Page 1183 of 2957

      Viking and Saint fans better enjoy the moment

      January 19, 2010 /

      I was listening to Scott Van Pelt’s radio show on ESPN earlier today and he brought up an interesting fact about the NFC Championship Game: Over the last five years, there has only been one team to make a repeat performance in the NFC Championship Game, which are the Saints (2007, 2009). That means we have seen nine out of possible 10 teams that could make the title game.

      Talk about parity.

      The interesting thing to me about this factual nugget is that every year when fans and media pundits make their predictions, how many of them include the Super Bowl winner or runner-up in the conference title game? I don’t have hard facts, but I’m willing to assume that more times than not, prognosticators predict that teams that won the previous years will at least make another deep postseason run, yet history says otherwise (at least in the NFC, that is).

      Take the Saints for example. The 2009 season hasn’t concluded yet, but chances are they’re going to have a similar makeup next season. Sean Payton will still be the head coach, Gregg Williams will still be the defensive coordinator, Drew Brees will still be under center and they’re still going to have a potent offense, regardless of whether or not Reggie Bush is retained. So logic would state that if they made it this far in 2009, that they could repeat next year.

      But that’s the great thing about the NFL – it’s completely unpredictable. That’s why teams that didn’t make the playoffs this year still have hope, and not just hope for a postseason berth next season, but possibly more. If history repeats itself, there’s a very good chance that we will see two completely different teams in the NFC conference game next season.

      Of course, if you’re a Detroit Lions fan just go ahead and disregard that last paragraph.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Great Quotes: Andrei Kirilenko

      January 19, 2010 /

      “I don’t think the money is going to be an issue. I understand that I look at the world realistically. I understand my value is going to be a little lower than it is right now. I’m not worried about that. Money has never been an issue. It’s good to have a good contract and money. But my priority is basketball.”

      — Andrei Kirilenko, via FanHouse.com

      I don’t want to get on the guy too much here, because he probably doesn’t want to devalue his game, but he says his value is going to be “a little lower”?

      Kirilenko’s contract is one of the more interesting deals in the game. He signed a six-year contract worth $86 million at the start of the 2004-05 season after averaging 17-8-4 with 1.8 steals and 2.8 blocks per game in 2003-04. But that was before Carlos Boozer arrived and Matt Harpring was the team’s second leading scorer. Since the addition of Boozer and, later, Deron Williams, Kirilenko has taken a back seat offensively and he has become one of the most overpaid players in the league.

      But it’s not his fault that the Jazz paid him that much. In 2004, with the dearth of talent in post-Stockton/Malone Utah, he was just 23 and looked like a superstar in the making. His PER in 2003-04 was 22.79 and it even jumped to 24.44 the following season. Over the last three seasons, he has averaged in the 16-17 range, so he’s still an above average forward in terms of stats. He’s due to make $17.8 million next season and will become a free agent in 2011, at the age of 30. My guess is that the next deal he signs will be around the mid-level (~$6 million per season). So, yeah, his value will drop off a little bit.

      The bigger thing to take from this story is that Kirilenko isn’t looking for a payday. He wants to stay with the Jazz — and that’s admirable.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      McDaniels loses another coordinator – Miami hires Nolan

      January 19, 2010 /

      Word on the street (and by street, I mean the World Wide Web) is that the Dolphins have hired Mike Nolan to run their defense next season.

      From Yahoo! Sports:

      Miami supposedly asked the Denver Broncos if it could speak with Nolan even before he and the Broncs, um, mutually parted ways. Nolan’s departure extended the list of coaches that had worked with Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels who left after one year: Rick Dennison, who now is the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans, and former Denver running-backs coach Bobby Turner, who has joined the Washington Redskins, are the others.

      Nolan, of course, was once the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, just as his father before him had been. Nolan the junior had a losing record in the three years that he lasted in that position.

      Nolan is a great hire for Miami, but what I want to know is why McDaniels keeps losing members of his staff. It would be understandable if his assistants were taking jobs with other teams while having the opportunity to climb the coaching ladder, but they’re not – they’re taking the same position, but with other teams.

      Is there a power struggle going on in Denver right? Is McDaniels hard to work with or is this just a coincidence that several members of his staff have decided to jump ship?


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Who deserves to represent the East in the All-Star Game?

      January 19, 2010 /

      By the end of this month, the NBA will announce the rosters for the 2010 All-Star Game. Between the fans (who vote for the starters) and the coaches (who pick the reserves), we usually end up with a pretty representative list of the who’s who of the 2009-10 NBA season, even though there are usually one or two minor headscratchers.

      With that in mind, here are my picks (for now), which are based on some ambiguous combination of the player’s individual performance and his team’s overall record. (Check back tomorrow for the West All-Stars.)

      THE NO-BRAINERS

      1. LeBron James, Cavs
      He’s averaging 30-7-8 with 51% shooting, 1.5 steals and almost a block per game. Moreover, his team currently holds the #1 seed in the East.

      2. Dwight Howard, Magic
      He’s averaging 17-13 with 60% shooting and 2.5 blocks. Pencil him in for the next 10 years, assuming he stays healthy.

      3. Dwyane Wade, Heat
      The Heat are just above .500, and Wade’s numbers (46% shooting) aren’t as good as in years past, but he’s averaging 27-5-6 and his team is sitting in the #6 spot right now.

      4. Paul Pierce, Celtics
      The C’s have been without Kevin Garnett for 10 games and are still holding on to the #2 seed in the East. Pierce is averaging 18-5-4 and his hitting almost 47% from long range.

      5. Chris Bosh, Raptors
      The Raptors are a .500 team and Bosh is averaging 24-11 while shooting 52% from the field.

      6. Joe Johnson, Hawks
      The Hawks are sitting at #3 and JJ is posting 21-5-5, while shooting a respectable 45% from the field.

      Continue reading »

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