You Let The Whole Team Down

Derrick Rose tore his ACL on April 28, 2012. The last game the Bulls played was on May 15, 2013. For all of you math wiz-kids out there your calculations did not fault you, Derrick Rose had 382 days and nights to put on a Bulls jersey again. But yet he never was able to accomplish this miraculous feat.

First of all, I want to make it very clear that I know Derrick Rose’s “brand” of basketball is not that of the typical NBA player. His success is fully dependable on his explosiveness, agility, and ability to twist and turn his body in route to getting to the basket. I also happen to be fully aware that this style of basketball causes Rose to be increasingly more susceptible to injuries. Taking this into account, I do not blame Rose for being cautious about his return. However, waiting a year and one month to come back crosses the line that falls between cautious and cowardice. Maybe cowardice is a tad harsh, but at least you can say that it is undoubtedly overcautious.

Lets all take a moment or two or twelve, if you’re into that type of thing,  to reflect on another one of the premier athletes in the world of sports. Adrian Peterson is unarguably one of, if not the best player in the NFL at the toughest position in an already extremely difficult as well as exerting sport. Adrian Peterson suffered a torn ACL like Rose, yet he managed to return to his more physical and wearing sport in just over nine months. Indeed this is quite the stupendous return, and it is absurd to expect Rose to return in the same timetable. However, if Peterson can return in nine months and statistically be the best running back in the league, is it absurd to expect Rose to be able to return in over a year?

The answer to this stumper of a question can be answered in only two simple words. Absolutely not.

Lets fast forward to 2013 playoffs. The Chicago Bulls somehow manage to take down the higher seeded  Brooklyn Nets in seven games. If this wasn’t enough to motivate Rose to come back, surely taking down the best team in basketball, the Miami Heat, in game 1 in Miami would be. However, to quote the incredibly incompetent Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friend!” Rose remained inactive for the rest of the series, which ended in five games with the Bulls falling. Now for the big whopper of a question: Where was Rose? Do I expect him to start, put up big numbers, and play 40+ minutes? Absolutely not. But if you want to be one of the stars you have to start acting like it. Simply the presence of Rose on the court is enough to give them that extra boost. Him picking up some significant minutes, and giving guys like Jimmy Butler and Nate Robinson a much needed break would have been monumental. Having his veteran leadership on the court could have changed the game for good. If David Lee can play through a torn hip flexor just nights later after it occurring, I think Rose can give his team some incredibly helpful minutes more than a year following his injury.

At the end of the day, we do not know what would have happened if Rose had played in this series. Maybe they still would have lost. There is a good chance of this considering the Heat are a quality squad, and the refs give them every single call. Nonetheless, they never had a true chance without their star on the court. In my eyes, a star is the guy that you can count on night in and night out to give your team a chance to win no matter the circumstances. And although Rose’s talent is through the roof and beyond, he never gave his team a shot to win. For that Derrick, you should be disappointed in yourself. Don’t worry, we all are.

-Ben Greer

Solving the Split (part 1)

Despite the injury laden state of this year's NBA playoffs, they have surpassed their billing to this point and have been quite the spectacle. Each series in this conference semi-final round have become 5 game series we are faced with 4 splits, and in everyone single series the lower seed has home court advantage. Let's figure out who will move on and who's going to be left with some questions.
Golden State vs. San Antonio: Klay Thompson went bananas last night in San Antonio, scoring 34 points and going 8 of 9 from behind t

