Sports Blog

It was great to be a sports fan this weekend.  With the NBA and NHL Finals going on surrounded by many other great events and tons of baseball, one could have stayed home and watched sports all weekend. Let’s see what happened.  The amount of people doubting Tiger Woods would ever return to his great form, just got a little smaller on Sunday.

Tiger is back on form and his final round Sunday proved it.  Down after 3 rounds, Tiger came roaring back and found himself tied for the lead with two shots to go. It seemed like every shot was just perfectly placed and by this time I don’t think anyone though that anyone besides Tiger was winning this tournament.  And with two more clutch birdies on the final two holes, he did win.  It was just amazing and fun to watch.  Even the host of the tournament Jack Nicklaus was very impressed.  Saying that he expects Tiger to break his 18 career majors record, with his 15th coming in two weeks at the U.S. Open.  From what I saw on Sunday my moneys on Tiger too.

While Tiger was winning on the golf course another great player had a lot to prove on the tennis court.

Through Roger Federer’s greatness, he had still never won the French Open.  And with the much younger Rafael Nadal seemingly unbeatable on this surface, many wondered if he ever would win it.  But on Sunday he did it and in the process of winning the career Grand Slam, he also tied Pete Sampras at 14 Grand Slams.  Though he didn’t have to go through Nadal (was upset earlier in tournament) on this time, no one can take this victory away from him.   Even Sampras said that with this win it “solidifies his place in history as the greatest player that played the game.”   I agree with him for right now, but I believe that Nadal will pass him by the time he’s finished.  Federer also got a little scare from a fan running on the court and trying to put a hat on him.  It was funny but kind of scary that it took so long for the security to chase this guy away.

On the ice there’s been a pretty good series going on that probably no one is watching between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings.  And I don’t think the NHL or NBC cares by the way they have scheduled the games.

Who plays back to back games in the Finals?  Hockey I guess.  The series was just tied up by the Penguins before they got blasted by the Wings 5-0 on Saturday.  That win gave them a 3-2 series advantage but the next game is in Pittsburgh and the home team has won every game in this series.  I expect it to go 7 games with the Penguins winning at home.   Game 7 will be a toss up that can go either way.

In the NBA Finals the Magic had a lot to prove to all the people saying the series was over after the blow out in Game 1.

Both teams came out slow in the first half missing many shots and just playing sloppy.  But in the second half a very entertaining competitive game broke out.   In the closing seconds both teams had a chance get the win.  Kobe was blocked from behind on his attempted for the win and the Magic then called time out with less than a second.   The Magic drew up an excellent out of bounds play that got rookie Courtney Lee a wide open alley-oop lay up.  He missed it though sending the game to overtime where the Lakers pulled out the win.   This game was a lot more competitive than the first game and there should be more of the same as the series shifts to Orlando.  Game 3 is going to be big for both teams.  If the Lakers win we could be looking at a sweep.   If the Magic wins then this series will most likely make it back to LA.  We’ll see this week.

10.  The Mega Stars off the court.

The Los Angeles Lakers have always been known for their star power off the court, but this year it’s the Magic that might have the biggest star at their home games.  Tiger Woods has been attending many Magic games this playoffs.  The only question is what side he will be rooting for.  Woods is a California native who now lives in near Orlando.  We’ll have to see!   The Star Power will be plenty in LA led by their biggest fan Jack Nicholson.  Go here for a list of stars that should be in attendance.

9.  It’s not the Magic/Nuggets!

Don’t get me wrong, they are both good teams.  But how interesting would that series really be to casual fans?  None at all!!!  I know the NBA executives were sweating this possibility.  Imagine how embarrassed Nike would be.  See the MVP (Most Valuable Puppets) commercials on YouTube.

8.  Return of an injured star?

There has been lots of talk that Jameer Nelson, who torched the Lakers in 2 regular season games, will try and make a comeback this series.  Whether he’s effective or not will be the question, but it’s still a good story line.

7.  TNT will not be covering Finals.

Hate or love TNT, I enjoyed ESPN’s coverage of this year’s playoffs a little more!  Maybe is because Barkley wasn’t speaking nonsense at half time.   Van Gundy and Mark Jackson have been excellent this year.  Hopefully ABC doesn’t change them.

6.  Offensive Basketball Rules!

Forget the old saying defense wins Championships!  It’s not going to happen these Finals!  Both of these teams are not know for their defense and have plenty of fire power.  That should mean some high scoring fun entertaining games to watch.  Also look for 3’s to be raining down from both teams.

5.  Phil Jackson tries to makes history.

With one more Championship win Phil will be alone at the top!  He will have the most rings of any coach in NBA history.  If Lakers win Game 1, it’s a guarantee that this will happen.  He’s only 43-0 when winning Game 1 of a playoff series.

