The NBA playoffs are finally here! As the NBA's second season starts, I figured that I needed to get my official playoff predictions in so that I can gloat (or groan) when its all over.
First Round:
Dallas over Golden State in 4
Phoenix over Los Angeles in 5
San Antonio over Denver in 5
Houston over Utah in 7
Detroit over Orlando in 5
Cleveland over Washington in 4
Toronto over New Jersey in 7
Chicago over Miami in 6
Second Round:
Dallas over Houston in 6
San Antonio over Phoenix in 7
Detroit over Chicago in 5
Cleveland over Toronto in 6
Conference Finals:
Dallas over San Antonio in 6
Cleveland over Detroit in 6
NBA Finals:
Dallas over Cleveland in 6
I know that there is a lot of chalk in there, but such is life. The NBA playoffs are designed to be as predictable as possible. Just a couple of stats that I grabbed from SI.COM:
-In the playoffs, the team with home court advantage wins the series 79% of the time.
-The NBA champion has been the No. 1 or 2 seed in its conference for the past 11 years.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Imus sticks foot in mouth, inadvertently triples ratings for Women's NCAA Tournament
Don Imus made a stupid mistake the other day when he referred to the Rutgers Women's Basketball team as "nappy-headed hos". The remarks were part of a conversation he was having with producer Bernard McGuirk who originally refereed to the team as "hardcore hos" .This isn't the first time that Imus has gotten in trouble for racial remarks. He previously got in hot water for calling Gwen Ifill a "cleaning lady" and has repeatedly mocked politicians (largely without repercussions
The sad thing about this situation is that it is taking the light away from the game of basketball. Instead of remembering Rutgers as a team that had a great season and played in the National Championship, we will now remember them as the victims of vicious off color remarks by an aging radio icon. Instead of remembering them as great players, we will remember them as victims.
The last thing that any worthwhile athlete wants to be know as is a victim. Athletes view the world in terms of goals and strategies to achieve those goals. They loathe excuses and thrive on motivating factors, like the "nobody believed in us" speech that every team seems to give after winning a championship (2006 Tigers, 2004 Red Sox, 2006 Miami Heat, etc). Even this Rutgers team used the "nobody believed in us" speech after they beat LSU to advance to the finals.
"No one expected us to be here, But the long story short is that the people of the state of New Jersey, (and) these players first, believed in themselves and as a result I though that we executed extremely well, focused on the defensive side of it, and didn't really read any of the hype."
-Rutgers Head Coach C. Vivian Stringer
So if this team has previously thrived on people not believing in them, and has come together by believing in themselves, why are they playing the victim card now? Why, after they have studied, worked and endured all this hardship, are they coming off as helpless victims who need Al Sharpton to fight their battles?
The best thing that this team can do for their image, and for the image of Women's sports in general, is to take the high ground and forgive Imus. They should move on from this unfortunate issue and promote their sports and their student athletes. I want to remember this years NCAA women's tournament as a great bunch of games highlighted by a championship won by Tennessee, not as the unfortunate end of a radio icon who was brought down by special interest groups defending a seemingly "helpless" group of female student athletes.
EA Sports makes a star out of a former Potato Chucker
Last month, EA Sports announced that it would make former Boise State QB Jared Zabransky the face of NCAA Football 2008. This was a bit of a surprise considering the litany of household names that were expected to make the list over Zabransky. Brady Quinn, Calvin Johnson, Chris Leak, Ted Ginn Jr and Heisman landslide winner Troy Smith all could have made the cover. Any one of them has their merits and would have been a deserving cover boy. The fact that Zabransky made it over the other names indicates that EA is trying to market something different then the standard spoon fed media golden boys.Zabransky, a former potato farm boy from Oregon, is exactly the kind of likeable, feel good player that college football epitomizes. At 6' 1'', 204 he has an average to small build, at least for a potential NFL Quarterback. He wasn't heavily recruited coming into college and it's possible he won't even hear his name called on draft weekend. He is currently ranked as the 12th best quarterback in the draft class by ESPN.
What Z does bring to the table is athleticism, moxie, leadership and a winner's attitude. He won 32 out of 37 games he started at Boise State and capped off his career with an amazing 43 - 42 Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma in one of the most memorable games of last year. It is that type of energy, excitement and ability to conquer all odds that NCAA '08 is trying to promote.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Ways to spend a Billion dollars
Note: This post was originally an email to my friends.
So I'm talking to my girlfriend Rebecca this morning on my way to work, and we stumble across the topic of sports, and specifically the now for sale Chicago Cubs. She then asks me which Sports franchise would I like to own most today. Good question. Verrrrrrry good question. (I think this girl has potential).
Anyway, I've been racking my brain about it for the last hour. Do you go with a profitable football team for 16 games a year, or an enjoyable baseball team for 162? Is loyalty to a franchise important, like my affinity for the Rams, or should I just go for the big money teams with a good location? How important is long term success? These are my questions. Anyway, define it anyway you want, but the following is my list for the top 5 sports franchises I would like to own today, along with a couple reasons why (#1 is team I would like to own most).
5.Los Angeles Lakers: The Los Angeles Lakers are the premier franchise in the NBA. They have talent, a good front office, a great location, history and appeal. They have appeal to fans, local Hollywood stars and to player Free Agents. I hate Kobe and I hate that Secker is a Fakers fan, but both of those could be remedied by me trading away Kobe and chilling court side with Jack Nicholson.
