Sports for True Fans

My All No-Name College Basketball Team

brev6 — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:53:34 +0000

I’ve done some research, and realized that many players aren’t getting the respect they deserve. So I decided to make an All-Star team out of no- names.

G- Lester Hudson: 27.3 PPG, 4.1 APG, 7.8 RPG, 2.4 SPG

G- David Holston: 25.9 PPG, 6.4 APG, 3.7 RPG, 3.0 SPG

F- Ahmad Nivins: 19.2 PPG, 1.1 APG, 11.7 RPG, 1.8 BPG

Ahmad Nivins is just one vastly underrated player in the NCAA.

F- Kenneth Faried: 13.9 PPG, 1.5 APG, 12.8 RPG, 1.9 BPG/SPG

C- John Bryant: 18.1 PPG, 1.1 APG, 14.2 RPG, 2.5 BPG

Do you see what I mean? If you compare these guys with the “best”, then you’ll see just how amazing these stats are. Let’s compare John Bryant with one of the best players in the nation, Blake Griffin(Griffin first):

PPG: 21.9/ 18.1

RPG: 14.3/ 14.2

BPG: 1.3/ 2.5

See how close these guys are? So, next time you see a small team playing on ESPN2, don’t automatically change the channel, watch for a little. Who knows, you might be watching the next Stephon Curry.

That’s all I have for you.

Thanks for reading!

World Baseball Classic: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not

brev6 — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:19:13 +0000

Who’s hot and who’s not in the World Baseball Classic for team USA:

Hot:

Jonathon Broxton, P: Broxton has pitched in three games and he has had 3 strikeouts, allowed just one hit and no runs for a 0.00 ERA.

Matt Lindstrom, P: He’s 1-0 with one strikeout and a 0.00 ERA.

LaTroy Hawkins, P: The same stats as Lindstrom except he’s walked one guy.

Chris Iannetta, C: He leads all participants with a 2.607 OPS, and a 1.750 slugging percentage. He also has a .750 batting average, a .857 OBP, has drawn 3 walks, hasn’t struck out, has hit 1 HR and 1 double, and has 6 RBIs.

Rockies' Catcher Chris Iannetta has been the best all- around hitter this year for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

Adam Dunn, OF: He leads Team USA and is tied for 2^nd among all participants in walks drawn, with 6. He is also tied for 3^rd in HRs, with 2.

Kevin Youkilis, 1B: He is tied with Dunn for the team lead in HRs (2), despite a .250 BA(his only other hit was a single). He also leads all participants in runs, with 7.

Not a very big-name list, huh? That’s because a lot of the big names are on the next list.

Not:

Curtis Granderson, OF: He leads team USA with 4 strikeouts, and only has a .250 BA, OBP, and slugging percentage, and just a .500 OPS.

Dustin Pedroia, 2B: The defending AL MVP has a miniscule .125 BA and OBP, a .250 slugging percentage, and a .375 OPS.

David Wright, 3B: He has a .231 BA, with no RBIs, and 3 strikeouts. He also has a .286 OBP, a .231 slugging percentage, and a .516 OPS.

J.J. Putz, P: Despite his one save, he has one of the worst ERAs of all participants, with a 9.00 ERA.

Jeremy Guthrie, P: He has allowed 7 hits, 4 earned runs, and walked two people in one game, a loss, and a 18.00 ERA.

Jake Peavy, P: he leads Team USA with 3 walks, and has a 6.00 ERA.

Roy Oswalt, P: He has allowed 6 hits, 3 runs, and 2 walks for a 7.36 ERA.

That’s all I have for you.

Thanks for reading!

Syracuse Set to Play Louisville in the Big East Finals

brev6 — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 03:56:29 +0000

At Madison Square Garden in New York, Syracuse played their second overtime game in two nights. Again, they won the game. But, this time, it wasn’t an upset, as they played and promptly beat unranked West Virginia.

But, this wasn’t like the West Virginia game. It was just one overtime where Syracuse led the whole time.

Johnny Flynn, the Bob Cousy award finalist(Best Point Guard), has played a grand total of 112 minutes in his last two game. He played 67 of the 70 minutes last night and was never taken out of the game. He ended with 15 points and 9 assists.

Devindorf had another big game, with 23 points. He was taken out for two minutes because of foul trouble, but that’s it.

Devan Ebanks topped his career high from yesterday. Today he had 22 points.

The final score was 74 to 69.

Amidst Big Upsets, Few Teams Step Up

brev6 — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 03:21:37 +0000

Since the start of the conference tournaments, there have been many disappointments and many surprises. Two such games came yesterday, March 12, 2009.

