I Remember

I caught the last 4 minutes of the Lakers-Clippers game the other night won by the Clippers and that game helped me remember why I no longer watch the NBA. The last 4 minutes of the game must have taken 20 minutes to play between all of the free throws and timeouts. There is some kind of new rule in the NBA that if a player gets fouled in the last two minutes of the quarter then it is an automatic two free throws. The Clippers had an 8 point lead when I turned it on but before the two minute mark. it was an all out sprint by the Clippers to blatantly grab Dwight Howard because he can't hit a free throw. I don't care if he was on the other side of the court from the ball, they grabbed him and the refs would call a foul. The strategy by the Clippers was that they would rather take their chances with Howard at the free throw line than Kobe Bryant catching the Lakers up by nailing a few three pointers. I can understand the strategy but it made for some extremely boring basketball. Free throw shooting has been one of the basic fundamentals of basketball since just about the beginning of the game itself. During the ESPN era, it is probably one of the least practiced areas of the game. It is impossible to make ESPN's nightly Top 10 hitting a free throw. Let me know when it is time for the playoffs.

NBA 2K13

I am really not a big fan of the NBA. I haven't really followed the NBA since the Bird-Magic era and the last season I paid attention to was the year the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls beat the Utah Jazz. I may not care about the NBA but I love this game NBA 2K13. The game play is smooth, the graphics are great, and it is easy to navigate. Since I am not an NBA fan, I played around with several teams to see which one I wanted to use in the "Association" mode. I finally settled on the Denver Nuggets. I am a huge University of North Carolina Tarheels fan so the main reason I settled on the Nuggets was because of Point Guard Ty Lawson. I like to keep my video games as realistic as possible but I decided to build a Tarheel Super team through trades. I have already traded for Tyler Hansbrough and Tyler Zeller without having to give up too awful much and I am thinking about going after Kendall Marshall and Harrison Barnes next. I almost forgot about John Henson but I do not want to trade away any of my core Nugget players to get him. I really like this game and I am glad I purchased it.

The Seattle Seahawks Vs. The Arizona Cardinals

The Seattle Seahawks 58-0 win over the Arizona Cardinals was monumental for several reasons. With the score being that lopsided the issue of "running up the score" came up with every form of the media imaginable. The announcer, it was either Tim Ryan or John Lynch, started railing on the Seahawks continuing to pass the ball after they put backup QB Matt Flynn in the game. The announcer did not note in his diatribe (I went to Grad school- I have to act educated once in a while with the use of big words) that Russell Wilson was removed rom the game about halfway thru the third quarter and these were the first snaps that Matt Flynn had taken all season. I think Pete Carroll did the right thing. The standard rule in any sport is that the backup is only one play away from being the starter. The Seahawks are fighting for their playoff lives and if Russell Wilson gets hurt, Matt Flynn would go in after not having played for about 4 months. The speed of the game is much different in game situations than in practice. Pete Carroll also emptied the rest of his bench as well and what else were they supposed to do? The Cardinals QB by committee is not working and John Skelton has killed the Seahawks in his brief NFL career. They turned the ball over 8 times and it seemed that the ball bounced right to the Seahawks. An example of this is when the Cardinals muffed a punt and LB Malcolm Smith had the ball bounce off of Jeremy Lane's foot and right into his hands as he is running into the end zone. By the end of the game the announcer was backtracking his earlier statement of running up the score. The Seahawks did take a few shots into the end zone towards the end of the game, but Matt Flynn needs the practice.

NHL 13

The NHL series by EA Sports has always been one of my favorite video game series even though I really did not grow up a hockey fan. Living in the South, hockey was not exactly shown a lot on TV and I knew nothing about it. NHL 13 is fast paced and realistic and I love the new GM Connected mode. It is also much more of a challenge this year. I really have to work my ass off throughout the course of the game. Not every pass is completed, not every shot goes in or is on line, and I just really enjoy playing it. When it comes to video games, that is the key for me. If it is not any fun, I quickly lose interest. As far as video games go, there is nothing cooler than hearing a slapshot ring off the post, getting a deflection past the goalie, slamming a rebound thru the five hole, or winning a big fight against their tough guy.

The New York Yankees

I am part of that population of baseball fans that can't stand the New York Yankees. I love to see them lose. The best team that money can buy got swept by the Detroit Tigers. Evidently it cannot buy them another World Series title. Justin Verlander is a beast on the mound. I am sure when the time comes, the New York Yankees will try to buy him. The Detroit Tigers have a lot of homegrown talent. I am a lifelong Dodgers fan but I love to see teams win with players that came up through their minor league system. Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera were big acquisitions for the Tigers and a little bit out of character. They were also the driving offensive force behind the Tigers offense. The vast majority of the players came up through the Tigers system. Their starting pitchers are almost all homegrown. They took these players and a smattering of free agents and swept the New York Yankees with ease. The benching of Alex Rodriguez during the series and the internal strife that it caused was an added bonus. It reminded me of Dave Winfield in the 1980's.

Things I Learned About College Football This Weekend

I learned several things about college football this weekend. I think Oregon and West Virginia should have to play each other in the National Championship game just to see how many points would be scored. West Virginia beat Texas 48-45 and Oregon beat Washington 52-21. These were both nationally ranked opponents. I also think that the Heisman Committee should just go ahead and give the Heisman Trophy to Geno Smith, the QB from West Virginia. He's got the numbers and his team has the national ranking to back up my claim that he is the best player in the nation. I also learned that the South Carolina Gamecocks are good and this is probably the best South Carolina team they have had since George Rogers led the way in the late 1970's-early 1980's. They have arguably the best RB in the nation, Marcus Lattimore (provided he can stay healthy), and a QB Connor Shaw who poses a dual threat as a runner and a passer. They beat the #5 Georgia Bulldogs 35-7 with an ease that was almost scary for their future opponents. Steve Spurrier may be a jackass but at least he is a funny jackass. Alabama is still #1 in my ratings but they play boring "old man football" that is very beatable. #3 Florida State and #4 LSU both lost this weekend but it will hurt LSU far worse because they play in a much tougher SEC.

Bad Calls Are Not Limited To One Sport

The Wild Card game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves last night featured a call that, once again, could have gone either way. I have never really understood the Infield Fly Rule anyway because that is all dependant on whether the fielder catches the ball or not. The fielding team is basically given an out free of charge. The ball fell in between the two St. Louis fielders with Braves runners on first and second. The ball was far enough in the outfield to where the Infield Fly Rule probably should have not been called. It is also supposed to be called early on in the play. The umpire clearly had his hand up signifying an out as the St. Louis Shortstop is backing up on the play. The ball fell to the ground and the Braves runners advanced to second and third but they now had two outs rather than bases loaded and one out. It was the bottom of the eighth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals were leading 6-3. Lost in the outrage over the call was the fact that the Braves were having a bad game. The call was not the deciding factor in the game. The Braves had made three throwing errors leading to four unearned runs for the Cardinals. Braves Shortstop Andrelton Simmons was called out on runners interference going to first base on a bunt attempt. The Braves had their chances but did not come thru in the clutch. That one blown call did not decide the outcome of this game. That pretty well summarizes the Braves playoff history with the exception of one year in 1995. It is a sad end to the career of Chipper Jones, but his career has spanned the Braves playoff failures.