The NBA: Where Do We Stand 1/4 of the Way Through

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With the NBA regular season being over 25% over, I figured it would be a nice time to examine some interesting story lines and hand out some of my personal awards. Let's get to it.

Eastern Conference coach of the quarter: Doug Collins. Did anybody expect the Sixers to be this good? It seems like Philadelphia is trying to prove that last year was not a fluke and have been absolutely destroying teams, while barely losing most of their games. I have no idea if they will keep this up, but if the season ended today, Collins would likely get the nod for coach of the year. Collins narrowly edges out Tom Thibodeau, whose Bulls squad has only lost four games so far while winning seventeen.

Western Conference coach of the quarter: (tie) Rick Adelman, George Karl, Gregg Popovich, Nate McMillan. Yeah, I did just put four guys in a tie here but can you blame me? Every one of them has done an outstanding job so far, whether its improving a team (Adelman), performing miracles (Karl), or refusing to let injuries cripple them (Pop, and Nate). Honestly, it is a joy to watch these guys coach night in and night out. I would like to point out that, had Zach Randolph not been injured, then Lionel Hollins would probably be on the list too. Look for him to be a dark-horse candidate for COY once Z-bo gets back.

The 2007 Golden State Warriors award for: "we might be 10x better when we get player x back from injury". This one goes to the Knicks and the Grizzlies who are waiting for Baron Davis and Zach Randolph to be healthy enough to play. If Davis can even give 60% of what he gave to the Warriors in 2007 then the Knicks might just be a contender. As for Memphis, they survived the Randolph loss by winning 7 in a row but have since lost 3 on the run. With Arthur out for the year and Speights not providing great back-up, the Grizzlies are pretty thin in the front court where they usually excel. What these two teams do in the playoffs will depend on the health of their injured stars.

Eastern Conference rookie of the quarter: Kyrie Irving. He has somewhat exceeded expectations and even has this dreadful Cavs team in a playoff contention spot (will the East ever have a season where a team 8 games below .500 realistically has a shot at the playoffs?-Toronto is 6-14 and only 2.5games out). At this point his only competition seems to be...

Western conference rookie of the quarter: Ricky Rubio. He hit a recent shooting slump that dropped his shooting percentage way down and teams are still forcing him into rookie mistakes, but that will be about it for the negative column. His passing, decision making, leadership, and defense have impressed even those who thought he would excel in the NBA. It took him about 10 games to crack the starting rotation and Rubio is delivering 10+ assist and 2+ steal games like they're going out of style. He has been so good that Kevin Love decided to stick around in Minnesota and sign a new contract. He has been so good that watching Wolves games is now encouraged. While he may not be far ahead of Irving statistically, his impact in other aspects has to push him over the top. The rookie of the year race will probably come down to the last week of the season.

Defensive Players of the first quarter: Dwight Howard, Tony Allen, the Chicago Bulls, Rajon Rondo. Any of these players (in the case of the Bulls and Sixers, their team defense is amazing. Holding opponents to 87ppg in the era of no hand-checking is a spectacular feat, and their key defenders should all get a nod) could get this award but Dwight Howard will probably win it. I dislike how there is a bias towards big-men who can block shots when it comes to this award, especially today where being a good perimeter defender is much more difficult then it was 10 years ago.

The "How does he make this list" award, given to the player who constantly makes all NBA defensive teams, despite better candidates out there goes to: Kobe Bryant. I have never heard so many coaches talk about how over-rated his defense is, yet he still makes the defensive teams. No doubt he exerts more effort on the defensive end them most shooting guards do but the fact is that he can no longer shut people down like he used to. This should be the year that Kobe's spot rightfully goes to a more deserving player.

The "David West" award for the player selected by coaches that makes the fans and the media question how it could have happened award goes to: Paul Pierce. The poor Celtics start, coupled with many forwards playing well in the East (Iguodala, Granger, Anthony, James, Stoudamire, Bosh) will probably lead to a lot of questions about whether or not Pierce is deserving of a spot. This is just a prediction and I think that by the time the All-Star weekend does come around, Pierce will have played well enough to justify his selection.

The "Dwight Howard trade me" award, given to players that absolutely need a change of scenery goes to the following players: Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. I have to admit, its a little sad watching Nash try to make players around him better, when his owner only cares about saving money (this team once had Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudamire, Joe Johnson and picks that turned out to be Luol Deng and Rajon Rondo) and will get rid of players to save costs. Hopefully Phoenix and Orlando will come to their senses and trade these guys before they get nothing in return during the off-season.

The "Most Entertaining Team" award goes to: The Denver Nuggets, who could potentially add J.R. Smith and Wilson Chandler before the playoffs. They are built almost exactly like the 2007 Warriors, its kind of scary actually.

Eastern Conference MVP of the first quarter: LeBron James. Its not even close.

Western Conference MVP of the first quarter: Kevin Durant (for now) but he has some competition. Danilo Gallinari, and Chris Paul. I know that 18-5-3 are not even close to MVP numbers, but if Denver finishes first in the West ins't Gallo at least considered? If the Clippers finish first however, Chris Paul would be a natural candidate. At this point its to early to call anyways. I will be back with more thoughts and awards later in the season but this week its all about the Super Bowl. Look for some previews from us on that and more this week

We at Millennium Sports & Entertainment try to bring you interesting and thought provoking views from the worlds of sport and entertainment. Follow us on Twitter @MillenniumSandE

Is This Where our Society Stands?

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For a man with such a legacy, to do nothing is the greatest shame.

"Joe Paterno left this world with a clear conscience." - Jay Paterno, son of Joe Paterno

"This much is clear to me: If there is a villain in this tragedy, it lies in that investigation and not in Joe Paterno's response," - Nike chairman and CEO Phil Knight

"Now, with grown children grandkids and 42 years removed from my playing days, I thought Joe Paterno had taught me all that he could teach me. I was wrong," Pitman said. "Despite being pushed away from his beloved game, and under the extreme pressure of the events of the past few months, Joe's grace was startling."

I decided to preface this article with a few quotes from this ESPN story. I did not make any of the above quotations up, once again, check the ESPN link I posted.


To be honest with you I have no idea how I am even going to write this. When the story broke that Paterno's long time assistant Jerry Sandusky had, on multiple occasions, molested young boys on the Penn State grounds I was horrified. I was horrified that this did not happen once, it happened multiple times with multiple victims. I was even more horrified (and a bit disgusted) when I read that Joe Paterno had done absolutely nothing to stop this, even when he was told about what was happening. Now, I am well aware that Paterno told the athletic directors of Penn State (allegedly), but they decided that the prestige of a football program was more important then the health and well-being of young boys. Read that last sentence again: Penn State cared MORE about football then human (read: children) lives! It is well documented that molestation at an early age can have serious psychological consequences on the victims, causing them to have problems that will impair their ability to live. I am in no way defending the athletic directors, the fact that they basically swept this situation under the rug is a disgrace that I could write another 10,000 words about, but that is for another time. Why? Because no one is defending the actions of the directors, but they are defending the late Joe Paterno. If Paterno really cared about what was happening and wanted to stop it he could have done so by dialing 2 digits on a phone (one of them twice). Did he contact the police? Did he fire Sandusky? Did he offer his support to the families of the victims? NO! He did absolutely none of this, and that is exactly the reason that he should be held just as accountable as his athletic directors.

