The Good, the bad and the ugly

Price leaves an era that no other coach has left before in El Paso

Nine seasons at the University of Texas at El Paso, a 48-61 overall record, 30-42 in conference play, 32-23 at the Sun Bowl, 16-38 on the road and 0-3 in bowl games, former and now retired head football coach Mike Price leaves an era and legacy that no other football coach has left in El Paso before.

He was supposed to go to SEC powerhouse Alabama after 14 successful seasons at Washington State, where he took the Cougars to the Rose Bowl twice, in 1997 and his final year in 2002.  However after a scandalous incident involving a stripper, Price was forced to resign and would never coach a game for the Crimson Tide.

In 2003 UTEP President Dr. Diana Natalicio and Athletic Director Bob Stull decided to give Price a chance at redemption with an opportunity to rebuild-not only his image but the football program’s as well.

“It did more for our family than it did for my career moving to El Paso.” Price said.

Before Price got to UTEP, college football was virtually non-existent in the city.  The team had only three winning seasons since 1970.

In just two seasons as head coach, Price put the Miners on the map.  “He raised the level of expectations.”  Stull said.  Going 8-4 in both seasons, obtaining back to back bowl appearances, and receiving UTEP’s first ever BCS Ranking and AP-Top 25 vote in 2004.  Partaking in one of the biggest turnarounds in college football history, Price was a finalist for coach of the year in 2004.

Attendance doubled from 20,000 to over 40,000 for the Sun Bowl, setting school records for home attendance.  From 2004-2005 the Miners had their longest home winning streak at nine games.  Revenue for the football program went up with ticket sales and alumni donations.  The Durham Center, a state of the art sports complex, was built in 2002 to improve football players’ performance. 

Price being interviewed in his final game

Nonetheless, the honeymoon would be over as Prices' second season would be the last time the Miners would have a winning record overall and in conference play.  They wouldn't finish with more than six wins each season for the next seven years, and only appear in one bowl game.  A team that struggled heavily on the road, UTEP couldn't get more than two wins away from the Sun Bowl each year, finishing with a 10-33 record from 2006-2012.

“Unfortunately the two 8-win seasons are a distant memory, I'm going to remember a team that underachieved, couldn't win late in the season and couldn't win a game on the road.” Sports radio talk show host, Andy Lee said.

Being favored to be in 1st place twice in his nine year tenure, Price never won a conference title at UTEP.  The team finished at an average of fourth place in Conference USA.

The lone bright spot Price and the team would have next wouldn't be until 2009, when they upset 12th ranked Houston at the Sun Bowl.  It would be the first time in 12 years that the UTEP football team had beaten a ranked opponent. 

Price ended his final season with his worst coaching record at UTEP (3-9) while getting shutout at home for the first time since 1996 against SMU.  He finished as the second winningest coach in school history (48 victories) trailing only Mack Saxon with 66 wins.

Even though those first two years were the only successful ones, Price still made football relevant again in El Paso, bringing in top tier teams in the regular season that El Pasoans wouldn't have anticipated to ever see in this city.  Fans were able to see Texas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Kansas all play at the Sun Bowl because of the respect Mike Price had with other coaches.

The media also held admiration for Mike Price as the Miners played over ten times on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU.  “He had instant respect from anybody in the media whether it was Kirk Herbstreit or Lee Corso, you name it.”  Stull said.

Price being honored at halftime with his wife, Joyce Price

Always helping out with the community Price and his wife Joyce, who have been together for 46 years, never declined autographs or pictures for the public no matter where they were.  Stull says Price could talk to a fan about football for hours, making their presence “warm and friendly.”

Four days after his retirement, Price was honored and introduced at halftime of the men’s basketball game with a thunderous, standing ovation that ended with him cheering on the crowd on spelling out M-I-N-E-R-S.

After his final career game coaching, Price said “I’m going to talk to the players, making sure they embrace the change that they’re going to be having.  There’s only one thing certain about the future, it’s going to be different.”

Not only will players have to embrace the change, but so will the city.  

It's now or never

It’s now or never for the Dallas Cowboys this week as they head to the Georgia Dome to fight for a playoff dream or break out their vacation plans against the undefeated Atlanta Falcons. After once again being hyped up during the off-season and vowing to stop being the same old Cowboys, they have not changed one bit. Well they have actually gotten worse. Instead of usually finding out on the last week of the season that the Cowboys didn't make the playoffs, we get to find out in Week 8.

Barley halfway into the season, Dallas is already in jeopardy of missing the playoffs. Since 2002 only three teams have made it into the playoffs after starting 3-5. Of course the last team to do it, was last year’s Denver Broncos who actually started 2-5. They went on to win six straight games with long forgotten Tim Tebow.

