Page 322 of 2957

      Grizzlies upend Thunder, take Game 1

      May 1, 2011 /
      Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins (5) moves to the lane against Memphis Grizzlies’ forward Zach Randolph (50) during the first half of Game 1 of the second round of the Western Conference NBA basketball playoff in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, May 1, 2011. REUTERS/Steve Sisney (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

      This Memphis team deserves a lot of credit. The Grizzlies are playing some very good basketball right now on both ends of the court. In Sunday’s Game 1, they allowed Kevin Durant (33 points) and Russell Westbrook (29 points) to get theirs, but they turned the Thunder over 18 times, which led to a +11 margin in shot attempts, and that turned out to be the difference in the game.

      I’ve been harping on Russell Westbrook for a while, but the more I see him play, the more I realize that he’s simply not a point guard. He should play off guard a la Dwyane Wade. That way, he’d still be able to be a big part of the offense, but he wouldn’t be responsible for handling the ball all the time and setting his teammates up, two things that he struggles with. He had seven turnovers and 14 missed shots, so there’s 21 possessions where the Thunder didn’t score. He also gets stuck defensively on ball screens, and if he was playing more off guard, he’d be chasing screens off the ball, an area at which he excels. That said, the Thunder passed on Ricky Rubio and Stephen Curry in the ’09 draft and they don’t seem poised to move Westbrook off the ball anytime soon.

      But back to the Grizzlies. Zach Randolph may be playing the best basketball in the playoffs right now. He scored 34 points and snagged 10 rebounds, while Marc Gasol went for 20-13 on 9-of-11 shooting. What’s interesting about this pair is that they wouldn’t be in Memphis if not for owner Michael Heisley’s decision to trade Pau Gasol to the Lakers a few years ago. Marc Gasol came over in the trade, but no one thought he would develop into the all-around big man that he has become. The Grizzlies were able to afford the trade for Randolph since they had the cap space left by the Pau Gasol trade.

      At the time, the acquisition of Randolph didn’t look very promising considering he was overpaid and underachieving. But he has settled in nicely in Memphis and the duo have formed one of the best one-two frontcourt punches in the league. The Pau Gasol trade was still terrible on paper, but it has since worked out for both teams (albeit more so for the Lakers).

      Game 2 of the series is on Tuesday night on TNT.

      External Sports, NBA

      Will Reggie Bush be back in New Orleans next year?

      May 1, 2011 /
      New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush (L) picks up first quarter yardage as he tries to elude Seattle Seahawks defender Walter Thurmond during their NFC Wildcard playoff NFL game in Seattle, January 8, 2011. REUTERS/Anthony Bolante (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Shortly after the Saints traded back into the first round to select Alabama running back Mark Ingram, Reggie Bush tweeted: “It’s been fun New Orleans.”

      But does that mean that Bush is done in Nawlans? According to head coach Sean Payton, the answer is no.

      After selecting Ingram, Payton told the media that the pick has “no bearing” on Bush’s future. He even went as far as to say that he would be “surprised, really” if Bush isn’t back in New Orleans in 2011.

      But the fact that the Saints just traded up to take a feature back in the first round and Bush is owed $11.8 million next year says otherwise. If Bush were making significantly less, then I could see the Saints making room for the former Heisman winner. But at $11.8 million, I highly doubt that the Saints will keep him at the salary he‘s owed. Maybe he’ll be willing to take a paycut but if not, Bush could be in a different uniform come September.

      The end could be near for the former No. 2 overall pick in New Orleans.

      External Sports, NFL

      Pablo Sandoval to miss 4-6 weeks due to wrist injury

      April 30, 2011 /
      San Francisco Giants batter Pablo Sandoval reacts after failing to get a hit during the fifth inning of his MLB National League baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in San Francisco, California, April 11, 2011. REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      The baseball gods are making up for last year as it pertains to injuries and the San Francisco Giants.

      After not suffering one major injury on their way to winning the World Series last season, the Giants will be without their best hitter (at least currently) for the next 4-6 weeks this year as Pablo Sandoval fractured his hamate bone in his right wrist. It’s a major blow for a lineup that has been filthy bad for the past week or so.

      Ryan Rohlinger has been called up from Triple-A, although manager Bruce Bochy has already stated that Miguel Tejada and Mike Fontenot will see plenty of time at third base and shortstop, respectively. In other words, Bochy has managed to make an already struggling lineup, much, much worse.