Look, I get that the guy was a great coach, and I get that he was a big part of building up the reputation of Penn State, all of that is fine. What is not fine is choosing to use those accomplishments as means of defending him. This article would not have been written had Phil Knight (see above quote) and Pitman tried to defend Paterno's actions. had they just focused on the positive things Paterno accomplished in his life, and chose to stay quiet about the very sensitive issue of his role in a child molestation scandal, I would have been fine with this. Let me rephrase, I would not have been fine, but I would at least understood honoring the man for all he did. But put yourself in the shoes of the families who were victimized by Paterno's lack of action, I can't imagine a worse hell then reading and hearing about how great of a man Paterno was. Look, the facts are simple; if your child (or loved one) was molested, or raped, and some adults (with power to do something about it) did nothing to help out your child/loved one/sister/friend you would be outraged. In fact, I do not think it is a stretch to suggest that you would want those people punished too, see where I'm going with this? What a person has accomplished in the field of athletics should not give him the right of immunity (just ask Tiger Woods, and Kobe Bryant-who both received much more of the media's venom than Paterno did), especially when it comes to the well-being of children. Pitman would sing a completely different tune had his child been molested, so would have Phil Knight. By defending Paterno the CEO of Nike is saying that its OK to enable child molestation as long as you are a good football coach. What kind of society do we live in? If this was the case with a less famous coach with even less authority, the media would have crucified him.

Celebrate the good things Paterno accomplished, never forget what he did not accomplish, and please, think of the victims and their families before defending 'JoePa'. When it comes to human rights, no one (I don't care how famous, or successful) who had the power to do something and didn't should be defended. I know I am going to receive some harsh criticisms for writing this, but I also know that if I had been in Paterno's place I would have done something. I would know that I did EVERYTHING IN MY POWER to help those poor, poor families. We know that Joe Paterno did not.


-We at Millennium will do our best to provide interesting views on sports and entertainment, follow us on Twitter @MillenniumSandE

Late-Night/Early-Morning Australian Open Running Diary

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It is 3 37 am in Torontoas I’m writing this. Why am I up you ask? It might be because I wanted to watchRoger Federer take On Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open semifinal whilesharing my thoughts or it might be because university has given me a slight caseof insomnia. I also have Thursdays off so I can afford to sleep in tomorrow. Whatever it may be I am awake and excited for this match between the world’s #2 and 3 playersto begin. I have no real rooting interest in this match as I dislike bothplayers. If I had to pick though, I’d have to pick Nadal as I really dislikeFederer for reasons that aren’t really clear to me. The winner of this matchwill take on the winner of the other semi-final (Djokovic vs Murray) in thefinal so in all honesty I want this to go as long as possible so the winnerwill be tired when they have to (hopefully) face Nole.