Are Cowboy fans really going to believe they’ll find tremendous luck like the Broncos had, to do that? Don’t count on it because they've had the worst luck in the NFL, blowing winnable games, making the poorest choices at the severest time, coming back inches short or should I say fingertips.

Fingertips?! Worst Luck! 

It’s been a train wreck so far for Dallas; Tony Romo is having the worst season of his career so far, throwing the ball to the wrong jersey colors and trying to force too much. Injuries have set back the running game. After a strong start to the season by DeMarco Murray, a sprained ankle has taken him out of playing the last three games and his replacement, Felix Jones, has had his own problems staying on the field with his own injury woes.

Dallas also lost their captain, defensive linebacker Sean Lee for the season, who was their play caller, leading tackler and turnover play-maker. Dez Bryant has been wildly inconsistent, showing flashes of huge good plays but always getting overtaken by vast frustrating plays.

The only kick Dan Bailey has missed this season was a 51-yard field goal attempt that could have won Dallas a game against Baltimore. No luck on this team.

Heck the Cowboys are 1-7 in their last eight games when Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth call their games. Guess whose calling Sunday night's game? They have no luck with sportscasting either!

The stat line that is in Dallas’s favor is, since 1991 the Cowboys have a 3-0 record against teams that were 7-0 or better. Romo has two of those wins. Their latest was in 2009 against the 13-0 New Orleans Saints.

Even with all the Cowboy's have to overcome, nothing says mediocre more than a 4-4 record and that's what I think the Cowboy's will be after Sundays game. Of course I'm not saying anything good will come out of it as they'll probably lose to a team their not suppose to lose to in the upcoming weeks, but Atlanta's offense has a bit of what the Giants have and do. Dallas' defense is built exactly to contain just that. You just replace Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz with Julio Jones and Roddy White. (It'll be more explosive though but that's why Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr are there.) Bradshaw and Turner are basically the same player. And Ryan and Eli like to fling it.

Not just because I'm a Cowboys fan, but this is the last hope I have for them. I didn't even budge or get caught up when they came back after being down 23 points. They were not pulling me back in because I knew they would eventually blow it again. (Which they did) But this is the game where I think they'll be at their best and make fans wonder why haven't they played like this all year.

Final Score: Cowboys 31 Falcons 27

How we should be seeing the Dallas Cowboys.

In order to be mediocre you need to have a balance that cancels the good from the bad and the bad from the good.  Most football teams improve or regress from the past year.  The Green Bay Packers were 15-1 last year.  They have already lost three games this year.  The Minnesota Vikings won only three games last year, they're already at four this season.  Teams go up or down every year in the NFL and you just never know which teams it'll be.  But there's one team in the league that stays mediocre year after year.  Whether it's a good offensive team and a bad defense or the other way around a mediocre team just finds ways to stay average.

            It's time we start seeing the Dallas Cowboys as who they really are and that is as a mediocre and inconsistent football team.  People keep saying they have all the talent to be a great team.  They haven't proved or shown it on the football field, they're a team that shows flashes of brilliance but self com-bust at the worst time.  Last year's excuse was that they didn't have a good defense to go with their offense, this year it's the other way around.  That's how you stay average.  Last Sunday, against the Baltimore Ravens was a perfect example of a mediocre team and another classic Jason Garrett loss. (A Jason Garrett loss is where the Cowboys lose a game in exhilarating fashion that they should have won. This is the 8^th one since he’s been head coach). The Cowboys were down right beating the Ravens in every major statistical category except they lost the most important one, which was the scoreboard.

            Unlike great or good teams that find ways to win, mediocre teams find ways to lose.  Dallas had a total team loss on Sunday with Romo throwing an interception (the only turnover for either team), wide receivers dropping passes (most notably Dez Bryant's two point conversion drop), defense giving up fast scores and special teams giving up a record tying kickoff return, Coach Jason Garrett couldn't manage the clock the last 20 seconds and heck even Dan Bailey should get some of the blame too because if he would've made the 51 yard field goal, we wouldn't be talking about this, but he didn't.  15 penalties was also a huge factor, but with the Cowboys, it always is.  The Cowboys are averaging four penalties in the fourth quarter this season.  That’s the most in the NFL.  Their 48 penalties so far this season is 28^th.   I guess we should be used to this from a non-discipline team. It was a total team loss and it took a mediocre effort to make it happen.

            The last three minutes of the game was mediocre at its best and it made Cowboys fans go on a roller coaster of emotion.

Facing a 4^th and 10 Romo found Jason Witten for 11 yards that kept the drive going.  (Good)

Four plays later a chop block penalty was called on Felix Jones followed by a false start penalty on Kevin Ogletree.  (Bad)

On a 3^rd and 27 Romo finds Bryant for a 17 yard gain where Bryant shows the ability to fight for extra yards. (Good)

On another 4^th and 10, once again Romo finds Witten for 16 yards and the Cowboys are getting on a role with 51 seconds remaining in the game. (Good)

When this play takes place I tweet “Stop giving me false hope!” because I know who the Cowboys are and I knew even if they did score they still needed a two point conversion to tie the game up.