The first one came in a game between Pittsburgh and West Virginia. All through the game, you couldn’t tell if it was the same Pittsburgh team that just recently beat the then #1 Connecticut. West Virginia simply dominated Pitt, beating them in the end by 14, 74-60. Devan Ebanks led the Mountaineers with 20 points and 7 rebounds, while playing all 40 minutes. LeVance Fields stood out for the Panthers, because even though he only had 6 points, he also had 6 rebounds and 7 assists. But it wasn’t enough.

The next Big East upset took a long time to secure, almost 4 hours. The game was the second longest ever in the NCAA, just one OT away from holding that title. The game between Connecticut and Syracuse was a 6OT affair. Many a time in this game, there were buzzer-beaters or near-buzzer-beaters by both teams. The game was very high scoring, as it should be, and the Orange came out with a win, and, though it took a while, they upset Hasheem Thabeet and the Huskies by ten, 127 to 117.

But, the Big East isn’t the only place that has had some upsets. Yesterday alone, 3 top 17 teams were upset, and they were: Oklahoma, Kansas, and Clemson.

Today, Wake Forest was felled by Maryland by 11, BYU lost to San Diego State, Xavier lost to Temple, Syracuse is fighting with West Virginia for a win right now, Duke is also struggling with Boston College, and UCLA is yet to play tonight. Also, Washington is currently struggling with Arizona State. But those games are yet to be decided.

But, amidst all these upsets, some teams are yet to disappoint. North Carolina squeaked by Virginia Tech by 3, and Michigan State beat Minnesota by 8.

But, the team I really want to point out is Louisville.

The Louisville Cardinals came into the Big East tournament as the one seed (side note: no one was talking about them, it was all about Connecticut and Pittsburgh), and got a first and second round bye. At noon yesterday, Providence lost to Louisville by 11, and because of all the upsets, Louisville was set for a date with Villanova tonight at 7. The game started out tight, and Villanova led for a while, but then the Cardinals took hold of the game with a remarkable second half. They outscored the Wildcats 43 to 21 in the second half en route to a 14 point win, 69 to 55. Now they are set to go to the Big East Championship. (In case you can’t tell by that biased beginning, I’m a big Louisville fan.)

So, even though many teams have been upset, some teams (Louisville, UNC, and Michigan State) have still stayed strong and won the games they are supposed to win.

That’s all I have for you.

Thanks for reading!

Courtney Paris GUARANTEES National Championship… Or Else

brev6 — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:43:28 +0000

Oklahoma star Courtney Paris guaranteed that her Sooners will win the National Title. Even over UConn.

Courtney Paris has guaranteed that her Oklahoma Sooners will win the National Championship. But, this is no regular guarantee. She is willing to give up around 64,000 dollars if they don’t.

I’ll explain: Courtney Paris said that if the Sooners don’t win the National Championship, she will pay back every penny of her scholarship, which is worth about 64,000 dollars, more than a WNBA rookie makes(45,000 dollars is the salary for one.).

“I have a passion for our fans and university, and I want to do something special,” Paris said, ”That’s why I put my scholarship on the table. I meant what I said.”

Sounds like she’s pretty serious. While the Sooners are ranked third in the nation, I’m skeptical about this guarantee. I mean, have you seen UConn’s women play? They are amazing. When I watched them play Louisville(Number 5 in the nation, and my favorite team.)in the Big East Championship I wasn’t surprised that they trounce teams by around 30 a game during their 33 game undefeated season.

But, Courtney Paris seems determined that the Oklahoma Sooners are going to win the NCAA Women’s College Basketball National Championship.

That’s all I have for you.

Thanks for reading!

My Favorite Super Bowl Commercials

brev6 — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:28:39 +0000

What, I can’t flex the golden pipes?

Why don't you try reading the rules, shankopotamus?


It will only be seen in Sweden.


Do you daydream about punching small animals?


Who got three million dollars?


Free Doritos in the office today?

All that gold.




Shankopotamus,



What You Missed While You were Watching the Super Bowl
brev6 — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:23:31 +0000
 
Santonio Holmes looks for things other than himself going on in sports. Oh, look at this article!
 
