Sports May 30, 2010

The NBA finals are set. After both teams started to stumble and blow their leads, the Lakers and Celtics will play each other in the finals again. I thought the Magic would claim the series and come all the way back after they were able to force a game 6. It would have been the second time in a month a Boston team had blown a 3-0 lead. A big reason the Magic didn't make the finals was their consistency of play. They were sloppy against the Bobcats but managed to win. They dominated the Hawks, but then they went down 3-0 on the Celtics. They did play well to get back 2 games, but not so well in the last one. If they want to win a Finals, they have to play well a lot longer.

What about Halladay throwing a perfect game? Its the second time this month, by far the shortest time between two perfect games. There have also been 3 no- hitters so far this season, and its not even the end of May. This all happens with luck. Remember a stretch between Randy Johnson's perfect game and Anibal Sanchez's no hitter more than two years later. That spanned a good part of three seasons in which no one threw a no- hitter, much less a perfect game. Now, we have had three (including Mark Buehrle's last year), within five baseball months. That's ridiculous.

The National League also looks very tight this year. There are 9 teams within 5 games of a wildcard berth. I know its May and several teams will drop out as the year progresses, but this has to be exciting. Thats more than half of the league in contention. It might not matter, as the wildcard teams are often times much worse than the division winners. However, every year since the turn of the century, either a wild card team or a team that missed the postseason the year before won a penant.

Sports May 23, 2010

There have been way too many routes in the NBA playoffs this year. The Magic looked like the team to beat in the east after the Cavs lost and they won eight straight. Yet, they are down 3-0 Celtics, and got trashed last night. The Lakers also have a 2-0 advantage on the Suns. We could have another Lakers/Celtics finals. Rajon Rondo has also stepped up this postseason, and has been the Celtics best player. I think Rondo can carry the Celtics past the Lakers.

Interleague baseball is also underway. It is interesting to see these matchups. Teams like the Red Sox and Phillies are fun to watch because they both have many good players that you don't often see face each other. You rarely see Lester vs. Howard, Lackey vs. Utley, or King Felix vs. Adrian Gonzalez. You also get wacky results in local series, like the Yankees vs. the Mets. I always like to watch these unfold, but they do take a lot away from the all- star game.

Why are people so hung up on whats going to happen in the NBA offseason. Come on, we have the NBA finals a week or so away. We have a team that seems to be able to take down the Lakers, and its set up to be an interesting finals. Why can't we worry about that now, and worry where Lebron will go later. I had found it a relief when the playoffs started, so people will shut up about this offseason, but that has not been the case. The entire media is worrying about who will have a chance to win it all next season. We all know that the entire league will be shaken up and many superstars relocated, but can't we worry about that after the finals? There still are many superstars playing right now. Why can't they steal the highlights instead?

Sports May 16, 2010

What was with the NBA Playoffs this year? Three sweeps in the second round is ridiculous. One would think the Jazz and Spurs could win at least one game. The Jazz have one of the best point guards in the league, couldn’t he carry them to win one game? What about the Spurs and all of their veterans? Couldn’t Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli win one game? In the East, the Hawks got absolutely manhandled. You would think they were the 8^th seed, and the Magic the 1^st seed. But no, they were 2 and 3. The Hawks also struggled to beat the Bucs in the first round, who they should have beat in less than 7 games. Don’t the Hawks have enough fire power to at least not lose by double digits for one game?

The other series, the Cavs and Celtics, was slightly closer, but with the wrong victor. The Cavs were the one seed and favorites going in, yet the Celtics were still able to dethrone King James. Could the King be done in Cleveland? For the vast majority of his time there, Lebron hardly ever got support from his supporting cast. He made the finals that one year, only to get swept by the Spurs. He has had some solid players around him the last couple years, but has fell short of the finals both of those years. If Lebron is going to win the finals, he will need another superstar, and that isn’t going to happen in Cleveland. If he wants to win the finals, his best bet is going to the Bulls, and playing alongside Derrick Rose. I think he’s done in Cleveland.

Wasn’t the NL West race suppose to be between the Dodgers, Rockies, and Giants this year? The Padres don’t think so. No one even gave them a shot at anything this year, yet they have a 1.5 game lead over the Giants going into today. When they traded Jake Peavy to the White Sox last season, they were done. Yet, they are leading that division at the moment. A lot of teams, like the Red Sox, were hoping to acquire Adrian Gonzalez this season to aid their offense. Yet, the way this season is going, the Padres could be the ones adding a bat midseason. What a season that would be, if the Padres ended up making the postseason.

I think the Tigers have also been a surprise this season. When they traded Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson this offseason, I thought they were done this year. But Austin Jackson has been a big bat for them, as had fellow rookie Brennan Boesch. The Tigers are also in the middle of a pennant race, and they might take the division back from the Twins.

