Friday, May 29, 2009

What if LeBron James did Play Football?



Great article from espn.com on LeBron
Mark Murphy hasn't merely witnessed the finest receivers of his generation. He has experienced them.

Murphy's 11-year career at strong safety was good enough to get him into the Green Bay Packers' Hall of Fame. He has covered, tackled and occasionally been scorched by legends.

On the subject of greatness, he knows what he's talking about.

"I've been around a lot of great receivers," Murphy said. "I tell people that I rate my top receivers -- coaching, playing or watching -- as James Lofton, Jerry Rice, Steve Largent and LeBron James."

James played football for two seasons at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, scoring 27 touchdowns and attracting the attention of Ohio State and Notre Dame.
Murphy wasn't delivering a joke or some abstract concept. He meant James, the NBA superduperstar, simply was that spectacular on a football field. Murphy saw it as the defensive coordinator at James' alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio.


James was an all-state receiver as a sophomore and junior, setting records that still stand. He gave up football as a senior to become a multimillion-dollar, teenage basketball corporation.

"People laugh at me, but it's true," Murphy said of placing James in the same class as three Pro Football Hall of Famers. "The kid had everything you could want.

"I felt like that was one kid that could have gone from high school to the NFL and played."

Makes you wonder, doesn't it; what might have happened had James chosen football over basketball?

Domination on Friday night doesn't mean much when a colossus is leaping over pimple-faced twerps, but James has proven he can compete against world-class competition. It's not silly to think he could have made it in the NFL, too.

He's a 6-foot-8, 250-pound freak of stature. He would tower above NFL defensive backs and other receivers. Plus, he owns a 44-inch vertical leap, which would rank among the top 10 recorded at the NFL scouting combine.

Actually, it's not too late for James to change his mind. He's 24 years old. New York Jets rookie running back Shonn Greene left the University of Iowa a season early yet will turn 24 in August.

For fun, let's stop to consider what might happen if James decided he wanted to give football a whirl.

"I would tell him I think he needs to lay down on the couch and have some warm milk and listen to some soft music," Miami Dolphins football operations boss Bill Parcells said. "Football's not something he needs to do. If he asked my advice, I'd tell him to keep playing basketball because he's doing OK.

"But I wouldn't put anything past this guy because it looks like he's tremendously exceptional at what he does."

Predecessors indicate basketball skills -- stamina, explosiveness, range, ability to change direction in a blink -- translate to the gridiron.

In discussing the merits of James as a football player, an obvious barometer is San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, a Pro Bowler the past five seasons. Gates originally signed with Michigan State to play both sports, but eventually transferred and played just basketball at Eastern Michigan and Kent State.

"I think LeBron could come in and do better than Antonio Gates," New England Patriots receiver Randy Moss said. "LeBron James is the athlete that comes around every so often.

"He's at a point in his career where the things that he does are something we haven't seen before. … It's just very rare for athletes to be able to do the things that he does to entertain and wow us night in and night out."

Some of the more notable examples who played college football and basketball prior to the NFL include Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez, Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers and former Oakland Raiders tight end Rickey Dudley.

The Jets last month signed Cleveland State power forward J'Nathan Bullock to play tight end, even though he hadn't worn a helmet since high school.

"From my perspective, the best athletes in the world play in the NBA," University of Akron football coach J.D. Brookhart said. "Look at what Gates did. He was a pretty good basketball player athletically, but LeBron's world class."

Brookhart is known as one of the country's best receivers coaches. His previous gig was at the University of Pittsburgh, where he worked with Larry Fitzgerald and Antonio Bryant. One of his first roster decisions at Akron was switching another future NFLer, Domenik Hixon, from safety to receiver.

"It's not very hard to tell at all how good of a football player LeBron would be," Brookhart said. "Had he pursued it, I think he'd be an All-Pro receiver.

"With that body and skills that he has, I think even if he wasn't a 4.4 or 4.5 speed guy -- and I'm not so certain he wouldn't be that -- he would pose absolutely unwinnable matchups out there."

Patriots defensive coordinator Dean Pees has been aware of James' football skills for years and knows plenty about Gates.

Pees recruited Gates to play linebacker at Michigan State and was head coach at Kent State when Gates was there. Kent is 17 miles from St. Vincent-St. Mary.

"You look at it and you'd have to say, having seen Tony Gonzalez and seen Antonio Gates, that the guy definitely could have played," Pees said of James. "He was a phenomenal athlete. If he wanted to play football, he certainly could've."

A switch to the gridiron, however, would be no slam dunk.

There would be questions about his open-field speed.

"A lot of those basketball players, they can't run," Parcells said. "They don't have legitimate speed. This kid's pretty amazing, though."

There would be questions about his ability to withstand violent collisions.

"How bad is a 5-10, 180-pound corner going to hurt that body?" Brookhart asked.

Without ever having held a stopwatch on him, Pees guessed James would not possess receiver wheels. That, combined with James' body type, would make him a tight end who'd be considerably more vulnerable to contact than a wideout.

"The biggest thing he wouldn't be ready for is somebody hitting him," Pees said. "I know they play physical in the NBA, so put [Patriots outside linebacker] Adalius Thomas up in his face all day and have a defensive back maybe behind him that has some size too, that can go up with him.

"You could never put a little guy on him. They'd just lob the ball, and nobody could defend him. You'd have to hit him at the line. I would think you'd want a big guy that could hit him at the line and see how much he could take."

Jets vice president of college scouting Joey Clinkscales, a former NFL receiver, agreed with Pees that James probably would make a better tight end than a wideout.

But Clinkscales wasn't nearly as concerned about James' ability to withstand football's physical demands.

"The only reservation I think you'd have is the constant day-to-day beatings that he would take," Clinkscales said. "You don't know about the blocking ability, but athletically he could flex out. And the physical nature of the player, he's just such a naturally big and muscular guy.

"He would have a chance to be as good as anybody playing right now."

There also would be questions about whether a pop-culture icon who generates about $40 million a year would be committed enough to accept an enormous pay cut.

Clubs would be more willing to take a chance on an unproven-yet-intriguing specimen if he didn't command a huge financial commitment. Gates wasn't drafted. The Chargers' risk was trifling.

"You're willing to take a chance on those guys because there's no cost factor involved," Pees said. "There's no risk. If it doesn't work out, fine. If it does work out, it's a big-time story. How would you draw up a contract for LeBron James?

"You can't throw starting tight end money at a guy that has never played and might not work out. At the same time, it's LeBron James. That'd be a really tough one."

The temptation might be too much for some clubs.



James' raw potential and star power make him attractive to personnel men and marketers alike. Teams would be afraid that James would sign with a division rival.

"Can you pass on a guy that potentially can be a difference-maker at his position?" Clinkscales asked. "You wouldn't know that from day one, but some of the athletic skills will make you say 'Wow.' You don't know for sure, but you have a pretty good idea.

"I think there would be a bit of a bidding war."

The fanciful notion of James testing the NFL is significantly less ridiculous than his idol, Michael Jordan, trying to play baseball. At least with James, tangible football evidence exists.

James was a good enough receiver at St. Vincent-St. Mary that it's believed he could have commanded a football scholarship to the program of his choice after his sophomore season. He was being monitored by Ohio State and Notre Dame.

He played only two full seasons of varsity football, but he made his mark. His first varsity start came as a freshman in the state playoffs. He caught nine passes, a school record.

James' name still is scattered throughout the St. Vincent-St. Mary football record book.

He grabbed 42 passes for 752 yards and 11 touchdowns as a 6-6 sophomore, but his budding basketball fame soon curbed the excitement of football recruiters.

"About three games into his sophomore year, we knew he was done, that he would never go to college," said James' high school basketball coach, Keith Dambrot, now the head coach at Akron. "When you know you're not going to college and you're a surefire pro, then you've got to start making business decisions."

While his football teammates were going through preseason drills and scrimmages the summer before his junior year, James was in Chicago for a private workout with Jordan, Antoine Walker, Jerry Stackhouse and Penny Hardaway.

James was torn about playing football again. He loved the sport, but he didn't want to jeopardize his incandescent future.

"It was a sacrifice because he'll tell you he liked Friday night football better than anything," Dambrot said. "He liked basketball practice better than football practice, but he loved Friday night football."

James was on the sideline for St. Vincent-St. Mary's season opener, an upset victory over Akron Garfield. Watching in street clothes was like torture. The next night, 22-year-old singer Aaliyah died in a plane crash.

Those two moments sent James into a deep introspection about his future. He discussed the situation with his mother, Gloria, who didn't want him to play football. They came to the realization bright futures don't come with guarantees.

He made up his mind that weekend to wear cleats again.

"I'm just 16, and you're only in high school once," James told the Akron Beacon Journal.

Murphy recalled a particular moment from James' junior year that illustrated his passion for football. James made a one-handed grab for a 7-yard touchdown against Villa Angela-St. Joseph in the waning moments of the first half. James absorbed a hit on the play and broke the index finger on his left hand.

"He was pretty shook up at halftime," Murphy said. "He was thinking about basketball and what this was going to do. Once the trainers got him calmed down, we said 'Look, LeBron. You don't even have to play in the second half. Or we can use you as a decoy and we'll throw to the other guys if you want.'"