 
Now, if you were watching the Super Bowl last night, which I’m sure you were, you probably missed the following events:
1. Michael Phelps Apologizes for Marijuana Pipe in his Mouth
A British tabloid showed a picture of Phelps inhaling from a marijuana pipe Saturday, although it did not say specifically that he was smoking marijuana, but instead stated that the pipe was generally used for that purpose.
One anonymous person who attended that party said that Phelps was “out of control from the moment he got there.” That’s not exactly incriminating evidence that he was smoking pot, but almost.
Michael Phelps, the guy who has a record eight gold medals from one year, didn’t come out and say that he was smoking marijuana either. Instead, he said:”I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I’m 23 years old and despite the successes I’ve had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.” However, there is no evidence that Phelps actually said this, because his agent released the quote, but let’s assume that he did. 
There will not be any repercussions against Phelps, except maybe that his sponsors will stop paying him. However, this is just more proof that athletes are invincible. I don’t know if any of you realize this, but marijuana is illegal! He should be arrested.
Anyway, there were other things that happened during the Super Bowl, like:
2. Nadal beats Federer to Win Australian Open
Nadal needed 4 hours, and 23 minutes to do it, but he eventually beat Roger Federer in the Australian Open final to keep Pete Sampras’ singles Grand Slam record safe.
Federer couldn’t help but cry during the presentation, sobbing out, “Maybe I’ll try later. God, it’s killing me.”
He later returned to the podium to congratulate Nadal, saying, “You deserved it. You played a fantastic final.”
After Nadal received his trophy, he put his arm around Federer and said, “Roger, sorry for today. I really know how you feel right now. Remember, you’re a great champion, you’re one of the best in history.”
The last main thing that happened during the Super Bowl, other than the Super Bowl, is:
3. Many Games that had Little to do with the Respective League’s Finals were Played
In college basketball, Duke, Illinois, and Villanova all won, as the rankings said they should. However, number 9 Michigan State got upset by unranked Penn State.
In the NBA, the three beasts of the East, Orlando, Boston, and Cleveland all won, while a low profile game (Kings vs. Thunder) was won by a low profile team (Sacramento Kings).
And, in the NHL, the Capitals, the Predators, and the Bruins all won.
That’s all I have for you.
Thanks for reading!

         


Steelers Win Amazing Super Bowl
brev6 — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:44:36 +0000
The Defensive Player of the Year made a huge difference in this Super Bowl. In two plays.
The first one came just before halftime, score at 7 to 10. The Steelers were up, and the Cardinals had the ball on the 2 or 3 yard line, about to score. Kurt Warner dropped back, looked left, and threw a pass to a slanting receiver. Harrison darted toward the ball and picked it off, with huge momentum.

His momentum carried him, as he jetted down the field, avoiding Kurt Warner and some other Cardinals. When he got to the five yard line, Steve Breaston and Larry Fitzgerald caught up to him, attempting to tackle him. They did bring him down, but too late, as he scored a touchdown off a 100 yard interception return.
The longest play in Super Bowl history.
The other potentially game changing moment by James Harrison came in the fourth quarter, with about 7 minutes left. The Cardinals were punting from the 40 yard line, trying to pin the Steelers deep in their own territory. The punt was a good one, and was downed on the 2 yard line. But, there was a flag down: unnecessary roughness, receiving team, number 92. James Harrison. 
He got blocked, and the blocker just sat there under him, so James started punching him on the back. When the blocker got up, Harrison punched him in the stomach. Bad move.
So the Steelers were pinned on the 1 yard line. When they got to 2nd and 10, Willie Parker attempted to rush the ball, and barely escaped a safety. The next play was wild. 
Roethlisberger escaped a rush, then threw the ball about 20 yards down the field to Santonio Holmes. He made a subtly amazing catch, snagging it with one hand behind him. However, the catch didn’t matter. Another penalty(which was the story of the night). Holding on the Steelers in the endzone.
A safety.
That made the score 20-16, and it gave the Cardinals the ball with under 6 minutes left.
So, after the safety punt, the Cardinals phenomenal  offense lined up to take the lead. Near the beginning of the drive, Warner threw a ball to Fitzgerald over the middle, and he had a big wide open space of green in front of him. He took it to the house off pure speed for his second touchdown of the night, which ultimately gave him the record for most touchdowns in a single postseason.
However, more importantly, it gave the Cardinals the lead, 23-20.
I was rejoicing, as I was cheering for the Cardinals, but one of the people there reminded me that there was time left.
The Steelers put together a great drive, ending tragically for some, but amazingly for others. After a big catch by Holmes that put the Steelers within 10 yards, Holmes received a ball from Big Ben in the back corner of the endzone, with three defenders near. 
Holmes caught the ball and toe tapped for the touchdown. The touchdown that put the Steelers back on top. The touchdown with :35 seconds left. That scoring drive was lead by Holmes, who had four catches for 73 yards and 1 touchdown.
So, with the score 27-23, the Steelers on top, after a Cardinal return, Warner took the game into his hands with 77 yards in front of him. His first throw gained about 25 yards, and got the Cardinals to midfield. But, that was about as far as they got because, after a medium gain, Warner fumbled attempting a hail mary.
The Steelers recovered the ball with :5 seconds left.
After Big Ben took the final knee of the season, the cheering started.
The final score was 27-23.
Santonio Holmes was named MVP of the Super Bowl with 9 catches for 131 yards and 1 TD in just his third NFL season.
That’s all I have for you.
Thanks for reading!

