And here we go... The NBA Finals tip-off tonight and I will give you guys my overall thoughts on both teams then leave you with a prediction. I havent decided whether I will do a wrap-up after every game or every other game although you will be updated about this series.
We start with the Orlando Magic who I thought is one of the best stories so far of 2009. They basically came out nowhere to get to the NBA Finals and have played the "Nobody Believes in Us" Card throughout the entire playoffs. There is still doubters that do not believe this Magic team can beat the Lakers for a variety of reasons. Here are three big keys in my opinion to win this series.
1. Must defend home court- In the NBA Finals, the system changes to 2-3-2 rather that 2-2-1-1-1 which the system in the first three series. If the Magic want to win this series, they need to win all three games in Orlando. That is a very tough task for any team but I feel that will be the one thing that could get Magic to be NBA Champions. I personally they can do because at home they seem unbeatable and if take away Big Baby's buzzer-beater they might have had a chance to beat Boston in five just like Cleveland.
2. Keep rainin' threes- As I said earlier, the Magic live and die by the three point shot. If they lose their hot shooting, it could be a very short series for Orlando. The Lakers shown to be susceptible in allowing the open three point shot in past series against Houston and Denver. Rashard Lewis needs to use things like pump fakes and straight takes to lane to separate Lamar Odom off of and allow shots to go in. I think big match up is how Mickael Pietrus handles Kobe Bryant defending him since Pietrus when shooting its usally a three.
3. Stan Van Gundy- I put SVG here because he has been a guy throughout the year that gets flustered and loses control of his team rather quick. That cannot happen once during the Finals because Phil Jackson will take advantage of that and the specific game will likely be a blow out. Game 1 is huge in so many ways due to the fact that if the Magic get blown out in game 1 I feel Van Gundy may self-destruct.
-Charlie.
The New Logo
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Tom Glavine Released by Atlanta; Next Stop Milwaukee?
The Atlanta Braves decided to let go of 300-plus winner Tom Glavine today after they acquired Nate McClouth from the Pittsburgh Pirates for three prospects (Great deal for the Braves, McClouth is a great player and will give them a ton of production in the top of the batting order). This led me to wonder if the Brewers should take a one year flyer on Glavine.
Glavine said today that "He still wants to pitch and is looking forward to pitching in 2009." The other big thing that Glavine will have something to prove the rest of the year and show the Braves what they are missing a lot like Trevor Hoffman has this year after being left to the waste side by the San Diego Padres.
The reason for my campaigning for Glavine is the struggles of Manny Parra. I dont know if the Brewers can keep letting Parra pitch through his problems. To me, it seems like he is having a lot of the same issues Dave Bush had where he couldnt pitch on the road. I think Brewers Manager Ken Macha should consider starting Seth McClung in Manny's next start which would be against the Colorado Rockies and having Parra do some work out of the bullpen. Macha has been known for doing this with his hitters all throughout the year by giving them a mental break. I agree with General Manager Doug Melvin that sending Parra down wouldnt be the answer
-Charlie.
Glavine said today that "He still wants to pitch and is looking forward to pitching in 2009." The other big thing that Glavine will have something to prove the rest of the year and show the Braves what they are missing a lot like Trevor Hoffman has this year after being left to the waste side by the San Diego Padres.
The reason for my campaigning for Glavine is the struggles of Manny Parra. I dont know if the Brewers can keep letting Parra pitch through his problems. To me, it seems like he is having a lot of the same issues Dave Bush had where he couldnt pitch on the road. I think Brewers Manager Ken Macha should consider starting Seth McClung in Manny's next start which would be against the Colorado Rockies and having Parra do some work out of the bullpen. Macha has been known for doing this with his hitters all throughout the year by giving them a mental break. I agree with General Manager Doug Melvin that sending Parra down wouldnt be the answer
-Charlie.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Vince Young is a Crybaby
Vince Young has decided that he doesnt want to be a Tennessee Titan anymore because he is not getting playing time. Well what makes Young think that he deserves this play time? Lets take a look at Young's career so far.