As the team filed out of the locker room, James turned to the coaches, three of whom had played in the NFL -- head coach Jay Brophy, assistant Frank Stams and Murphy.

"I'm no decoy," James told them.

"The guy loves to compete," Murphy said. "He loves to play. He loves football."




James finished his junior season with 57 receptions for 1,160 yards and 16 touchdowns, propelling St. Vincent-St. Mary to the state semifinals. James also played prevent safety and often quarterbacked the scout team. Murphy said James could throw a football 70 yards.

"The physical tools were overwhelming," Scouts Inc. analyst Matt Williamson said. Williamson was a recruiter for Pitt and followed Brookhart to Akron as football operations director before joining the Cleveland Browns' scouting department. "He really stood out. He made you think 'Wow.' But you don't get too enamored because you know he's the best basketball player in the world."

Pees took a similar approach with James. It was foolish to waste precious recruiting time on an emerging basketball enterprise.

"If he went to Akron, their football program would have been top 20," said St. Vincent-St. Mary grad Chip Hiller, who saw almost all of James' games. Hiller played linebacker at Indiana University for head coaches Lee Corso, Sam Wyche and Bill Mallory. "He really was an incredible football player.

"With LeBron's athleticism, I could see him as a tight end, H-back, receiver. LeBron could wreak havoc as an outside linebacker, edge pass rusher. He's a freak."

NFL media guides, of course, are loaded with bios of special-teamers, journeymen and practice-squad players who were all-everythings in high school. And they benefited from college training.



Even so, James might be able to pull off the basketball-to-football transformation.

If he wanted to enter the NFL, he wouldn't have to declare for the draft. He'd be free to sign with any team.

"It wouldn't surprise me at all if, after one phone call, he didn't have six or seven suitors after him," Clinkscales said.

Parcells, Pees and Williamson were hesitant to project greatness. Each of them chuckled at the idea of James giving football a shot, but none discounted the possibility he would make it work.

"He has size and athletic ability, so I'm certain you'd investigate things that he could do," Parcells said. "That would take a little thought."

Brookhart, though, estimated it would take less than three years to complete the conversion from all-world hoospter to all-world receiver.

"He'd be dang successful pretty quick, by the midpoint of his first season," Brookhart said. "But between Year 2 or 3 is when you would see him rise to another level."

That's considered the timetable for a young receiver to make the mental adjustment from college to the NFL. They need to learn the system until it's in their subconscious, and they can identify defenses and recognize coverages.

"There's a lot of post-snap adjustments you have to be able to make," Brookhart said. "Those take repetition, repetition, repetition and a lot of different looks to the point the game actually slows down. You're not thinking."

Murphy is in agreement based on what he witnessed with eyes that have glimpsed the best.

If Murphy ranks James fourth behind only Lofton, Rice and Largent, then he's ranking James ahead of former teammates Sterling Sharpe and John Jefferson, NFC contemporaries such as Art Monk, Henry Ellard and Anthony Carter and so many others he has competed against.

"I went against Lofton every day in practice," Murphy said. "I saw all the things that he did. I saw his abilities and his running and his burst and his catching ability. It was the same thing to see the plays that Jerry Rice made and what he brought to the game.

"I was coaching LeBron in high school and I'm seeing him make plays that made me say 'Lofton did that. Rice did that.'

"He's scary. He really was a scary player."

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Kentucky Basketball 2009-2010 Recruiting Class


Good articles from Kentucky Basketball and their 2009-2010 recruiting class
Not even a month into his tenure, John Calipari already has made astounding progress. No, not talking Kentucky recruiting here.
Talking Twitter.
Calipari already has 60,551 people following his Internet alerts, and he's hit the "update" button 195 times. He hasn't yet gotten a signed letter of intent from Raleigh, N.C., point guard John Wall, so he hasn't had to figure out a way to squeeze that particular exclamation into 140 characters, but it's coming.
So, OK, this really is about recruiting. And coaching. And remaking the Kentucky program so fast Twitter is the ideal device to signal the Wildcats' ascent. In some ways, it's also a representation of why Calipari was able to walk into his office at the Craft Center on April 1 and transform a team that did not reach the 2009 NCAA Tournament into an early No. 1 for 2010.
As much as any coach in college basketball, Calipari embraces what is current. The modern circumstances of recruiting made it possible for him to assemble the nation's top recruiting class -- Wall, point guard Eric Bledsoe, center DeMarcus Cousins and forward Darnell Dodson to go with early signees Daniel Orton and Jon Hood -- in such a short period of time.
A half-dozen years ago:
A signed letter of intent was not as easy to escape as colleges have allowed it to become. Now, a player who signs early and wants a release because of a coaching change can be allowed to compete immediately at another school. That's how Dodson, a top junior college shooter, followed Calipari to UK after signing early with Memphis.
Nobody would have asked for the sort of escape clause Cousins, rated No. 3 in the class by Scout.com, wanted after committing to UAB. Because his request wasn't granted, Cousins remained a "free agent" and eventually committed to Memphis, then opted for UK after Calipari changed schools.
A player with Wall's ability would not have been available to anyone in Division I. Wall is ranked No. 1 by Rivals.com. He'd have placed himself on the NBA's early entry list directly out of high school. Calipari might have gained a commitment -- like from Kendrick Perkins and Amare Stoudemire -- but never would have coached him.
"The last time I've seen this much collective excitement was when Kentucky was winning in '03," said Matt Jones, who runs a UK-centric website and hosts the nightly Louisville Sports Report on WBKI-TV. "But this is even more, because unlike that team the fans know this team will have NBA lottery picks, those kinds of players.
"I just had lunch with some UK types, and they're all ready to buy their Final Four tickets."
Lots of Kentucky fans are wondering not whether this is the best recruiting class of the year (it is) but where it ranks with the best ever assembled (pretty doggoned high).
It is not the Fab Five, which Michigan assembled in 1991: three top 10 prospects in Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose plus two other exceptional talents, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson, who started as freshmen.
But anybody else in the argument -- North Carolina 1993, Duke 1997, Ohio State 2006 -- has some new company.
"When you look at the first three kids, it's as good as any threesome," said recruiting analyst Van Coleman of Hoopmasters.com. "They're all going to be pros. It's going to be the other kids who have the chance to lift it into one of the best ever."
The excitement regarding Wall's commitment comes with a catch, however. Success must be immediate. He will not play a second season with the Wildcats, so he has to make them substantially better in 2009-10. It worked for Calipari when he signed Derrick Rose at Memphis, and the similarities between Wall and Rose have many expecting those kinds of results. Their games and circumstances are not identical.
With star forward Patrick Patterson back from a short excursion into the NBA draft, this team will have stronger veteran leadership than those Tigers. If Jodie Meeks comes to his senses and returns, the Wildcats will have a much more dangerous 3-point attack.
But this team will be significantly younger. Cousins, Orton, Dodson and Bledsoe have not played in Division I, and they will be important rotation players. Neither has Wall, although the lack of experience in so many spots might mean he won't have to measure himself the way Rose did early on with the Tigers.
"I think John Wall is the most difficult guard in America to check," Scout.com recruiting analyst Dave Telep said. "I don't think that's going to change much from high school to college. He's a major problem for 99 percent of the defenders he's going to face."
Wall will need to adapt to being a part of something bigger than himself and being challenged by consistently high-level competition. That'll be new to him. He'll be the finest talent in college basketball next season, but becoming the most significant player will be a greater challenge.


Kentucky's loaded -- with expectations

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 8:42 PM
Filed Under: Recruiting, 2009-10 season previews
Kentucky’s recruiting class for the ages is in place. Now the real challenge begins.
Kentucky added John Wall, the nation’s top recruit, to a class that already featured three other five-star recruits. Throw in a new coach who’s won 137 games in the last four seasons and it’s enough to make Big Blue Nation throw up their hands and shout Hallelujah!
That salivating is from hoops pundits around the country who are proclaiming Kentucky the team to beat in 2009-10. They may not be wrong.
Incoming freshmen Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, Eric Bledsoe and Jon Hood will team with junior forward Patrick Patterson and possibly senior guard Jodie Meeks (if he withdraws from the NBA draft) to form one of if not the most talented rosters in the country.
It’s a little scary to see just what John Calipari can do when it comes to recruiting at a premier program.
"I think right now everybody’s on notice," Scout.com reporter Dave Telep told the Raleigh News & Observer. "This is old school Kentucky right now, and the rest of the country has been served notice. This is the real deal. These guys are coming after players, they're getting guys, and they have a powerful product to sell."
The only thing scarier than the loaded roster? The sky-high expectations heaped upon the ‘Cats.
You won’t hear Calipari or the players complain. Even some of the local writers aren’t worried about it. But those expectations are very real, and very daunting.
Kentucky missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in nearly 20 years last season. It hasn’t been to the Final Four since 1998 or won an SEC title since 2004. And North Carolina is just five wins shy of passing Kentucky on the all-time list (don’t scoff, that one matters to the Kentucky faithful).
All of that stuff piles up. Next year, if the Wildcats start to struggle, it’ll get hairy in Lexington. How will the young roster hold up to criticism? How much leeway will fans give the new coach if UK doesn’t win enough?
Don’t misunderstand – Kentucky’s going to be good next season. It could be the nation’s best team.
But if the ‘Cats do cut do reach the Final Four or even win it all, they’ll have earned it because winning under massive expectations isn’t easy.
An experienced, talented North Carolina team had similar expectations heaped upon it this season, and managed to live up to them. Other schools – UNLV in ’91, UNC in ’94, Arizona in ’98 or Duke in ’99 – were similarly talented, but fell short.
One thing’s for sure: I’m excited to see what Kentucky can do.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Who will be the Idiots that Pick-Up Michael Vick on their NFL Team


the different articles on Mike Vick returning home from PRISON!