he ark last night. It was a huge lift on a night when Steph Curry was off, going 7 for 20 from the field. I'm not sure what isn't to love about this series, the contrasting styles are so prevalent. Offensively, San Antonio takes very few bad shots and are very methodical; never afraid to work the shot clock down to below 5 before getting their look. And on the other side we have the Warriors, who want to gun threes. You know what they want to do, yet guys like Harrison Barnes( a great driver) Draymond Green and Andrew Bogut(monsters on the boards) complete this team. Which makes you think, how good could this team of kids be with David Lee in the rotation? But, hes not there and they still have a legitimate shot of defeating the Spurs. With 3 games left in the Oracle, I doubt the Spurs can win 2, in fact winning 1 of the 3 is a success in my mind, meaning the Spurs have to win their remaining 2 home games. Highly Unlikely.
Bottom line is, Mark Jackson may not have been wrong with the "greatest shooting back-court" comment and I like the Warriors to win this series. The key for the Spurs to get back into this series is Manu Ginobli. He needs to be more consistent and he is getting open looks. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson play huge minutes, and their not the best defenders as it is, you must knock down the open looks and in Pap's offense he can get plenty of those. I am going to go basketball nerd here, but the best look would we Tim Duncan setting an off-ball screen which Ginobli can use to fade down to the wing, causing a switch and a miss=match which he can use to drive or shoot depending on how the switch works out. Golden State hasn't become frustrated yet, and once they do it's advantage San Antonio.  But that hasn't happened yet and Steph Curry is the playoff MVP and he will continue to be. I like Golden State in 6 or 7.
New York vs. Indiana: This series is boiling down to 4 guys. Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton for the Knicks. For the Pacers it's Roy Hibbert and Paul George. the Lance Stephenson JR Smtih match up is a wash, Smith has been bad of late anyway and Stephenson isn't really an offensive threat, Stephenson will find himself guardingShumpert and Prigioni. Hibbert must succeed, and he is a good defensive force but Tyson Chandler isn't out there to play offense so once again another Pacer defensive advantage which is canceled out. He needs to take Chandler into the post and keep shooting. Hibbert will get discouraged and defer to the other players. 6 points in game to, that won't cut it. On the other end, Carmelo is averaging 30 points over the last 10 games, so this perception that he's in a slump is unfair. Shooting percentages in the playoffs

 

  aren't pretty, and even though he's under 30% from behind the ark, he is still producing. Game 2 needs to be every game in this series. 

What it boils down to is that the 6th man for the Pacers is Tyler Hansburough. No bench for Indiana, Knicks in 6.-Josh Neighbors.

Always Money

Hard work. Dedication. Hard Work. Dedication. The two words yelled everyday at Floyd Mayweather's gym in Las Vegas, Nevada. As any boxing fan knows, Floyd Mayweather is 44-0 and fresh off of a dominant performance over Robert Guerrero, a result which most everyone saw coming. People look at Mayweather and the words "rich" "spoiled" "eccentric" "cocky" are used to describe him, but if you looked at the boxing style of the 5'8 183 pound welterweight champion, it does not seem to matchup with the lifestyle.

 In any sport, offense is great, but on days when the offense isn't producing the defense better be there. You can't win 44 boxing matches by being a terrific puncher, it's not going to happen. So where does Mayweather's dominance come from? Many of his fights are the same, he's not a heavy hitter and many times it will appear his adversary will have the upper hand in the opening rounds, throwing a majority of the punches. Floyd progressively frustrates opponents with beautiful defense and phenomenal blocking ability. Frustration= risk taking and risk taking leads to losing in the ring.For opponents, their precise quick jabs from the opening rounds, become sloppy hooks in the latter rounds leaving themselves susceptible to counters, and Mayweather's right hand counter is the best in boxing.

 He spends money with reckless abandon, but boxes with a discipline that doesn't seem like him, that is Floyd Mayweather Jr.

For his challengers, the theme has been re-occuring, they want to be the one to put an the 1 next to the 44. Money isn't fighting to keep the tally going, his opponent is fighting to put one in the L column, and that is where the pressure lies. For the champ, it's just another fight, for challengers like Guerrero it's their shot of a lifetime and that is the problem. For the 36 year old pressure is non-existent and this has translated to success on a sclace never been seen before in the sport.
So where does the hard work and dedication come for Floyd? It comes from nothing, because that's what he had before boxing. From coming home to heroin needles on his mother's kitchen table in elementary school, to a 32 million $ payout for 1 night. He enjoys his lifestyle, which motivates him to fight to maintain it. It might appear his spending may be reckless at times, but he does love people which triggers some of his lack of monetary conscience. After the Final Four, he was in a waffle house with "the money team" and a collection of Witchita State fans visibly upset about their loss. After conversing with the fans for a short while Mayweather brightened the mood and soon everyone was laughing and having a good time. At the end of the meal, Mayweather took the tab, for everyone. His willingness to extend an invitation into the money team is visible and the perceived image of a former criminal and person who struggles to relate to the average person, but his upbringing and his literal fight to the top gives him an understanding often overlooked by the masses. Mayweather lives the high life, but he has earned it each and every day. His 44-0 record will remain unblemished until something changes. Outside the ring, it's all fun and games, but inside the ring clarity of his hard work and dedication is evident and continues to be at the age of 36  in the most physically demanding sport in the world.-Josh Neighbors