      Some people will point out that the Giants won the World Series last year with Sandoval on the bench. But they also had a versatile Juan Uribe (now with the Dodgers) and Sandoval is the only hitter who is doing anything for the Giants currently. Make no mistake: This is a massive blow to the defending champs.

      Maybe the Giants will get lucky and either Manny Burriss or Rohlinger will start hitting. If not, it’s going to be a long 4-6 weeks watching Miguel Tejada and Mike Fontenot play every day.

      External Sports, MLB

      UFC 129 Picks & Predictions

      April 30, 2011 /

      nullUFC 129 takes place tonight from the Rogers Centre in Toronto featuring a very exciting card with two title fights.

      Here are my picks for each of the five main-card bouts. The PPV begins at 9PM ET.

      Also, be sure to check out MMABlitz.com for more UFC 129 coverage and news.

      UFC Welterweight Championship – Georges St. Pierre (21-2) vs. Jake Shields (26-4-1) – Shields may be the toughest opponent St. Pierre has faced in a while, but I still see the champion running through him. Shields’ striking is miles behind GSP and Shields’ takedown ability is nothing St. Pierre hasn’t seen before. I see St. Pierre keeping the fight standing and picking Shields apart before finishing him in the fourth round by TKO.

      UFC Featherweight Champion – Jose Aldo (18-1) vs. Mark Hominick (20-8) – Aldo is an absolute beast and seems unstoppable. Hominick has very quick and powerful hands, but he has not had to deal with someone that has the leg kicks of Aldo. I see Aldo landing a few leg kicks in the first and throwing Hominick off his strategy. From there, look for the champion to pounce and eventually knock the challenger out in the second round.

      Light Heavyweight Bout – Randy Couture (19-10) vs. Lyoto Machida (16-2) – My heart says Couture, but my head says Machida. I think Couture will have a good strategy and look to leave it all in the cage, but Machida has some solid grappling ability and will be too elusive in the striking to allow Couture to really implement his game plan. Give me Machida by decision in Couture’s retirement fight.

      Lightweight Bout – Mark Bocek (9-3) vs. Ben Henderson (12-2) – Henderson is making his UFC debut and looking to make a statement against Bocek. I see Henderson controlling the fight on his feet and on the ground as he will be too strong for Bocek in both areas. Henderson is smart enough to stay out of submission attempts by Bocek, and that is all the Canadian really has to offer. Give me Benson by decision.

      Light Heavyweight Bout – Vladimir Matyushenko (25-5) vs. Jason Brilz (18-3-1) – This fight should be competitive, but I like Brilz to win by decision. He has a good chin and he is relentless with his pursuit to grapple. I suspect once Brilz gets a hold of Matyushenko, he will be able to consistently get him to the ground and get the win in the judges’ eyes.

      Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

      Chad Ochocinco takes swipe at Marvin Lewis via Twitter

      April 30, 2011 /
      Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (85) talks with head coach Marvin Lewis during the second quarter of their game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis on November 14, 2010. UPI /Mark Cowan

      Chad Ochocinco has taken to his Twitter page to express his feelings about the Bengals and head coach Marvin Lewis this week.

      On Tuesday, the Ocho tweeted: “Y’all ever lost somebody you felt was close to you, but they flip on you without giving you the script? Marvin Lewis hurt my feelings.”

      Ochocinco has repeated several times that he loves Lewis, but he’s too hurt to make it work in 2011. When he was asked if the Bengals should select Georgia receiver A.J. Green with the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, Ochocinco responded with: “He’d be perfect. I’ve done all I can, my time is up.”

      On Friday, Ochocinco turned it up a notch with his criticism of Lewis:

      “Lewis: who’s 60-67 all-time, 0-2 in playoffs, and only 2 seasons with +.500 record, can’t criticize my thumbs for tweeting. They win 4 me”

      Is anyone surprised by Ochocinco’s comments? This is what he does. He likes going against the grain and being flamboyant. He likes the attention and he likes being boisterous. He thrives off this and he doesn’t really care about what he says and he doesn’t care about what you think. This…is…what…he…does.

      The problem with “what he does” is that people are getting tired of it. It seems like Lewis and the Bengals are tired of the way Ocho handles himself and even people outside of the organization are sick of his act as well.

      So the fact that Ochocinco says these things doesn’t bother me and it doesn’t bother some Bengal fans. (Some fans even like it.) But if you’re going to do these things, if you’re going to tweet about how your coach is essentially a loser, then you run the risk of your team flipping on you “without giving you the script.”

      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