Category Archives: Sports

April 20, 2011

Changing of the Eras in the NBA?

By chappy81

I’ve watched as much as I could of these NBA playoffs so far, and with every lower seed playing the higher seed tough it got me thinking about the state of the NBA. Make no mistake, t’s in a great state right now as every team in the playoffs looks good even some of the lower seeds. In basketball we usually don’t see a ton of surprises, because you don’t surprise any team four times in a series. That’s what basketball has right over all the other sports, they always get the true champion, because no road traveled is easy. That’s not really the case in every other sport. Coming to conclusions like this makes it even tougher as a Warriors fan…

I guess the first question that popped into my head is this one of the last chances for the “older” teams to win a championship? Maybe not this year, but it’s coming. This year we have the traditional favorites that you can’t really bet against like the Lakers, Celtics, and Spurs, but how much longer can their reign last? Most of their top-tier stars are well into their 30’s, and these teams are all stumbling a little already in this first round. I’m not saying that I’ve counted these teams out already for this year or next, because that would be ridiculously short sighted. I do find myself having a hard time seeing them continue their dominance beyond this year especially last years finals pairing. The Lakers and Celtics will have some huge questions to answer at the conclusion of the season. Both are going to be praying that their coaches stay, and Phil has already said he believes there will be a long lockout which is a reason he wants to retire. Doc might be thinking the same thing. New coach and new system doesn’t usually equal championships, but you can teach an old dog new tricks every once in awhile. The Spurs are finding it impossible to have their big three healthy and together when it matters for the past few seasons. Maybe the lockout would help them since they wouldn’t have to play nearly as many games, keeping these older guys fresh without a long regular season might be to their advantage, but at the same time I don’t see that making up for slowly eroding skills. The NBA is an era league, that started way back with Bill Russell dominating. More recently, we went from the Bird-Magic era to the current Kobe-Duncan era, so are we heading into a new era? Oh my the possibilities that are coming to light are enticing.

The East is stacked with young superstar talent as we all know. The Bulls, Knicks, and Heat are sure to be battling it out for years to come barring injury of course. Nearly all the superstars on those teams have had previous playoff failures, so in my eyes these teams aren’t as inexperienced as some would have you believe. The West isn’t as clear cut as the East in terms of power, but the Grizzlies are the second youngest team in the league, and have showed promise against the Spurs just like the Thunder did with the Lakers last year as an 8 seed. OKC is the seeming favorite to be the heir apparent to the Western Conference Throne, and I can’t argue with that. A side note on the Sonics, why doesn’t every GM follow the blueprint that they used? Get a superstar, have cap space to spend on the other players, build through the draft, and boom, you have an elite team. The Clippers have a solid core with a superstar that can only get better, oops, I shouldn’t ever put the Clippers in a championship post… Anyways you get the point, and my question is who’s era is it going to belong to?

28 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 19, 2011

Doin MLB Power Rankings

By chappy81

With two and a half full weeks gone in the MLB season we find ourselves about 10% of the way through the season. It’s time for some waaay too early power rankings! I’ve seen way too many baseball games thanks to the free MLB package preview those first two weeks. Thankfully that’s over, so I don’t find myself watching a Marlins vs. Astros game anymore (which is probably for the better). For some reason I’ve been more focused on baseball more than the opening games this weekend of the NBA playoffs. Anyways, this might be the most accurate power rankings I’ll have all year because I’ve actually seen almost all the teams play. There are some shocking teams already in this young season, and for now this is how the top 16 shakes out!

#1 Colorado Rockies (12-4) – Whoa, I thought they’d be pretty good this year, which is why I picked them to win the NL West, but didn’t see this torrid start coming. Tulo is on pace to hit over 80 homers this year. If he keeps that pace up, they might be able to stay atop these rankings for awhile.

#2 Cleveland Indians (12-4) – Mceezy’s pick to win the World Series. I was very skeptical of this team and his pick, but they’ve got some swagger and confidence early in the year. Also, one guy who always seems to be in the playoffs, Orlando Cabrera is on their team. Wherever he goes, they make the playoffs except when he was on the A’s for half a year and didn’t make it… Grady is back, and that’s only going to help them.

