Category Archives: Sports

Tonight LeBron James announced he would be playing with the Miami Heat next year. What does this mean for the 2010 champion Los Angeles Lakers?

Its a mix of good and bad. While Lebron and Bosh join Wade in Miami, there is still other serious consolidation of power in the Eastern Conference. And alot of it is coming from the Western Conference. The Chicago Bulls got Boozer from the Utah Jazz. And The Knicks, while not landing the King, did convince Stoudemeyer to leave the Phoenix Suns for NY. And don’t sleep on Boston. The experienced team that was this year’s Eastern Champions seem to be sticking around for another year.

This means that the Lakers might be facing a much easier Western Conference. I predict the path to the Western Finals might actually be easier for LA. However, in the NBA finals – I think the Lakers could face some potentially stiffer competition.

What do you think of the fallout from tonight’s goings ons?

Congrats to the Los Angeles Lakers who won their 16th Championship tonight. A back to back championship with the 2009 season.

A few thoughts:

• Kobe

Kobe struggle through a lot of this series. He came through in the clutch in the last few minutes, but had trouble for the first three quarters. The team definitely carried him – and he knows it. He thanked “The Spaniard” (Gasol) in his MVP speech. Will this stop critics who claim the Lakers are nothing but Kobe? Doubtful. But the rest of the team should be very proud.

This does not mean Kobe is overvalued. This team would obviously be very different without him. But, I think his value beyond his shooting abilities is overlooked. His on court coaching deserves another look.

• Fisher

Fisher might be my favorite player. He is one of the few athletes who is actually someone who should be admired off the court as well. His passion and drive are amazing. He is also one of the coolest headed players, always able to be counted on to come through in the clutch.

• Gasol

Ah, the Spaniard. This team would be no where as good without him. He combines length with a decent jump shot to be a very formidable opponent. Still undervalued.

• Artest

I actually do not like Mr. Crazytown. After the infamous water throwing incident, I’ve written him off. He did thank his psychiatrist in his post game interview. Maybe she helped because he has been critical for the Lakers lately, proving valuable on both offense and defense.

• Next Year

Bynum was an extremely important element in this series, even though he only played sparingly because of an injury. If he comes back next year healthy – the Lakers are going to be even more dominant next year. And don’t forget Kobe was playing with a worn knee and messed up finger as well. Watch out.

Even though many people outside of Virginia have heard of Chesapeake – and those who have think I come from a Bay, not a city- my hometown of Chesapeake, VA does have its claims to fame. The Hampton Roads/Tidewater/Norfolk,Va Beach, Hampton/757/Seven Cities area even lays claim to a few great athletes. The Virginian Pilot put together a list of the top 50 athletes from the region. Chesapeake is home to quite a few of them. Notably we have representatives in each major sport. You can check out the whole list here. The top player in each sport from Chesapeake is listed below.

Since VA doesn’t have any major sports teams – don’t get me started on claiming DC teams as VA teams, its nice to show some love for athletes who have found their way to the top.  You would also be surprised at some of the names that pop up if you expand outside of Chesapeake to the entire southeast VA region. Allen Iverson, Micheal Vick, Plaxico Burress just to name a few!

• Basketball – Alonzo Mourning

“Resilience” is the title of Mourning’s recently released memoir. “Denial” was what he served up on the court. Blessed with length, at 6-foot-10, Mourning’s timing, tenacity and instincts made him one of the most feared shot blockers the game has seen. A phenom at Indian River High, he almost made the Olympic team at 18 in 1988, before heading off to Georgetown. There, he was a three-time All-American and set an NCAA record for blocks in a career. The No. 2 pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, Mourning was a tireless physical marvel and one of the NBA’s top big men for eight years with Charlotte and Miami until kidney disease sidelined him in 2001. Mourning continued playing, even making the All-Star game in 2002. His health worsened and he retired in 2003, when he underwent a kidney transplant. But he was back within a year and eventually returned to Miami, where he was a reserve on the Heat’s 2006 championship team. Still not ruling out another comeback while rehabilitating an injured knee this season, Mourning is heavily involved in philanthropic work, including raising money for kidney research.

Alonzo Mourning went to my high school. Go Braves! I’m pretty sure his picture is still hanging around there somewhere.

