Voice of the Sports Man

Super Bowl 43 wrap up

2009-02-01T22:28:00.000-08:00

Another year and another fantastic football game, which is very shocking for the NFL because that usually doesnt happen........ Congrats to coach Mike Tomlin and his Pittsburgh Steelers or winning their sixth Super Bowl and for becoming the youngest coach to win the big game...

Now for my concerns and gripes...

The Arizona Cardinals were royally screwed out of the game and a very slim chance of winning and it was evident in the penalty disparity between the two teams... Did anyone else notice all the holding that the steelers got away with, it was ridiculous and it turned out to be the game saver because there was a hold on the late Santonio Holmes touchdown when Darnell Dockett was tackled coming through the middle on Ben Roethlisberger.

James Harrison had to of made one of the dirtiest plays in SB history when he practically punched Aaron Fransisco on the punt in the 3rd quarter

Who on earth calls a unnesscesary rouhness penalty when someone touches the holder.. Adrian Wilson was trying to stop and it was a good acting job by Mitch Berger.

Why did they not review the last play of the game on that "Phantom Fumble" because from my knowledge that play should have automatically been reviewed..

Just some gripes, if you have more and im sure we will because there alot of questionable calls in the game just write them down on here

Hiatus

2009-02-01T22:26:00.000-08:00

Whats up to everybody out there, sorry its been so long since i been writing on here, I was trying to get it linked to other sites so it would be easier access for you guys to take a gander at. If any body has information on how to link it or if you want to link up with me just let me know he an I'll definitely get back to you.

The Allen Iverson Blockbuster

2008-11-03T22:15:00.000-08:00

Today, the Denver Nuggets sent shock waves to the NBA by trading guard Allen Iverson to the Detroit Pistons for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and Cheik Samb. In my opinion I think Detroit has pushed temmselves up too the top of the Eastern Conference next to the Boston Celtics of course. The Denver Nuggets on the other hand have regressed because they made out with one true player in Billups because reports are that McDyess does not want to play for Denver and a possible buyout is in the works. Here is the good the bad and possibly the ugly about the trade

The Good

Denver - They finally added a point guard to a lineup that surely needs it because Anthony Carter is definitely not the answer.. They also have took themselves out of the luxury tax threshold which is something owner Stan Kroenke has tried to do for a long time.. Leadership with Billups keeping Melo and K-mart in check

Detroit - They have definitely put themselves in the NBA finals chase and we all know how hungry Allen Iverson is to try and get a ring. They also get a point guard/shooting guard who can work with up and comer Rodney Stuckey.

The Bad

Denver - While the trade they may have saved money, Can Billups distribute the ball to shooters JR. Smtih anf Carmelo and also can he run a George Karl offense.

Detroit - Definitely took a hit cap wise with Iverson making 22 million this season and added an extra ball to go around so can he evenly distribute the ball to Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Tayshaun Prince.. Another question is can he help or harm the developement of Detroits young tandem of Jason Maxiell, Amir Johnson, and Rodney Stuckey.

The Ugly

The only "ugly" I see in the trade is the way the lineups look and how these teams will produce. I see Detroit having the edge scoring wise and win wise as well,, You be the judge.

Denver Nuggets lineup
PG - Chauncey Billups
SG - J.R Smith
SF - Carmelo Anthony
PF- Kenyon Martin
C - Nene

Detroit Pistons Lineup
PG - Allen Iverson
SG - Richard "Rip" Hamilton
SF - Tayshaun Prince
PF - Jason Maxiell
C - Rasheed Wallace

Greg Oden: Mr. Unlucky

2008-10-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

A lot has been made recently of the ankle sprain that Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden suffered opening night against the Los Angeles Lakers on opening night, Some people have brought comparisons to former Portland number one draft pick Sam Bowie whose career was short lived due to injury. Its true that Portland big men have had sum bad luck with injuries (i.e Bill Walton) but at the same time, Oden was injury riddled in college with the wrist injury his freshman year at Ohio State and not to mention the microfrcture surgery that kept him out last Season. Needless too say a lot o people are starting to write him of or are starting to call him a bust but not me, well at least not yet anyway.. I kno his stat line is 4.0ppg in one game but he'll be back in 2 weeks even though the diagnosis is 2-4 weeks.. So take it rom me, dont write him off just yet.

Brandon Jennings... "The Trendsetter" pt.2

2008-10-26T03:21:00.000-07:00

Do I think the decision of a young seventeen or eighteen year old kid to go overseas to play basketball is a good one? No, I don't simply because of maturity, its a new country, a new situation, a new set of rules as well as a whole different style of basketball that hes been accustomed too and also the type of basketball that doesn't relate to the NBA.

Do I think he will do good and put up numbers? Sure I do because hes a good ball player, while young, he can still put the ball in the hoop. Right now hes the second point guard on the depth chart behind Ibrahim Jaaber who most recently dominated the ivy league ranks at Penn University, where he put up 21 against the North Carolina Tar Heels. So "BJ" is gonna have his work cut out for him because it wont be handed to him like he would have if he went to Arizona.

Do I think hes using this route as an "easy" way out?In a way yes. I call it easy because the "grind" wont be as tough because as a college student you have class, workouts, practice, team functions, and games. While overseas all he really has is practice and games, he really shouldn't be worried about the country too much because he should only be there to play basketball if he wants to get to the NBA.

