Dec 29 2012

5 Great Things that Happened in 2012

Every day it seems like ESPN has big news, whether it be something that we actually want to hear, or if it’s just another story on Tim Tebow and Mark Sanchez. I’ve given it a little bit of thought, and these are 5 things that in my opinion were the most important in my eyes. This is in no particular order.

1. The San Francisco Giants amazing playoff miracle. I don’t think anybody, even the Giants’ players, thought that they would come back from down 2-0 when their comeback would have to happen away from home against our own Cincinnati Reds. I remember thinking about how slim the chances were that the Reds could actually blow it if they lost that first game against the Giants. And I honestly thought after leaving that first game that I would buy another playoff ticket WHEN they played in the NLCS. I remember hearing the call on 700 for game 5, when the Reds final batter struck out and all I could do was think “how could they blow it?”. But the Giants made me feel better about my Reds. They knocked off the Cardinals in another series comeback, and then swept the Tigers to win the world series. This is truly one of the great miracles of sports history.

2. The Bengals do it again. Mike Brown mike not be doing anything to help his organization, but the Bengals are showing that they are the real deal, even though they have such a young team. Marvin Lewis is definitely going to bee around for a very long time since Mike Brown doesn’t care about the Bengals and won’t go through the trouble to get another coach, so hopefully Marvin has found a way to guide a team to the Playoffs consistently, and hopefully he can win a playoff game soon to boost his confidence.

3. Chuck Pagano and the Colts. Talk about a great story. Pagano recently won his battle against Leukemia and will be coaching his Colts in the Sunday game against the Texans. Pagano has been the Colts inspiration ever since he had to leave for his treatment, and the Colts have responded well without him. They have the #5 seed locked up, and a nice 10-5 record at the moment. When Pagano steps onto the field on Sunday, you better believe that he’s going to recieve a long standing ovation.

4. My Bearcats! It was great seeing the Cats respond from that brutal brawl against Xavier to go to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2001. Mick Cronin has this team going far, and this year they could climb up to a 2 seed for the tournament, even though they lost their first game of the year last night to a good New Mexico team. The 2011-2012 team gave me motivation to watch every game and attend as many as possible. Hopefully they can improve even more and get to the Elite 8 for the 2012-2013 season.

5. UK finally wins the national championship. If you know me, then you know im definitely not a UK sports fan. But for the state of Kentucky, this was a great moment. This is all we’re known for. People around the country see us as just hillbillies with nothing to do. UK proved them wrong. Even though it doesn’t speak much for the state, it does show that we got something going for ourselves, and that is basketball. UK is struggling this year, but they got a young team, so expect to see much improvement as the year goes on.

Dec 27 2012

NBA Christmas day Lookback

Both the Bulls and the Nets surprisingly did not play well on Christmas, as both teams were blown out on their own home courts.

The day started out with the Celtics playing in Brooklyn against the Nets. Rondo led the Celtics with 19 points as they beat the Nets 93-76. Despite the loss, the Nets have improved significantly from last year’s team that was one of the worst teams in the NBA. The Celtics win put them above .500, which is surprising because the Celtics have been much more above .500 since the organization acquired Kevin Garnett and current Miami Heat guard Ray Allen. Is Allen the possible missing link? We’ll find out as the year goes on.

The next game took place in the Staples Center with a much anticipated game. The Lakers hosted the Knicks, and no one at the beginning of the seasons would of expected to see the Lakers as big underdogs on their home court against a surprising stand-out Knicks team. Both Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points, but in the end the Lakers pulled the upset 100-94. The Lakers are 2-0 since the return of Steve Nash, who might be the key to the Lakers’ success. The win put the Lakers at .500 and extended their win streak to 5 games.

The next game was probably the most anticipated game of the day. The Miami Heat took on the Oklahoma City Thunder, which were last year’s NBA finalists. The game was filled with technical fouls, but that didn’t sum up the game at all. Durant scored 33 points compared to Lebron James 29 points, but the game came down to the final possession. Both Durant and Westbrook missed threes that would of tied the game at the point, and the Heat went on to win 103-97. Both teams are continuing to show their dominance in their leagues. Don’t be suprised if you see both of these teams in the NBA finals for the 2nd straight year.

Probably the second most anticipated game was the Chicago Bulls hosting the Houston Rockets. Both teams look completely different than they were last year. The Bulls are still going without their star Derrick Rose, and the Rockets picked up Jeremy Lin and James Harden over the offseason. Though the Bulls don’t have their star player, they’ve still maintained an above .500 record, going into the game 15-11. The Rockets astonishingly were firing right off the bat, and the Rockets would steamroll the Bulls 120-97. The Rockets led by as much as 35 points in the 3rd quarter. The Bulls did cut the lead down to 14 points with 7 minutes to go in the 4th quarter, but weren’t able to make it any closer than that for the rest of the game.

The final game was back in the Staples Center, but this time the red hot Clippers took the court against the Denver Nuggets. The Clippers have been the shock of the league this year. Their win streak has propeled them way out in front in their division. The Nuggets kept it within 10 points at the half, but the Clippers blew the lead open in the 3rd quarter. They would go on to win 100-112. The win put the Clippers win streak at 14 games.

Dec 16 2012

Sports Issues: Hard Hits in the NFL

In the past few years, the NFL has been looking closer at hard hits. This is because many retired NFL players have had many brain/skull injuries after their years in the NFL, and players have received many concussions from helmet to helmet contact on tackles. Today, the NFL fines and/or suspends players for any illegal type of tackling, which is mostly any helmet to helmet contact.

Does this rule make the NFL any better? I think not. Back in the early to mid 1900s, players didn’t have the equipment and padding that NFL players have today. Of course, players back then also weren’t as fast and strong as the present ones either, but there are a lot more concussions happening now then back then. Especially in the past few years, these concussions have been happening the most frequent.

And, the fines and suspensions really take away from the game of football. Fans don’t get to see star players just because they hit a guy too hard or didn’t hit them right.

Isn’t that what football is about anyway? People like football because of the contact, and though players are receiving concussions sometimes from the hard hits, these rules that the NFL has put into play don’t affect how many players get concussions from hard hits. People will continue to do it whether it’s a rule or not. The only different outcome is that they won’t be receiving a game or two off, or not losing a couple hundred thousand dollars.

For another article on this, click here.