Only a few teams would be good fit for Vick
Buffalo, Tennessee, Carolina among the likeliest destinations

Michael Vick’s release to home confinement has touched off a bizarre-o version of “Pin the Tail On the Donkey” in which the media tries to pin down which owner is a big enough donkey to sign the as-yet-to-be-reinstated quarterback.
Given Vick is, in essence, still in police custody, these are really nothing more than guesses. Nobody’s seen Vick throw, run or do a sit-up. Nobody knows if his heart is in it. Nobody knows whether he’s going to run with the same crowd of knuckleheads that helped land him in trouble so many times before. Nobody knows if he is willing to come in and play for a fraction of what he played for in the past or if he’ll accept a reduced role. Nobody knows anything definitively except that Michael Vick is no longer in Leavenworth.
So instead of throwing team names against the wall to see what sticks, let’s instead look at which teams might present workable situations for Vick if/when Commissioner Roger Goodell gives him his pass back into the league.
OWNERSHIP
This is the most important domino that has to fall before Vick puts on a helmet again. Who is willing to go through the negative publicity Vick engenders? Who is willing to sign checks for a guy who body-slammed dogs to their death? Who is either so secure with their fanbase or so desperate to win or create interest that Vick makes sense? Who has a wide benevolent streak that sees Vick as a redemption project?
Well, we can rule out Atlanta. But Dolphins owner Stephen Ross told Scott Hanson of the NFL Network at the owner’s meetings on Wednesday that he “believes in giving a second chance” and would defer to his football people. Saints owner Tom Benson also told Hanson that he’d be inclined not to but would let his football people at least make a recommendation. Raiders owner Al Davis will do what he wants. Bills owner Ralph Wilson seems particularly bent on making a Super Bowl run at his advanced age. Jerry Jones and Dallas? You have to wonder if they have the stomach for Vick after three years of the T.O. circus.
The Kraft family would likely run like hell from Vick. The Steelers have been mentioned because of their franchise stability and solid, respected ownership but don’t you get to be solid and respected by not hiring guys like Vick? Seems a stretch. Washington owner Daniel Snyder should not be ruled out. He could be sufficiently intrigued by Vick to make that leap, although it might be a hard sell to the fanbase in and around D.C. The Wilf family in Minnesota desperately wants to win and shouldn’t be ruled out. Wayne Weaver, owner of the Jaguars, might also be willing.
FANBASE
Let’s be blunt, dogfighting is a predominantly Southern pursuit. Exclusive to the South? No. But more prevalent there. So one can reason that fanbases in places like, say, Miami, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, Carolina, Tennessee, Houston, Dallas or even Cincinnati would be more likely to shrug off Vick’s hobby than, say, New York, New England or San Francisco.
Also, which fanbases are more inclined to worry more about on-field results than hand-wring about which players are bad guys? Probably one in which the NFL entrant is the only real game in town. So Jacksonville, Buffalo, Tennessee — most of the small-market teams — would probably get a little less resistance from fans who don’t have a dozen different options on where to spend their sports entertainment time and money might be more willing to swallow their distaste and root on Vick anyway.
COACHES
Who best to coach Vick? Young, easy-to-relate-to black coach like Tampa Bay’s Raheem Morris or the Steelers' Mike Tomlin? Older, less communicative white guy like the Patriots' Bill Belichick or Philly’s Andy Reid? Hardass former player like the Niners' Mike Singletary? Professorial Brad Childress in Minny? The fact is, the reclamation and reintroduction of Michael Vick won’t fall to one man.
To borrow a phrase, it will take a village. Media relations, GM, quarterbacks coach, teammates, VP of Player Development. He comes with baggage and a little will land in the laps of many. Whoever coaches Vick will need to clearly define the role the team has in mind for him. If he’s in the race for the starting job or comes in as a pure backup, he will be a curiosity. Also, bet on this — when he’s on the field, he will flash brilliance. And the head coach will need to be able to stick to the script if Vick is not the starter or risk creating major distractions. With all that in mind, you need a smart, older, seen-it-all-before coach. Tennessee’s Jeff Fisher. Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati — though he isn’t old — has been through the gauntlet. Reid. Belichick. Mike Holmgren if/when The Walrus returns.
NEEDS
Who needs Vick? That’s where this all leads. Remember, this is a three-time Pro Bowler who ran for 1,000 yards in 2006. He is a special talent and — even sitting in his jail cell — was better than half the league. Why any team would want Michael Vick as a changeup quarterback to run the Wildcat is beyond me. If he’s reinstated, teams need to look at him as a starting quarterback. Otherwise, you’ll lose him. And why bother with the headache? So who needs an electrifying starter of the teams we’ve mentioned in the other sections. Buffalo. Maybe Tennessee. Jacksonville. Minnesota (he and Favre could come in together in August and battle it out in the preseason!). Carolina down the road. Miami when Chad Pennington goes into decline.
WHERE?
Taking this all into account, what would be the places that would make the most sense in terms of ownership, fanbase, coaching/support staff and need at the position? Buffalo. Tennessee. Carolina. Miami. Jacksonville. Minnesota. Now, bring on the reinstatement.


Free from prison, Vick arrives home in Virginia for confinement

HAMPTON, Va. (AP) -- Suspended NFL player Michael Vick arrive at his Virginia home by car a day after being released from a federal prison in Kansas to start home confinement and a job in construction but with hopes of making it back to the playing field someday.
Four cars pulled up to Vick's five-bedroom brick home at the end of a cul-de-sac at about 8:25 a.m, led by a black Kia Sedona with blackout curtains in the back and sunshields on the front side windows. Vick was in the Sedona, said Chris Garrett, a member of Vick's support and legal team.
A man got out of the lead vehicle and moved aside orange cones blocking the driveway, then the Sedona drove into a garage on the side of the house and out of sight of the street. The other three cars followed into the driveway. Two men, presumably security guards who were part of the traveling party, stood in the driveway and three others took up posts near the front door as though to prevent anyone from approaching.
"He's happy to be reunited with his family," Garrett said 10 minutes after the cars arrived.
Vick spent 19 months at the prison in Leavenworth, Kan., after his conviction for financing a dogfighting operation.
He will spend the next two months under home confinement wearing an electronic monitor and working a $10-an-hour job as a laborer for a construction company. He's scheduled to be released from federal custody on July 20, and then faces three more years of supervised probation.
His ultimate goal is a return to the NFL. Chief among his challenges is rehabilitating his image and convincing the public and Goodell that he is truly sorry for his crime, and that he is prepared to live a different life -- goals that will depend more on deeds than words.
"It goes beyond, 'Has he paid his debt to society?' Because I think that from a legal standpoint and financially and personally, he has," Falcons owner Arthur Blank said at an NFL owners' meeting Wednesday.
Part of Vick's problem was the company he kept, Blank said, and weeding out the bad influences and associating with people who have his best interests at heart will be a key to redemption and a possible return to the NFL.
"There's the expression 'you are what you eat.' To some extent, you are who you hang with too, and that does have an effect on lives for all of us," he said.
Vick's NFL future remains a mystery.
"Mike's already paid his dues," Falcons receiver and former teammate Roddy White said Wednesday. "He wants to play football. I think if he gets reinstated before the season, there'll be a couple of teams that will be after him and give him a chance to play."
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said Vick doesn't deserve that chance until he passes psychological tests proving he is capable of feeling genuine remorse.
"Our position would be the opportunity to play in the NFL is a privilege, not a right," PETA spokesman Dan Shannon said.
First up for Vick is a $10-an-hour job as a laborer for a construction company. That job is part of his probation, and he will find out more about the restrictions he faces in home confinement when he meets with his probation officer later this week. He also will be equipped with an electronic monitor.
The Humane Society of the United States said Vick met its president recently in prison and wants to work on a program aimed at eradicating dogfighting among urban teens.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Chad Ford's Top 20 2009 NBA Draft Board


Chad Ford's Top 20 2009 NBA Draft Board

1 Blake Griffin 20 PF 6-10 245 Oklahoma Top 5
Apr 7 Update: Griffin declared for the draft on Tuesday, which came as no ... more

2 Ricky Rubio 18 PG 6-4 180 Spain Top 5
Apr 20 Update: Ricky Rubio, the Spanish point guard sensation who has been compared to ... more

3 Hasheem Thabeet 22 C 7-3 265 Connecticut Top 5
Apr 14 Update:Thabeet's decision to enter the NBA Draft comes as no surprise. He's been ... more

4 James Harden 19 SG 6-4 215 Arizona State Top 10
Apr 8 Update: Harden declared for the draft today. He's expected to hire an ... more

5 Jordan Hill 21 PF 6-9 235 Arizona Top 10
Apr 8 Update: Hill was one of the most improved players in the country ... more