Photo credit

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Jason Collins and the Art of Trailblazing

The attitude with sports in general is leave everything extra going on in your life at the door once you step on the field/court/whatever. It sounds like for Jason Collins' 11 years in the league, that is exactly how he went about his business. Jason Collins is a normal guy attempting to make a living as is everyone else in the league and the question is why should his homosexuality change his work? It doesn't. Bill Simmons said today "sports is our toy store with our heroes and villains. We have so much invested in guys we barely know and we like it to be as life-like as possible, and this is exactly what this does". I completely agree with him. Someone please tell me where this is wrong in coming out? It's in no way selfish, it's merely drawing attention to an issue that sooner or later was going to be addressed. For the gay athlete community, the perfect guy stepped up and began to blaze the trail.
But in reality, is this a big deal? It is but it isn't. Yes, he is the first openly gay player in professional male sports, but it is not a big deal in the respect that he is a normal guy and this should be a normal situation where the overwhelming reaction should be "well okay, nothing wrong here". And for all those out there who believe it is wrong these individuals in sport who are coming out get more support then a christian Tim Tebow are insane. Is it harder to be openly gay or openly christian?..... Okay thank you, I hope this becomes normal and players no longer have to publicly announce they are are gay. It is offensive that in modern ay society we are so intolerant to the point where an individual has to come out and announce their sexual orientation in order to start a movement. I hope eventually that we can get rid of this "closet" in sports so that players no long have to come out of the closet, they may just interact as normal people like many of them already do.
Lastly, I'd love to applaud Collins. In the conference finals a couple years ago, LeBron James played like complete garbage and we all assumed he had some problems conflicting with his play causing the terrible play. Imagine being Jason Collins and always having this internal fear within you as a black male in a culture which was not always the most welcoming to players who are different. African American males carry an image as homophobic, while not always true, carries a some truth in the NBA. A culture which thrives off of individual success, translating into wealth, which translates into women. Countless NBA players have stories of players of a contingent of their team partying and going to strip clubs night in and night out. Players having girlfriends various cities aside from their wives. Being an individual who does not fit that mold, yet surrounded by it, must be somewhat overwhelming and it takes a strong mental individual to persevere through it. Collins went to work for 11 years with the prospect that one of his teammates may notice that he didn't partake in any of this and that is why it is so impressive. Jason Collins stayed true to who he was throughout his entire career. He came to his work everyday and was a true professional who has assumed countless leadership rolls on various teams. That is who Jason Collins is.-Josh Neighbors

National League Preview

The National League. The league with more strategy involved, the league where pitchers get to embarrass themselves at the plate, and the league that has produced the past three World Series Champs. As the season is in its preliminary stages, it is quite too early to see who is going to be the best of the best, but I am going to give you a little idea as to who to look out for in this upcoming season.

NL East: The NL East this year will definitely be the most exhilarating race to watch. I am sorry to say that the hardships endured by Mets fans will have to continue for at least another year to come. The Marlins may have the strongest man in baseball in Giancarlo Stanton and a decent lineup, but a severe lack of pitching is what will prevent them from being able to do any sort of damage. A veteran Phillies team has potential to possibly make an impact in the East, but my main concern is the age. I just do not see them being able to endure a whole season without being affected by the injury bug. Where it really gets interesting is starting with the Braves. They arguably made the biggest offseason noise in the Bigs by acquiring the ever-so athletic Upton brothers, helping them create a pretty solid lineup, and an impressive pitching staff followed by the best closer in the game in Craig Cimbrel, they look like a sure division winner. But to quote the great Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friend.” The Washington Nationals are the best team in the NL East because If you try to find a flaw in the Nationals it is quite the tough task. A young team but extremely talented led by young superstar Bryce Harper, and Cy Young candidate Stephen Strasburg. You put a deep bullpen with live arms behind that team, well its safe to say they are a lock.