With 36 seconds on the clock, Romo throws a fade to Bryant who once again shows his talent to leap over anyone and be able to get the ball for the touchdown.  (Good)  

Now the two point conversion, Romo basically calls the same play but back shoulders it and it hits Bryant right in the shoulder pads and off his hands.  Even though I was expecting that to happen it was still tough to take. (bad) The onside kick recovery was something I did not expect and it gave me a thought that hey something good actually happened to the Cowboys when the game is on the line. (Good) The pass interference penalty gave me even more hope but once again I tweeted the same thing, except this time in all caps. (Here it comes…)  Only one play was ran in 20 seconds that gained only one yard.  Inexcusable by both players and coaches not having any sense of urgency on running one more play to get a closer field goal attempt (Bad) that of course was missed. Tortuous for Cowboys fans to watch. (bad bad bad)

            The Cowboys were inconsistent those last three minutes with penalties and simple mistakes that good teams don't do.  The last five seasons including this one the Cowboys have had a 36-33 record.  Since 1996 the Cowboys have a 132-129 record.  This is a mediocre and inconsistent team.  One person that should take blame for all of this because this is no longer a coincidence, it's Jerry Jones.  He's the general manager who signs the players, hires the coaches and gives the incredibly high expectations each and every year.  It's just too bad he's never going to resign as general manager and give the job to someone who not only scouts players in performance but most importantly character.  He's going into Al Davis territory where you start to wonder if he even cares about the teams performance anymore or if he's already happy with all the money and publicity he's made with the team.  Cowboys Stadium isn't a homefield advantage for the team.  It's almost a mall now with vehicles being shown, Victoria Secret store openings, art galleries on the wall.  There is more to do at the stadium than to watch the game.  As a fan it's embarrassing to hear Chicago Bears fans on national television be louder at you're own stadium.  I don't think Jerry even cared.  Until the owner changes his ways of running the team, the team will keep being the same.  It's a shame that he doesn't even know.  

NBA Finals Preview

Get used to this, the superstardom, the storylines, the fashionable clothes and accessories at the pressers, the matchups, the rivalry that is about to be born.  Get used to the two best basketball players in the world guarding each other, trying to stop the other from scoring, outperforming, and out clutching them. LeBron James, the three time most valuable player vs. Kevin Durant, the three time scoring champion, both going after their first championship; it only makes sense for them to play each other to obtain it. It only makes sense they both play the same position and be viewed as the future of the NBA. These finals are not only where you will see who the best team in the NBA is, but who the best player in the NBA is right now and who will rule the NBA for the next decade.  The start of a dynasty begins in this series.  This is why year one of this matchup is very important.  (This won’t be the last time these two teams meet in June, this is just the beginning.)

Before the playoffs started, I wrote that 2012 was the year Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder would go on a deep playoff run, taking every team that owned the Western Conference the last 13 years (Mavs, Lakers and Spurs) out, and begin building their own legacy.  The Thunder have gone through the gauntlet of playoff runs and now only have one more juggernaut opponent left.  People keep bringing up the team's youth and inexperience, but after seeing them sweep the defending champs, having no problem with the Kobe and the Lakers and pulling off four wins in a row against the former 20 game win streak San Antonio Spurs, there’s nothing that can phase this Thunder team anymore.  Durant is playing at a focused/calm level that even his clutch shots this postseason seem to be done so effortlessly.  He can take over games whenever he wants to and it shows in the 4^th quarter.  So far he’s leading the playoffs in 4th quarter, scoring, crunch time scoring, and game winning shots.  All at only 23 years old.  Young?  Of course.  Inexperienced?  Not anymore, Durant knows that this is his time and he won’t let that slip away.

The Miami Heat let their chance slip away last year to start their “not one, not two, not three…” statement that was spoken when the Big 3 was formed.  Now they’re back in the finals riding the momentum of their MVP, LeBron James.  James had a career series against the Celtics and it still took Miami seven games to finish off an old team, only because Boston ran out of gas in the last quarter of game seven.  Don’t expect the Thunder to ever run out of gas.  It’s amazing how much of a difference LeBron James is in the Conference Finals compared to the NBA Finals. 

Check these stats out:

Conference Finals: 29.5 ppg, 8.2 FT ppg and 52.7 percent shooting. Career high is 49 points.

NBA Finals: 19.5 ppg, 3.2 FT ppg and 41.7 percent shooting. Career high is 25 points.