#3 New York Yankees (9-5) – Is there starting pitching ever not a question mark? It doesn’t seem to matter that much when you put up runs like this lineup can. AJ Burnett is off to a good start, so maybe he doesn’t suck after all. Would I move Jeter down in the lineup? Yes!

#4 Texas Rangers (11-5) – They’ve lost two straight series (one to the Yankees), but keep on mashing the ball with or without Hamilton in the lineup. Anytime you are scoring as much as them you have a chance to win in every game. Their starting rotation is a concern, and the bullpen is even more of a concern, we’ll see what happens with that. Hopefully it will spell their doom.

#5 Philadelphia Phillies (10-5) – Not an exciting offense anymore, but you only need to score a few runs with that pitching staff. I might have underestimated how good they are with or without Chase Utley and Jayson Werth. I guess I should’ve probably picked them to win the NL East…  Continue reading

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Sports

April 18, 2011

What’s Gotten Into Webber?

By mceezy

This isn’t really a post; it’s more of a question. During tonight’s Bulls-Pacers game, I can’t help but feel like C-Webb is going a little over the top tonight with his color commentary. It’s almost like someone put a bug in his ear before the game to step his enthusiasm game up. Either that or Gus Johnson gave him a pep talk before tipoff. Whatever the case, he definitely sounds a couple octaves higher and even sounds like a video game at times. Maybe it’s just me, but I think it’s Derrick Rose. He had me more excited tonight for a single player than anyone else in a while. How would he top his 39 points in Game One’s improbable victory? Though he hasn’t really done anything too spectacular tonight, he still managed to put up 34pts, 8reb, 6ast – ho hum. Surely Webber’s just giddy at the sight of this season’s MVP.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Sports

April 18, 2011

Poker is Offline in the US Again

By chappy81

My name is Brian, and I was a online poker addict for awhile there. Especially during the college years when the poker boom was just taking off. Thankfully the government helped me kick the online habit in 2006 when they ruled to shut down poker sites that used money laundering type violations. Not that I didn’t play at the home games or the occasional trip the the Indian Casinos, but it became a once in awhile kind of thing compared to playing poker while watching a baseball or basketball game. The sites were back up and running within a year or so, and I was never really clear on why. Either way, I was back playing at a reduced rate. Over the past few years my playing has tailed off a lot to almost non-existent for months at a time (probably for the better). Maybe I got over it because of the skill of some of the online players that I was playing with. I just couldn’t handle seeing some of the most ridiculous hands winning more than pocket aces. Those beats always leave a bad taste in your mouth, especially when it happens over and over and over. Plus, I just don’t have as much time to waste as I used to.

This weekend, online poker went on hold once again for US players, but the lawsuit coming up will have a much different effect on the online gambling world. Mainly, we will once and for all have some set laws in place. If the lawmakers decide that poker is not a skill game, which if you play online enough, you will believe there’s more luck than skill, then poker will forever be banished online in the US. If they find it’s a skill game, we end up with a new way to generate some tax revenue. As of now, there’s no concrete way for the government to tax this billion dollar business. That being said, I don’t think the government really cares about the legality of online poker, just whether they can line their pockets with the addiction that many like myself threw themselves at.

6 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Sports

April 14, 2011

Silver and Black Attack!

By mceezy

No explanation needed…..

4 Comments   |  tags: | posted in Sports

April 13, 2011

Webber And Barkley On The Kings Leaving Sacramento

By mceezy

I know I probably talk about it more than anyone cares to hear, but once the dust settles, I’ll be very sad about all this. As much as the current ownership has alienated myself and fans alike, I can’t forget that past 26 years. Even while turning in 20-win seasons year after year, Sacramento fans packed the house every night and cheered like it was the NBA Finals. Don’t take it from me though. Take it from C-Webb and Sir Charles (from TNT’s Inside the NBA last night)…..

