Sportscolumn.com – Page 165 – Sports News and Commentary

How One Trade Made All the Difference

Post author By Matt Wells
Post date February 28, 2006
6 Comments on How One Trade Made All the Difference

by Matt Wells

In this day in age, it seems that it is very rare for BOTH teams involved in a two-team deal to come out “ahead.” Usually, there is a winner and a loser – one team is better off with the deal, and one team is left to rebuild after the deal, perhaps receiving minor leaguers or youngsters in the deal.

But, hey, who knows? One deal CAN make all the difference, and this was easily illustrated by a trade made before the 2005 baseball season. The two key players BOTH involved helped their team become better – again, this is something that is very rare. One player in the deal made a weak team become stronger; the other player helped his team win a World Series.

NBA General

The Crystal Basketball

With the retirements of NBA greats like Karl Malone, Reggie Miller, John Stockton, and Steve Kerr, a new generation of basketball has emerged. Michael Jordan ushered in this new era during his final All-Star Game appearance in 2003, stating, “I leave the game in good hands.” Though one may argue that his years in Washington were his worst and his comeback a failure, it was impossible that night to not shed a tear and say goodbye to what was truly his Airness’ era.

As Michael Jordan took center stage and uttered these words, he faced our generation of all-stars. Kobe, AI, KG, Tim Duncan, to name a few. What does the future hold for these superstars? Who will be the next player to be regarded as one of the greatest of all time?

General Sports

Detroit- San Antonio- who else…?

Post author By leftcoast
Post date February 27, 2006
No Comments on Detroit- San Antonio- who else…?

With 25 games or so left in this NBA season the playoff picture is still a little bit distorted. There are some teams who could collapse (Cleveland in particular) and miss the playoffs, and there is still some hope for teams like Houston and New York…okay that was low, sorry Knicks fans. However, things we all know are that San Antonio and Detroit are most likely going to get back to the Finals. The last two NBA champions mirror each other so much and play the game so well respectively, that it would take a disastrous injury or death to keep them from their collision course. (Let’s hope neither of them happens) If you are like me though it is sometimes nice to see somebody else get a chance to lift the Larry O’Brien trophy. The only thing is…are there really some teams in the league that stand a legitimate chance of dethroning Detroit or San Antonio?

Phoenix Suns

Amare Should Stay at Home

Post author By wtt02005
Post date February 27, 2006
No Comments on Amare Should Stay at Home

Nearly every NBA foundation shook and rumbled last summer. Television stations revamped their schedules, fans cried in disbelief, and that flicker of hope quickly extinguished.

Amare Stoudemire needed microfracture knee surgery.

Despite initial predictions, the Phoenix Suns are hotter than their name and currently are the Pacific Division leaders and second seed in the Western Conference. This lead has only been challenged in the last two weeks by the Clippers. However, due to that ball club’s recent five game losing streak, the Suns have found themselves with more distance and no challengers. Amare is expected to return in March, but should he?

NFL General

A Real Life Horror Story

The story you are about to read is not a fictional tale. It was not woven in the macabre mind of horror legend Stephen King. It is not some make believe conspiracy theory that has Fox Mulder traveling the globe. This event could very well happen in the next two years. Sports fans please take a seat because this could be the most horrific news you read in your entire lifetime. The 2008 NFL season is in jeopardy and there is a serious chance for a lockout (gasp!), which means no football until the conflict is resolved.

Dallas Mavericks

That’s Dallas with a Capital D

Post author By wtt02005
Post date February 27, 2006
No Comments on That’s Dallas with a Capital D

In days of yore, the Dallas Mavericks were a fast-paced run-and-gun ball club. Led by their big three of Nash, Nowitzski, and Finley, the Mavericks had little to no trouble winning in the season as they let offense dictate their games. However, despite their successful records, they were still regarded as soft and the lack of defense always led to disappointment in the playoffs. It would be ludicrous to call the team a postseason Western powerhouse…until now. With the dismissal of Don Nelson and the arrival of Avery Johnson, the Dallas Mavericks currently own the best record in the West and are now showing signs of defensive pressure. Why is it coming together for them now despite Nash’s (last year’s MVP) departure to the Suns and deadeye shooter Finley’s departure to the Spurs?

College Basketball

Wake Me Up in March

How many times have you heard someone say this:

“Oh, no! Duke lost!?! They aren’t undefeated anymore!?! How could this be? This could ruin their entire season! Now, instead of getting a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, they might get a 2 seed! This really sucks.”

Hopefully, nobody has ever heard that. Here’s why: the college basketball regular season has absolutely no point. Really. Its only objective is to decide who’s playing in the NCAA Tournament–which is one of the best playoff systems in sports today. Obviously the goal in any sport is to reach the playoffs, but none is more exclusively focused than college basketball. In what other sport do people worry more about their team’s seeding for the tournament than the team’s actual record?

I have nothing against college basketball. I really don’t. I greatly enjoy watching the Tournament in March where every game matters. My problem is that none of the regular season games matter at all. Here are the arguments against my theory and why they are all untrue.

NFL General

For the love of Ryan Leaf!

Post author By AJKaufman
Post date February 26, 2006
4 Comments on For the love of Ryan Leaf!

Big Vince Young will be a giant bust in the NFL.

LA Lakers

the Black Mamba

The biggest story in the NBA this season has been Kobe Bryant’s 81 points against the Toronto Raptors on January 22nd. He was 28 of 46 from the field (7-13 from 3) and hit 18 of 20 attempts at the line. It is by far the greatest display of offense in the history of the league…not done by a guy named Wilt Chamberlain. Michael only got to 69, Kobe got to 81. He played 42 minutes that night and ended up with 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Quite frankly, I’m surprised he had two assists. All of this coming a month after he torched the Dallas Mavericks for 62 on December 20th. By the way, he did that in only 32 minutes. The man is a scoring machine and is by far the best one on one offensive player in the NBA. To coin the phrase, “You can’t stop him; you just have to hope to contain him.”

NFL General

Fearless Predictions for the 2006 NFL Season

Post author By Jackson Govatos
Post date February 22, 2006
12 Comments on Fearless Predictions for the 2006 NFL Season

The weeks following the end of the NFL season are some of the worst weeks of the year for football fans. Football fans like me now have to care about college basketball, the NBA, or hockey (great sports, but not exciting until their playoffs kick in). Since I don’t want to write about these sports, I’ll make 10 very early predictions for the 2006-2007 NFL season.