• Football – Ken Easley

A complete package of speed, smarts and intimidation, Easley modernized the safety position in the NFL. He hit like a linebacker but could cover like a cornerback . Easley made the Pro Bowl five times in his seven-year career and was AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1981. He led the NFL in interceptions with 10 in 1984, returned two for touchdowns and was chosen as NFL Defensive Player of the Year. His career was cut short after the 1987 season, when he was diagnosed with kidney disease. Even if he had never played a minute of pro ball, Easley’s status as one of the greatest college players ever would be secure. At UCLA, he became the first player in Pac-10 history to make all-conference four times. A multisport star at Oscar Smith, Easley received basketball scholarship offers from ACC and Big Ten schools. The Chicago Bulls even drafted him in the 10th round in 1981.

• NASCAR – Ricky Rudd

Baseball had Cal Ripken, and before him, Lou Gehrig. NASCAR’s “Ironman” is Rudd, who started a record 788 consecutive races from 1981 to 2005. He won 23 races on NASCAR’s top circuit in his career and finished second in the points standings in 1991. Consistency was his hallmark, though. He won at least one race every season from 1983 to 1998, and finished in the top 10 in 374 of his 906 career starts. What lengths did Rudd go to avoid missing a race? After crashing at the Busch Clash at Daytona in 1984, Rudd’s eyes were swollen to slits and closed completely in turns during practice. So Rudd duct-taped them open and raced in the Daytona 500. He retired after the 2005 with $36 million in career winnings and a place as one of the sport’s top 50 drivers of all time – a long way from his humble beginnings racing Go Karts locally.

• Baseball – David Wright

Let’s take stock here. In 4½ major league seasons, Wright has hit 130 home runs, driven in at least 100 runs four times, appeared in three All-Star games, won two Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger awards at third base and compiled a career average of .309. Any questions? Or can we go ahead and call Wright, of the New York Mets, the best baseball player the area has ever produced? And to think he turned 26 just last week. At his age, Wright seems destined to get nothing but better, eclipsing even the high hopes the Mets had for him when they made him a supplemental first-round pick – No. 38 overall – out of Hickory High in 2001. Wright passed through his home turf on the way up in 2004, playing 31 games for the Norfolk Tides. It was a pit stop on an express trip to the big leagues, but Wright has stayed part of the community here while also becoming a New York sports icon on par with the likes of Derek Jeter, Eli Manning and Brett Favre.

Also, I was never a big baseball fan. We have a local team, the Norfolk Tides, who I used to go to fairly often and really enjoyed. The Mets used to own them, and since my hometwon boy D-Wright went up there, and a certain overzelaous two roommates of mine were fans of the Mets, I’ve become a sort of converted Met Fan.

Big weekend in the NFL. Especially for me as a Miami Dolphins fan.

The Dolphins last year were the worst team in the league. They went 1-15. This year they won the AFC east after a win against the Jets. At the beginning of the season, the Jets picked up Brett Favre, we took their quaterback Chad Pennington. Chad made a complete turn around going from 4 wins last year to 11 with Miami. It is quite poetic that he got a playoff birth by beating his old team.

However, I think it is wrong to place all the credit with Chad. Other big players for the Dolphis are our two running backs – Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, a receiver Ted Ginn Jr, and our first round pick this past year was an offensive lineman- Jake Long. Our big defensive player Joey Porter a linebacker. None of these names are immediately recognizable. Quite simply, I don’t think this is a team of stars.

You know what team does have a lot of stars? The Dallas Cowboys. Romo, TO, PacMan Jones – these are all names that probably even my little sister would recognize. Even their owner is a pseudo celebrity. I don’t think I could name Miami’s owner. However, they just suffered a huge loss to the Eagles to get knocked out of the playoffs.

Whats the lesson? Talented individual players don’t win in the end. Its a team game and its the collective effort that wins game. The atmosphere in Miami was about having something to prove and overcome. It was what the wildcat formation represented. Not relying on some guy to get 2 TDs and 100 yards a game. Doing it as a team together through clever plays and hard work.

Congrats Miami!

Recently, I noticed that baseball fans tends to stop watching after their team is out of the running. People who watch the world series are either fans of those two teams, or really hardcore baseball fans.

Football fans however, watch the super bowl no matter who is playing. In fact, the super bowl is one of the most watched sporting events.

Why is that? Are baseball fans more loyal, or more bitter? Are football fans more inclusive? Do they just like watching the game more?

Or, is it just that the Super Bowl is more of an event, where people who don’t watch football generally tune in (even if just to watch the commercials)?

The Dolphins just beat the Chargers.

That makes back to back wins against the two teams from the AFC Championship game last year.

Quite the turnaround for the team who was very close to going winless last season.

What’s the difference?

Purcell?

Pennington?

Brown?

Long?

The wildcat formation?

Defense/Offense line revamps?