Webber: “I didn’t want to go there (Sacramento). I tried to run away from there. They still accepted me. I can’t imagine what Sacramento would be like without basketball … I hope we do not lose the team. I’ve been talking to people there. I know everyone thinks the team is gone, but I’m doing all I can to keep the team there. I may sound like a fool on national TV, but I’m working to do that. Other people are working to do that … It’s very selfish. I won’t have a basketball home if Sacramento doesn’t have a basketball team. I was talking to (former Sonics star) Gary Payton. He doesn’t have his jersey hanging in any arena. There is no team in Seattle. Selfishly for myself, and for the fans in Sacramento ….

Ernie Johnson: “What are you doing (to further efforts)?”

Webber: “What am I doing? I’m trying to keep the team here. We don’t want to talk about it, but … what else am I supposed to do? I love this team. I still want to have a home in Sacramento. Hopefully it’s not a lost cause. I love Sacramento.”

Barkley: “You know, it’s very frustrating to me because I love the city of Sacramento, and I’ve said before, they had the best fans in the NBA for a long time. I really like the Maloof brothers. I want to make that clear. But I’m very disappointed … because they should have found a way to keep that team in Sacramento … I agree with Chris. Even when the team sucked, they (fans) were great. I mean, they were raising hell every night. I’ve always had great respect for the Maloof brothers. They’ve always been great to me. I’m just disappointed they didn’t try harder to make it work … It’s like they (NBA, owners) screwed Seattle. That place was crazy. But Sacramento … I agree with both of you guys. You all were great when you weren’t very good. It was all the same.That place was loud. I hate the fact they’re leaving Sacramento.”

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Sports

April 13, 2011

Norm MacDonald as Blake Griffin

By chappy81

Yesterday Mceezy sent me a text telling me I needed to check out the spoof that Norm MacDonald did on his new show with Comedy Central. After watching it, I have to say, maybe I didn’t give Blake enough credit for having a personality or the ability to be funny, because in this skit Blake was pretty funny. Now that Blake is used to being a star, maybe he’ll show us some more of his personality. I hope Norm Macdonald Sports Show lasts, but I have a feeling it won’t…

11 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Comedy, Sports, TV

April 12, 2011

Stanley Cup Playoff Preview

By mceezy

It’s the eve of the Stanley Cup Playoffs…. Who better to turn to for expert analysis on the NHL? Collectively, the Doin Work writers have the ice hockey knowledge of an entire nation. (And when I say nation, I’m thinking somewhere like Nepal or Brunei Darussalam) Chappy and I played a lot of NHL 94 on Sega back in the day. Dyslecix and I did fantasy hockey league in 2006. (We finished first and third, respectively) Now that you’re clued in on the level of expertise we’re dealing with here, let’s get into the matchups….

CAMPBELL CONFERENCE

Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks – The Blackhawks are the defending champs I believe. They were a pretty good checking team on NHL 94 on Sega, so you know opposing teams will be intimidated. The Canucks, however, had the best record in the league, proving that they’ve overcome the loss of superstar Pavel Bure, and more importantly, his wife, DJ Tanner (or was that the other Bure?) Canucks in 6

San Jose Sharks vs. Los Angeles Kings – The Sharks have arguably the most rabid fan base of people who’ve never touched a hockey stick. The Kings might be a close second, if they had more fans. I’d imagine the Sharks will make quick work of the Kings, since David Stern will surely step in and have this series fixed, in order to make sure nothing interferes with any scheduling of Lakers’ playoff games. Sharks in 5

Detroit Red Wings vs. Phoenix Coyotes – One city a storied hockeytown, the other a place where no hockey game was ever played prior to 1996 probably. Shane Doan’s pretty good, because I’ve heard of him. It probably won’t be enough to beat the Wings with Steve Yzerman though. He IS still on the team right? Red Wings in 5

Anaheim Ducks vs. Nashville Predators – The Predators are in the postseason for the 6th time in 7 years… not bad for a 12 year old expansion team in Tennessee. The Ducks are also no stranger to the postseason…. not bad for a team who’s first coach was Emilio Estevez. The Ducks seem poised to make one last run deep into the playoffs, as they enjoy their last season as sole tenants of The Pond, before the NBA team comes in and takes over the place. Ducks in 7

