games, an incredible feat.
With the way things started off, it looked like we were in for a lengthy autumn in Boston. Everything seemed to be working against us. But of course, title town prevailed. With the closing of a memorable fall on the horizon and winter quickly approaching, Boston fans can’t help but smile. The ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future gave Stern a visit, leaving us with an NBA season for our Celtics. The Red Sox have pushed their demons aside and began to focus on greener pastures circa April 2012. And finally the two teams currently in season are representing Boston with pride as they sit atop their respective divisions. Smile sports fans. It’s a good time to be from Boston.
Brandon Marshall Detained in Miami
Brandon Marshall is back at it again with his idiotic off the field antics. Police detained Marshall at 7 AM this morning for apparently not paying for a $142 cab fair. Marshall said he had been at a party and got into the cab to go home in Southwest Ranches. He fell asleep in the cab and awoke at the airport. The driver of the cab said Marshall told him he needed to go into the airport to use the restroom, then just jumped into another cab and took off. He was later detained when the dispatcher alerted the driver about Marshall and the cab driver drove him to police. First off, what the hell was he doing out at 7 AM on a Wednesday night? Doesn’t he have this thing called practice on Thursday? Marshall makes over $6.5 million per year and he can’t pay for a $142 cab fair. Either this guy was belligerently drunk on a Wednesday night, or he really is as dumb as he sounded several weeks back when he said he was going to “get ejected” when his at the time winless Dolphins were taking on the Jets. Either way this is just another case of some primadona receiver that can’t handle being a public figure.
Thursday Night Pick ‘Em – Week 13
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Eagles @ Seahawks 8:20PM
The Eagle’s season has been a complete disaster this year. Their star WR is almost as pissed off as the Eagle’s fans are. Vince Young will get the start at QB tonight while Vick sits out for the third week in as many weeks. Also out this week are CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and their other top downfield threat Jeremy Maclin will sit out again. Pete Carroll has the Seahawks playing well and Marshawn Lynch looks poised to earn himself the money he deserves this offseason. I’m going with the Seahawks tonight. The Eagles don’t even have more talent on the field this week with all their injuries and the fact that they are a complete mess on and off the field doesn’t make me feel to good about their chances tonight.
Prediction: Seahawks 23 Eagles 20
Superman Part 2
Dwight Howard may be following in Shaq’s footsteps by leaving Orlando. It does not look like the Magic are in the running for any big name players thus far. This means that Howard will probably not sign an extension with them beyond this shortened season. That’s how Shaq felt after the 1996 season, when he left the Magic to play for the Lakers. The Magic didn’t get anything for him because they decided to let him become a free agent rather than trying to trade him and get some sort of compensation before it was too late. The next season, their record dropped to almost .500 and their head coach was fired. I can only pray that this is the case next season so that Stan Van Gundy is out of the league forever! (and hopefully he takes his idiot announcer brother with him)
However they do not want to end up being like the Cavaliers last season and losing 26 games straight because they were too proud to trade their franchise player before it was too late. They need to go out and get someone. The Lakers have Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol to trade if they needed to if he wanted to play with Kobe. They could also send him to the New Jersey Nets to play with Deron Williams. That would probably be the best scenario because they would receive rising star Brook Lopez and 2 first round picks. Howard needs a guard that can get him the ball anywhere on the court, Nelson just isn’t cutting it.
Boston is a Hockey Town
It’s been four days since a CBA agreement has “tentatively” been reached, less than a month from a possible opening day (nearly 2 months behind schedule), and already the NHL has been put on the back burner. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up playing basketball but come from a hockey family, so I try to be as impartial as possible. A few days off and it feels like everyone has forgotten about the Bruins. Maybe it’s just the excitement of the NBA’s sudden rise from the grave, but we can’t forget where the Bruin’s stand. The B’s look to cap off an incredible month of November (11-1) tonight against the Leafs. A win will help them secure first place in the Northeast Division, pushing ahead of Toronto. The B’s have already won twice against the Leafs in the early season, so you can expect them to come out swinging. I’m confident this will be a game the Bruins won’t allow themselves to lose. Not only is first place on the line, but the B’s want to continue to prove that Boston is still a hockey town.