No way this keeps happening right?  Will LeBron James finally conquer his demons and show up once again when his team needs him? LeBron will do this but just as last year proved, you need a “team” to win the NBA Championship, not three star players.  There is so much at stake, so much pressure in the finals that every single possession is crucial.

Would you trust Battier and Miller for some timely hit shots?

You’re going to need role players to step up just like the Mavericks (JJ Barea, DeShawn Stevenson), Lakers (Ron Artest, Derek Fisher) and Spurs (Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry) have done the past 13 years.  What gives Oklahoma City an advantage over Miami is that they can match the Big 3 of Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, while having reliable role players that Miami can’t match with or trust to put in.  Everyone keeps saying Mike Miller, Norris Cole or Shane Battier need to put up some points for Miami to have a chance to match up with the Thunder’s bench, but they haven’t been able to be trustworthy on a consistent basis.  So far only Battier has been a decent reliable bench player.  Winning the bench battle was a big reason why Dallas won the title last year.  Miami couldn’t count on Mike Bibby or James Jones to give them points while Dallas kept getting major production from their role players.  Who would you trust for 8 crucial minutes when you’re starters are resting? James Harden, Derek Fisher, Nick Collision and Deaquan Cook or would you rather trust Mike Miller, Shane Battier, Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony?  I know they both sound pretty bad but Fisher and Harden have proved to bring in some timely baskets in their careers, an edge for OKC.   

There is one way the Heat can counter this bench play and that is if Erik Spoelstra keeps Chris Bosh coming from the bench, which helped considerably  in game 7 against the Celtics because all Boston had was TWO points from the bench in that game while Bosh alone went for 19 points.  Bosh has the freshest legs from the Heat. He needs to contribute big time.

Rick Carlisle after getting swept by OKC: "they have
a certain look in their eye right now. Not just that they
belong, but that this could be their time."

 they have a certain look in their eye right now. Not just that they belong, but that this could be their time."

I’ll bring up the experience factor one more time since most people view that as a key to the series.  It does favor the Heat since they were in the Finals last year and this is the Thunder’s first appearance, but I disagree that OKC hasn't had enough experience yet. They lost a heartbreaking series to the Lakers in 2010 because they didn't box out Pau Gasol, they toughed it out against one of the most physical teams in the NBA for 7 games with the Memphis Grizzlies and they learned how to close out games thanks to last year’s WCF when they kept choking in the 4th quarter against Dallas. This year, they know how to execute, they know how to finish games off and never panic just like when they were down 0-2 versus San Antonio. You never saw panic in their eyes because they knew they belonged.  Age doesn't matter with this team anymore because in a matter of 3 year’s they've all grown up.

With my pick I was going to say Oklahoma City in 6 games but almost everyone I’ve talked to and throughout twitter is saying the same thing.  It even became a trending topic on twitter.  Things just can’t be that obvious.  Sports is never that obvious which gives Miami a full advantage as an underdog but I’ll keep my pick with OKC but instead of six games why don’t we make the NBA season continue as long as possible and say 7 games of Durant vs. LeBron, 7 games of Wade and Harden attacking the rim with crafty lay-ups, 7 games of two teams going toe to toe so that by the end of the series we’ll know the right team won and no judges or referee’s interfered with the games.  In other words, it won’t be like boxing.

Conference Finals Preview

This will be the third consecutive year the Boston Celtics will face the Miami Heat and LeBron James in the playoffs.  LeBron James and Dwyane Wade each have gotten embarrassed by Boston in their career which is why they celebrated like they won the finals last year after they were finally able to eliminate the Celtics in five games.  Both these teams don’t like each other, both these teams went with the same plan (bring three superstars together), both these teams have horrible benches and both these teams are playing to lose to the eventual champion in the west (sorry but its true).  

James and Wade are playing at a level in which we haven’t seen since they weren’t teammates.  Now that Bosh isn’t there it’s no longer sharing the ball three way’s but it’s just a 2 on 5 basketball game with the two players being the best in the world.  The question that everyone is saying though, can they keep it up?  James left Cleveland so he wouldn’t have to handle the pressure of always going for a 35 point 8 rebound 9 assist game just to win a game.  Now he has to do that every game in these playoffs with Bosh out just for Miami to be in it.  Wade is under the same pressure to perform at a high level in every game.  Miami almost came apart in game 3 against Indiana but survived.  They now face a Boston team that doesn’t ever quit and makes teams work the hard way.

The thing is Boston is playing with so many injuries as well that rest could’ve helped them extremely, instead they had to play seven games against an 8^th seed and only get one day off.  Ray Allen needs to be way better than just 9 points a game.  Kevin Garnett will be guarded by either Joel Antony or Ronny Turiaf… He needs to take advantage of that.  Paul Pierce needs to average at least 20 points in this series and maybe keep fouling out with four minutes to go so this guy can take over.