PRINCE OF WALES CONFERENCE

Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers – There are a few things we know about these two teams. Ovechkin is pretty good. Okay, make that one thing we know about these two teams. Good enough for me! Capitals in 5

Philadelpha Flyers vs. Buffalo Sabres – I saw a Tweet somewhere online that said Buffalo is the second hottest team in hockey right now. That tells you something. They also play in Buffalo, and since they have to put up with the Bills, I’m rooting for them. I’m sure fans of “The Office” are too. They’re a lock for a first round upset if you ask me. Sabres in 7

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens – This is a great matchup of cities that are unlike the rest of their respective countries. Montreal is more like France than Canada, and Boston is more like Russia than the United States. On the ice though, these guys are all from the same place: Hockeyville. If I recall, these two teams had a pretty heated series last season. (Upon further review, they didn’t even play each other last year. Boston swept Montreal two years ago).  Canadiens in 7

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning – I can’t believe I’m still talking about hockey. I don’t even care anymore at this point. Every 4 or 5 years, I’ll get into hockey and get on the Sharks’ bandwagon and watch their playoff games, but this isn’t one of those years. It isn’t one of those years for the Tampa Bay faithful either. Penguins in 4

5 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Sports

April 11, 2011

Masters, Manny, and a Beat-down in Pittsburgh

By chappy81

Charl was given his green jacket signifying that he is the Master of the Universe, yet the storylines don’t seem to surround his four birdie finish. I’m not one to push golf onto anyone who can’t stand watching guys read putts for five hours, believe me I understand why it would be boring, but this weekend was one of the most exciting finishes we might see in any major for awhile. When there were about 8-10 holes left to play for the leaders, the CBS crew couldn’t even figure out who’s shot or which players they even wanted to show because there were so many people atop the leaderboard. We didn’t see a whole lot of Charl during the day, but did get a lot of Tiger shoved down our throats. Tiger looked great for the front nine, and it looked like he had some of his swagger back busting out his fist pumps. Unsurprisingly to me that seems to be the topic of conversation today on whether Tiger is indeed back or not. It’s tough to say when he missed critical putts down the stretch that he usually would’ve made during his domination days. Regardless of whether he’ll be as dominant as he once was, he’s relevant again. The other story was about how Rory McIlroy caved to the pressure, and was one of the only people to shoot over par on Sunday. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t win, but more so that he caved, and he seemed to give up after his triple bogey on the 10th. He’s a 21-year-old, so I wouldn’t worry about him. It’s like last year when Dustin Johnson choked away a lead on the final day at the US Open. I’m sure he’ll learn from what happened, and his skills aren’t disappearing. All in all, I think golf is healthier than it’s been in awhile. I’m not going to go all Geno Auriemma and cry if you don’t care about golf, but this past Sunday was a finish that I feel like any sports fan would’ve enjoyed.

Manny is retiring… Lots people go to Tampa to retire, and Manny doesn’t seem to be the exception to that rule. I’ve always loved then loved to hate Manny depending on which team he was playing for. I guess the bigger deal about his retirement is if he’ll make it into the HOF. All along I’ve been for the steroid era players getting into the HOF. It’s an era, and whether there was cheating or not, you have to acknowledge the best. Baseball has always had the worst HOF setup in my eyes. The snubs feel ridiculous, and most of the time those who are snubbed were “bad” character guys. I feel like the HOF is a popularity contest that nobody really wins in unless you were a classy person on and off the field. Personally all I care about is what was done on the field, cheating or not, he was still one of the greatest. With that said, I’d put Manny, Clemens, A-Rod, and Bonds in. Who cares if I or anyone else doesn’t like them as people they still were amazing players that carried baseball for two decades.