6 DeMar DeRozan 19 SG 6-6 200 USC Lottery
Apr 8 Update: DeRozan is riding a terrific March back into the lottery. He ... more

7 Tyreke Evans 19 SG 6-6 220 Memphis Lottery
Apr 20 Update: Evans has made the argument over the last two weeks of ... more

8 Jrue Holiday 18 PG 6-4 200 UCLA Lottery to mid first round
Apr 9 Update: Holiday came into the season ranked as a Top 6 prospect ... more

9 Brandon Jennings 19 PG 6-2 165 Italy Lottery
Apr 8 Update: Jennings is automatically eligible for the NBA Draft thanks to a ... more

10 James Johnson 22 PF 6-9 245 Wake Forest Lottery to mid first round
April 4 Update: Johnson is a very intriguing prospect. He's a great athlete, has ... more

11 Earl Clark 21 SF 6-9 200 Louisville Lottery to mid first round
Apr 4 Update: Clark hasn't made an official announcement, but NBA agent Dan Fegan ... more

12 DeJuan Blair 20 PF 6-7 250 Pittsburgh Lottery to mid first round
Apr 8 Update: Blair declared for the NBA Draft today. He's expected to hire ... more

13 Stephen Curry 21 PG 6-3 185 Davidson Lottery to mid first round
Apr 23 Update: It shouldn't come as a huge surprise that Curry has decided ... more

14 Eric Maynor 21 PG 6-3 175 VA Commonwealth Lottery to mid first round
Mar 23 Update: Maynor is another guy who came up big in a losing ... more

15 Jonny Flynn 20 PG 6-0 175 Syracuse Lottery to mid first round
Apr 9 Update: Flynn is coming off a strong performance in the Big East ... more

16 Ty Lawson 21 PG 5-11 195 North Carolina Lottery to mid first round
Apr 26 Update: Lawson had a fantastic year and quieted many of the NBA ... more

17 Gerald Henderson 21 SG 6-4 215 Duke Lottery to mid first round
April 25 Update: After two pretty non descript years at Duke, Henderson blew up ... more

18 Jeff Teague 20 PG 6-2 180 Wake Forest Lottery to mid first round
Apr 8 Update: Teague got off to a terrific start this year and a ... more

19 Terrence Williams 21 SG 6-6 220 Louisville Lottery to mid first round
Mar 30 Update: Williams remains one of the more highly debated prospects in the ... more

20 Austin Daye 20 SF 6-10 190 Gonzaga Lottery to mid first round
Apr 15 Update: Daye has the talent of a lottery pick, but in two ... more

Friday, May 22, 2009

Week's Worst in Sports

The Week's Worst In Sports
I love this from www.si.com. I can't wait to see hard knocks


NEW YORK YANKEES
An actual win over the Red Sox this season? Priceless!
As the Pinstripers' struggles to sell jaw-droppingly priced luxury boxes continue, the franchise is also peddling countless memorabilia items such as -- we're not making this up -- $59.99 "mini-dirt collages" that feature a photo of a Yankees player and a "container of game-used dirt."

CINCINNATI BENGALS
With The Sopranos and The Wire off the air, HBO needed a good crime series
The NFL team known for leading the league in total offenses committed by players -- that's significantly different from "total offense" -- was chosen by NFL Films to be the subject of this year's Hard Knocks, the behind-the-scenes look at training camp shown on the cable channel and now guaranteed to make "Ochocinco" a household word.

GREG PAULUS
We're guessing there are a lot of Duke-hating d-linemen out there
In choosing to play football at Syracuse, where he has a better-than-good chance of starting at quarterback, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound ex-Duke point guard will be lining up behind one of the most traditionally porous offensive lines in college football.

MICHELLE WIE
The golf committee at Augusta likes dreaming high and stuff, too, but doesn't, like, think that will happen
Cheered by her improved play of late, the Hawaiian phenom said that although "I'm not going to be like, 'Oh, I'm going to go out and win a men's event,' " one should "dream high and stuff," and that winning a men's tournament is "one of those long-term goals where I see myself getting to," and added that she would like to play in the Masters.

THE GREAT STATE OF DELAWARE
We thought we'd never hear from them again once Joe Biden left for the veep mansion
Despite threatened legal action from the NFL and the NCAA, the First State became the fourth to legalize sports gambling.


CONFERENCE LOYALTY
Early line in Delaware: Take D-State plus the 27
Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference member Delaware State accepted a forfeit for its Oct. 17 date against North Carolina A&T so the Hornets can earn a big payday by playing the Wolverines before 105,000 in Michigan Stadium. Then again, they might actually win the game.

METS STREAKER
Joe the Plumber may have disappeared, but an attention-seeker brother has surfaced
Craig Coakley, the Tri-County Plumbing employee who became the first streaker in the history of Citi Field, told the New York Daily News that he had been planning such a moment for eight years, or about how long it took Einstein to come up with Relativity.

CORIE BLOUNT
It's possible that severe glaucoma plagued him throughout his career
The former University of Cincinnati star and NBA journeyman was sentenced to one year in prison in a plea deal resulting from an arrest in which investigators found 29 pounds of marijuana that Blount insisted was only for personal use.

SCOTT BORAS
However, he will accept just 10 percent of the blame
Manny Ramirez is just the latest of a number of the superagent's clients (the New York Daily News puts it at 10) who have been linked to performance-enhancing drugs.

RED SOX NATION
The judge considered letting him attend the Orioles game as extra punishment but ultimately said no to everything
A former gym teacher who is facing child pornography charges asked that he be allowed to attend about a dozen games at Fenway Park because he had purchased the tickets before he was hauled into a federal court.

THIS WEEK'S MOST CAPTIVATING TWEET

Agent Drew Rosenhaus on his conspicuous movie date and a QB client competing with Matt Stafford and Daunte Culpepper:
"Saw Star Trek with Jared Gaither of the Ravens. At 6"9 he is the tallest player in the NFL. I felt bad for the people sitting behind him."
"Don't count out Drew Stanton in the Lions' QB derby. Drew has all the ingredients to be a top QB in the NFL and he is ready to compete."

Thursday, May 21, 2009

NBA Draft Lottery 2009


NBA Draft Lottery Percentages and who would be a Good fit for the 12 Teams


Sacramento Kings (25.0 percent chance of winning lottery)

Pick 1: Blake Griffin
Pick 2: Ricky Rubio
Pick 3: Hasheem Thabeet

Analysis: There has been speculation in the Sacramento media that the Kings might prefer Rubio over Griffin. The thinking goes that they have a terrible point guard (Beno Udrih) and an up-and-coming big man (Jason Thompson). The problem with that thinking? The Kings aren't stupid. Griffin is the best player in the draft and is a big upgrade over Thompson. They might need Rubio more, but they won't pass on Griffin at No. 1.
Rubio is an obvious choice at No. 2. With the third pick, look for them to tap Thabeet. They have big man Spencer Hawes, but he's a different sort of player and doesn't offer the shot-blocking Thabeet does.

Washington Wizards (17.8 percent chance of winning lottery)

Pick 1: Blake Griffin
Pick 2: Ricky Rubio
Pick 3: Hasheem Thabeet

Analysis: With Griffin at No. 1, the Wizards would be free to move Antawn Jamison this summer and get another important piece. There was a lot of interest in Jamison at the trade deadline.
If they land No. 2, Rubio gives them the luxury of moving Gilbert Arenas to his more natural position at the 2.
Thabeet would be an upgrade over the injury-plagued center tandem of Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas.

Los Angeles Clippers (17.7 percent chance of winning lottery)

Pick 1: Blake Griffin
Pick 2: Ricky Rubio
Pick 3: Hasheem Thabeet

Analysis: Landing with the Clippers would be Griffin's worst nightmare. The Clippers spent a lot of money on Zach Randolph and would be in an awkward situation. Griffin is better than Randolph in almost every way, but Randolph's contract is virtually unmovable. Still, they take Griffin if they get the No. 1 pick.
Rubio would be a more popular choice at No. 2. Yes, they have Baron Davis at the point, but they'd immediately try to rekindle trade talks with the Warriors.
Thabeet's shot-blocking could come in handy after Marcus Camby flies the coop in the summer of 2010.

Oklahoma City Thunder (11.9 percent chance of winning lottery)

Pick 1: Blake Griffin
Pick 2: Ricky Rubio
Pick 3: James Harden

Analysis: If the Thunder land Griffin, mark them down as the best young team in the league. A tandem of Durant, Russell Westbrook and Griffin, with Jeff Green coming off the bench, would be amazing.
Things get a little trickier after that. The team loves Westbrook, but Rubio is more of a pure point guard. Oklahoma City could easily play Rubio at the point and move Westbrook off the ball.
Harden is the perfect pick if Griffin and Rubio are gone. He would fit in immediately at the 2 and give the Thunder another scoring threat in the backcourt.

Minnesota Timberwolves (7.6 percent chance of winning lottery)

Pick 1: Blake Griffin
Pick 2: Ricky Rubio
Pick 3: Hasheem Thabeet

Analysis: The Wolves will be in the trickiest spot if they land the No. 1 pick. Their two best players -- Al Jefferson and Kevin Love -- are both power forwards. I'm not sure how Griffin would fit into the mix. The Wolves could be a good option to trade the pick if they could land a good young center or point guard in return.
Sebastian Telfair isn't a good NBA starting point guard and Randy Foye looks more comfortable at the 2, so Rubio is an obvious fit.
And Thabeet would give them some much-needed size and shot-blocking ability.

