Month: June 2009 (Page 31 of 58)

      Ladies and gentlemen, your World Champion Los Angeles Lakers

      June 14, 2009 /


      Yep, the Lakers rolled, 99-86, to eliminate the Magic in Game 5 of the 2009 Finals. It is the franchise’s 15th title and Phil Jackson’s 10th as a head coach.

      Kobe got his first ring without Shaq. His legacy as one of the NBA’s all-time greatest players is secure. Even though he is the league’s most polarizing personality, he deserves a ton of credit for the way he led the Lakers this season. He deferred to his teammates time and time again, and they came through when it mattered most. This is no big deal for a lot of players, but Kobe is a different beast.

      Unfortunately for the Magic, the competitiveness of these Finals is going to fade as time goes on. The Lakers’ ability to clinch in five games seems dominant on paper and people are going to forget that if not for two plays — Courtney Lee’s missed alley-oop in Game 2 and Jameer Nelson’s failure to contest Derek Fisher’s game-tying three in Game 4 — this series easily could have gone into Game 5 with the Magic leading, 3-1. But by losing tonight the way they did, most people are going to forget how evenly matched these two teams were.

      Heading into the offseason, it’s going to be interesting to see what’s ahead for each of these teams. Hedo Turkoglu, Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza, Marcin Gortat and Shannon Brown are all entering free agency. If Jerry Buss is willing to go deep into luxury tax territory, the Lakers may elect to repeat this year’s success and sign both Ariza and Odom. My guess is that they re-sign Ariza and let Odom go. As for the Magic, they sound like they’re willing to go over the luxury tax threshold to re-sign Turkoglu. Gortat is a valuable player, but since he plays behind Howard, it will be hard to justify matching a significant offer.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      Kobe steps out of Shaq’s shadow. Lakers win NBA Finals.

      June 14, 2009 /

      http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2009-06/47501420.jpg

      Trevor Ariza should not be so surprised. He played great. Anyway…

      Kobe did it, after a few failed attempts and a whole lot of drama he has succeeded in leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the top of the NBA, and finally without Shaquille O’Neal there to throw his coattails under everyone. This marks Kobe’s 4th championship, tying O’Neal’s tally.

      Other big news is of course Phil Jackson winning his 10th championship, making him the all-time leader for coaches. For more on that look a couple of posts down.

      You can check the box score here and see the stats for yourself, but of all places, Canada.com seems to be the first place with a nice summary of the game:

      Despite falling behind by nine points in the first quarter, the Lakers stepped on the gas in the second, reeling off 16 unanswered points, a run keyed by Trevor Ariza, and took a 56-46 lead at the half. The Lakers were in front by as many as 18 in the second half and didn’t allow the Magic a rally to send the series back to Los Angeles.

      The 15 titles by the Lakers are two shy of Boston’s all-time record. It was also a sense of redemption for the Lakers, who lost in the Finals to the Celtics last year. It’s their first time raising the trophy since 2002, the last of three consecutive championships.

      Over the course of this series, the Magic never seemed to have things go their way. In fact, watching the games, even when Orlando was winning by considerable margins I felt like it would only be a matter of time before the Lakers steamed back. The inconsistency of the Magic play didn’t instill any confidence in me, and it doesn’t seem to have done much for the Orlando players either.

      Credit Kobe Bryant though, he may not have had any incredible performances in this series, but his excellence each night more than enough makes up for it. He’s a deserved Finals MVP.

      I’m not going downtown tonight.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals, News

      Derrick Rose is not a gangster. He’s a point guard.

      June 14, 2009 /

      With the NBA Finals quite possibly ending in a few hours, I thought I’d better stick with a basketball theme tonight. There’s been a bit of hubbub over Derrick Rose, the Bulls’ star point guard and Chicago native, after a college party photo surfaced of him flashing a gang sign, prompting Rose to issue a public apology. Tommy Craggs and Deadspin has this to say:

      Did anyone out there actually think Derrick Rose was or is in a gang? Or that he’s some sort of Gangster Disciples emissary because he once threw their sign in front of a camera and because he’s from … the South Side? That he’s endorsing a lifestyle? With a white player, it should go without saying, this would all be chalked up to nothing more sinister than youthful indiscretion.