In 2007, he did make the Pro Bowl and they had a 3-8 record before having Young step in as a starter and led them back to a .500 record which was something that was worth giving him props. The reason why Young was so good in 07' was because a lot like Michael Vick, coaches had no idea how to scheme against his style of play. But a lot like Vick, Young was soon to get hurt.
He went down in early 2009 and enter in Kerry Collins who led his team to the best record in the AFC. Young had a complete and utter breakdown with a near suicide attempt. Young tried to put on his best "Matt Leinart face" (speaking of which is the Young-Leinart disappointment in the NFL around the same thing as Adam Morrison-JJ Redick disappointment in the NBA) saying he was going to keep learning the playbook and trying to become a better quarterback for the upcoming seasons due to the fact that Collins probably has two years left at best on him.
Young has to realize that he lost his starting job because Collins was a better quarterback for the time Young was injured. The other thing that Young has to realize is the NFL last year had something like 60 quarterbacks start at one time last season. Young will have his chance at sometime next season to play and he needs to make the most of that opportunity.
-Charlie.
In 2007, he did make the Pro Bowl and they had a 3-8 record before having Young step in as a starter and led them back to a .500 record which was something that was worth giving him props. The reason why Young was so good in 07' was because a lot like Michael Vick, coaches had no idea how to scheme against his style of play. But a lot like Vick, Young was soon to get hurt.
He went down in early 2009 and enter in Kerry Collins who led his team to the best record in the AFC. Young had a complete and utter breakdown with a near suicide attempt. Young tried to put on his best "Matt Leinart face" (speaking of which is the Young-Leinart disappointment in the NFL around the same thing as Adam Morrison-JJ Redick disappointment in the NBA) saying he was going to keep learning the playbook and trying to become a better quarterback for the upcoming seasons due to the fact that Collins probably has two years left at best on him.
Young has to realize that he lost his starting job because Collins was a better quarterback for the time Young was injured. The other thing that Young has to realize is the NFL last year had something like 60 quarterbacks start at one time last season. Young will have his chance at sometime next season to play and he needs to make the most of that opportunity.
-Charlie.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Brewers Weekly: Trevor Taking Over Milwaukee
Before we get going, I am on Twitter now and its basically an easier way for people to follow my blog on Twitter: http://twitter.com/chuckscorner. Also soon you can be a fan on Facebook. I stole this topic from the post-game show on 1250 WSSP AM who said that Trevor Hoffman is having a bigger impact on the community than CC Sabathia. Most people who in my opinion were caught up in the moment feel that Hoffman has such impact and everyone loves the atmosphere he brings. I disagree, I think that the excellence that Sabathia showed throughout the regular season to bring us to our first playoff is something that I and many people will never forget. Now if Hoffman comes in to "Hells Bells" in the 9th to clinch the NL Division then he becomes more iconic. Heres the wrap-up of the week....
Monday: This game might go down as one of the best games of the year for the Brewers as they defeated the Cardinals 1-0. Yovani Gallardo proved that he can be the stopper because the Crew was on a three game losing streak heading into the game and pitched magnificently going 8 IP, 2 hits, 8 Ks. It took Bill Hall who was riding a 1-28 streak to deliver in the 10th.
Tuesday: Not much to talk about here with the Brewers getting their asses kicked. We saw the Jeff Suppan of the late months last year giving up long balls like it was his day job and the Cardinals finally got their win against the Crew.
Wednesday: No offense from the Brewers losing their first series at Miller Park since mid-April 3-2. Manny Parra pitched very well which needs to happen almost night in and night out. But I do wonder if its screws with Manny's already loose head if the Crew doesnt get runs for him.
Friday: Braden Looper once again proved why he has been a top 5 under the radar signings this year by pitching a great 7 IP 3 Hit game where he surrendered two runs. Also Corey Hart delivered with a huge homer in the 7th which we all thought was great news because a couple of friends and I were at a bar where they promised free "Seven and Seven" if a homer was hit in the 7th. Well we wanted to collect and the waitress tells us that they do not do that anymore. It was only a bump in the road on a long night.