Memphis Grizzlies (7.5 percent chance of winning lottery)

Pick 1: Blake Griffin
Pick 2: Ricky Rubio
Pick 3: Jordan Hill

Analysis: It's time for the Grizzlies to finally win the lottery, and it wouldn't come at a more perfect time. They've had a huge hole at the 4 since they gave away Pau Gasol. Griffin would be the perfect fit for them there and could propel them into the playoffs. A starting lineup of Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Griffin and Marc Gasol just oozes upside.
I think the team still isn't in love with Conley and would take Rubio at No. 2.
At No. 3, Hill would give the Grizzlies some toughness and rebounding at their weakest position.

Golden State Warriors (4.3 percent chance of winning lottery)

Pick 1: Blake Griffin
Pick 2: Ricky Rubio
Pick 3: Jordan Hill

Analysis: Don Nelson hates rookies, but I think he would fall in love with Griffin's toughness.
Rubio also would be a great fit. Monta Ellis is more of a 2-guard than a point, and the pair would be one of the most dynamic backcourts in the league.
Hill would give the Warriors some more rebounding and toughness.

New York Knicks (2.8 percent chance of winning lottery)

Pick 1: Blake Griffin
Pick 2: Ricky Rubio
Pick 3: James Harden

Analysis: The Knicks' best player, David Lee, plays the same position as Griffin. But the truth is, with Lee's impending free agency, landing Griffin would be a godsend. They could let Lee walk and have more cap room to make a run at LeBron James in 2010.
If Griffin is gone, Rubio would be the point guard of the future -- D'Antoni's next Steve Nash, without the shooting ability.
Harden would give them a heady scorer in the backcourt … something they haven't had since Allan Houston retired.

Toronto Raptors (1.7 percent chance of winning lottery)

Pick 1: Blake Griffin
Pick 2: Ricky Rubio
Pick 3: James Harden

Analysis: The Raptors are loaded with bigs, but none who exudes the toughness or grit of Griffin. With signs pointing toward Chris Bosh's leaving next summer, Raptors fans could breathe a little easier and GM Bryan Colangelo could see what he could get for Bosh on the open market.
Rubio doesn't fit a need, but you know how much Colangelo loves heady, international players such as Rubio.
With Anthony Parker heading to free agency next summer, Harden would be a better fit.

Milwaukee Bucks (1.0 percent chance of winning lottery)

Pick 1: Blake Griffin
Pick 2: Ricky Rubio
Pick 3: Jordan Hill

Analysis: The Bucks would love to have Griffin's toughness to pair alongside Andrew Bogut's more finesse game in the middle. And with Charlie Villanueva threatening to bolt via free agency, he would fit a huge need.
Rubio also could fill a big hole if Ramon Sessions decides to leave.
If neither guy is available, Hill also could fill that junkyard dog role the Bucks need.

New Jersey Nets (0.9 percent chance of winning lottery)

Pick 1: Blake Griffin
Pick 2: Ricky Rubio
Pick 3: James Harden

Analysis: Rod Thorn says he wants a beast, and Griffin would deliver. With him paired with Brook Lopez in the frontcourt, plus Devin Harris and Vince Carter in the backcourt, the Nets potentially would be a terrific team next season.
Point guard isn't a need for the Nets, but with Harris' versatility, Harris and Rubio could play together.
Harden could be a nice long-term replacement for Carter when VC is traded or retires.

Charlotte Bobcats (0.7 percent chance of winning lottery)

Pick 1: Blake Griffin
Pick 2: Ricky Rubio
Pick 3: James Harden

Analysis: Larry Brown loves players like Griffin. He's been looking for another gritty big man.
Rubio also would be a good fit. Yes, the Cats love D.J. Augustin, but given Rubio's size, the two could play together.
As for Harden, he would be a great fit. Raja Bell is getting older and would be a great mentor to Harden.

Indiana Pacers (0.6 percent chance of winning lottery)

Pick 1: Blake Griffin
Pick 2: Ricky Rubio
Pick 3: Hasheem Thabeet

Analysis: The Pacers' biggest need is an athletic big man. If they landed Griffin, they would be a serious threat in the playoffs.
Rubio ultimately would be an upgrade over T.J. Ford, and Thabeet would give the Pacers some much-needed shot-blocking.

Phoenix Suns (0.5 percent chance of winning lottery)

Pick 1: Blake Griffin
Pick 2: Ricky Rubio
Pick 3: Jordan Hill

Analysis: If the Suns pull off a miracle, Griffin would give the Suns the confidence to trade Amare Stoudemire this summer.
Rubio would be a nice long-term replacement for Steve Nash.
And Hill would give the Suns a little of that toughness Steve Kerr has been looking for.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Chucky's Back! Gruden to Join Monday Night Football



This kind of surprises me. I just can't see Chucky doing Monday Night Football. I would like to see him coach college football some day soon. I don't even remember him doing any major broadcasting. Monday night football is not the same anymore, or at least I don't watch it too much. Any comments on John Gruden sitting in a booth trying to provide analysis on an NFL game without cussing???

BRISTOL, Conn. - Former Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden is replacing Tony Kornheiser on ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast team. Kornheiser cited a fear of flying in his decision to leave after three years.
The network said Monday that Gruden will be in the booth with Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski when the show starts its 40th season this fall.
“If I could handpick a replacement of a football guy, I would cast a net and drag in Jon Gruden,” Kornheiser said in a statement released by the network. “He is the two things you most want — smart and funny — and has the two things I don’t — good hair and a tan.”
Gruden led the Bucs to the 2003 Super Bowl title but was fired after this past season after his team lost four straight games to miss the playoffs. He worked as a guest analyst this year with the NFL Network during the draft and scouting combine.
“To join Mike and Jaws in the booth and to work alongside this top-notch team is going to be a real thrill,” Gruden said.
Gruden will make his debut with ESPN with a preseason game on Aug. 13, a Super Bowl rematch between the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Kornheiser will continue to appear on ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption,” and is relieved it doesn’t require air travel.
“My fear of planes is legendary and sadly true,” he said. “When I looked at the upcoming schedule it was the perfect storm that would’ve frequently moved me from the bus to the air.”
Gruden was an NFL head coach the past 11 seasons, with the Buccaneers (2002-08) and Oakland Raiders (1998-01). He had a 100-85 record, leading his teams to five division titles.
His best season came in 2002, when the Buccaneers went 12-4 and then beat the Raiders 48-21 in the Super Bowl. Gruden was 38 at the time and the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl.
Gruden began his NFL coaching career in 1990 when San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren hired him as an assistant. When Holmgren was hired to coach the Packers in 1992, Gruden became his wide receivers coach.
After three seasons, Gruden went to the Eagles as an offensive coordinator, and in 1998 became coach of the Raiders at 34.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Sidney Crosby Outduals Ovechkin and Eastern Finals Preview