• 3:42
• This was supposed to start 12 minutes ago, I am already annoyed and feeling slightly tired. My writing might end after the first set if this pace keeps up.
• 3:44
• First rally of the match ends in a Federer forehand winner. That woke me up a little. Also, Rafa picks his shorts out of his ass for the first out of what is sure to be many, many times tonight.
• 3:45
• Federer holds at love and is already up 1-0. That took about 30 seconds. Btw, are we sure Roger isn’t some sort of robot. The guy hasn’t aged at all in 10 years.
• 3:49
• Fantastic rally as Nadal somehow returns two overhead smashes by Federer. 30-30. How Federer gets power on his shots always confused me, he doesn’t seem built at all and seems to exert so little of himself when hitting the ball. Another point of proof for the robot theory.
• 3:52
• Federer with an unreal back hand as he breaks Nadal. 2-0 Roger. Not looking too good for Rafa at the moment. Nadal looks annoyed but that might have to do with the fact that he apparently has a perma-wedgie.
• 3:55
• Serve and volley, a fantastic drop shot, and two unforced errors by Nadal give Federer the 3-0 lead. Roger really looks on top of his game tonight while Rafa seems a step slow.
• 3:56
• Confused as to what the ball boys/girls are wearing on their heads. Some sort of turquoise hat with a curtain extending from the back to cover their necks. Is there a practical reason for this or did the event organizer just think they looked cool?
• 4:01
• Nadal holds for his first game of the match. 3-1 Federer. Also, I am now aware it is 4 am. Increased my tiredness by at least 25%.
• 4:03
• Federer looking like the Federer of a couple of years ago when he couldn’t lose. Standing in the middle of the court and making Nadal run back and forth. Easily holds and is now up 4-1.
• 4:10
• One thing that I never understood about tennis is how a young up and coming player hasn’t gone the Kevin Garnett route of yelling and shit-talking while he plays. I see no downside to this other than that your opponents would call you unsportsmanlike but seeing as you’re trying to beat them, who cares if they don’t like you? The Upside is as follows: you would immediately get media and fan attention at each one of your games. You would even be known among casual sports fans as “the shit-talking tennis player” and finally you would end up getting in your opponent's head while you play him/her. Tennis players get all frustrated and annoyed when someone yells out during a point. How would they react to a player telling them their mom receives balls better than they do? I’m guessing not well.
• So to all the young tennis players, do this. No downside, just pure potential for fame and success. All I ask is that when you win your first grand slam I get credited. Also, Nadal held serve. 4-2.
• 4:12
• Nadal breaks! 4-3. Great shot-making by Rafa in that game closing with a powerful crosscourt forehand. Nadal reacts by doing the Kobe Bryant/Michael Jordan/Tiger Woods fist pump.
• 4:15
• Federer with 3 awful mishits in this game as Nadal easily holds. 4-4 now as the momentum has completely switched. We also get our first shot at Rafa’s box which consists of 8 angry-looking Spanish guys.
• 4:16
• I love when the crowd competes for who will be the last one to yell before the players serve. You know that the guy who eventually ends up winning starts looking at the people around him with an overly-satisfied smile on his face.
• 4:18
• So much for the momentum shifting. Roger holds at love and is now up 5-4. We also get a shot of Roger’s wife. Looks like she must have a great personality.
• 4:25
• Nadal and Federer exchange holds. 6-5 Roger.
• 4:40
• My laptop just turned off because it’s an HP which means it sucks.
• In the meantime Nadal forced it to a tiebreak. In the tiebreak Federer was the aggressor and it paid off with him winning 7-5. Roger takes the first set 7-6
• Funny moment during the tiebreak when a girl yelled out “I love you Rafa!!!”, Rafa’s response – ‘pick shorts out of ass’.
• 4:42
• Just saw the creepy and disturbing ‘make death wait’ commercial. I am now aware I am watching the game alone in my dark basement
• 4:44
• The second set starts with Fed pushing Nadal up and down the court with his strokes to lead 0-40. Three break points for Federer.
• 4:45
• Federer breaks at love. Leads 1-0. How am I doing? I just cracked open a Coke can in the hope that it’ll keep me a bit more awake.
• 4:48
• Nadal just broke back at love as well. I’m beginning to think there’s no such thing as momentum in tennis.
• 4:53
• I am already beginning to regret the Coke as my stomach is not feeling it. Oh and Nadal manages to hold his serve and now leads 2-1.
• 4:56
• Federer holds at love and ties the match up at 2.
• 5:03
• Nadal saves a break point and takes the game to lead 3-2. Most impressive thing so far other than the great tennis on display is that I am still awake.
• 5:05
• Most exciting rally of the match thus far. First Nadal returns an incredible wide serve from Federer, then scrambles back to return a Roger forehand before lobbing it up and finally sprinting the length of the court to return a Federer backhand slam with a thunderous crosscourt forehand. Nadal with three break points.
• 5:07
• Federer saves two break points but on the third Rafa hits a crazy backhand passing shot up the line with Roger running up to the net. Nadal up 4-2. Federer has to be pissed off right now as he played great in that game and still got broken. Although I can’t tell because I think the last time Roger showed emotion was sometime in 2003.
• 5:11
• Nadal just held and made it 5-2. The rallies are becoming much more physical now with both players hitting the balls with a little more force (just realized how gay tennis sounds when simply reading the match description).
• 5:12
• Just saw the commercial for the movie, Safe House. What I learned from that was that Denzel Washington is a boss (This I already sort of knew) and that each movie commercial should have a Watch The Throne song playing in the background
• 5:15
• We come back to the game to learn that there will be a 10 minute break for fireworks because today is Australia Day. I am somehow not joking about this.
• 5:21
• The fireworks are over and the match is about to begin again. Federer set to serve down 5-2 in the second set.
• 5:23
• Nadal breaks Federer at love to win the game and the set 6-2. It seemed like Roger gave that game away in order to move on to the third set. Pretty smart move in conserving his energy now since he probably wasn’t going to win this set anyways.
• Remember how Nadal wore capris pants when he first burst out on the scene a few years back? Did we ever get an explanation from Rafa as to why he did this? Did he lose a bet to a friend or something?
• 5:29
• Nadal just easily won the first game of the set to lead 1-0. Roger looks extremely out of it for whatever reason. I don’t remember the last time he’s won a point. Nadal has to capitalize here as all the momentum is on his side. Of course every time I’ve said that so far the opposite has happened.
• 5:33
• Nadal begins the game with 3 straight points to lead 0-40 and then Roger who looks completely out of it hits 3 straight fantastic shots to even it up at deuce. This game has made no sense so far.
• 5:36
• Federer wins the game after 3 deuces. 1-1 in the third set. It’ll be interesting to see how Rafa responds to not capitalizing on three break points in that game.
• During this game Federer hit a shot that clipped the tape on top of the net and trickled over to give him a point. After this he did the customary tennis gesture and apologized for the shot by raising his hand to Nadal. This is so strange to me. It’d be like if an NBA player apologized to the other team after hitting a halfcourt shot.
• 5:39
• Extremely good composure from Nadal as he holds Roger at love to win the game. 2-1 for Rafa.
• Another thing I always wondered is how tennis players play while having a tennis ball in their pocket. Trying to run with anything in your pocket is pretty annoying and yet most if not all tennis players do this.
• 5:40
• Why does Harvey’s think a good way of selling burgers is to have a close-up shot of people’s faces talking about the burgers?
• 5:45
• They exchange games as Rafa now leads 3-2 in the third set. Roger set to serve. I am now realizing that it is no longer really late but really early. When does this shift happen? 5 am?
• 5:46
• Old people everywhere are beginning to wake up.
• 5:50
• Rafa wins an incredible rally to tighten up the game and then gives it away with a terrible mis-hit that lands about 8 feet behind the service line. Roger holds. 3-3.
• 5:59
• 4-3 Federer. Rafa saves 3 break points but cannot hold off Roger on the fourth as Federer gets a key game in this third set. Nadal has shown great mental composure thus far but it will be interesting to see how he reacts to losing the longest game of the match on his serve.
• Also due to my growing tiredness I now look like Harry from ‘3rd Rock From The Sun’ (If you don’t recognize that picture then I feel bad for your childhood)
• 6:03
• Nadal breaks back. 4-4. These two guys are extremely evenly matched. Every time one of them looks to have the upper hand the other immediately raises his game to get back in the match. Great stuff.
• 6:07
• 5-4 for Rafa as he holds fairly easily putting pressure on Roger to serve well in order to keep the third set going. They just showed Rafa’s box again. They look as angry and Spanish as before.
• Anyone else notice how female tennis players only look either very young and vibrant or like middle aged moms? There is no in between. I’m not sure if this offensive or not because at this point I’m as sleep deprived as the kids who try and stay awake in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies.
• 6:11
• The game ends with both players at the net resulting in a clever Federer volley. 5-5 in the third set.
• 6:22
• Nadal holds easily to make it 6-5 and then Federer manages to stave off one set point from Rafa to make it 6-6. We’re going to a tiebreak in the third set. This should be great.
• 6:23
• Federer misses an easy volley followed by an easy Nadal volley winner. Nadal with the mini-break in the tie-break. Up 2-0.
• 6:31
• Nadal goes up 6-1 in the tiebreak only to have Federer save 4 straight set points before finally forcing Roger to send a backhand into the net giving Rafa the third set with a tiebreak of 7-5.
• That set felt as if Rafa was laying back and waiting for Roger to self-destruct and make errors. An interesting strategy that ended up working out in the end.
• 6:36
• Roger easily wins the first game of the fourth set. So much for a letdown. These two guys are not going to let me sleep and now I’d feel like I especially wasted my time if I don’t watch till the end.
• 6:43
• Nadal easily holds then fails to capitalize on a break point as Roger wins the third game to lead 2-1. The relentless back and forth just keeps on going as does this running diary. I am beginning to doze off during some of the points so the descriptions may become less and less detailed/frequent.
• They just showed a commercial for the Pro Bowl. Other than every CFL and WNBA game, is there anything less worth watching?
• 6:53
• More of the same. Nadal easily holds on his serve to tie the game up, then has another chance (2 break points) to break Federer and take control of the match and yet fails to do so as Roger comes back to take the game. 3-2 Federer. Nadal is playing a dangerous game letting Roger stay in this match. Has to take advantage of break points in the future.
• 7:00
• I am currently regretting staying up. Not because the tennis is lacking in any way but because I’m feeling that if this goes to a fifth set (and it certainly could) then I won’t be awake for it. Both guys just traded games to make the score 4-3 in favor of Roger Federer. Nadal set to serve.
• I’m doing everything I can to stay awake like listening to music like this song by Joe Budden. Anytime you can mention Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Joe Budden in the same sentence it has to be done.
• 7:15
• Key stretch here as Federer has a break point but fails to convert as Rafa holds on to tie the match up at 4. Federer then saves 2 break points from Rafa but can’t do anything with the third as he sends a backhand wide. Nadal breaks to take the 5-4 lead. He will serve for a spot in the finals now.
• 7:20
• First match point for Rafael Nadal.
• Nadal hits a passing backhand shot just wide. Federer saves one match point. Deuce.
• Federer just will not lie down. Nadal hits a backhand long. Advantage Federer.
• Wow, Nadal somehow keeps a falling down, pray for the best lob in as it nicks the service line before Federer mis-hits a return long. Deuce.
• Federer with a very good return forcing Nadal into an error. Advantage Federer.
• Roger unable to return a powerful Rafa serve. Deuce #3.
• Nadal with his second match point of the game as Roger completely misses on a backhand sending it wide right.
• 7:26
• Federer sends a forehand long as Nadal lets out a cry of joy.
• 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
• Great game between two of tennis’ all-time greats.

As the sun rises I am off to bed to sleep until sometime inthe afternoon. I had a great time watching and an even better time writing downmy thoughts on the match. Hope you enjoy reading them.

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@Luka_M91

The Magic of El Clasico

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After watching today's second leg of the Copa Del Rey (The Spanish Club Football Cup) between Barcelona and Real Madrid come to an end in an exhilarating 2-2 tie, I came to a conclusion. Nothing else in sports right now that happens on a regular basis can compare to this. The World Cup and the Olympics are great but they are thrown out because they happen every 4 years and they are month-long occasions rather than singular events. The Super Bowl usually fails to live up to the 2-week hype generated by the North American media (last couple of years excluded) and the atmosphere doesn't come close to the atmosphere generated by the fans (soccer fans are the best out of any sport, that's not even a debate.) at the El Clasico. The Stanley Cup Finals, The NBA Finals and the World Series are all great in their own way but are often disappointing and because they all last at least 4 games, often one of these 4 (or more) will be boring and not fun to watch.