      While I’m no longer a part of the MTV demographic these days, I’ve been to enough parties and bars and sporting events and grocery stores to know that flashing a gang sign outside of the general context of a turf-war isn’t exactly cause for fear. My little sister showed me how to make like I was a Blood. I guess I should make a public apology if anyone ever finds out I might have been starting a new chapter in Okemos, Michigan.

      I share Craggs’ annoyance at the situation here. If you hadn’t noticed by now. Anyway, I suppose to try and see the other side of this would be to make an argument that these kinds of pictures give youngsters (Jeez, I’m only 26 and I said “youngsters”) carte blanche on their own behavior. “If my hero Derrick Rose likes gangs, maybe I should join one too.” So there’s that. But come on, really? In that case, I’d like to request a public apology from Chris Andersen for letting kids think that showing up to a basketball game looking like this is OK.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Phil Jackson the greatest coach ever?

      June 14, 2009 /

      With the Lakers and Magic duking it out right now on the tube I gotta wonder again about whether or not Phil Jackson might not be the best coach in NBA history. 9 championship rings and more than likely a 10th in the near future are nothing to balk at. Granted he has had pretty much the best teams in NBA history to coach and granted he coached my childhood hero Bulls to legendary status, but I’ve never liked the Lakers (don’t tell anybody in Los Angeles please) so maybe I can try my hand at an objective conclusion here. Maybe I better leave off, this is quite a subject to try and tackle in a post. Here’s what Jay Mariotti at Fanhouse had to say about it:

      Some coaches merely dream the dream. Others actually live it, 10 times. We are watching the greatest NBA coach ever, America.

      Appreciate him. For tonight might be the last time you see Phil Jackson on a sideline, even if he doesn’t have to do anything but call timeouts.

      A quick word to be true (the article Mr. Mariotti has written is quite good and much longer), but to the point. I suppose it’s fun to try and decide who really is the best coach in history. Here’s an idea too though, is success necessary to be great? I agree that they seem to go pretty hand-in-hand, but skill has taken a back seat to luck and tragedy plenty of times before. Who’s to say really? Personally, I thought Larry Brown coming into Detroit and leading that team to a championship over the heavily favored Lakers was some of the best coaching I can remember. On the other hand, I might just have it out for the yellow and purple.

      Barstool Debates, Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, NBA, NBA Finals, Rumors & Gossip

      Jake Peavy placed on the DL

      June 14, 2009 /

      peavy

      San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy is the newest star pitcher to be placed on the DL. He joins a host of other marquis arms including Brandon Webb, Scott Kazmir, and Brad Lidge. Though his stint on the 15-day DL is retroactive to June 9th, three Padres physicians believe Peavy’s tibialis posterior tendon strain could keep him out of the game for 8-12 weeks.

      He has made 13 starts for the Padres this season, going 6-6 with a 3.97 ERA (36 ER/81.2 IP) and 92 strikeouts. Peavy currently ranks among National League leaders in strikeouts (3rd) and strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched (4th, 10.14), while limiting opponents to a .228 (10th) batting average.

      Over parts of eight Major League seasons with the Padres, Peavy is 92-68 with a 3.29 ERA (491 ER/1342.2 IP) and 1,348 strikeouts in 212 starts. He is the Padres all-time leader in strikeouts and ranks tied for second on the club’s all-time wins list.

      Obviously, this is horrible news for the Padres, who’s pitching staff, excluding Peavy, is spotty at best. Although San Diego is in second-to-last place in the NL West, they have shown signs of life under the terrific bats of Adrian Gonzalez and (the now injured) Scott Hairston. With Peavy’s injury, San Diego baseball is not looking good.

      And of course, this doesn’t help Peavy’s status on the trading block. Multiple teams have shown interest in the competitive hurler, so none of these organizations will want to pay an injured pitcher until he’s proven that he’s over his injury. As a result, the earliest Peavy would get signed is in the winter.

      On a side note, how sad is this?: Peavy, Lidge, and Kazmir are all on my fantasy team. I also had Brandon Webb but managed to trade him as soon as I heard how long he was going to be out. It’s a struggle, each and every day.

      MLB

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