         


Super Bowl Preview by Guest Writer Kevin Black
brev6 — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 20:08:37 +0000
Here’s an article by guest writer Kevin Black:
Super Bowl Preview
What’s the biggest event of the year? In my opinion, it’s the Super Bowl. This year’s game will live up to all the hype it is receiving. As all of you know I’m sure, the teams are, The Pittsburgh Steelers, the AFC representative, and the Arizona Cardinals, the NFC representative. 


Let’s talk a little bit about how both teams made the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh went 12-4 and clinched their division with the second seed. They dominated their division, much to my displeasure being a Bengals fan, going 6-0. Pittsburgh had to play a respect hungry team, the San Diego Chargers. In the game they defeated the Chargers 35-24. Then they went on to beat a tough Baltimore Ravens 23-14.

Now Arizona on the other hand, had a tougher road to the Super Bowl. They finished the season with a record of 9-7. The Played Atlanta in the first one, and defeated the Falcons 30-24. Then they had to play, in my opinion, one of the best teams in the NFL, the Carolina Panthers. They Dominated the Panthers with a score of 33-13. Then they had to play one of the hottest teams in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles. They edged them with a score of 32-25.

Now to this week, the Super Bowl. These are two teams that got here two different ways. One by having a phenomenal offense, the Cardinals, and the other by having a tough defense, the Steelers. The Cardinals Offense put up huge numbers in the regular season. They had the 4th best offense in the league, and were the 2nd best Passing offense in the league. The Steelers on the other hand had an amazing defense. They had the 1st rank total and passing defense, and had the 2nd best rushing defense.

I’m sure you all are wondering, “Who’s going to win this game?” In my opinion it comes down to who wins the battle between the Arizona Offense, and the Pittsburgh Defense. My X factors in the game are Anquan Boldin for the Arizona Offense, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie for the Defense. For Pittsburgh my X factors are, Heath Miller for the offense, and James Harrison for the Defense. The major one on one battle I can’t wait to see is Larry Fitzgerald against the whole Pittsburgh Secondary. So putting every thing in retrospect and going over all the stats, my choice to win the game is the Arizona Cardinals.
-Kevin Black

         


NBA All-Stars and Slam Dunk Contest Participants 2009
brev6 — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 00:07:35 +0000

The starting lineups for the 2009 NBA All-Star game are:
East
G- Allen Iverson, Detroit Pistons
G- Dwayne Wade, Miami Heat
F- Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
F- LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
C- Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
West
G- Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
G- Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
F- Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
F- Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns
C- Yao Ming, Houston Rockets

The reserves for the 2009 NBA All-Star game are:
East
G- Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks
G- Devin Harris, New Jersey Nets
G- Jameer Nelson, Orlando Magic
G/F- Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers
F- Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics
F- Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors
F- Rashard Lewis, Orlando Magic
West
G- Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
G- Brandon Roy, Portland Trailblazers
G- Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets
F- Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
F- David West, New Orleans Hornets
F/C- Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers
C- Shaquille O’Neal,Phoenix Suns
However, there were, as usual, some possible snubs. They are:
East
Ray Allen, G, Boston Celtics- He’s upped his game in almost every category from last year, when he was an All-Star. (Who He Could Have Gotten In Over- Jameer Nelson)
Mo Williams, G, Cleveland Cavaliers- He has been amazing complementing LeBron James, and playing with The King hasn’t downed his stats a bit, so that’s why they aren’t so dazzling. (Who He Could Have Gotten In Over- Rashard Lewis)
Vince Carter, G, New Jersey Nets- I am astounded that he didn’t make it this year with the stats that he has put up. The only reason I can think of is his team isn’t very good, but Devin Harris, an all-star, is his teammate! (Who He Could Have Gotten In Over- Jameer Nelson/ Rashard Lewis)
West
Al Jefferson, C, Minnesota Timberwolves- He is one of three players in the NBA averaging 20 and 10 and he’s not an All-Star? Where did he go wrong? (Who he Could Have Gotten In Over- Shaquille O’Neal/ Pau Gasol/ Yao Ming)
Kevin Durant, G/F, Oklahoma City Thunder- Another guy who has improved across the board this year, and this guy was Rookie of the Year last year! (Who He Could Have Gotten In Over- Tony Parker/ Chauncey Billups)
Now, for the Sprite Slam Dunk Competition Participants:
Dwight Howard, C, Orlando Magic(Defending Champion)
Rudy Gay, G, Memphis Grizzlies
Nate Robinson, G, New York Knicks
Rudy Fernandez, G, Portland Trailblazers
Congratulations to all players participating!
That’s all I have for you.
Thanks for reading!