Saturday: This was the game the Brewers offense finally came alive. They had a huge inning with Ryan Braun and Mike Cameron hitting home runs in a six-run inning. Also Bill Hall got a double which everyone was in complete amazement because Hall actually got a hit. Dave Bush needs to find his command again since he has seem to lose it in the last two games. Although the bullpen was great.
Sunday: I took this game in for myself with Doz and the Brewers put five runs in the first three innings. Also Yo struck out nine without having his best stuff. He had six through two innings and the guy who sat in front of us completely jinxed Yo going into the third inning. I blame him for not seeing a twenty strikeout outing.
-Charlie.
Monday: This game might go down as one of the best games of the year for the Brewers as they defeated the Cardinals 1-0. Yovani Gallardo proved that he can be the stopper because the Crew was on a three game losing streak heading into the game and pitched magnificently going 8 IP, 2 hits, 8 Ks. It took Bill Hall who was riding a 1-28 streak to deliver in the 10th.
Tuesday: Not much to talk about here with the Brewers getting their asses kicked. We saw the Jeff Suppan of the late months last year giving up long balls like it was his day job and the Cardinals finally got their win against the Crew.
Wednesday: No offense from the Brewers losing their first series at Miller Park since mid-April 3-2. Manny Parra pitched very well which needs to happen almost night in and night out. But I do wonder if its screws with Manny's already loose head if the Crew doesnt get runs for him.
Friday: Braden Looper once again proved why he has been a top 5 under the radar signings this year by pitching a great 7 IP 3 Hit game where he surrendered two runs. Also Corey Hart delivered with a huge homer in the 7th which we all thought was great news because a couple of friends and I were at a bar where they promised free "Seven and Seven" if a homer was hit in the 7th. Well we wanted to collect and the waitress tells us that they do not do that anymore. It was only a bump in the road on a long night.
Saturday: This was the game the Brewers offense finally came alive. They had a huge inning with Ryan Braun and Mike Cameron hitting home runs in a six-run inning. Also Bill Hall got a double which everyone was in complete amazement because Hall actually got a hit. Dave Bush needs to find his command again since he has seem to lose it in the last two games. Although the bullpen was great.
Sunday: I took this game in for myself with Doz and the Brewers put five runs in the first three innings. Also Yo struck out nine without having his best stuff. He had six through two innings and the guy who sat in front of us completely jinxed Yo going into the third inning. I blame him for not seeing a twenty strikeout outing.
-Charlie.
Suck It Up LeBron
Well I think we can all agree that the NBA and Nike look like complete idiots for doing the Kobe-LeBron puppet commercials all throughout the playoffs right now with only one puppet being in the playoffs. But what all the media is talking about right now is LeBron James not talking to the media or not shaking hands with the Orlando Magic after the game.
I can understand that you hate losing and in your opinion, you are a "winner." But thats not something you do in any sport. You have to shake the hands of your opponent after the series defeat because there is going to be other series where you are on the other hand of it. You cant always win no matter if your dad was Jake Reily, the coach of the Hawks. They had Dwight Howard on SportsCenter and he said how surprised he was that LeBron didnt come up to say something to the team. LeBron doesnt want his reputation to become a guy who only cares about himself and could care less about the other players. As people said today, the NHL where guys beat the shit out of each other most night shake hands after every series.
Not only does LeBron not shake his hands, he just gives the big F-U by not addressing the media after the game. Look I understand that you just lose a series no one expected you to lose and that you are starting to head down the Dan Marino-Peyton Manning-Karl Malone road; that doesnt excuse you from not talking to the media. This also leaves all of his teammates out to dry to answer questions like "Whats LeBron thinking?" "Why isnt LeBron here."