Barcelona vs Real Madrid. The match fixture makes one think of footballing excellence, a rivalry between two of the world's best football clubs that are polar opposites of each other. To make things even better, the rosters of the two sides are currently loaded with the best footballers from around the world. Everything about the two teams is completely different. One is the capital of Spain, the other the capital of Catalonia. A province of Spain that is very separatist and has wanted to break off and form its own country for a while now (think Quebec but with more separatism). One team's coach is Pep Guardiola, a former 11-year player of Barcelona who now leads his side with a quiet confidence. The other is Real Madrid's Manager, Jose Mourinho. The self-appointed "Special One" is the coach everyone else loves to hate, a man who could never make it as a player but is one of the best coaches in the game. He leads his side with an arrogant determinedness that rubs most the wrong way. This video of him celebrating Inter's Champions League semi-final win can tell you more about Jose than I ever could in words.

Both sides have, in my opinion the world's two best players serving as their stars. And in keeping with the rivalry they could not be less similar. Barcelona has Lionel Messi, the world's best footballer two years running (Messi won the Ballon d'Or in 2010 and 2011). A man who despite his small stature (5'6) can make anyone on the field look silly while chasing him (even more incredible is that Messi had to take growth pills as a youngster to keep him from becoming a midget). He makes passes and moves with the ball in ways that shouldn't be allowed and despite his success and hold on to the world's best footballer title, people still like him. This is surprising as success usually breeds jealousy and contempt by the general public (see Brady, Tom or James, LeBron) and yet Messi is still loved around the world. Maybe it is because of his size and the fact that he looks 14 that makes Lionel non-threatening to fans of the sport. Whatever the reason, the general public's opinion of him can not be any more different than to the one given to Real Madrid's star player,  Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo came to Madrid from Manchester United where he achieved great individual and team success with the English side.

However, the change of jersey did nothing to quell people's opinion that he is a fake, arrogant, dive-prone player that doesn't play the sport the right way. Why this is the consensus could be for a variety of reasons. Ronaldo's exploits into male modelling or that he seems to take a great length of time in styling his hair (anyone who is bothered by this makes no sense to me) could be some of them. I think the difference of public opinion between Messi and Ronaldo comes from how they seem as human beings off the pitch. Messi seems like the type of guy who would have no problem playing with you and your friends in a game of 4 on 4 pickup soccer on some horrible field while Ronaldo seems like he'd deny the offer due to fear of his Armani shirt getting dirty. Another reason why most guys don't like him is that Cristiano seems like the type of guy who you wouldn't want to be alone with your girlfriend for even a second let alone a minute. I'm not sure if Messi even has a girlfriend, he seems like he was sent to Earth for one reason. To play the game of soccer beautifully. Whether or not these assumptions are true or fair doesn't really matter because in the end they are made by most people. This stark contrast between the two stars makes the El Clasico even more interesting to watch.

Top 10 Films of 2011

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The box office may have struggled heavily in 2011, but there were still many films worth watching. This is my list for the Top 10 Movies of 2011. There are some movies I haven’t seen that may qualify to be in the Top 10, and you may not have seen all of these movies, but I can assure you that all of them are worth checking out. All critics have differing opinions, so I don’t expect my list to be the same as many other people. Let’s start.

10. Midnight in Paris

Midnight in Paris seems like an unlikely choice because Woody Allen hasn’t made a good film in a long time. I wouldn’t even consider some of his ‘better’ films to be that good. However, with Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen regains some of his reputation as a quality director, and he’s even been nominated for a Golden Globe. Midnight in Paris is a simple film, and you probably won’t know many of the historical figures mentioned in the film (unless you know your artistic history from the 1920s). Owen Wilson delivers a great performance, and has great chemistry with his co-star, Marion Cotillard. The true quality of the film lies in the message it delivers: the present will always be slightly disappointing to everyone, but we should not try to idealize the past. Every single era has its moments and highlights, and we cannot fully enjoy our lives unless we understand this and value everything we are blessed with in the present.

9. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol

It would be a mistake to miss the fourth installment in the Mission Impossible series, as it is the best and most entertaining. With a superior cast, excellent special effects and an insane scene by Tom Cruise, it’s not worth missing being seen on the big screen. For a more detailed review on the film, click here.

8. Moneyball

Moneyball is just one of the few Brad Pitt films that demonstrate his superb acting ability. He is able to diversify into any role and is one of the best current actors in Hollywood. As for the film, it has been a while since a great sports film has been released. Sports films haven’t necessarily been blockbusters in the past, so it’s understandable that they do not appear to be an attractive investment for movie producers. However, Moneyball was far from being a bomb, and it was propelled by the excellent reviews it was receiving from all sides. I’m not a huge fan of sports films, especially baseball (which I cannot stand watching), yet it was able to win me over. Good directing and great performances, along with a true story describing Oakland’s revolutionary scouting system led Moneyball to the top of the list of sports films and one of the best films of 2011.

7. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I still think Rise of the Planet of the Apes is the surprise film of the year. Tim Burton’s film was successful at the box office, but it was not very good. Another issue many people had with this year’s prequel to the franchise was that it’s very dependent on CGI. All of the apes are computer-generated and the film relies on its special effects. However, it does not fail to impress, and led by an awesome performance by Andy Serkis as Caesar, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is an excellent film that not only revives the franchise, but ends up being the best one of the 7 films. Check out my review here.

6. The Descendants

George Clooney is set to receive another Oscar for his performance in The Descendants. He won the Golden Globe and I don’t expect anyone to beat him out of the top award (except a possible surprise win by Brad Pitt in Moneyball). The Descendants is a depressing film that deals with everyday problems (family issues are present more often than most of us are aware), and with strong performances from all the actors, it makes for a great film and one that is worthy of an Oscar. The screwed up family genre doesn’t always make for the brightest of films, but you can typically count on it being a good movie (the 2000 Oscar winner, American Beauty, is about as screwed up as a family can get). You can read my review of The Descendants here.

5. X-Men: First Class

I haven’t seen X2 in some time, so I’m unable to say if First Class is the best X-Men film or it is right behind the second installment. First Class took a risk by making a film with a new, young group of actors and basically rebooting the series (not to mention that Hugh Jackman – Wolverine, the best character – was not in the film). It takes place during the time when Professor X and Magneto met and fought alongside each other, and it is a prequel to previous X-Men films. The risk paid off, with a spectacular script, a great performance by Michael Fassbender as Magneto, and great special effects that were able to keep audiences engaged. First Class is one of the year’s best films, and if you haven’t seen it yet, you’re missing out on the best superhero movie of the year.

4. The Artist

The Artist doesn’t belong in this year, in this decade or even in the last half century. It’s a black-and-white film about a silent film actor in the late 1920s whose career and life fall apart when films with sound begin to take over cinema and silent films disappear. There really haven’t been any black-and-white films made in a long time, and it’s no doubt a nostalgic feeling for those older critics to watch a good film that is made in the same style of those films back when they were younger (in fact, it was even before their time). The two lead actors give strong performances and the film has a good script and excellent music throughout. The Artist is the frontrunner to win the Best Picture Academy Award, and I can’t complain. Even though I don’t consider it to be the best film of the year, it has undeniable charm and it is a joy to watch. Younger generations should watch The Artist and experience how cinema used to be, back when every movie was quality, and when studios didn’t make bad films just because they can generate good profits (ie. Transformers 2 and 3).

3. Drive

First of all, I just want to mention that Albert Brooks’ performance in Drive is overrated and even though many Drive fans are complaining and saying he should have gotten an Oscar nomination, I wouldn’t say his performance was Oscar worthy. As for the film, it’s definitely one of the best of the year, and it’s a shame that the Academy doesn’t recognize it as such. It is also the best directed film of the year, but Refn has been shafted on many occasions in this awards season and clearly isn’t being recognized as he should be by critics. Ryan Gosling is excellent, and just wait for the second half of the film. Read my review here and go check out the film for yourself.