Apparently, safety in stadiums is an issue… The MLB League passes are free for everyone for the first week of the year, and I’ve watched a lot of teams I probably won’t see for the rest of the year. One common theme seemed to be empty seats in stadiums. I’m not sure if it’s the cold weather across much of the country or if it’s a correlation that fans no longer feel safe bringing their kids to the ballpark after the Dodgers incident. Whatever the case, this recent video from a Pirates game was insane. Dude was either completely wasted or just can straight up take a hit. The rent-a-cop billy clubbed him three times and he didn’t even flinch! This might be the most excitement the Pirates fans have all season…

24 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 8, 2011

Elephants and Seals

By chappy81

We sometimes neglect our teams in writing posts since we follow them so closely that we feel like everyone probably already knows what’s going on with them, in reality, that’s probably not true. Now that we have a Giants fan in the mix in By, I figured it would be fun to do an overview of our two favorite bay area teams from our homer perspectives. I’ll be writing up the A’s portion and By will be doing the Giants portion for this season.

Oakland 2-5

San Francisco 3-4

Three Up

Oakland A’s – Our starting pitchers have picked up where they left off last season, and by that I mean dominating the first six innings of their games, and only giving up two earned runs or less in all but one appearance. The new offensive guys (Dejesus, Willingham, and Matsui) in the heart of the order aren’t producing much, and unfortunately the other guys in the lineup are doing what they did last year, which is leaving runners in scoring position. They have had the lead at one point in every game this year, but can’t seem to keep it for too long in most cases. We still seem to have a heavy handicap in the home run department, but we seem to be getting more guys on base than last year, so there’s a little hope on the horizon. They’ve been close in every game late, because of that great starting pitching. If it weren’t for them thinking they were playing soccer to the tune of kicking 9 fielding errors, they could easily be .500 on the year. Somewhat concerned about this start.

San Francisco Giants – This is simple.  One, Lincecum, Sanchez, Cain, Zito & Mad Bum.  A solid bull pen, and the game’s real life version of Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn to close it.  I’m not worried about a 3-4 start.  Perhaps I’m being a little generous when mentioning Zito in that list, but I can’t uninclude him when he’s rockin’ the new ‘stache.  Two, we have a group of loveable guys who all play hard together and get along with each other.  Yes, Aubrey Huff in the outfield scares me, but the young studs in Buster Posey and Brandon Belt in our every day lineup more than make up for it.  Do not sleep on Miguel Tejada, by the way.  And three, we are still the defending champs.  This season is (now) seven games in for the Giants.  I’m not worried about a 3-4 start.

Three Down

Oakland A’s – Their bullpen is already injured like it’s mid-season. It was supposed to be a heavy strength for the team coming into the season, so far all we’ve been left with is blown leads. Balfour and Fuentes our big acquisitions in the pen this off-season both blew saves in their first tries as Athletics with Bailey on the DL. Their fielding was never a problem last year, but with 9 errors in only six games this year they are dead last in that category. Their last two games in Toronto that were errorless, and same with the day game in Minnesota today, so that has me feeling like it was just a little early season rust. Hopefully that’s the case. Maybe all the talk of needing to upgrade at third got to Kouz’s head as he’s tied for the team lead with three errors. Lastly the A’s have been terrible with runners in scoring position this season only logging three hits when that chance arises.

San Francisco Giants

1)  We got smoked by L.A.

2)  Duck the Fodgers.

3)  We haven’t produced runs consistently, spoiling some good outings by our starting pitchers.  Add to that, our bull pen hasn’t looked as crisp as they did during last season’s historic playoff run, so I guess there’s some cause for concern there.

3a)  It would be nice to have Cody Ross back.


5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Sports

April 8, 2011

Spoof NBA Lockout Ads

By chappy81

Last off-season in the NBA it was all about the big time free agents, and where will they land. This off-season will be all about Billy Hunter vs. David Stern, and how long the lockout will last. It seems like it could get even uglier than the NFL’s lockout and probably will miss more games. As I’ve said before with the NFL lockout, I’m all for it if they lose some fans and some revenue. Nothing puts a billion dollar league in their place like losing fans. I ran across this video of a few spoof lockout ads that we could see in the near future when the war really heats up. Ok, probably not, but we know it’s going to get ugly. The ad that had Stern saying “he knew where the bodies are buried” had a very interesting story to it during all-star weekend and this article by Adrian Wojnarowski is a must read if you haven’t heard the story.