Sports May 9, 2010

The second round of the NBA playoffs are around half way done, and it has surprised me that 3 of the 4 series are 3-0. The second round is suppose to be a lot closer than this, since the lower seeded teams have been eliminated. The 2-3 series is also suppose to be very close. We have 1 2-3 series this year, the Magic against the Hawks, and that series is 3-0, and it’s not even close. The closest game has been by 14 points. The other two games were more than twice that. The Magic have dominated the Hawks. The only close series, the Cavs and the Celtics, has been fun to watch. Rondo has been amazing for the Celtics, often outplaying King James himself. From the looks of it, it looks like the Magic are going to have another long rest before they play again, and could be well on their way to another NBA finals.

Great game by Dallas Braden, as he tossed a perfect game against the Rays. Coming into today, the Rays had the best record in the league, yet Braden was still able to retire 27 of them in a row. Remember when A-Rod ran over the mound against him? Well, no one is going to disrespect Dallas Braden in any way for a long time after today. The last perfect game ever thrown was last year by Mark Buerhle against the Rays last year. One might get the impression that the Rays aren’t a very good team, but that is untrue. The Rays do have a formidable lineup, with the likes of Evan Longoria and Carl Crawford. Yet, they have come up empty in two games against two solid south paws.

Another big series going down is the Yankees- Red Sox series. Any time they play each other there is always a big commotion. Remember the start of last year when the Red Sox won eight straight games against the Yankees? Well, that’s all ancient history, as the Yankees beat them 9 out the next 10, won the World Series, and now have won 4 out of 5 games in Fenway Park to start the season. What about that turn around? With a win today the Yankees will sweep the Red Sox in Fenway Park, and will move in to first place in the AL East due to the Rays loss. Note: The Yankees still haven’t played the Red Sox in Yankee Stadium.

What about the Mets? Weren’t they suppose to roll over and let the Phillies win another division this year. They don’t seem to think so. They’re one of the hottest teams in the league right now, and hit two walk off homers to beat the Giants in two straight games. Despite losing today, they still managed to get runs off Tim Lincecum in 6 innings. That’s actually quite an accomplishment. Rod Barajas has also been huge for them, as he has 9 homeruns thus far for them. That’s amazing when you realize that he’s on pace to get around 40 this year. The scary part is that they don’t have Carlos Beltran, one of their best players, back from injuries yet. They have also found a solid second starter in Mike Pelfrey. They definitely have the potential to make a run at the division, and maybe more.

Sports in the USA, May 02, 2010

Good week in sports. The end of April spells some good times for many baseball players. The second round of the NBA playoffs is also underway with the Cavs getting a big win over the Celtics in game 1 of that series last night. And at home Dad is all excited about the T20/20 World Cup currently underway in the West Indies.

The Mets have moved Jose Reyes from leadoff to hitting third. Reyes is known for his speed, and is an ideal leadoff hitter, and not much a third hitter. However, the Mets had won eight straight games with him hitting third before losing to the Phillies yesterday. I think Reyes is better hitting leadoff, as he is always a threat to steal a base. In the long run, the Mets will win many more games with him hitting leadoff.

Do you bunt in the 9th innnings with 2 out and a runner on 3rd? That is exactly what Howie Kendrick decided to do. He bunt hit to win the game for the Angels. With two outs and the go ahead run on third, players generally swing away. Kendrick is a solid hitter, and had a shot of getting a knock to the outfield. However, he opted to bunt in the run. The Angels are known for being an aggressive small ball team, so this play would not have been so surprising had it been in an earlier inning. Kendrick called that play himself, and it worked. If it didn’t work and the Indians won the game, he would have looked like an idiot, especially if the Angels were to finish one game out of a playoff birth.

Something I find disturbing is that the second round of the NBA playoffs started before the first round ended. The Cavs and Celtics played game 1 of their second round series on Saturday, while the Bucs and Hawks played game 7 of their first round series on today. It makes little different for those two teams, but it has a big impact of the other team left in the East, the Magic. They get extra days of rest, for doing nothing extra. They swept the Bobcats, and have had a very long time to rest before their series with the Hawks gets underway. It gives them a different playing field with the other teams in the East. The only determining factors of these series should be the seeding, and how they are able to finish off their opponents, not how the other teams are doing. The playoffs should be planned out before the season, so that all of the first round series end before the second round starts.

What about the Bucs. On paper, they ‘re no match for the Hawks. But that’s why you play the game. They put up an admirable effort by taking the Hawks to 7 games. It reminds me a lot of the Bulls team last year that took the Celtics to 7 games. If you draw similarities between those two teams, they both had a rookie point guard (Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings), and they also had a common starter: John Salmons. I don’t think you saw that coming. But he has been a good scorer over the last couple of years, and was a big part of both of those teams. He did a good job by getting traded midseason twice, and taking both of those teams on good runs.

I also want to congratulate the Sharks as the only good Bay Area team. They moved on to the second round and beat the Red Wings in game 1. Good job.

And Dad got all excited when Australia lost 5 wickets in an over in international cricket. He thought it was hilarious and funny. Unfortunately I don't know the game and cannot comment.