A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
The NHL kicked off its second half this Monday, though you would probably never have noticed because of all the Super Bowl coverage and the non-surprising (but still appalling) lack of NHL coverage on Sportscenter.
Amidst the greatness of the MLB playoffs, the ending of the NBA lockout, the NFL season, college basketball and now the Super Bowl, the NHL has been wrongly overlooked this season, a season that is, arguably, one of the best since the lockout year in 2004. [Read more...]
Earlier in the week, fellow MSF writers and diehard Green Bay Packer fans, Amanda Lawson and Chris Calloway wrote an article to abate any sad feelings Packer fans might have had over their embarrassing loss to the New York Giants last weekend.
In the article they tried to pull the ever-so-cliche stunt of trying to look at the positives. It’s the oldest trick in the fanbook. Did your team not win the Super Bowl or not make the playoffs? That’s ok because “There’s always next year” or “Hey, Aaron Rodgers had a great season, so I call the season a success,” or, my personal favorite, “We have a lot of young talent coming in, so I see this team competing for years to come.”
All those statements are signs of repressed acceptance that your favorite team sucks.
In Green Bay’s run to the Super Bowl last season, it traveled from Philadelphia to Atlanta to Chicago before heading to Dallas. If the Packers are going to head to the Super Bowl this season, the only field they’ll have to play on is the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field.
There are a number of different ways that an NFL player can become an impact player for his team. Many are acquired through the draft and thrust into a starting role, while some may need to work their way through the depth chart, only seeing the field when a hole opens via trade or injury. Some just flat out show their abilities and leave the coaches no choice but to keep putting them out on the field.
The 2011 season provided great examples for all these scenarios: rookies playing phenomenally from the get go, players making “the jump” in their second or third year, and seasoned veterans finally breaking through. [Read more...]
The Chicago Bears season ended Sunday with a 17-13 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Lovie Smith, players, and fans alike were generally happy with the victory.
I was not.
These past four weeks have been absolutely terrible if you’re an avid Jay Cutler fan like myself.
Not only has the “great one” been sidelined with a very serious and dangerous thumb injury that could have cost Cutler his life (or at least his ability to give his fiancee Kristen Cavallari thumbs up or thumbs down on potential outfits), but the Bears, while still remaining the greatest team in the NFL, have dropped four straight and will most likely miss the playoffs.
This had me feeling really blue for the past few weeks, and after the Bears’ loss to the Seahwawks last Sunday, I went to the doctors’ office to see what was wrong. The doctor said it was quite clear what I had: Jay Cutler Deficiency Disorder.
Aggregate scoring is a foreign term to U.S. sports fans. Generally speaking, they have no idea what it means, and its existence is one more distance marker between them and soccer.
Dirk Nowitzki’s game is unmatched in the NBA’s current era. In fact, as Jerod mentioned briefly yesterday, Dirk’s game has never been matched. No player in NBA history has ever brought what Dirk can bring to the table.
At 7-feet tall, not only can Nowitzki cause havoc in the paint, but Dirk has one of the sweetest jumpers from deep. Then there’s his ability to put the ball on the floor, and the cherry on top has to be his sweet, sweet turnaround-fade away jumper from the top of the key.
Add all of that to a consistent owner like Mark Cuban, a solid Mavericks team filled with a mixture of vets and young guns, and a solid fan base to support them through thick and thin, and you come up with an amazing result: eleven consecutive playoff appearances.
Yes, Dirk Nowitzki and his Mavericks are at it yet again, but do we really appreciate them? Do we really admire what Dirk has done for the NBA? Or are we so used to he and his Mavs being in the playoffs for eleven straight years that we take them for granted?
As unfair as it is to say, yes, we do take Dirk and his Mavs for granted.
But I’m here to remind you how this Mavs team should and will ultimately be remembered. I’m going to remind you of how dynamic, amazing, and incredible the Dirk Nowitzki’s game is, and how he has changed his game like Jordan, and how the Dirk Mavs’ might finally be ready to possess a Larry O’Brien trophy.
The NBA playoffs are now heating up. The first round is long gone, and we’ve seen some amazing basketball up to this point from both conferences.
Whether it was watching the Grizzlies stun the might Spurs, or watching the Hawks take out Dwight Howard and his Orlando Magic in the East. Then there was domination from teams like Boston, Oklahoma City, and Miami.