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Comedy, Sports

April 7, 2011

Slow Out Of The Box

By mceezy

There’s quite a few surprise teams here in the first week of the MLB season, like the Orioles and Royals, but let’s focus on the negatives here. There are four teams that are playing downright ugly baseball to start the season. It’s not hard for us A’s fans, since we’ve had the privilege of witnessing 10 errors in the team’s first 4 games. Fortunately they were able to scrape out a 2-1 victory today to pull back up to 2-4. The Giants were able to do the same by beating the Padres pretty handily, though Brian Wilson had a shaky debut. 2-4 ain’t pretty, but to me, it’s a whole lot better than 1-5, or even worse, 0-6…. No one expected the Rays to be contenders this year, but no one thought they’d be this bad. Even fewer people thought the Red Sox would be this bad. I’m loving it of course, but I’ll hold back from piling it on until the season’s over and they DIDN’T make an improbable run into the playoffs. Obviously they’re off to the most disappointing start, but which team here has the most reason to panic early on?….

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Sports

April 6, 2011

Color Me Purple The Nuggets are in the Playoffs

By chappy81

At the beginning of the season we made predictions on how we thought the Western Conference would shake out. By and I swung and missed on a few picks like the Clippers, Jazz, Warriors, and Rockets, but we were right about the easy picks aka the top 5 teams. I guess I did write that I wished I included Memphis on the predictions a month into the year, but that’s a moot point. Anyways, the season is nearing it’s end, and the playoff teams seem set, except for seeding. Seriously though, does it look like anyone will beat the Lakers in the west? I can’t say I feel like anyone will beat them, not even the Sonics who I feel like could beat them, but won’t. We all know deep down that the Lakers will be in the Finals no matter who they are matched up against in a week and a half.

The real reason for this post was that the Sportschump was very adamant that we were horribly wrong for leaving the Nuggets out of the playoff picture. They secured a spot a few days ago, and look like they should be the #5 seed. I’m sure he’d be the first to admit that Denver has made the playoffs in a different way than he or anyone expected (without Melo), but nonetheless he was right and I was wrong. The Nuggets have been a very interesting team this season since the Melo trade. It’s weird seeing a team actually use 10 of it’s players every night. Especially since all are getting significant minutes in a guess who’s playing tonight game of musical chairs. Karl goes with the hot hand. If you’re playing well, you play 40 minutes. If you struggle, you’re only playing 15-20. It’s something you rarely see in the NBA, which makes them the anti-big three. They are all about the team over the individual. It’s a good reason to root for them in the playoffs, but if they end up playing the Sonics in the first round I guess I won’t be on that bandwagon…

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 4, 2011

Rooting For Ryo This Year…

By chappy81

The Japanese sensation Ryo Ishikawa made a very nice tribute to Japan’s earthquake relief fund for the rest of the current PGA season. The 19-year old is from one of the hardest hit areas in Japan, and while his family was all in the states when the quake struck that doesn’t mean he has forgotten about his countrymen. He said today at a Masters interview that he’d be donating all his tour earnings to the relief of his country. Last year he made a little over $2M, and showed that he will be a force in the near future once he gains a little more experience. I think this generous donation will make me lay off on the jokes when I see him. He usually wears some of the ugliest clothes around, but maybe that’s Yonex’s fault for making those clothes…

If you couldn’t tell, last year I was a huge Dustin Johnson fan, and pretty much rooted for him to win any event that he was in. I’m not abandoning my boy DJ, but with the selfless act that Ryo has decided to put forth, I can’t help but start rooting for the guy to win every tournament or at least make a lot of top tens. I’ve never had a million dollar earnings year, but at the age of 19 I don’t think I’d be able to give it up like he is. To go along with his nice gesture he’s also donating $1,200 per birdie to charity, which will be a very nice chunk of change by the time the year is over considering he gets a few per round. Rarely do I write about things that are good in sports, and this is clearly one that should garner more attention than it does in the national media.

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Random, Sports

March 31, 2011

Football Vs. Futbol

By chappy81

http://www.sportsmanagementcolleges.net/

 

 

 

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Random, Sports