How far the Celtics will go or how many games they’ll win all depends on Rajon Rondo.  Rondo is the Celtics best player and could easily go off for a triple-double in any game.  Last year I think if Rondo wouldn’t have hurt his elbow the Celtics could’ve taken the Heat farther than five games.  He’s healthy and he needs to go off at least four times in this series.  He can’t be afraid to shoot the 20 foot jumper when no one is guarding him.  We all saw how fast the momentum can swing when he starts making jumpers.  If this happens then we’ll see LeBron James on him then that’ll give Paul Pierce an opportunity to go off but it all revolves around how Rondo plays. 

The Matchup:  Dwyane Wade vs Avery Bradley Ray Allen.  I believe this is the series right here.  Avery Bradley’s season ending injury is HUGE because Bradley was the only Celtic that can guard Wade.  Now an injured Ray Allen has to run around on defense and guard a hot shooting Wade.  If Evan Turner was able to score on Allen imagine how Wade does?

The Prediction:  Heat in 6 because Ray Allen retired 2 years ago (Bill Simmons Joke), Pierce is not the same superstar anymore and once again the Avery Bradley factor.  I would’ve said five games but the Celtics always bring out their best against LeBron and Miami so I’ll give them one more game.

It’s time for the playoff matchup that just had to happen.  The two most dominating teams in the playoffs, the new era vs the old era,  the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs.  I believe the Western Conference Finals WILL be better than the NBA Finals (unless Miami plays OKC because of the star power and the storylines, like which Big 3 would you take? Okay, Okay I’m getting a little ahead of myself, that question is for another blog incase that matchup happens but now back to this one.)  These Western Conference Finals are all about the passing of the torch in the west.  The Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs are the only western conference teams to appear in the NBA Finals in the last 13 years.  They’ve combined to win 10 titles during the Dirk, Kobe, and Duncan era.  Meanwhile Oklahoma City has already taken out two out of those three teams in these playoffs.  Now they have a chance to take out the third team and that is why I believe the Thunder will win this series.

Durant's game winner over Dallas.

Think about it, this is exactly how the changing of the torch should be passed on.  I’m not going to use the “old age” factor because it’s really starting to get overused that San Antonio is old, (Spurs only have 3 players that are over the age of 32… They’re not old, they’re just really experienced).  I know San Antonio is playing pretty execution, teamwork perfect basketball (18 game win streak... They haven’t lost since April 11! They’ve scored 100 points or more in 16 out of the 18 games), Tim Duncan is playing like he’s still in his prime, Manu Ginobili  is as a reliable 6^th man as you can get, everyone is hitting the three point shot like it’s a free throw, they have a ten man rotation, eleven if you count DeJuan Blair’s 8 minutes and Tony Parker is running the show with ease with an MVP type year.  They sound unbeatable right?  Well this is where Kevin Durant comes in.  I wrote in the beginning of the playoffs that this was the time Durant starts to build up his legacy as the best shooter in the game.  And he hasn’t let anyone down (Unless you’re a Mavs or Lakers fan… sigh).  Durant has already hit 3 game winning shots in these playoffs and knows this is not only his time but his team to make a deep run at the title.  He’s already got that “no way we’re losing this game” look (last year he didn’t have it).  And folks he’s only 23 years old! He’s sidekick partner, Russell Westbrook is also 23.  Last but not least the guy that can take over a game by either attacking the rim, shooting free throws or shooting three pointers,  James Harden is the youngest of the three at 22 years old (don’t let the beard fool you).  They’re going to be a threat in the West for the next decade and more.  They’ve been taking strides every year and this year looks to be the one where they make their mark as the best team not only in the Western Conference but the NBA. 

Westbrook and Parker can each score at will against each other

The Matchup:  The guy’s that will have the ball in their hands the most are going to be the most fun to watch when they have to stop each other scoring.  Tony Parker and Russell Westbrook each had a great year this season and thrived with the condensed schedule because they kept playing at a high level the whole time.  Parker sent out a few shots to Westbrook this week saying he’s going to go at him and make him work on defense.  Sure Parker scored 42 points back in February against Westbrook.  But here’s the thing that was a long time ago.  Westbrook has matured and learned the game more.  The advantage I give the Spurs with this matchup is that they were able to contain Chris Paul and they can probably do the same to Westbrook.  Finally, do the Spurs trust Kawhi Leonard guarding Durant in the final minutes of a close game?

The Prediction: Thunder in 6 because Durant will go clutch in the fourth quarter, Harden will have at least one game where he can’t be stopped and the Spurs will eventually go cold from the three point line in one game.  They have to right?