Yes, these NBA Playoffs have been great, and are sure to get better.
But there is one thing that I have realized over the past few seasons: the NBA Playoffs are not about who finished with the best record during the regular season. The NBA Playoffs have continued to show me that no matter if you’re an 8th seeded team or the best-seeded team, there is always the opportunity for you to advance.
And why is that? Simply: because the NBA Playoffs are a battle of matchups.
The Knicks are down 0-3 to the Celtics.
Coming back from such a deficit in a 7-game series is a feat that has not once been accomplished during the NBA’s existence, and it rarely happens in sports. The only examples are a handful in the NHL and the legendary ’04 Boston Red Sox, who came back from 0-3 against the Yankees.
To make things even worse for Knicks fans, there was a trending topic on Twitter that practically put a dagger in the back of each Knicks fan. It read “Massacre Square Garden”; enough said. Then this morning, I had to wake up to tweets about how Knicks fans are complaining about the calls and how it’s not fair that Chauncey and Amar’e are injured, and everything in between.
While I can agree that New York should have won at least ONE game thus far in the series, and should be putting up more of a challenge in a series we deemed the best in the first round, Knicks fans are forgetting to look at the big picture.
So for all of my followers, and for those Knicks fans who are disgusted with what is going on, let this article serve a positive note. Here is why even though your team is falling hard, and falling hard right now, there are still plenty of reasons for you to be happy and optimistic.
Miami has started the playoffs 3-0.
A perfect start to the NBA’s second-season has the Heat looking brilliant at the moment, and they are being considered by many as one of the favorites to win the Finals at this point.
LeBron and Wade are playing some golden basketball, and Bosh is as well. The role players seem to be in sync also. Mike Bibby and Mario Chalmers have done a great job with the tag-team PG system, James Jones is beginning to heat up from three, and the three bigs are playing with some added toughness since the 82-game season ended.
Yes, the Heat are beginning to look like the formidable opponent we have all been waiting for. Sure, I can’t get too far ahead of myself; they are only playing the youthful Sixers. But you have to wonder…an 82-game season is much different from the NBA’s playoff season. In the playoffs, you have seven shots to take down a team four times; that is seven chances to get the X’s and O’s and the emotion right; seven chances to prove you are better than your opponent.
So with that said, I want to ask you the reader: are the Miami Heat an entirely different team in the post-season?
They look like it to me, as they have shown signs of being built for a championship run.
The time has come once again my NBA friends!
The NBA playoffs are about to begin, and surely this is one of the most exciting playoffs I have seen in recent years. With new-look teams like Miami and New York on the prowl, we are sure to be in for a treat almost every night.
Then there are the young rising talents such as Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant, guys who are ready to prove to the NBA world that they are ready for the big show.
And let’s not forget the usual contenders like Los Angeles, San Antonio, Boston and the many other powerful teams seeking a ring!
Yes, the time has come!
And what better way to start my favorite time of year than to write and analyze each series’ matchups, advantages, disadvantages, and who I think will ultimately take it to the next round. I previewed the Eastern Conference Playoffs earlier this week. Today, we look at each first round series in the Western Conference.
The time has come once again my NBA friends!
The NBA playoffs are about to begin, and surely this is one of the most exciting playoffs I have seen in recent years. With new-look teams like Miami and New York on the prowl, we are sure to be in for a treat almost every night.
Then there are the young rising talents such as Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant, guys who are ready to prove to the NBA world that they are ready for the big show!
And let’s not forget the usual contenders like Los Angeles, San Antonio, Boston and the many other powerful teams seeking a ring!
Yes, the time has come!
Let me start off by saying it’s good to be back, my NBA readers!
Life tends to get in the way at times, and for a busy student, athlete, and social human, life tends to get in the way loads of times! Even my twitter account was quiet for about a month or so, but I’m back on that as well so don’t forget to follow me guys!
So with that said, I’m back for good and ready to deliver just in time for the playoffs!
Many things have happened since I’ve been gone. Derrick Rose seems to have made his case for the MVP award thus far as his Bulls have clinched the #1 spot in the East, while the new-look Knicks have had a rough time getting into a steady flow. But thanks to the guys here at MSF, the NBA perspective seems to have been covered pretty well.
So without further ado, here’s what the NBA fan needs to know going into this exciting post-season.