Big Baby Keeps Busy
11′ Colts vs. 08′ Pats
There is a reason the Colts are 0-11 this season and it is not all because Peyton Manning got injured. I’m not saying they are a playoff team without him, but they are not an 0-11 team. Tom Brady went down week one of the 2008 season and the Patriots finished 11-5. When you lose you’re All-Pro QB for the full season you are forced to change your offense, not keep it the same as the Colts have this year. The Colts pass/rush ratio is 32.9/22.5. A difference of over 10 more passes than rushes per game. Why would you revolve your team’s offense around the passing game with a quarterback you know can’t throw the ball? In 2008 when Brady got injured the Patriots pass/rush ratio was 33.3/32.1. A difference of just over 1 more passes than rushes each game. When you lose your star quarterback you must change your offense around your other strengths. The Patriots used a running tandem of Sammy Morris, Green-Ellis, Faulk, and LaMont Jordan. You can’t tell me that’s a better tandem than Joseph Addai, Donald Brown, and Delone Carter. We all know the Patriots as a passing team, but in 2008 they were forced to change their strategy and the results showed. When Jim Caldwell gets fired at the end of this season everyone will be saying it was undeserved because Manning was injured, and that certainly is not the case.
Rondo Rumors
Although there was much speculation about Chris Paul coming to Boston in place of Rajon Rondo (which would be amazing and anyone who says otherwise does not know what they are talking about), it looks like it will not be happening because Paul knows the age of our team. He will not sign an extension beyond this first year. Besides, there are still rumors floating around that he is making a dream team #2, with Melo and Amare in New York. Keep in mind though, KG said the same thing in ’07, as well as Melo. Hmmm.
The Indiana Pacers are also trying to work a deal out to bring Rondo to their team but without a third team involved, Danny Ainge would be foolish to look too far into this. They do not have anyone that can replace Rondo’s athleticism and we cannot rely on Delonte West as a starter (assuming that we re-sign him and he doesn’t get caught with guns on his motorcycle or fornicating Lebron’s mommy). With most of our team entering senior citizen status next season, it will be tough to get any big name player to sign a contract here. Therefore we need to stop remembering the past big 3 for what they were and think about alternative scenarios that could give us the best opportunity to compete with the Big 3 of the Heat, which will be stronger than last year, and the possible Big 3 in New York.
NFL Power Rankings – Week 13
1. Packers (11-0) – Their record speaks for itself.
2. Patriots (8-3) – Their offense is still great and the defense is improving each week.
3. Ravens (8-3) – They shut down the 49ers on Thanksgiving without Ray Lewis. They’ll be even better when he’s back.
4. Saints (8-3) – 49 points against the Giants defense is no fluke.
5. Steelers (8-3) – Big Ben looks good and they’re defense is strong as always.
6. 49ers (9-2) – They hung in there with the Ravens. Their shaky offense is why they are here.
7. Cowboys (7-4) – If they played up to their talent level they could be in the top 5.
8. Lions (7-4) – They still have Megatron and a solid defense. If they can survive without Suh the next two weeks they should make the playoffs.
9. Giants (6-5) – Similar to the Cowboys. Still have a great pass rush and a solid offense.
10. Falcons (7-4) – Their offense is getting better.
11. Raiders (7-4) – Palmer looks great and Bush has helped them miss McFadden a little less.
12. Jets (6-5) – They still have Rex Ryan, but to counter that they also still have Mark Sanchez.
13. Bengals (7-4) – The rookie combination on offense continues to shine, the defense looks solid also. Unfortunately they have to play the Ravens and Steelers twice each season.
14. Broncos (6-5) – One name is all you need to know. Tim Tebow, he’s a winner.
15. Bears (7-4) – We saw what Caleb Hanie could do. It reflects in this weeks ranking.
16. Texans (7-4) – Now officially the worst 7-4 team in the league. Who is the QB in Houston again?
17. Titans (6-5) – If Chris Johnson can play like he did last week, they have a solid playoff shot.
18. Eagles (4-7) – The best 4-7 dream team in NFL history.
19. Chargers (4-7) – My bet is Norv Turner won’t be living in San Diego next season.
20. Redskins (4-7) – Teams don’t make the playoffs with quarterbacks like John Beck and Rex Grossman.
21. Bills (5-6) – They have completely fallen apart and have basically no shot at the playoffs.
22. Buccaneers (4-7) – Josh Freeman has had an off year, and so has a lot of the team.
23. Seahawks (4-7) – Similar to the Washington situation, you usually don’t make the playoffs with QB’s like Jackson and Whitehurst.
24. Dolphins (3-8) – They look like they are turning around, its a little too late though.
25. Cardinals (4-7) – Same as many other teams in the NFL, Kevin Kolb doesn’t look like the solution.
26. Panthers (3-8) – Imagine if they didn’t have Cam Newton?
27. Vikings (2-9) – Hey at least they’ll probably have a top 5 pick.
28. Browns (4-7) – Their offense is just terrible.
29. Jaguars (3-8) – I’ve been surprised Jack Del Rio lasted this long.
30. Rams (2-9) – What a disappointing year for Sam Bradford.
31. Chiefs (4-7) – Tyler Palko just isn’t gonna cut it.
32. Colts (0-11) – Doesn’t get any worse.