NL Central: The teams in the NL Central lost a multitude of wins with the departure of the Astros. However, they can still rely on my good ole Cubbies. The Cubs are in fact on the right track but are definitely still in a rebuilding mode. The Pirates lack a quality pitching staff, and even though they have a decent lineup led by Andrew McCutchen, they have some serious work to do. The Reds and Brewers are in similar spots with a few bright spots on their teams, but really nobody that blows you away. Besides Uroldis Chapman, but you just cannot win games because of one reliever if you are the Reds. The Brewers had a nice pickup in Kyle Lohse, but again this is not enough. This leaves the St. Louis Cardinals. Although their pitching staff isn’t incredibly impressive, their high powered lineup is enough to take the Central.

NL West: There is going to be some fun out west. However, this fun will not be taking place in Colorado as the Rockies, despite a high octane outfield consisting of Dexter Fowler, Michael Cuddyer, and Carlos Gonzalez, lack the pitching to do anything special.

The Diamondbacks also lack just about everything.( Although Paul Goldschmidt is one of the more underrated players in all of baseball). The Padres are really nothing short of a disaster this year, as they have nothing that makes you have any optimism for their season(but those camo uniforms are sick). This leaves us the Giants and the Dodgers. The only thing that separates the two is the fact that LA has a stronger lineup have one of the top pitchers in Clayton Kershaw, who also demonstrated his hitting ability with a solo shot in his first game. Thus, the Dodgers will win the West.

Cy Young- Despite Clayton Kershaw having a very impressive year, the NL Cy Young will be awarded to Stephen Stasburg this year. His stuff is nasty and supported by one of the best defenses in the MLB, he should have no trouble getting the job done this year. He has served his time with the injury precautions ending his season prematurely last year, but this year is his time.

MVP: Also from the Nationals, Bryce Harper will be the NL MVP of this year. Even though it is only his second year in the majors, he has already shown this year what he is capable of. With the Rookie season out of his way, he will be lighting up the National League this year in route to an MVP.

Overachiever: The team that will overachieve this year are the Pirates. This may seem like a bold choice, but the past two years, they have made great progress. I have no reason to think that even with another young, unproven team, they can not do what they have recently, and catch the interest of everyone.

Underachiever: The biggest underachiever will be the Philadelphia Phillies. Although they do have a plethora of talent, this talent will struggle to remain consistent throughout the season. As a result, a playoff capable team will be nothing but a pretender this year.

NL Champions: The NL champions this year will be the Washington Nationals. If they can stay even relatively healthy, they should have no trouble winning the NL this year. With the potential MVP and Cy Young candidates, a top to bottom high quality lineup, and a reliable bullpen, you can count on the Nats to win it all this year.-Ben Greer

Recognized Territory

Let me begin by saying that golf is hands down the most difficult sport for one to achieve greatness in. The old cliche "you just have to beat the course" is completely untrue. You have to beat a field of 70 other guys(granted you make it that far). Before 08' the chances were that one of those 70 guys, was Tiger Woods. If you were playing in an event, especially a major, and were close to or held a share of the lead after 54 holes, chances are the man in the red shirt was in your group. If he wasn't, you knew exactly where he was and exactly how close he was to you, or how far he was distancing himself from you. If you were fortunate enough to have him in your group, you could feel the nerves and the pressure as each shot was magnified, not by the TV coverage or the galleries of fans or caddies, but by the shear knowing that the eyes of Tiger Woods were fixated on you. Glaring, unchanging, menacing, intimidating and cold. On top of that, the only person in the entire crowd rooting for you is your family and your caddie. You are in the position many before you have folded in, and the pressure is indescribable. Once the Tiger had you in his sites, your failure was imminent.

For years Tiger Woods had this incredible aura of intimidation, sparked by a competitive nature only associated with the likes of Jordan, Bo Jackson, Kobe Bryant. Every miraculous aspect which made Tiger great contributed to his downfall being one of the biggest in the history of scandals. Tiger lost a mental edge in a sport which demanded an unflappable one to achieve any form of consistency. Before I get to the part where I say I am right and ensure you that Tiger Woods return to dominance is imminent, let me say thank you to my father for turning me into the El Tigre fan I am today, because I would not have this opinion if I hadn't been.
Down to business, for those of you were convinced that Tiger would never return to dominance you obviously have viewed a small amount of Tiger Woods performing previous to the release of his infidelity. How does one with the competitive spirit, the unmatched drive, and knowledge of greatness fall to such a low level and not arise back to his previous position of power? For people like Tiger, winning is everything. Many were outraged by the Nike's add which depicted Woods staring down a put and a bold caption which reads "Winning takes care of everything"-Tiger Woods, World #1. The statement, while obviously not true, sends a clear message to all. Tiger is back, and Nike(who stuck with Tiger through his whole ordeal) are now showing off their long lost star. 
In golf, familiarity is key. Tiger has won 3 events this year and all 3 have come at places where has won multiple times. Tiger is no stranger to the "tradition unlike any other", which is only a week away and his confidence is soaring. With 3 wins, the worlds #1 ranking, and a budding relationship with Lindsey Vonn(which believe it or not does help) Tiger is back in familiar territory. I knew he'd be back, every Tiger fan knew he'd be back. There is just one last step on his road to redemption and Augusta National is the location.-Josh Neighbors