East finals preview: Penguins vs. Canes
from ESPN.com

Both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes will have to move quickly to put emotional seven-game sets behind them as they prepare to open the Eastern Conference finals in Pittsburgh.
As the playoffs move along, these series can take their toll on a team. The Penguins needed six games to dispose of Philadelphia before rolling through a tumultuous, high-profile set against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. The Cardiac Canes are coming off two miraculous series in which they won Game 7s on the road, first erasing New Jersey with a thrilling come-from-behind effort late in the third period and then beating top-seeded Boston on Thursday late in the first overtime frame on Scott Walker's first postseason goal.
Talk about a punch in the gut for the Bruins.
While fatigue might be a factor for both teams, especially Carolina, mental toughness won't be.
The Penguins dropped the first two games against a very good Washington team and went on to win four of five, including an emphatic 6-2 victory in Game 7, to advance to their second straight Eastern Conference finals.
For Carolina, it's feast or famine. The Canes have won six straight playoff rounds dating back to their Stanley Cup run in 2006. They've won the past four series in seven games. Of course, they did miss the playoffs for two straight seasons before reappearing this spring.
Still, there is a lot of experience and skill on both benches in this series, which should make for some great up-and-down hockey. After the Washington/Pittsburgh series, people suggested there would be a letdown. But with these two conference matchups -- Detroit and Chicago in the West and the Canes and Penguins in the East -- the next couple of weeks should give us some great hockey.
1. Are you kidding me? (Get it? Sid the Kid?) Oh, we know many of you, especially Caps fans, are tired of hearing about how good Sidney Crosby has been this spring. Well, folks, get used to it. Funny how the same grumbling was often heard when Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky were being debated.
The fact of the matter is, there isn't any one player on any team this spring that has been as consistently good as Crosby. And we don't just mean scoring goals, although he has certainly put the theory that he can't score to bed by notching a league-best 12 goals in 13 postseason games. Crosby's dogged determination on the puck, his penchant for making smart plays at crucial times, has been the catalyst to the Penguins' success at almost every turn.
Witness Game 7 versus the Caps. With a scoreless tie, it was Crosby who scored a difficult goal to break the deadlock. He then set up the third goal 28 seconds into the second period to give the Pens a 3-0 lead and scored again on a power-play breakaway.
"There's no doubt in my mind Sid is the best player in the world," teammate Kris Letang said after Game 7. "I played against him in the Q [Quebec Major Junior Hockey League]. I know the desire that the guy has every time he steps on the ice. You see in his eyes; he wants everything. He wants the puck and he wants to be the best."
So far this spring, Crosby has done exactly that. And with 21 points to lead all playoff scorers, the Hurricanes' ability to control him, or at least limit the damage he can do, will go a long way in writing the story of this series.
2. Sarge or no Sarge? The moment Ovechkin laid out the Penguins' best defenseman, Sergei Gonchar, with a knee-on-knee hit early in Game 4, it looked like Gonchar's season was over. There were persistent rumors to that effect until he practiced with the team the day before Game 7.
Sure enough, there was the veteran defenseman on the ice in the deciding game, earning an assist on the game's first goal. He played 15:06, about half what he normally would. Given the Pens' big lead, coach Dan Bylsma was no doubt using his star defenseman conservatively, but there's no question Gonchar isn't going at 100 percent.
Having four days to rest before the start of this series will no doubt come in handy, but how much the injury will hamper his ice time and ability to do the things he does so well -- joining the rush, moving laterally (especially on the power play), skating the puck out of trouble from his own zone -- remains unknown. Alex Goligoski came in to help out on the power play when Gonchar was out, but he looked like the rookie he is. The Pens won Games 4 and 5 without Gonchar and lost Game 6. If his game is diminished, Carolina will have an edge along the blue line.
3. Brothers in arms. This will mark the first time brothers Jordan (Pittsburgh) and Eric (Carolina) Staal will face each other in the postseason (Jordan and Marc of the Rangers did so last spring) and could provide some interesting battles as both are centers and both aren't afraid to use their big bodies.
Eric will carry a bigger burden going into this series as Carolina's top center and most talented player, leading the team with 13 points in 14 games this spring. The Hurricanes have won every game in which he scored this spring (his nine goals ranked third overall heading into the conference finals). He didn't register a point in Game 7 versus Boston and had just one assist in back-to-back losses against the Bruins that set up Thursday's seventh game. But in a series in which the Canes will be pressed to keep up offensively, Eric Staal will have to continue to deliver the goods.
Jordan, on the other hand, has struggled for much of the postseason. He has, however, scored his only two goals thus far in the past three games and seems to be emerging from his early-playoff funk. Staal's line (with Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy) will once again be counted on to pressure the Carolina blue line with solid forechecking and puck control in the offensive zone.
4. Conn Smythe Cam. Heading into action Thursday, the Penguins ranked third among all playoff teams and first in the Eastern Conference in goals per game at 3.46, thanks in large part to Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and a deep, talented lineup. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, were 10th. That means they're getting it done defensively; they were third behind Boston in goals allowed per game (2.31 goals). That also means they're getting rock-solid goaltending from the former playoff MVP Cam Ward.
Funny, given the collapse of both Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo in these playoffs, Ward suddenly looks like a guy who might challenge for the starting job in Vancouver for the 2010 Canadian Olympic team. But we digress.
Ward has been terrific, especially in pressure situations, refusing to allow Carolina opponents to open up two- or three-goal leads when it mattered most. He was sensational again in Game 7, stopping 34 of 36 Bruins shots. Ward definitely provides a more difficult test for the Penguins than Martin Biron in Philly and Simeon Varlamov and once-upon-a-time starter Jose Theodore in Washington.
Ward, therefore, puts more pressure on Marc-Andre Fleury in the Pittsburgh net to play as he did in Game 7 against Washington. Fleury made timely saves throughout this postseason, but has just as often been guilty of giving up a soft or unexpected goal.
5. Are those teams special? The bad news for the Hurricanes is Pittsburgh's power play is slowly rounding into form. They scored twice with the man advantage in Game 7 and twice in Game 6. If Gonchar is able to play, that makes Pittsburgh even more dangerous on the power play.
The Canes have been miserable, scoring just five times on 48 chances so far this spring. The Penguins have also drawn more power-play chances than any other team in the postseason (66 compared to 48 for Carolina, which has played one more game). That's a function of a talented team that plays a pressure-style game with three lines that can generate offense and tire out opponents and draw penalties. The Hurricanes will have to limit the Penguins' power-play chances and get their own special teams in gear to keep the Pens honest.
• Teams' productivity: Given the up-tempo flow we're expecting in this series, productivity up and down the lineup will be key, and there looks to be a huge imbalance along the blue line. That could mean the difference in the series. Pittsburgh defensemen have chipped in 10 goals compared to just two from Carolina blueliners. That's not to say players like Joni Pitkanen (no goals, seven assists) and Joe Corvo (one goal, five assists) aren't playing well; but when guys like Pittsburgh's Mark Eaton (four goals) are getting in on the act, the pressure will be on the Canes' rearguards to produce.
• Pittsburgh: Letang, asked to shoulder a bigger load with Gonchar hurt, has nine points in the playoffs, including an overtime winner. He also scored the goal that chased Varlamov in Game 7. Chris Kunitz has not scored in the postseason and has just one goal in his last 23 games.
• Carolina: OK, so he's gone three games without a goal or a point, but come on: Jussi Jokinen has been on a rainbow this spring. Waived by the Tampa Bay Lightning (how does that happen?), Jokinen has six goals, including three game-winners, and 10 points. Erik Cole has not scored and was dropped from the first unit with Ryan Whitney and Eric Staal in favor of Scott Walker (turned out to be a good move, no?).
• This one is going to be a ton of fun to watch; but, in the end, the Canes don't have an adequate answer for Crosby and Malkin. As long as Fleury doesn't completely lose his mind, the Pens should be able to dictate how things go in this one. Penguins in six.



Sidney Crosby Outduals Ovechkin
In my opinion, the best player in the NHL hands down. He proved it when it mattered in his rivals home!

WASHINGTON -- When it really mattered, when it came time to make a statement about greatness and winning and leadership, this one turned out to be a colossal mismatch.
In a stunning departure from the back-and-forth, intensely close nature of the first six games of this Eastern Conference semifinals series, the Pittsburgh Penguins took the Washington Capitals to the woodshed in their own building Wednesday night in a 6-2 win.
It was a powerful lesson handed down by the Penguins, and the figure at the head of the class was none other than 21-year-old captain Sidney Crosby.
"In my opinion, best all-round player in the league. He proved it tonight, and no disrespect to any player," Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero told ESPN.com after the Penguins had advanced to a second straight East finals. "Alex Ovechkin is unbelievable for our game. Unbelievable player. We kind of shut him down [and] he had 14 points in this series, that's how great he is.
"The league's so fortunate to have both these guys and [Evgeni] Malkin and guys like this. These guys are carrying the flag for the league. But tonight was a statement. Both ends of the ice, [Crosby] was the best player out there and made it happen for us and said what he is as a player and a person tonight."
You could hardly find more different human beings than Crosby and Ovechkin, from backgrounds to personalities to styles of play. Yet, as different as they are, they will forever be joined by their inexhaustible desire to win. It was what made this series so special, this battle of wills, this rare ability to drive their teams forward despite adversity and mistakes on display for all to see.
Yet, in the final act of this grand drama, the spotlight fell solely on Crosby.
After Ovechkin was stoned by Pittsburgh netminder Marc-Andre Fleury on an early breakaway attempt, it was Crosby who opened the scoring, deftly taking a deflected Sergei Gonchar shot on his right skate blade, directing it to his stick and burying it for a 1-0 lead.
Eight seconds later, Craig Adams scored to make it 2-0. Then, it was Crosby again, setting up the third and ultimately winning goal just 28 seconds into the second period. This time, Crosby waited patiently on an odd-man rush for linemate Bill Guerin to enter the Capitals' zone, feeding him a pass that Guerin ripped past rookie netminder Simeon Varlamov.
"You know what, he won't say he likes [to be] front and center, the big stage or anything like that, but he just really knows how to perform in it and he really stepped up," Guerin said of Crosby.
Crosby would add a second goal on a breakaway after a giveaway by Ovechkin, tucking the puck between the pads of Jose Theodore, who replaced Varlamov after the Pens' fourth goal. Crosby barely raised his arms in celebration, as though he understood this battle had been won, the opponent vanquished.
"Well, he's our leader. We go where he leads us. He did it all series and he did it again tonight, got us off to a 1-0 lead," Pittsburgh defenseman Mark Eaton said. "You could tell the end of Game 6 how determined he was. You knew that was going to carry over into tonight, and it did, and everybody fed off of that."
Crosby finished the series with 13 points, one fewer than Ovechkin, who added a meaningless goal after the Penguins had built a 5-0 lead and managed to record points in every game in the series. In the end, it wasn't enough.
"They were more composed with the puck, and the other thing they did and the reason they won the game is because they outworked us," Washington forward Brooks Laich said. "It's not easy to stand in front of you guys and say that we've been outworked in our building in a Game 7. I'm sure that's something we're going to have to think about for a long time."
As the teams shook hands, Ovechkin whispered in congratulations and told Crosby he hoped the Pens won the Cup. It was a magnanimous comment from a player who has quickly established himself as a virtuoso star but who lags far behind Crosby in something infinitely more important: team success.
"It feels good just because of the way the series went, not particularly because it was me and him," Crosby said. "There was a lot of eyes on this series. It was a battle for both teams individually. We both wanted to make sure we did a good job."
Since the end of the lockout, Crosby's Penguins are 23-15 in postseason games with a trip to the Stanley Cup finals and consecutive berths in the East finals under their collective belts. Ovechkin's Capitals are just 10-11.
Those are numbers that will haunt Ovechkin, no matter how many individual awards pile up on his mantel.
"I'm very disappointed. They played better," he said. "I didn't score on the breakaway, so if I score the first goal, maybe a different game. I didn't score it. They're experienced guys. They're a great team. They played great."
Hockey never got its ultimate showdown when Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux were in their prime, never got a chance to see what the best players of a generation would and could do when squared off in a playoff series. This series provided a little insight into what that kind of series might have been like.
For the first six games, this was as compelling as anyone could imagine, and judging by the attention and buzz that surrounded this series, it was the kind of confrontation that made the sport sexy once again for the casual fan. And if you look at any compelling moment, chances are either Ovechkin or Crosby was involved.
"I think it's great for the game, I think we've all said that," Shero said. "You turn on the TV, everyone's talking about it. I have friends, even though I haven't heard from them in a long time, and they're following Ovechkin-Crosby and Washington-Pittsburgh, and it's great that people are talking about the game."
You know what? He wouldn't have said it after the Penguins lost Game 6 in overtime at home, but Shero wasn't sorry to see it play out the way he did, in a seventh game.
See, here's the thing about this series that some people forget. As much as it's been about Ovechkin and Crosby and how this series would play out, this is as much a statement about a Penguins team many had left for dead midway through the season.
Shero couldn't convince Marian Hossa to return, and Ryan Malone wanted too much money. The GM ultimately fired Michel Therrien early in the new year and installed unknown Dan Bylsma behind the bench.
Shero said he went down to the benches during warm-ups, something he rarely does, and found himself getting emotional at the prospect of what might happen in the hours ahead.
"Actually, I got, personally, a little emotional," Shero said. "Honestly, these coaches and these players, I think they've done a fantastic job and I didn't know who was going to win Game 7, but I just know that I didn't want it to end because I love spending time with these guys. Players have been great. Anyway, it's just been a real special run for us here."
In the Penguins' dressing room, there was a strange calmness. No goofing around, certainly no champagne or signs of celebration.
"I think it's experience," Crosby said. "We're not old veterans by any means, but at the same time, we've been through a lot for a young group. We've been in a lot of different situations probably quicker than most teams can say they've been in.
"You don't expect anything but the best from the guy next to you. Everyone holds true that responsibility."
Sounds like somebody who knows more than a little about the best.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Six NFL playoff teams that might not make it back