Lets be real for a second, how come no one else has ever used overseas as an option? I can tell you why. Simply because the best competition you can have as a player is in the united states and in the NCAA. Its where you find yourself as a player, build your strengths and find your weaknesses. All because he didn't want to take a simple test and play the "game" for one year. We didn't see Michael Beasley go overseas, we didn't see Kevin Durant go overseas and we didn't see Jrue Holiday go overseas, who I think is a much better player than "BJ" is. They didn't go because you don't get half as much exposure or notoriety or competition as you would playing in the NCAA. Remember people YouTube does not count as notoriety or exposure because it wont capture his game as a whole, nor will it capture his personality.

Lastly, the NCAA isn't all about money (yes it is). Its also about tradition, legacy and history. Which, is something that he will miss out on. I say that because we seen Michael Jordan come of age in that 1984 tournament game against Georgetown, we seen Carmelo Anthony come in and take Syracuse to a championship in his first year, and just recently we seen young Stephen Curry cement his legacy at Davidson by taking them to the elite 8. these are just a few examples of what "BJ" will be missing out on by going overseas. He will have no legacy, no story behind his name except that he was just a blue-chip prospect who "jumped ship" for one year only to come back. The average "Joe the fan" will have never heard of Brandon Jennings until the NBA draft in 2009, if he is in it and to most Americans he will not be a role model whose parents who actually know that basketball isn't forever and an education is something you need.

Will this be a trend? It could be, all depends on how "BJ" does over there and how that affect his stock in the draft. I would hope that future High school ball players really evaluate their options before going overseas. Do you want to be remember as a college player or a high school player turned Euro-league second team player.

Brandon Jennings... "The Trendsetter"

2008-10-26T02:52:00.000-07:00

A lot of controversy and hype has recently been put in to the move that "ex" Arizona commit Brandon Jennings has made in going overseas to play in the Italian league for a year and then come back for the NBA draft in 2009. The move came as a reaction to the NCAA questioning his SAT score because the first time he took it, he did not qualify so he took it a second time. When his score jumped up an immense amount of points the NCAA stepped in. Brandon Jennings says the first time he took it he was not taking it seriously and the second time taking the test he put effort into it. Tell me who in their right mind would not take one of the most important test in their lives seriously, that could be the difference between being a number one draft pick or a number five pick. Not a big deal until you put contract details and collective bargaining into it. So after the SAT mishap, Brandon Jennings signs with Lottomatica Virtus Roma of the Italian league. The team has had numerous past and current NBA players on it, most notably George Gervin. So now Brandon Jennings is officially a history maker having become the first high school player to play professionally,( most notable high school player of course).

Jose Canseco...Apologizes

2008-10-25T02:29:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not have heard. Former Major league player Jose Canseco author of the book Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant Roids, Smash Hits, & How Baseball Got Big. Anyway he was recently on the network A&E being interviewed on his life and how bad things are for him having to see his daughter very few times, things of that nature. Well towards the end he says that " If I can go back in time I would have never written that book" and he also goes on to say that if he could talk with Mark McGwire and the other guys he would apologize.. Does he get any sympathy from you? As for me I cant give him any sympathy because he knew exactly what he was doing. You just don't put a book together without thinking about it and the fact that he says he was mad at the game of baseball doesn't make things worse because if he was really mad at the game of baseball he wouldn't of dropped names and especially the names of people he played with. I think hes disloyal a coward, a rat and a liar and there's really no way i can possibly find myself trying to sympathize with the guy.

The Fall of the Oakland Raiders

2008-10-23T00:49:00.000-07:00

Has there been a more disappointment in the last five years, without including the Detroit Lions.. The raiders have had high draft multiple coaching changes and player movement without getting a little bit better. A lot of people say it is the owner Al Davis' fault when in actuality hes not the one out on the field.. Recently the raiders fired Lane Kiffin in favor of little known offensive line coach Tom Cable. This can be a good thing for the raiders if it were to work out. But back to Kiffin, he in my eyes was a disappointment from the start because he said at his press conference that he was going to bring "an explosive offense" to the Raiders when we only saw the polar opposite. The Draft picks in the last few years have been sub-par at best. They have a good first round and then the rounds following they go after speed and more speed and not on the field performance. Case in point, the 2008 draft saw very little known players getting picked by the Raiders who could have selected a quarterback that they are in desperate need of, because Andrew Walter and Marques Tuiasosopo will never really amount to anything more than a good clipboard holder. Instead they duplicate positions and select a speed receiver in Arman Shields from Richmond and Chaz Schilens from San Diego state who was predominantly a special teams guy in college. Says a lot about there scout department. But we can attribute a lot to the fall of this team but I'll let my readers add more to this.

The Adam Jones Saga

2008-10-21T01:55:00.000-07:00

Who hear is tired f hearing about Adam Jones or Pac-Man, or whatever his name is today.. I for one sure am. He is a good player and still has the potential to be that player but he has to want that for himself.. As reported earlier he has entered into rehab, which he truly needed because if you look at the long sheet of incidents (Police reports) or not they mostly involve the use of alcohol or being around alcohol.. Hopefully rehab works out for him and he becomes the cornerback that Jerry Jones knows he can become and I think he can become..

The European Exodus

2008-10-21T01:50:00.000-07:00

In the past few months we've seen a lot of players bolt from the NBA to europe to play basketball, Most notably, Brandon Jennings.. People are talking about it having a negative affect on the NBA.. I dont think it does at all because if you look at the facts, most of the people who have left for europe were not even starters (i.e Josh Childress and Jannero Pargo). Also most of the other players that left were foreign born so is it really considered goin to Europe for them or going home. so until the "big time" players start to look that way I think comissioner Stern has nothing to worry about..