4.San Diego Chargers: Kind of a strange pick, but one that I like a lot. They have a good roster today that should be competitive for another 5 years, and a front office that works pretty well now that Shottenheimer is gone. The real appeal of this franchise is the location and the weather. They reside in the most beautiful location in the US AND they have the potential to move to LA now that the talks for a new stadium have gone downhill. At worst, they get a new stadium and a guaranteed bid to host the Superbowl. NOTE: This pick also could have been the San Francisco 49ers for most of the same reasons.
3. New York Yankees: Simply the best baseball franchise on the planet. They are the most well known, have the deepest and richest history and have the capability to be great every year. Put me in charge, beef up their farm system and watch the titles come back to town.
2.Washington Redskins: Money, power, politicians, a huge rabid fan base and a history of incompetence (in the past 10 years) that ensures that I couldn't do any worse. This is practically the dream franchise. They own the local market and don't have any serious competition for most profitable football franchise. They get the players they want, and can bring in the coaches they want. What they lack is discipline, patience and a good scouting department. I think I could give them that. Even if I didn't, I'd make a boatload of money.
1.Dallas Mavericks: Not as profitable as the Skins, not as famous as the Lakers, and not as much beautiful weather as the Chargers. What they do offer is a chance at 41 (!) home games, a rabid fan base, a good interstate rivalry, a fantastic front office and scouting department, a state of the art arena and workout facility, and a chance at a title every year for the next 5 years, maybe longer. Combine that with a history of hands on ownership, a great location (Dallas is an underrated city I've heard) and you've got yourself a sports franchise that would be fun, profitable and win championships. That, is what I want.
So I'm talking to my girlfriend Rebecca this morning on my way to work, and we stumble across the topic of sports, and specifically the now for sale Chicago Cubs. She then asks me which Sports franchise would I like to own most today. Good question. Verrrrrrry good question. (I think this girl has potential).
Anyway, I've been racking my brain about it for the last hour. Do you go with a profitable football team for 16 games a year, or an enjoyable baseball team for 162? Is loyalty to a franchise important, like my affinity for the Rams, or should I just go for the big money teams with a good location? How important is long term success? These are my questions. Anyway, define it anyway you want, but the following is my list for the top 5 sports franchises I would like to own today, along with a couple reasons why (#1 is team I would like to own most).
5.Los Angeles Lakers: The Los Angeles Lakers are the premier franchise in the NBA. They have talent, a good front office, a great location, history and appeal. They have appeal to fans, local Hollywood stars and to player Free Agents. I hate Kobe and I hate that Secker is a Fakers fan, but both of those could be remedied by me trading away Kobe and chilling court side with Jack Nicholson.
4.San Diego Chargers: Kind of a strange pick, but one that I like a lot. They have a good roster today that should be competitive for another 5 years, and a front office that works pretty well now that Shottenheimer is gone. The real appeal of this franchise is the location and the weather. They reside in the most beautiful location in the US AND they have the potential to move to LA now that the talks for a new stadium have gone downhill. At worst, they get a new stadium and a guaranteed bid to host the Superbowl. NOTE: This pick also could have been the San Francisco 49ers for most of the same reasons.
3. New York Yankees: Simply the best baseball franchise on the planet. They are the most well known, have the deepest and richest history and have the capability to be great every year. Put me in charge, beef up their farm system and watch the titles come back to town.
2.Washington Redskins: Money, power, politicians, a huge rabid fan base and a history of incompetence (in the past 10 years) that ensures that I couldn't do any worse. This is practically the dream franchise. They own the local market and don't have any serious competition for most profitable football franchise. They get the players they want, and can bring in the coaches they want. What they lack is discipline, patience and a good scouting department. I think I could give them that. Even if I didn't, I'd make a boatload of money.
1.Dallas Mavericks: Not as profitable as the Skins, not as famous as the Lakers, and not as much beautiful weather as the Chargers. What they do offer is a chance at 41 (!) home games, a rabid fan base, a good interstate rivalry, a fantastic front office and scouting department, a state of the art arena and workout facility, and a chance at a title every year for the next 5 years, maybe longer. Combine that with a history of hands on ownership, a great location (Dallas is an underrated city I've heard) and you've got yourself a sports franchise that would be fun, profitable and win championships. That, is what I want.
Welcome to Abel Sports
Welcome to Abel Sports. I'll be writing my thoughts on the sports world here every time I feel like it. Before we get started, a little background info on who I am and what I stand for.
I'm an '05 grad of Notre Dame. I've dabbled in sports writing and radio. At heart, I'm just a true sports fan with more opinions then I have time to talk about. Thank God for the Internet.
My Sports Teams:
NBA: Dallas Mavericks
NFL: St. Louis Rams
NCAA Football: Notre Dame Irish
NCAA BBall: Notre Dame Irish
MLB: New York Yankees
NHL: Washington Capitals
Those are my teams and I'm sticking to it. I'll tell you why eventually.
Feel free to contact me with any thoughts and ideas at AbelSports@gmail.com
Lets get started.
I'm an '05 grad of Notre Dame. I've dabbled in sports writing and radio. At heart, I'm just a true sports fan with more opinions then I have time to talk about. Thank God for the Internet.
My Sports Teams:
NBA: Dallas Mavericks
NFL: St. Louis Rams
NCAA Football: Notre Dame Irish
NCAA BBall: Notre Dame Irish
MLB: New York Yankees
NHL: Washington Capitals
Those are my teams and I'm sticking to it. I'll tell you why eventually.
Feel free to contact me with any thoughts and ideas at AbelSports@gmail.com
Lets get started.
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