The Smart Decision

Shaka Smart is one of the most intriguing figures in all of college basketball. He is just overall one incredibly fun guy. He has created a brand of basketball that has never been seen before. His influence on the young men he coaches, and the institution at which he has done it have been profound. To convince a in immature high school kid to buy into the system he calls Havoc, a system in which their is a commitment to run and dispense all energy on the defensive end takes a unique individual. Guess what, that he is. He really has left a lot to be desired in his four years at VCU. I mean winning a CBI championship, and putting together seven NCAA tournament wins in his four years is really unacceptable. He also made a run to that Final Four thing. In all seriousness, that is one heck of a resume.

In the past decade, VCU has been prone to delivering some high quality coaches. Jeff Capel brought the Rams solid success during his reign in the River City, but he made the ever so wise decision to go to Oklahoma due to the lure of the almighty dollar. But poor Jeff had an extreme lack of success, and was sent packing. Anthony Grant also had solid success at VCU, highlighted by a successful season capped off by Senior guard Eric Maynor delivering the dagger took down the Duke Blue Devils in the first round of the tournament. Grant also decided to go for the big bucks and is currently the head coach of the Crimson Tide. It is safe to say that his success has been lacking as well, as he has simply made Alabama an NIT team.

However, it is very safe to say Shaka has had twice the success of the other two combined. As a result, the offers have rolled in, not just from average basketball schools such as Alabama or Oklahoma(no offense to the Tide or Sooners) but from big time programs; including Illinois, NC State, Minnesota, and UCLA. You must have some pretty incredible reasons to turn down opportunities to be a Golden Gopher, one of the most fun mascots in the game, and to turn down an opportunity to coach at one of if not the most storied program in the history of college basketball in Westwood, California.

The first reason Smart does not want to leave is his personal experience. Shaka Smart played point guard at Kenyon College, a small Liberal Arts school in Gambier, Ohio. Go Lords. The significance of his college career is that the coach that recruited Shaka left Kenyon after Shaka’s freshman year. He has told the media that this really hurt him, and he did not know how he could ever do that to a player of his own. That type of thing sticks with you. Through this experience he has demonstrated a level of personal understanding with his players and the promise to not leave them victim to the frantic spinning of the college basketball coaching carousel.

On top of everything else, Shaka is also a father. He and his wife Maya have a one year old daughter. They just moved into a new house, and made very significant renovations to it. The type of renovations that you make when you are certain you are going to be there for a long time.

Lastly, and possibly the most important, is Shaka thinks he can win a National Championship at VCU(There is a reason his last name is Smart). He does not see the BCS conference schools as the only ones having the means to create something special. He has turned VCU from a Cinderella into a 5-seed in less than half a decade. He has taken a school that had never been to the Sweet 16 or the Final Four. This makes you wonder what he is capable of doing in the next 4 years. And you know Shaka believes that he can do some really incredible things.

Smart has turned VCU into one of the most fun teams in the country to watch. Recruits want to play for him because he is fun, he is loose, and he is loyal. Talk about a triple whammy. He has done something completely unthinkable. He has made the Siegel Center one of the best environments in college basketball. He is responsible for VCU winning the best student section in the country award. He is responsible for the 35 straight sellouts. VCU basketball is something special, and one man is responsible for that. Shaka could go somewhere else and have success and make more money. But Shaka is a refreshing exception from today’s society. It is not about the money. It is not about the history. It is about staying loyal. It is about finishing what you started. Shaka is here to stay, and I wait with anticipation to see how he finishes what is already a marvelous career.-Ben Greer