Six NFL playoff teams that might not make it back
According to www.yahoosports.com these are the 6 teams that made the playoffs last year that will not this year. I agree with some, but I think New York will be fine. I think that Baltimore will not make the playoffs this year. I think Miami will too and I have to agree that Tenn. is done!!!! The honeymoon for Kerry Collins is over.
When picking the teams that will make the playoffs in a given year, the so-called experts (as opposed to the so-called idiots, of which I proudly am one) typically play it safe.
They look at the dozen franchises that made it a year ago, and they replace maybe the bottom team in each conference's playoff field with a team that was close to qualifying.
But the reality is that, typically, half of the teams that played in the postseason last year won't be back the next time around.
In 2008, more than half of the 2007 playoff teams didn't return for an encore.
Seven of the 12 franchises didn't qualify again. In the AFC, only two of the six from the year before were bounced; in the NFC, the turnover rate was 83.3 percent as five of the six teams that qualified in 2007 were left holding a big bag of nothing in '08.

1. Miami Dolphins

No one saw the Dolphins coming in 2008. This year, everyone does.
Their reward for winning the AFC East last year includes a first-place schedule, which features games against the Steelers and the Chargers, and games against every team in the AFC South and NFC South.
Oh, and two against the Patriots.
Last year, New England racked up 48 points against the Fins in Miami. With Matt Cassel(notes) at quarterback. With Tom Brady(notes) back, the Pats could score 70.
The '08 Dolphins also benefited from the absence of injuries. This season, chances are the Dolphins will be dealing with many more major and minor sprains and strains and snaps and cracks. And a harder schedule. And an improved Patriots team. And a bigger target on their backs.
So, yeah, it might be too much to expect the Dolphins to match last year's unlikely feat.

2. Tennessee Titans

Last year, the Titans' season started with a thud. Sure, they beat the Jaguars. But quarterback Vince Young(notes) suffered a sprained knee and a fractured ego.
Enter Kerry Collins(notes), who did just enough to complement a great defense and a strong running game to propel the Titans to the best regular-season record in the league.
This year, however, the guy who made that defense go—defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth(notes)—is long gone.
And Kerry Collins is still the starter.
And the receivers really aren't all that much better.
And defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is coaching the Lions.
And the up-and-down Jaguars are due to be up again.
And the Texans seem poised to finally make the playoffs.
Odd men out? Yep, the Titans.

3. San Diego Chargers

Last year, the San Diego Chargers needed a miracle to capture the watered-down AFC West and make it to the playoffs.
This year, lightning might not strike again.
On paper, the Chargers have the talent. But questions persist regarding whether Norv Turner is the right man for this or any NFL head-coaching job.
So even with Philip Rivers(notes), LaDainian Tomlinson(notes), Darren Sproles(notes) and a healthy Shawne Merriman(notes) and a healthy Jyles Tucker(notes) and a rookie first-rounder who does the same thing that both of them do, it might not be enough to make it four straight division titles in a wide-open AFC West featuring teams in Kansas City and Oakland that might be more dangerous than expected. (We can forget about the Broncos.)

4. New York Giants

I know, I know. I said last year that the Giants wouldn't follow their Super Bowl title with another playoff appearance.
So maybe, if I say it again, the odds will be in my favor.
This time around, my confidence is bolstered by the fact that the Giants can't consistently move the ball without a high-end wideout like Plaxico Burress(notes). Apart from what he does when he catches the ball, his mere presence opens up the rest of the offense by requiring teams to devote two defenders to him at all times.
So, once he was gone for the year due to an unfortunate incident involving a gun, a bullet and his leg, the Giants weren't the same.
He's now gone for good, and even though rookies Hakeem Nicks(notes) and Ramses Barden(notes) might replace his production, they won't command the same respect that essentially reduces the field to 10-on-9.

5. Minnesota Vikings

Once every few years, the Vikings are the trendy pick to get back to the Super Bowl.
Thirty-three years and counting, they've yet to deliver on the expectations.
This year, many will dub the Vikings as a potential Super Bowl team.
And for good reason. Adrian Peterson is the best running back in the game. The defense remains solid, especially against the run. Defensive end Jared Allen(notes) punctuates a great pass rush.
The biggest question mark—the passing game—could become an exclamation point if Brett Favre(notes) ends up becoming the quarterback.
With or without Favre, there's something about this team that just doesn't click. Plenty of their fans sense it, even if they won't admit it to themselves during the high-hopes phase of the calendar, when everyone is 0-0.
Frankly, it's the coach. And if the Vikings don't make it back to the playoffs in 2009, there will be a new one in Minnesota next year at this time.

6. Arizona Cardinals

I've said it before, I'll say it again—the fact that the Cardinals have finally made it to a Super Bowl doesn't mean they finally know how to run a successful football operation.
Yes, they've re-signed quarterback Kurt Warner(notes) after basically inviting him to find another job. And they've addressed one of the primary weaknesses on the roster by taking running back Chris "Beanie" Wells at the bottom of round one.
But this team has issues. Multiple assistant coaches are gone, including the offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator.
Receiver Anquan Boldin(notes) still wants out, and the team has engaged in a half-hearted effort to create the impression that meaningful trade talks occurred.
They didn't. The Cardinals dragged their feet and didn't give Boldin's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, permission to work out a contract with a new team. So, now, the Cardinals likely are shrugging their shoulders (do birds have shoulders?) and taking the position that, well, they tried.
Meanwhile, they likely don't want to give Boldin the kind of raise he wants.
He behaved in 2008; he might try a different approach in 2009. And the Cardinals might regret not dealing with the situation differently.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals are the hunted, for the first time in a very long time. And so every week they'll see the best that the opponents have to offer, and when the dust settles they'll likely be back in a more familiar position—out of the running for the silver trophy they almost won in February.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Can You Say Another Sweep for the Cavs






All the different articles on the Cavs Sweep of the Hawks right here for you on one site!!