Mini Theory: Another theory that can happen is the Thunder lost the Lakers two years ago, then lost to Dallas last year and with it trending wouldn’t it make since that they lose to San Antonio this year (maybe it’s not their turn yet)  Then next year finally win it all?  Or Durant can slay the last west dragon and rule the kingdom. 

This is what happens when you think too much, you start talking about dragons and kingdoms.   I’ll end the blog now. 

Let The Real Games Begin.. West Preview of Round 1

Let the real games begin… After a 66 game jam packed schedule it’s time for the moment all NBA fans have been waiting for, the playoffs.  This best of seven series tournament shows what players are really made of.  Player’s legacies are made here.  And the only way players, coaches and teams can build their legacy is by hoisting that Larry O’Brien Trophy at the end.  16 teams are all chasing the same dream whether it could be their first time getting it (Utah, Indiana, Orlando, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Denver and LA Clippers), teams trying to get back on track, (Atlanta and Philadelphia), a team trying to get one after the great one left, (Chicago), a city/team reviving once again (New York), a team trying to defend it (Dallas), or the teams trying to add on to it (San Antonio, Boston and LA Lakers).  This dream can’t be captured if they can’t win the first round.  This is why history begins in round 1.

1 San Antonio vs 8 Utah Jazz: Last year the Spurs were the number one seed and they looked well equipped to make a playoff run with a new fast pace offense established by Gregg Popovich.  But right before the playoffs were about to begin, Manu Ginobili broke his right arm on the final game of the season and ran into a Zach Randolph Grizzlies team in the first round that matched up perfectly against San Antonio.  Six games later Memphis became the fourth eighth seeded team in the NBA to beat the number one seed in the playoffs.  Now this year, the Spurs are healthy heading into the playoffs and I think their team is deeper than last years.  You know they have a deep bench when while on a double digit winning streak, Popovich rests his starters and the team still continues the winning streak.  The Spurs went on some crazy winning streaks this year.  They went on a 11 game win streak twice and they are currently on a 10 game win streak.  How are they flying under the radar? 

Of course this shouldn’t be a hard match for the Spurs to play in, they did go 3-1 against Utah this season but Utah did end one of the Spurs high winning streaks. If Utah wants to pull this upset off they need Devin Harris and Gordon Hayward to keep playing out of their minds right now.  Al Jefferson needs to be the go to guy just as Zach was for Memphis and hope Daniel Green and Kawhi Leonard crumble under the playoff pressure.  Too much needs to happen, Parker should shut down Harris easily and as long as the Spurs stay healthy I don’t see any team beating them. Spurs in 5.

2 Oklahoma City vs 7 Dallas Mavericks: Rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals, Oklahoma vs Texas, young vs old.  We all know nobody is giving the DEFENDING CHAMPS a chance, but that’s the thing as long as Dirk Nowitzki is still playing, the Mavs have a chance.  And with a rested up Jason Kidd orchestrating the offense anything could happen.  The Mavs actually match up well with OKC because of Shawn Marion and Delonte West leading the defense.  The thing I worry about is Brendan Haywood playing too much in this series.  OKC is very athletic so putting in Ian Mahinmi or most importantly Brandan Wright at center would be the best choice.  In order for the Mavs to accomplish this upset, they need to take either game one or game two on the road.  And if Dirk somehow throws up a 50 point game in their then they will have a really good chance.  Mavs players all season kept saying just get into the playoffs, well now that they have, it’s time prove once again veteran experience always beats young athleticism.  

The Thunder were built for a 66 game schedule but now that the playoffs give teams breaks, it’ll be about which coach can make the best adjustments.  Which team can perfectly execute a play call and which team can force the most turnovers.  Dallas was able to do this last year which led to their historic playoff run but haven’t been able to continue it onto the following season.  Meanwhile the Thunder have been struggling in crunch time but against Dallas, they actually have been thriving in the fourth quarter.  James Harden appears to be healthy and ready to go.  I think too many people were criticizing OKC with their jump shooting offense but Harden is the guy that attacks the rim and gets to the free throw.  As long as his concussion doesn’t affect his play, they’ll be fine.  If OKC wants to take their next step as title contending franchise, they have to defeat Dallas, then LA and finally Memphis or San Antonio. They’re going to have to prove they’re not in their early stage of being the underdog.  They are now the favorites and Kevin Durant’s legacy starts in these playoffs.  Thunder in 7.

3 LA Lakers vs 6 Denver Nuggets: Kobe Bryant the shooter will not be needed in this series because if Andrew Bynum wants to, he can dominate this series.  JaVale McGee or Kenneth Faired cannot contain Bynum just as long as Bynum tries.  The Nuggets can’t play like they’re just happy to be there.  They have a fast point guard (Ty Lawson) who can beat either Steve Blake or Ramon Sessions off the dribble. What Denver is going to have to do is play fast pace so Bryant the shooter comes out and Bynum is forgotten.  If Ron Artest is missed by the Lakers in this series, they might be in trouble but LA should slow down the pace and play half-court offense so they can feed the big men.  Lakers in 6.