What LeBron should really be mad at is the fact Mike Brown falls apart every playoffs. There is one thing that he cannot figure out it seems every critical series. He couldnt defeat the Magic and he couldnt figure how to handle his bench. I think that LeBron will ask for Brown's firing if the Cavs struggle at the beginning of the season. I strongly believe LeBron will not win a title with Brown at the helm.
The final thing that I would like to bring up is that I know James still has many years left for him to win an NBA Championship but I feel after this year's loss that we should take a few steps back to comparing him to Michael Jordan. MJ never lost a series when he was the one seed, never. He always went on to win the Finals. LeBron didnt do that this year and they lost in rather convincing fashion. See LeBron that was a winner and he didnt need to ever dodge the media.
-Charlie.
I can understand that you hate losing and in your opinion, you are a "winner." But thats not something you do in any sport. You have to shake the hands of your opponent after the series defeat because there is going to be other series where you are on the other hand of it. You cant always win no matter if your dad was Jake Reily, the coach of the Hawks. They had Dwight Howard on SportsCenter and he said how surprised he was that LeBron didnt come up to say something to the team. LeBron doesnt want his reputation to become a guy who only cares about himself and could care less about the other players. As people said today, the NHL where guys beat the shit out of each other most night shake hands after every series.
Not only does LeBron not shake his hands, he just gives the big F-U by not addressing the media after the game. Look I understand that you just lose a series no one expected you to lose and that you are starting to head down the Dan Marino-Peyton Manning-Karl Malone road; that doesnt excuse you from not talking to the media. This also leaves all of his teammates out to dry to answer questions like "Whats LeBron thinking?" "Why isnt LeBron here."
What LeBron should really be mad at is the fact Mike Brown falls apart every playoffs. There is one thing that he cannot figure out it seems every critical series. He couldnt defeat the Magic and he couldnt figure how to handle his bench. I think that LeBron will ask for Brown's firing if the Cavs struggle at the beginning of the season. I strongly believe LeBron will not win a title with Brown at the helm.
The final thing that I would like to bring up is that I know James still has many years left for him to win an NBA Championship but I feel after this year's loss that we should take a few steps back to comparing him to Michael Jordan. MJ never lost a series when he was the one seed, never. He always went on to win the Finals. LeBron didnt do that this year and they lost in rather convincing fashion. See LeBron that was a winner and he didnt need to ever dodge the media.
-Charlie.
The Magic Continues to the Underdog Role
The Magic had been the doubted the whole playoffs. In the first round, we all thought that the Sixers might beat Orlando and they won that series without having Dwight Howard in game six. Then in the second round, we didnt believe the Magic could beat the Celtics especially after being down 3-2. They proved us wrong as they kicked Boston's ass on their home court. Then there was no way, they would beat the LeBrons after the Cavs have dominated the whole playoffs right? Wrong.
The Magic dominated the Cavaliers throughout the series by taking advantage of every opportunity they could get. The Magic used their size to dominate the Cavs off the dribble with guys like Hedo Turkoglu (6'9) and Rashard Lewis (6'10) against guys who could barely move laterally like Anderson Varejeo and you would even see Big Z trying to come out to defend these two guys.
The other thing the Magic consistently have is clutch shooting. They make huge shots left and right in the fourth quarter whether it was Turkoglu, Lewis, or Mickael Pietrus getting done night in and night out. They live and die by the jump shot which usually comes back to haunt teams in any level of basketball but that doesnt phase the Magic as they continue to shoot the three better than anyone team in the NBA.
The final thing is Dwight Howard has made me a believer. At the beginning of the playoffs, I questioned Howard's leadership skills seeing him as a better version of T-Mac. Then they won without Howard and then his rebounding more so than his scoring minus game six was the main reason why he is such an asset. My friend Seth said this to me a week or so ago, "When Howard gets some post moves, look out." I completely agree, he can be the best center in the league in about two to three years when his skill is refined.
Can the Magic pull off another upset and beat the Lakers? I will address that Thursday with an NBA Finals Preview so you will have to wait for that one.
-Charlie.