2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Not having read the book, I had no idea what was going to happen in the film. It’s been some time since there’s been a good mystery film released, and GWDT is made excellently. I’m sure the book is better, but as a movie, it keeps you engaged and delivers the twist well. I’m not too satisfied with how graphic some of the scenes were (if you watched the film or read the book, you’ll know what I’m talking about), as I felt it was unnecessary by Fincher to show as much as he did and make the scenes last longer than they had to. Nevertheless, led by strong performances, good directing otherwise, and an excellent score, GWDT is definitely one of the best films of 2011.

1. Happy Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part II

With Harry Potter, it’s tough to decide where to place it. Even though it’s probably not the best film of the year, it’s an incredibly satisfying finish to one of the greatest franchises of all time, and it’ll be sad knowing that there will be no more Harry Potter films (until the franchise gets rebooted). My review is here.

Best Cartoons Growing up

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This post is not meant to be a list of the best cartoons or even a comparison of them, rather it is meant to pay tribute to some of the cartoons we all grew up with. I'm only going to post one cartoon tonight, and will probably add to this feature whenever I feel like it. Without further ado, the cartoon I have chosen is: Disney's Recess. Come on, we all grew up with this one and we all loved it; as a matter of fact I re-watched some episodes to refresh my memory and guess what? They are still watchable (unlike most of the garbage cartoon networks are putting up these days). My favorite episode has to be 'economics of recess' for several reasons. First it is a T.J. episode. T.J. was just a boss, he was the crew leader, enjoyed pranking anyone and everyone, and was probably the most interesting character on the show. Second, a popular set of stickers is the new playground 'currency' and being sick for a week T.J. has none and has to find a way to cope. I don't know what to talk about first; remember when Pokemon cards were all the rage? This episode basically made these popular "cards" as a means to do anything at school. Need a ball to play basketball? 2 stickers. Need to use the water fountain? 1 sticker. Talk to the king of the playground? 4 sticker. (Yes, they had a 'king' I mean, if you have not gone to watch an episode of this what the hell are you waiting for?). So our hero T.J. starts at the very bottom and starts doing grunt work. He starts collecting stickers at the water fountain and getting paid to do it by the guy who did not want to waste an entire recess doing this, and he collects a small amount of stickers. Once he gets a bit of a profit, he starts recruiting people to do this for him and so on. You can see where this is going, eventually he basically owns the playground! I think the appeal of this show was how much funner (and longer) they made recess seem and that as kids, we all wished it would be like that. I am going to leave you with the episode I just described, for old times sake.

...Why Being a Fan can Really Suck

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Another beastly performance sadly fell short

As of now it is 10:36pm, The Giants just beat the 49ers and went to the SuperBowl. I am choosing to write this now versus breaking everything in sight or going for a run in the frigid cold (seriously, that is how mad I am right now and this might be a better way to deal with this then the others). If you are expecting an objective, insightful, or thought provoking analysis of the game then you might as well stop reading this right now. In fact, I cant even promise that this will be well written. My goal at this point is to type this out as fast as possible and go to sleep, hopefully avoiding nightmares about Kyle Williams. Look, I am not an NFL player, I have no idea how hard it is to be a return man, but I'm pretty sure that even I could call a fair catch and then just stay the fuck away from the ball! The worst part? Williams did not fuck up once, he did it twice! The first screw-up allowed the Giants to take a precious 17-14 lead, in a game where Manning struggled to move the ball even 3 yards and was getting punished by a ruthless San Francisco pass-rush. So naturally, Williams gave the ball to the Giants at the 30, and I don't care how good your defense is the fact remains, if you give a great QB any sort of advantage he will use it. Eli did and instead of shutting them down and going to the Superbowl in regulation, the Niners had to settle for overtime.

Yes I said settle, I don't care if you are the biggest Giants fan in the world, you can not look anyone in the eyes and claim that this win was deserved (or at least lost by the 49ers NOT won by the Giants). In overtime it became pretty clear that the defenses were having none of it and that it was literally a battle of wills. It was mesmerizing to watch, in a season full of offensive records, here were two old-school teams just beating the shit out of each other (all within the rules of the game) and refusing to lose. Sadly, the team that lost also happened to be the one that beat itself. I really am struggling to come up with a plausible explanation as to how the 49ers dropped two brutal throws by Manning by basically defending themselves from making the catch. Hell, it even led to one player being basically knocked out (Brown). I sure as hell would love to find a quicker instance of a 'forward progress stopped' rule that negated a forced and recovered fumble by San Francisco that would have won them the game. I kind of want to know why Frank Gore (who torched the Giants) started getting the ball less and less, and on 2nd and 10 instead of 1st and 10. But lastly, I don't even want to know what Kyle Williams was thinking when he lost the game, or how every single one of his teammates (including Lee, who had the best possible game a punter could) can even look that man in the eye anymore. Nothing was more telling then when poor Williams was pacing the sideline and everyone was avoiding him trying not to look at him.

But! and this is a huge BUT! I know that Williams did not lose the game on purpose and that he tried his absolute best, just like all of his teammates did tonight, so I am going to be the first guy to forgive him. What I said on Twitter and what I said above are literally 'heat of the moment' reactions. Kyle Williams was part of a team that gave us, the 49er fans a really nice post-season run, and several very exciting wins this year. Scapegoating people and athletes (especially when NO ONE feels worse about it then them) is wrong, so you can be mad at the guy or you can just accept the fact that the law of averages (San Francisco rarely turned the ball over this year) caught up to San Francisco, and just because it happened at the worst possible time, does not mean that Williams should shoulder this incredible burden by himself. So Kyle, I am with you. Congrats to Eli and the Giants, as much as I dislike him, and still think the helmet catch was one of the luckiest plays in the history of the world, not even I am blind enough to sit here and not dish out praise when someone earns it. Eli is incredibly tough, he did not get rattled one bit by the Niners defense which treated him like a chew toy, he might be the best player in football at buying time in the pocket and he did absolutely everything to will his team to a victory (him, Tuck, Osi, Pierre-paul) so props Eli, see you next year where hopefully we will celebrate instead of you. Believe me, as a fan of the 49ers this one hurts like hell, but as a fan of football I cant wait to watch the Superbowl, I sure as hell know who I'm going to be cheering for (hint: not the Giants). Ill end of by thanking the entire 49ers team for an incredible season and hoping they bring it all back and try again next year.

San Francisco Reminds Me Why Being a Fan is Worth It

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Alex Smith winds up for the most important throw of his career.

I have been a San Francisco 49ers fan ever since I moved to the city way back in 2004 (I have since moved back to Canada). That was also the first year of me becoming a football fan. I did some minimal research and just decided to go with the team whose city I lived in. To say that the first season was tough would be an understatement; the team went 2-14 and I sat through every game, every single excruciating game. I could have just given up then, after all, I was moving back to Canada and would not owe the 49ers anything really. Why did I decide to remain a fan? Was it because I already watched an entire season and grew to like some players? (Brandon Lloyd was my favorite, he caught some huge passes in the 49ers 2 wins which were both in OT and both against the Cardinals). Was it because I fell in love with the 49ers legacy, which I had learned about throughout the season? To be honest, I have no idea why I didn't just pick a new team, but for the better part of 8 years I almost wished that I did. Then this season started, and the 49ers reminded me that sticking through the shit has its payoffs (mainly, that once they finally became good I would appreciate the team a lot more).