4 Memphis Grizzlies vs LA Clippers: Amazing how much a fourth seeded team is being favored to win the west.  Memphis can play big or small and they can play tenacious defense.  The Clippers couldn’t have picked a worst matchup for them.  Memphis has so many above average defenders, it’ll be easy to defend Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.  The thing about Memphis though, I don’t think this is the same team as last year.  Zach Randolph no longer leads this team, instead it Rudy Gay’s team.  Can Rudy Gay lead Memphis through 16 wins? Or can he step aside and let Randolph run the show?  Heck, is Randolph even the same player as last year?  (I don’t think so).  We’ll see how far that defense takes them in the playoffs.

Meanwhile the Clippers are in trouble, the only crunch time scorer they have is Chris Paul but Memphis has Tony Allen or Mike Conley to guard him.  Blake Griffin can’t be relied on, Randy Foye (even though he’s been shooting light out) can’t be counted on.  This is the Clippers first year together having success, and that Chauncey Billiups injury really did hurt them.  They’ll have more years’ together to add on but it won’t be this year. Grizzlies in 6.

TIMERY LINBOW

So the last time I wrote, I compared the New England Patriots and New York Giants to Star Wars characters, and made a prediction that  went according to plan with Eli Manning being on the top of the world and ending the Patriots dynasty.  Well now that football season is over but only 6 months away (already counting).  I will be moving on to the NBA for a while and this first piece will be about the NBA player that everyone is talking about, the one that blows up twitter every other day and just has a knack for breaking records every time he steps on the court.  It is not Kobe or LeBron, heck it’s not even a Blake Griffin posturizing dunk.  It’s JEREMY LIN!  The undrafted point guard out of Ball So Hard University!... I mean Harvard University.

If you do not know who Jeremy Lin and all he does is “Lin, Lin, Lin” is?  Then let me tell you who is by comparing him to another well-known athlete.  Mr. Tim Teboooww!  Why Tim Tebow?   Both Jeremy Lin and Tim Tebow are very much alike and I know they are very much different too, as in we can all admire how Lin shoots and passes the ball and say “How did he do that?” but with Tebow we say “How did he miss that throw?” I know, I know but we’re only focusing on the similar styles because they both have brought so much attention to themselves in a positive and linspiration way.

First we focus on what Tebow and Lin did during their High School playing days.  Tebow was an All-State quarterback who led the Nease Panthers to a state title and was named Florida’s Player of the Year in his senior year.   Jeremy Lin also led his high school to a state title in his senior year going 32-1.  He was also named first-team All-State and Northern California Division II Player of the Year. 

Then we focus on college and see that Tim Tebow got attention right away in his first year at Florida, winning the national championship title as the backup quarterback but having a big influence on the game, by scoring two touchdowns.  The following year Tebow was named the starting quarterback and went on to win another national title.  Jeremy Lin also did not get his starting role until his sophomore year.  Both players broke school records and took their programs to higher grounds before they graduated.

Now we look at their professional careers.  Tebow was drafted in the 1^st round by the Denver Broncos but not before his hometown team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, passed up on him.  Tebow went on to start the last three games of his rookie year.  Jeremy Lin was NOT drafted but was signed by his hometown team, the Golden State Warriors, playing in the D-League for all of his rookie year.

The following year this is where it starts to get very similar.  Both the NFL and NBA were in lockout years in 2011, which put the two sports in jeopardy of losing an entire season.  Fans were losing hope with every negotiating meeting being stalled with millionaires fighting with billionaires over who got more money.  Eventually the NFL came back without missing any games while the NBA lost 16 games but made a compressing schedule that has made everyday fun to watch.  But both leagues did not want the storyline of their season to be about the lockout.  This is where the best part of sports happens, an athlete coming from deep in the bench getting a chance to show what he’s got and making it count.

Tebow’s second offseason was with a new head coach (John Fox), who demoted Tim to fourth string quarterback and naming Kyle Orton the starting QB.  Tebow received heavy criticism from NFL analysts who said he could not be a full time quarterback in the NFL because of his throwing motion and bad accuracy.  Even the Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the Borncos (John Elway) did not believe Tim Tebow is the franchise quarterback for the team (Still doesn’t).   Jeremy’s second offseason was a little bit worse because no one believed in him.  NBA analyst did not even know who he was.   Lin was released by the Warriors (to save money) and later waived by the Houston Rockets.  The New York Knicks ended up picking him up only because they were dealing with injury at the point guard position.  Both the Broncos and Knicks got off to disappointing starts to the regular season with Denver going 1-3 and the Knicks going 8-15.  Then after the Broncos were trailing the San Diego Chargers, Fox put in Tebow who almost orchestrated a comeback and giving a spark of energy to the offense.  Jeremy Lin got his opportunity when the Knicks were also struggling to generate offense, he came in off the bench to score 25 points and dish out 7 assists against the New Jersey Nets.