The Magic dominated the Cavaliers throughout the series by taking advantage of every opportunity they could get. The Magic used their size to dominate the Cavs off the dribble with guys like Hedo Turkoglu (6'9) and Rashard Lewis (6'10) against guys who could barely move laterally like Anderson Varejeo and you would even see Big Z trying to come out to defend these two guys.
The other thing the Magic consistently have is clutch shooting. They make huge shots left and right in the fourth quarter whether it was Turkoglu, Lewis, or Mickael Pietrus getting done night in and night out. They live and die by the jump shot which usually comes back to haunt teams in any level of basketball but that doesnt phase the Magic as they continue to shoot the three better than anyone team in the NBA.
The final thing is Dwight Howard has made me a believer. At the beginning of the playoffs, I questioned Howard's leadership skills seeing him as a better version of T-Mac. Then they won without Howard and then his rebounding more so than his scoring minus game six was the main reason why he is such an asset. My friend Seth said this to me a week or so ago, "When Howard gets some post moves, look out." I completely agree, he can be the best center in the league in about two to three years when his skill is refined.
Can the Magic pull off another upset and beat the Lakers? I will address that Thursday with an NBA Finals Preview so you will have to wait for that one.
-Charlie.
Kobe's Return to the Finals
I realize I am bit late on everything but we have four days until the NBA Finals begin so I feel we can cover a bunch of the basketball stuff that happened this weekend. So we will start in the Western Conference and the Los Angeles Lakers.
After the game 5 victory, everyone felt like the Lakers could be on their way to a Finals run after looking very tough in the fourth quarter and almost looking unbeatable. The Lakers rolled against the Denver Nuggets on Friday, 119-92 showing their strength and possibly ready to get their coach Phil Jackson his record 10th NBA Title.
Kobe Bryant proved to a lot of people on Saturday that he could do it all. He scored thirty-five points and ten assists to propel his team to victory. The other big thing is that Kobe only shot the ball twenty times. It will be critical for the Lakers that Bryant doesnt try to take control of a game by shooting the ball over thirty times a game.
Saturday night also featured a great game from Lamar Odom who had twenty points and eight rebounds. Like I said, after game five when Los Angeles has LO going, they are the best team in the NBA. If Odom's production continues the Lakers may not lose a game for the rest of the season.
Another guy whose name is worth noting is Trevor Ariza. He had seventeen points and he also held Carmelo Anthony to 6-17 shooting making Anthony earn everything at the line. Ariza has been another guy for the Lakers that is a complete unsung hero for them all playoffs.
As for the Nuggets, dont be surprised if this team is back in the Western Conference Finals by having Chauncey Billups for the whole season and it sounds like all of their free agents want to come back to Denver.
-Charlie.
After the game 5 victory, everyone felt like the Lakers could be on their way to a Finals run after looking very tough in the fourth quarter and almost looking unbeatable. The Lakers rolled against the Denver Nuggets on Friday, 119-92 showing their strength and possibly ready to get their coach Phil Jackson his record 10th NBA Title.
Kobe Bryant proved to a lot of people on Saturday that he could do it all. He scored thirty-five points and ten assists to propel his team to victory. The other big thing is that Kobe only shot the ball twenty times. It will be critical for the Lakers that Bryant doesnt try to take control of a game by shooting the ball over thirty times a game.
Saturday night also featured a great game from Lamar Odom who had twenty points and eight rebounds. Like I said, after game five when Los Angeles has LO going, they are the best team in the NBA. If Odom's production continues the Lakers may not lose a game for the rest of the season.
Another guy whose name is worth noting is Trevor Ariza. He had seventeen points and he also held Carmelo Anthony to 6-17 shooting making Anthony earn everything at the line. Ariza has been another guy for the Lakers that is a complete unsung hero for them all playoffs.
As for the Nuggets, dont be surprised if this team is back in the Western Conference Finals by having Chauncey Billups for the whole season and it sounds like all of their free agents want to come back to Denver.
-Charlie.
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