It all started with a home game against the Seahawks in which Ted Ginn Jr. broke 2 punts for TDs effectively making a close game turn into a 33-17 rout. At that time my thoughts were that in the NFC West, anything can happen and that maybe just maybe this year the 49ers would break through. That optimism turned to anger the next week when the team blew a big lead against the Cowboys, the 49ers' long time rival (check the 80's and 90's if you don't believe me. That anger disappeared though, because San Francisco would not lose again for 10 weeks. Jim Harbaugh's crew rattled off 9 straight wins including an amazing comeback against the Eagles, last second heroics from Alex Smith against the (then undefeated) Detroit Lions, and an incredible back-and-forth game against the Giants which the 49ers won with a defensive stand in the last minute. By this point it was clear that San Francisco would make the playoffs, and for a few weeks that is all I cared about as I enjoyed life as a football fan for the first time. The game that San Francisco made its return to prime-time with a win over the Steelers was the game that I started wondering: "Can this team actually make some noise in the playoffs?". Throughout the year analysts, experts, and writers were claiming that the 49ers' style would not work, not without a dominant QB. In their opinion, Alex Smith would be the reason that San Francisco would eventually fail. Now the playoffs had started, and everyone was excited to watch a Green Bay New Orleans NFC championship. Wait? What? We are just going to write off a San Francisco team that has been proving everyone wrong since game 1? 'Drew Brees is too good' they said, 'they wont stop him'. Didn't San Francisco have a top defense this year though? 'Does not matter, Alex Smith will kill their hopes' they said. After Brees and the Saints ripped apart the Lions (a team San Francisco barely beat) everyone was hopping on to the Saints bandwagon. I had my doubts heading into the game too, but I would not stop believing because this team earned at least that much; support from a fan base used to excellence and subjected to 8 years of mediocrity.

What Just Happened? A Running Diary of the 4th Quarter of Orlando and Golden State

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I just finished up playing some basketball of my own and by the time I got home the 3rd quarter of Orlando and Golden State was winding down. Seeing the score tied I thought it would be cool to do a quick running diary of the 4th quarter, I am so glad I did. Here is what transpired.

12:00 - We start with the coach interview. Mark Jackson says that he will continue to utilize the 'hack-a-Dwight' strategy in an effort to win. This might wind up being Don Nelson's greatest (in terms of strategy) and worst (for viewers) achievement. I like Mark Jackson, as much as I would love to see him back in the booth with Breen and Van Gundy, I genuinely hope he succeeds as a coach. Many fans hate how he wants the Warriors to play defense, but I counter with this: A year ago Ryan Anderson could have scored 40 on this team and I would not even blink, is this what you want Warriors fans? To be the team every fantasy owner rejoices at when they realize their players are playing against you? Also, no team has won a title without playing some defense, and the Warriors owners want wins and banners, not points and entertainment. Anyways.

11:30 - Howard catches the ball in the post, quickly spins to his left and lofts a lovely right handed hook shot that finds nothing but net. I haven't seen much of Howard this year, but that was a move I've never seen him do. Good for him for adding to his game.

11:00 - Nate Robinson (great pick up for this team, he really fits in with the fans) penetrates and scores, the usually great Golden State crowd is barely alive.

9:57 - After some sloppy play by both teams Nate Robinson hits a 3. Crowd waking up... and is silenced quickly by a foul committed on Howard. Dwight goes to the line and and hits both. (I realize I did not write what the score is yet, don't worry, its coming. It was tough keeping up).

9:23 - Orlando switches to a zone, and Golden State has a brutal possession which results in a brick. Orlando comes down and scores on a high floater by JJ Redick. Kerr tells us that if Redick had not developed that shot he would not be getting minutes. This is why I love TNT, their commentators know their stuff and can educate fans too. Not to mention they have by far the best (when they are serious) analysts.

8:57 -  Nate again! score is at 89-89. Wow, apparently Howard is about to attempt free throws 31 and 32, we are informed that the record for attempts in a game is 34 by Wilt Chamberlain. "He might shatter that tonight" says Kerr, I think he's right.

8:23 - It looks like Golden State has solved Orlando's zone, as Klay Thompson hits an open 3, I really don't understand why you would play zone against the explosive Warriors, but I am not an NBA coach so we will see.

7:59 - Warriors with another wide open 3 that misses, had that gone in Orlando would probably have gone back to man-to-man defense.

7:45 - Turkoglu to the line. How is this guy still effective? It baffles me that he is such an important player (offensively) to Orlando.

7:17 - Redick drives, turns, and finds Howard who is hacked. Dwight has officially tied the record for free throw attempts in one game. He is sitting at a nice 18/34 right now, I can't imagine how good he could be if he could hit free throws.

6:36 - Dwight does that same hook shot that he did to open the quarter as Harlan and Kerr speculate that the crowd might be dead from all of the fouls committed by the Warriors. Again TNT, well done!

6:06 - David Lee scores, the Warriors play some good defense and then Monta Ellis hits a 3 to put the Warriors up 97-95. Crowd very alive and loud now.

5:34 - Hedo gets to the rim and scores a lay-up, silencing the crowd in the process. Yes, I did just type that.

5:10 - After an Orlando stop, Turk finds Redick for an open 3, 100-97 Orlando leads. But here comes Monta! drive plus one, crowd instantly gets back into it causing Stan Van Gundy to call a time-out.

4:25 - After Ellis missed the tying free throw, Jameer Nelson hits a 3; we get our first GOOOOOOD! from Harlan, this game just got very good.

4:08 - Monta gets into the paint with ease and sets up David Lee for an easy dunk. "Neither team can guard each other, there is always a match-up to be exploited" says Kerr, Orlando is up 103-101.

3:56 - Dwight now breaks the record after being fouled, and commemorates the occasion by going one for two.

3:42 - Monta Ellis hits a beautiful baseline fade-away over Redick (who played great D, in fact, he is a very underrated defender), but on the ensuing possession Turk finds Wafer for an easy lay-up. 106-103 Orlando.

3:05 - We hit another sloppy stretch where Jameer Nelson looks off Howard (who only has 39 and 20 at this point) and we get a few fouls. Lee hit a free throw somewhere in-between all of this 106-104, time out.

2:32 - Klay Thompson for 3! Warriors lead 107-106, no one in the arena is sitting down right now, take notes NBA fans.

2:13 -  Orlando works it to Howard who, for the third time this quarter, scores with a running right handed hook. Beautiful to watch, and on the very next play, Howard blocks a shot and grabs the ball before it goes out of bounds. I think if he can learn to block the ball to himself or to his team-mates he could win the MVP every year, it would give Orlando at least 4 extra possessions every game.

1:35 - Howard decides to switch it up and does a beautiful drop-step forcing Lee to foul him. It is Lee's 5th foul and now Howard has a 40-20 with the score at 109-107 in the Magic's favor.

1:23 - Monta... just wow, he lofted a beautiful floater over the out-stretched arm of Howard to tie the game at 109.

1:05 - Turkoglu misses a 3 but Howard grabs the board, puts it in, and gets fouled by Lee (who is done now). To make matters worse for Golden State, he hits the free throw to put the Magic up 3with a minute to go.

:52 - Brutal sequence for the Warriors: Monta misses a 3 and Wafer hits one, 115-109 Magic. Time out. Of course it was Turkoglu who found Wafer.

:33 - An absolutely awful in-bounds pass by Golden State gets picked off by Howard who feeds Turkoglu, and Turk ices the game with 2 free throws.

Your final score: 117-109 for Orlando, Dwight Howard with an incredible 45 and 23 and an NBA record 39 free throw attempts. Considering I wasn't going to watch this, doing a diary turned out to be a pretty good idea. Cheers.