4.  Everyone loves an underdog story!

This will be the 3rd consecutive series that nobody thinks the Magic can win.  (Even though they beat these teams in the regular season).  Can they pull off another one against these Lakers??  Anything is Possible!!!  Ask KG.

                          
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3.  Lakers try for Redemption.

Beaten in last year’s Finals, the Lakers made anything but a return to this point a disappointment.  Well they made it back.  Now can they win it?

2.  Dwight Howard

Yes, I know it’s not Lebron James, but Howard has proved in these playoffs that he is a star worth watching.  He should dominate in this series and it will be fun to see Superman dunk.  Can we do a do over for MVP?

1.  Kobe Byant

And…still the NBA’s top player!!  Kobe may not have won the MVP this year, but he’ll gladly trade that for another Championship.  He’s still the most dangerous player with the ball in his hands when you need a shot to win.  A win here will also give him a NBA Title without Shaq.  Then maybe we will never have to hear him rap again!

                         
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Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for Los Angeles Lakers memorabilia.
Discounts on Orlando Magic memorabilia.

Overview:

Though the NBA and Nike might not have received the Lebron James/ Kobe Bryant match up that everyone wanted to see, but it still ends up with a great match up.  It’s going to be an unstoppable force aka Kobe vs. an immovable object aka Howard.  See the Nike commercial below:

                             
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The Lakers got a taste of the NBA Finals last year, so they come in determined to avenge last years loss.  The Magic have only been to one other NBA Finals, so they need to show that they are not just happy to be there.  Kind of reminds me of this years Super Bowl between the traditional power Steelers and up and coming Cardinals.  I have a feeling that the results will be very similar.  A great competitive series with the more experienced team winning out in the end.

Match Ups:

Center - Andrew Bynum vs. Dwight Howard:
Bynum has been in constant foul trouble through out the playoffs, that’s going to have to change if he is going to be any factor in this match up.  He also needs to be able to guard Howard one-on-one in the post so that the Lakers don’t have to double team opening up the Magic to their deadly 3-point shooting.  That being said, I don’t really see him slowing Howard who is playing out of his mind right now.

Advantage: Dwight Howard, Magic

Power Forward - Pau Gasol vs. Rashard Lewis:
Both players have a big offensive advantage against each other.  Pau is deadly in the post and Rashard is just too small to handle the 7 footer.  On the other end, Rashard is a deadly outside shooter that Pau is going to have to chase around and guard out on the perimeter.

It’s going to be tough for both, but if there is any big man in the NBA that has skill to guard out on the perimeter it’s Gasol.   He’ll also receive help from Lamar Odom off the bench.

Advantage: Pau Gasol, Lakers

Small Forward - Trevor Ariza vs. Hedo Turkoglu:
his is going to be a great match up.  The Lakers need Ariza to keep up his good play in the playoffs and keep knocking down shots.  He’s been a bigger addition to this years playoff Lakers than Bynum has.  Guarding Hedo will be a little easier than having to guard Carmelo Anthony, but not by much.   Hedo is the Magic’s go to guy whom they like to give the ball to when they need a big play.  He’s shown that he could be a playmaker in these playoffs and if his shot is falling then he is very tough to handle.  I think Kobe is going to be the one guarding him down the stretch.

Advantage: Hedo Turkoglu, Magic

Shooting Guard - Kobe Bryant vs. Courtney Lee:
Lee has been very good for the Magic playing big minutes and making shots.  That being said, he’s still a rookie and stopping a determined Kobe is impossible.  It’s safe to say Kobe will be doing work all Finals.

Advantage: Kobe Bryant, Lakers

Point Guard - Derek Fisher vs. Rafer Alston:
Fisher has been struggling in the playoffs to find his shot.  Alston has been playing well and is making some big shots.  The Lakers just need Fisher to play good defense, make an occasional open shot and mentor the other young PGs.  The Magic need Alston to keep hitting open shots and give solid minutes.  I don’t see an advantage here.

Advantage: Even

Bench:
The Magic are not a deep team but they have been getting stellar play from Mickael Pietrus and solid play from Anthony Johnson off the bench.  They need this to continue.   Other contributors off the bench are Marcin Gortat and J.J. Redick.  The Lakers are deep but the key factor will be how Lamar Odom plays.   If he plays like he did in games 5 & 6, the Lakers will win the NBA Championship.   They also get good contributions from Luke Walton, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic.

Advantage: Lakers

Prediction:

The Lakers have been talking all year about a chance to redeem themselves. Well, they have it and I think that experience that they gain from it will prove to be to much.

Lakers in 6

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