This is where change starts to happen and both these players proved the chance to show what they have.  Tebow was announced the starter when the Broncos had their bye week and Lin was put in the lineup after his surprising game.  Tebow went on to win 7 of his 8 starts while making miracle comebacks in the 4^th quarter,  making headlines every single game, taking the Broncos back into the playoffs and even having two signature sayings (Tebow Time and Tebowing).  Lin is currently undefeated as a starter (6-0); breaking records with each game, shooting game winners and most importantly making Madison Square Garden feel alive once again.  Jeremy Lin has also had many words made up for him such as; Linsanity, Linsperation, Lincredible etc…  FYI, I’m predicting the New York Knicks make it past the first round of the playoffs (as the Broncos did) but fall in the second round (as the Broncos did).

What make these two athletes more accomplished are their personalities when they are not playing.  Both Tebow and Lin are humble players who do not take anything for granted.  They thank God first and you’ll never hear a wrong word coming out of their mouth, instead you hear gracious gratitude that they’ll work better every day to try and achieve.  We’ll take these two quotes for example:

“You’ve got to worry about the next play…Keep believing because people aren’t always going to like you but you have to believe in the people around you…You’re going to get knocked down but it’s how many times you get back up.”

“I'm not too worried about proving anything to anybody. As a team we're growing and trying to build on the momentum."

                You wouldn’t know who said who in these quotes because both Jeremy Lin and Tim Tebow have the same personalities, always striving to get better, thinking and always giving credit to the team and not to themselves.  The NBA and NFL have struck gold with these two players because people are no longer thinking of the offseason lockout.  They are thinking of these two role models who never give up.  This is what makes them the same and I’m pretty sure Kim Kardashian has them on speed dial.

Super Bowl/Star Wars Scenario.

I made up a Star Wars/Super Bowl 46 scenario prediction that can be nothing but fun or it can work out just as "Myra Kraft's mystical belief:

Bill Belichick is Darth Sidious, of course this has already been made up but I decided to take it a step further by adding a few more character's in the mix such as Tom Brady being Darth Vader (Belichick and Brady have been ruling the NFL together for over a decade now, just as Sidious and Vader ruled the Galaxy). Peyton Manning is Obi-Wan Kenobi who has been trying to beat and bring down the empire by having great duels with Brady (Vader) but always falling short. Brady no longer has to deal with Peyton anymore because of an unexpected disappearance (or neck issues). Peyton's little brother/Padawan, Eli Manning, is Luke Skywalker. The young and last Manning (Jedi) standing trying to bring down the franchise (Empire) that has ruled for so long.

 The first Super Bowl meeting (SB 42) was like "A New Hope". The Giants came out of  nowhere to make a playoff run with shocking upsets and having no one believing in them that they had a chance against the undefeated 18-0 New England Patriots.  This projects in the movie with people saying destroying the Death Star or bringing down the Empire was impossible.  The Super Bowl match and Death Star scene were almost identical with Eli leading the way but Brady right behind chasing him.  Almost at the end Brady takes the lead with over two minutes to go with everyone thinking the game was over. (Vader took out Luke's partners during the chase and had him locked on making the audience think the plan failed). As it seemed the Empire would win once again someone came to make a difference and that person was David Tyree (Han Solo) making the famous helmet catch to keep the drive going. (Han disrupts Vader as Vader is about to shoot Luke and finish off the rebels). Eli ends up throwing the game winning touchdown as Luke destroys the Death Star (Giants 17 Patriots 14) and the Empire (Patriots) no longer looks Invincible (18-1).

Year's pass and Empire is still in control but no longer dominate. While the rebellion (Giants) are struggling to add on success to their big accomplishment. (Takes both of them 4 years to win a playoff game).  We come to the 2011-2012 season which looks to be "The Return of the Jedi" with Eli Manning looking more mature and confident even saying before the season started that he belongs in the "Elite" Quarterback Class. Backing up his statement by having careers highs in passing yards and completions while carrying his team into the playoffs with no running game and a statistical bad defense. Just as Luke Skywalker was beginning to feel like a Jedi Master when he rescued his friends from Jabba the Hut.

Super Bowl XLVI meeting appears to be looking to play out like "The Return of the Jedi" where Eli "Skywalker" Manning finally ends the Dynasty (Empire) of the Patriots and Tom "Vader" Brady either throws an interception or gets stripped on the final drive which ends Bill "Sidious" Belichick's run of dominating the NFL.  The force is restored and a new era begins with Eli being on top.