The Sad State of Going to Raptors Games

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The other night I decided to go to a Raptors game out of the blue, I did not plan on it and literally decided while sitting in a lecture at school. The reason? Rubio and Love (even Derick Williams to an extent) were in town and this would be the only chance to see them this year, a couple of friends agreed to come and it was all set. The Raptors under new coach Dwyane Casey were all about effort and defensive intensity and through the first week of the season it looked like the team bought-in to Casey's philosophy. This years version of the Raptors made it more enjoyable to watch them on TV and their newfound intensity is a big reason for that. Needless to say, the Raptors handled the Wolves pretty easily and even held Kevin Love to his worst game of the season, but one thing stood out for me: the horrific display of the Toronto crowd.

Look, I get it, the team is not that good. In fact, they may not even be mediocre and the odds of the Raptors making the playoffs are lower then the odds on Kobe reducing his shot attempts. But if you are already going to come to the game at least bring some enthusiasm with you. Within five minutes of walking into the arena my crew and I were in our seats. We did not go to buy concessions (seriously, eat anywhere else then come to the game, you will save about $20), we even grabbed some empty seats that were way better then the ones we paid for. Our rationale: when the people come we will move. This is the first problem I had with the Raptors faithful: the game is starting and you are not in your seat. About halfway through the first quarter fans were still filing in, many of them carrying their over-priced concessions. Look, if you get caught in traffic, or decide to go last minute getting in late is fine, its borderline unacceptable to miss the tip-off (of a game you paid to see no less) so you can buy a snack. Did someone come to claim their seats? Nope, as a matter of fact, many other fans did what we did and snagged better seats; unfair to the people who paid more? Definitely. What can be done to fix it? The Raptors could just move everyone down until the lower bowl is filled making the arena seem more full and raise the noise level. They could make tickets more affordable (especially given the quality of the team). They could even slash prices pre-game if the place is not filled up so the people that paid more in a section would get first dibs on a lower-bowl seat. Would they ever do this? Absolutely not. So we have a half empty arena, an organization that cares only about the amount of money we put into their pockets, and a team that will not over-come its lack of talent, no matter how hard they work. The result: One of the worst experiences I have ever had at an NBA game. Not all the fans were to blame, some of them brought it, but the other 80% mailed it in just like the Wolves did. It was so quiet that you could almost hear the players (and from the top balcony that is tough).

The fans are not entirely to blame for the brutal atmosphere, I would blame the Raptors organization just as much. 2 minutes into the game the scoreboard prompted us to chant "DE-FENCE" 2 minutes! Chants like that should be reserved when the team really needs it, or is making a big momentum push. Chanting for the entire game would just tire the fans out too, not even the Warriors crowd chants for the entire game, they pick their spots. Teams also love to play music while the teams are playing. I never understood this, there is absolutely no point, and you drown out the fans with it. How about playing music only during stoppages? I guarantee you that road teams couldn't be less intimidated by loud music. One last thing: as much as you may hate the Lakers, do you see how their crowd behaves at the end of games? During a sequence where the Lakers may put away a team the crowd rises and gives the team a standing ovation. The only standing ovation the fans gave during this game was to some guy who won a free dinner at the Keg for doing "Teach me how to Dougie" during a time-out. One more thing, I cant resist: Stop chanting for a free slice of Pizza! We all know that if the Raptors score 100 points that fans walk away with one slice of Pizza, does it matter if the Raps are up 10 and trying to do the sportsman like thing? No, the fans just want that Pizza, the fact that their team played their ass off and won the game does not matter one bit.

Is it worth paying to see the Raptors at the ACC? Is the time it takes to get there, park (or commute), leave (even more crowded) really worth it? It saddens me to say that it is not. Call me when the Raptors fans show up and the game experience is enhanced, otherwise I will just enjoy a game on TV; they mute the crowd noise during telecasts but sadly the volume is the same as if you were there.

The Lions' Return to the Playoffs: A Running Diary of Detroit Lions vs. New Orleans Saints

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This was the first year I've watching football actively (I used to only watch the Superbowl) so naturally I had to choose a team to follow. I asked my friends which team is young and has a lot of potential, kind of like the "OKC Thunder" of football. One of the teams they mentioned was the Detroit Lions. After watching their first game I instantly fell in love with Calvin Johnson’s game. He’s probably one of the most complete athletes in all of sports and it shows through his dominance at the wide receiver position. With their dominant offense (when Stafford plays well) and tough defense this team is great on paper. The problem with them, and this made me lose a few years of my life, is their astounding ability at making the most bone-headed penalties. Hopefully today they will be disciplined and focused on trying to stop Brees and his receivers while minimizing penalties, as well as executing on offense. If they manage to bother Brees and Stafford pulls off a great performance I could see the Lions winning, otherwise the Saints could destroy them.

Quarter 1

15:00 Kickoff!!!!

13:05 A typical Detroit penalty, c’mon Schwartz control your team.

12:26 Nice find by Stafford. Titus Young has been great this year as a rookie. Watch for him to be one of the better receivers in the future.

10:58 Touchdown by Hanson! (who is this guy?). What a great way to start the game.

10:54 Alright defense, it’s time to do your end of the job

10:47 Brees is one of the most precise passers I’ve watched. What a great throw.

8:16 Fumble!!!!!! Huge defensive stop by the Lions, great job by Durant forcing that fumble.

7:27 Burleson spins to the 1^st down line. Keep it going Lions!

5:35 Stafford and Pettigrew with a nice 22 yard connection. The Lion’s O-line is doing a great job so far.

4:20 Good defense the Saints, that would have been a huge play if Johnson managed to catch it. The defense has to keep applying pressure to Brees since I can’t see them winning any other way.

0:00 That was an entertaining 1^st quarter. I’m expecting more of the same high powered offense in the next 3 quarters.

Quarter 2

14:01 Good effort by the Lions but it wasn’t enough this time. Good running play by the Saints.

13:54 I was about to say how great of a run that was by Logan…but of course the Lions get a penalty call. No more, I just ask for no more stupid penalties.

10:47 Stafford is on point today. Good pass to Scheffler to keep the drive alive. I always get nervous with Stafford on 3^rd downs.

9:11 TOUCHDOWNNN!!! Johnson completes the catch from Stafford using his leaping ability. I love how the offense is playing today.

6:45 A nice floating pass by Brees. The Lions defense is letting the Saints get anything they want on this drive. And on cue, they force a fumble by sacking Brees.

5:11 Stafford gifts the ball back to the Saints with some poor decision making. I hate how he takes random drives off and decides to just throw the ball away.

1:43 Big blitz by the Lions. This is the pressure I wanted Suh to put on Brees. Unfortunately, the Saints easily run to a 1^st down on the next play.

0:48 Lovely, an offside penalty. They cannot allow the Saints to score a TD right now, the advantage after half is very important for their confidence.

0:16 And there’s the touchdown by the Saints. I don’t think the Lions can respond positively to this in the 2^nd half. The play is under review and the TD overturned. Lions need to play great defense for 16 seconds now.

0:00 Great defense to finish the half by the Lions, forcing the Saints to go for a field goal. It’s great that the Lions are up heading into half time since this will give them extra confidence to finish the game off strong. On a side note, Brees is amazing at avoiding getting sacked.

Quarter 3

13:09 Excellent throw by Brees for a touchdown, really not too much the Lions could have done there. It’s time to focus back on offense.

10:45 Another great example of how the Lions’ penalties have killed them. Instead of being 3^rd and 1, they were 2^nd and 19 and obviously didn’t manage to get the 1^st down. The Lions’ defense needs to stop the Saints from scoring on this play since a TD would be very hard to overcome right now.

6:32 4^th and inches can will they get it? They do, great play by Brees. The Lions defense is doing great during this Saints drive but Brees manages to come up with a huge play when they need it.

4:22 Huge throw and catch by Holston, leading to a TD by Graham. Lions need to get a TD on this next drive otherwise this game is as good as done.

2:32 What a huge catch by Johnson. He pulled off 3 great catches on this drive, saving the Lions.

1:44 Stafford needs to make smarter decisions than throwing it into traffic. Now they are at 3^rd and goal and need to get a TD.

1:08 Stafford fakes and runs in for a TD but it might end up being overruled since it looks like he was down before he hit the pylon. Ruling is confirmed, Stafford gets the TD!!

Quarter 4

11:46 Lions coming up with some big stops but the Saints get the 1^st down on 4^th and 2.

9:53 Sproles waltzes through the Lions D and scores a TD. He’s been having an great game so far.

9:43 Stafford makes a poor decision by throwing a hail mary…resulting in a turnover. I don’t understand why this was necessary since there is still plenty of time left to come back in the game.

7:40 Brees just raped the entire Lions defense and threw to Meachem for another TD.

6:14 Johnson with a nice catch and stiff arm gaining the first down. He has been the Lions’ best player by far tonight.

4:45 Johnson with his 2^nd touchdown of the night from a great play call that led to him being isolated.

4:39 Onside kick is unsuccessful. This play is always really risky and it puts Brees in a good position to throw a TD.

3:45 Brees throws another beautiful pass to the Detroit 1.

3:36 Touchdown by Thomas. This game is finished, unless they could make a trade for Tebow.

Summary: Good first half by the Lions where they were attacking offensively and were good on defense. The second half was the complete opposite. Offensively, Stafford made some poor plays and their defense was picked apart by Brees. Congrats to the Saints for a good win and a great job by their coach with crucial half time adjustments. I’m happy that the Lions made the playoffs and am excited to watch them as a more mature team next year. The rest of the playoffs should be fun to watch, especially tomorrow’s playoff debut for Tim Tebow.

Playoff Predictions: Wildcard Round

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The regular season has finally come to an end, which means that the REAL season starts this weekend. I know I haven’t posted in quite some time, but I’m finally back and ready to share my thoughts/observations on this year’s NFL playoffs. Luka and I were discussing some potential playoff scenarios and here are my predictions for this weekend’s Wildcard Round.


AFC

3. Houston vs 6. Cincinnati
If I turned the clocks back to the preseason and told you that this would be a playoff matchup, I guarantee everyone would have laughed at me, but here we are. The beauty of the NFL is that you can never know for sure which teams will be good and which teams will be bad (I’m talking to you Philly). Earlier in the season I said that the Texans were playing some of the best football in the AFC, but then Matt Schaub got injured and everything has been going downhill since. Though the Texans have an excellent D and great run game, I’m going to be putting my money on the rookie Andy Dalton to “upset” T.J. Yates and the Houston Texans. However, if Matt Schaub decides to pull a superman and play, I’m picking the Texans to win the super-mediocre AFC championship.

Texans 14 – BENGALS 21

4. Denver vs 5. Pittsburgh
I hate most NFL owners and NFL fans, but I especially hate the NFL media. Tim Tebow has been mediocre at best all season, yet every household with access to the internet and/or a television knows the name Tebow. It took him an entire season to complete enough passes to even QUALIFY to have his QB rating calculated, and with a score of 72.9, he sits 27th out of 33 passers...garbage. I’ve been saying for most of the season that the Steelers are headed downhill, but even with a broken Ben Roethlisberger and an aging D, Blitzburgh will bury the Broncos and hopefully shut this Tebowmania up, at least for the duration of the offseason.

Broncos 10 – STEELERS 24


NFC

3. New Orleans vs 6. Detroit
WHO DAT SAID DEY GON BEAT DEM SAINTS?!? This has been a fantastic season to be a Saints fan and an even better season if Drew Brees is your favourite player. Brees has had a once in a lifetime type season and broken many prestigious offensive records. This isn’t another Saints article, so let’s take a look at this game real quick. The Saints easily handled the Lions in their game earlier this season, but had it not been for Detroit’s 67,000 penalty yards, the game could have actually been much closer. Lion’s QB Matt Stafford is extremely inconsistent, but in the past few weeks, him and Calvin “Megatron” Johnson have been piling up the stats. Even with a very volatile offense and a tough defence (when they don’t give up 200 penalty yards), the Lions are no match for the Saints. If Detroit puts up 50 points, Drew Brees will find a way to put up 51, it’s as simple as that. This is almost guaranteed to be a high-scoring shoot out, but I don’t think there’s any real chance that the Lions can upset the Saints. One thing I predict that most people probably don’t expect is that the Saints will shut down Megatron. New Orleans’ defensive coordinator Gregg Williams firmly believes that you shouldn’t let the other team’s best players beat you and always comes up with a way to take the opposition’s most dangerous weapon out of the game. If you don’t believe me, go to 0:42 of this link and you’ll see what the tactic was the last time these 2 teams faced off: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX0JjyTgme0

SAINTS 42 – 35 Lions

4. New York vs 5. Atlanta
ELLIIII MANNNINGGGGGGG!!! What an absolute stud! To say that he hasn’t had a great year is simply retarded. With the game on the line in the 4th quarter, when it mattered most, only Aaron Rodgers had a better passer rating than Eli. He deserved the Pro Bowl spot and showed me that he is one of the top 5 QBs in the league. Atlanta on the other hand has coasted for much of the season and faced an extremely easy schedule all year. I personally don’t think they’re very good, but on any given Sunday, anyone can come out on top. The G-men are built very similar to the Giants team that won the superbowl in ’07, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they made another deep playoff run this year. Atlanta lucked out by not having to play (re: lose) to the Saints for the 3rd time this season, but I don’t think they have enough experience against good opponents to come away with this game.

GIANTS 24 – 21 Falcons

That’s it for this week. Next week I’ll talk about my take on the Wildcard Round and put up my predictions for the Divisional Round.

The Patriots Report: Week 17

Tweet After a long hiatus the Patriots report is back! The delay was caused by the holiday and exam seasons but just like the Giants of this year, I am here when it matters. Speaking of the Giants, how incredible is the roller coaster ride they take their fans on every year? At this point fans are actually hoping that nobody picks them against the Falcons in belief that their team will play better. But I digress. I'm going to be honest, I was in the middle of no where for new years' and caught no part of the Patriots game so I don't really have much to 'report' per se. Luckily, the playoffs are here and I can talk about that.

One thing i did learn about the Patriots is that they are on an 8-0 streak since cutting Albert Haynesworth, I guess the mystique of Belichick lives on. Tom Brady has also had arguably his best season, throwing for over 5000 yards and playing out-doors and in cold weather no less. How much better would Brady's career averages be if he got 8 dome home games per year? Sadly, I do not have the resources to actually answer that question, but I think that there will be a change now when judging QB's historically. Heading in to the playoffs, the Patriots have a top 3 offense and a bottom 3 defense, history tells us that this will not lead to success. Then again, the Packers of Green Bay have the best offense and worst defense and it has not hurt them yet. In fact, you can argue that teams like Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and Baltimore are better suited for playoff football. The Saints may ultimately regret that brutal running call in their opening game of the season because it looks like it cost them a first round bye. The Saints have only made headlines this year because of Drew Brees, but nobody has really talked about them and how they have (as a team) played. They are better defensively then the Patriots and Packers and just as explosive offensively. Could the Saints roll to a Super Bowl? We have to wait and see because anything can happen in the playoffs, including this.

We will be back with predictions later in the week, for now: know that we are back!