Pity the poor Cleveland Cavaliers. All they’ve done is win every one of the eight playoff games they’ve played by double digits — something no NBA team has ever done — and what do they get for their troubles? A bunch of people bloviating about how maybe it would be better for them if they lose a game.
You’re going to start hearing that line of non-thinking any day now, if you haven’t already. It’s the standard fall-back position for commentators everywhere whenever a team makes winning look too easy.
And for the first two series of this postseason, the Cavaliers have made winning look as easy as brushing their teeth. Eight games, eight wins. They’re playing like the 76ers of 1983, when Moses Malone so eloquently explained his team’s playoff goal: “Fo, fo, fo.” That was when just three series led to the championship. Today, it’s fo, fo, fo, fo. No fis or fums need apply.
As things worked out, the 76ers played four, five, four, going 12-1 on the way to Dr. J’s only NBA title. But no one suggested they needed to lose a game to refocus themselves or somehow ensure victory.
Nor did anyone on the 2001 Lakers cite that team’s one loss in a 15-1 postseason as the reason Los Angeles ultimately stormed to a title. The only thing the Lakers’ one loss and the Sixers’ loss in their near-perfect runs proved was that the other teams are trying to win, too, and sometimes they accomplish that.
Still, the idea that teams that win too easily and too often could be in danger of collapsing once the pressure mounts refuses to die. There’s a certain specious logic to it. It goes like this: Sooner or later, every team gets challenged in a championship run. And if a team has had too easy a time of it, it won’t be prepared to meet that challenge.
It sounds so good, but it’s so utterly wrong. Nobody ever said losing builds character after winning. That’s a line you use to find something good about a loss. If losing were such a valuable life experience, every team would give the entire starting unit the day off once in a while — just so that the team can benefit from the salubrious effects of a good thumping.
I’m not suggesting the Cavaliers will go 16-0 in these playoffs. It is possible but unlikely; possible because neither the Celtics nor the Magic have shown that they can sustain excellence in every game of a long series, unlikely because both Boston and Orlando have shown that they can play at an extremely high level — when the stars and planets are aligned just right.
If you’ve watched much of the Cavs so far, though, you don’t get the feeling that losing a game will do anything other than anger LeBron James, who shows every night why he’s the NBA’s 2009 MVP.
Cleveland isn’t a great basketball team — not yet. They have King James, the greatest example of power, speed and all-court skills the game has ever seen. But they do not have a second great player to complement him. What they have is a great mix of youth and experience, size and quickness. Mo Williams and Delonte West are an excellent guard combination, either one of whom can play point and both of whom combined for 29 points a game during the season. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is fragile, but he’s a big man with excellent shooting range and superior ball-handling skills who also rebounds. Anderson Varejao provides enormous energy and great offensive rebounds at power forward. And James does whatever the heck he wants to do.The Hawks played as good a game as they were capable of in their Game 4 loss. They even had a seven-point lead at the end of the first quarter, the first time in the series they had led at the end of a quarter. But at the end, James took the ball, drew half the defense to him, and either took it to the hole with three guys hacking him and trying to tackle him, or dished to a teammate standing all alone beyond the arc for an easy three.
The game was close, but never in doubt, and in the end, the Cavs won by double digits again. The reason it wasn’t in doubt is the same reason they have no intention of taking a game off — LeBron.
He’s coming of age in these playoffs, and the Cavaliers are responding to his lead. They play the best defense in the NBA. They out-rebounded the Hawks by double digits. In the final minutes, when the Hawks had to get the ball back, Cleveland got three consecutive offensive rebounds — and three more 24-second clocks.
At no time have they looked like a team that needs to lose, just to remember what it feels like. They look like a team that is intent on giving no one even the slightest shred of hope.
And now they’re looking like a team that’s going to go home, take a day or two off, then get back to work while waiting to see who emerges from the Boston-Orlando season to try to do what no one has yet been able to accomplish this year: Not to win a series, but to win a game.



Cavs' sweep not a celebration, just another step in humble title quest.

By Bill Trocchi, SI.com
The Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference finals by pulling out another gutty road win and extending their playoff win streak to eight games. Right?
"We have nothing to celebrate. What is there to celebrate? We have bigger goals than this. We won a game and we're moving on. That's about it," said center Zydrunas Ilgauskas after the Cavs' 84-74 victory (RECAP | BOX).
Guard Mo Williams, who burned the Hawks' double-teams of LeBron James with four three-pointers, agreed with his big man.
"It is not a celebration because this is not home for us. This is not where we want to be," he said. "Home for us is holding up that ball (the NBA championship trophy). That is when our celebration starts. That is all that we think about."
Such is life with the favorites to win the NBA crown and end the city of Cleveland's championship drought. Eight straight wins, all by double-digits, and it is met with a collective shrug of the shoulders. Things are going so well for the Cavs right now, they can have almost twice as many turnovers as their opponents, miss 12 free throws and still stick a road 'W' in their suitcases and head back to Cleveland.
"We ought to feel good about this win, because we got it in an ugly manner," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "I'm sure Atlanta probably feels like they didn't play their best. I know offensively, we didn't play our best."
The possession that officially clinched the Cavaliers' four-game sweep took a remarkable 64 seconds. Leading by five with 1:56 to play, the Cavs milked the clock before James drove to the hoop and missed a layup. Anderson Varejao was there for the rebound, and the Cavs reset. James again ended up driving with little time on the shot clock, and again Varejao was there to tip the rebound. He missed his attempt, but Ilgauskas grabbed the ball and kicked it out. With the shot clock running down a third time, James was doubled in the corner and hit Williams for a back-breaking three. Cavs 82, Hawks 74, 52 seconds to play. Hello, Eastern Conference finals.
James did not dominate as he did in Game 3, but he still managed 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Delonte West was the Cavs' other star, going for 21 with six assists in 45 minutes. Included in there was a baseline slam over Marvin Williams early in the fourth quarter that James said surprised even West.
If the Hawks were able to knock down a few more open jumpers, their season would not be over. They shot 32 percent for the game, including a woeful 2-for-13 from three-point range. Josh Smith scored 26 and had eight boards, and Joe Johnson squeezed off 18 points around the tight defense of West.
"The effort was definitely there tonight," Johnson said. "They got a lot of loose balls, a lot of hustle plays that they beat us to. If I know my guys, I think this will leave a sour taste in our mouths all summer."
The Cavs still have plenty of basketball left to play. The Magic or Celtics are the next obstacle standing in their way. The Atlanta sweep already seems like a thing of the past.
"Why should we celebrate?" James said. "We are a team that is fighting for a championship. Advancing is advancing, whether it is four games or seven. We're not taking it for granted. We're excited we're playing great basketball. But we are not satisfied."
Stud of the Night
Delonte West. The Cavs guard had 21 points, six assists and four rebounds in 45 quality minutes. West's dunk early in the fourth quarter came with the Cavs clinging to a two-point lead, and his defense on Johnson all series was a big factor in the sweep. "Defense wins championships, and that's what I want to do. I want to put a ring on my finger," he said.
Dud of the Night
Mike Bibby. In what could have been his final game as a Hawk before he hits the free-agent market, Bibby had three points in 31 minutes and shot 1-for-6 from the floor. The point guard also had just one assist. "If I did anything more than I did tonight, I think we would have had a good chance to win the game," he said.
Turning Point
With 10 minutes to play, the Hawks trailed 64-62 and allowed just two points in the next 3:30. Unfortunately for them, they came up empty at the offensive end on seven straight possessions, missing a golden opportunity to seize control from the temporarily out-of-sync Cavs. A James three snapped Cleveland from its funk and the Hawks were never closer than four again.
Stat of the Day
The Cavs outscored the Hawks 11-2 to start the second quarter when James took his only rest of the game.
Courtside Confidential
As he did prior to Game 3, James tossed in an underhand shot from the intersection of midcourt and the sideline during warmups. It took him seven attempts on Monday, four more than Saturday. ... The jumbotron tried to draw inspiration for the Hawks from other notable underdogs such as the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, Appalachian State and the New York Giants.
Looking Ahead
Cleveland will enjoy another mid-playoff vacation, as it waits for the Eastern Conference finals (starting as early as Sunday) against the Boston-Orlando survivor (series tied at 2). Will the layoff hurt? It certainly did not seem to affect the Cavs against the Hawks after they sat idle for nine days before the series. For the Hawks, it's time to reflect on a season where they improved their wins by 10 and advanced a round further in the playoffs. "I told those guys in the locker room I don't want them hanging their heads," said Hawks coach Mike Woodson. "This was a positive year for the Atlanta Hawks."



Mission accomplished … sort of.
www.espn.com
The Cleveland Cavaliers completed a four-game sweep of the Atlanta Hawks with an 84-74 win to advance to the conference finals, but they weren't exactly popping champagne corks afterward.
"Why should we celebrate?" LeBron James asked after the game. "We're trying to win a championship. We're excited because we're playing great basketball, but we're not satisfied."
At least this time the Cavs showed they could grind out a tough win, rather than blowing another overmatched team off the floor.
"Sometimes you have to win ugly like this, and it's good to know that you can," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "I'm sure Atlanta feels like they didn't play their best. I know offensively we didn't play our best. But the way we defended tonight allowed us to make some mistakes."
"Some" might be an understatement: Cleveland shot 14-of-26 from the line, including three straight misses by Wally Szczerbiak and Zydrunas Ilgauskas to end the first half, and committed 18 turnovers. But in a contest that looked more like a Grizzlies-Wolves game in mid-January than a second-round NBA playoff game, it was ultimately Cleveland's airtight defense that allowed it to complete the sweep. The Cavs held the Hawks to 31.5 percent shooting and permitted only 36 points in the second half.
"Our defense allowed us to turn the ball over 18 times for 22 points, to shoot 53 percent from the free throw line," Brown said. Those are not impressive numbers at all, but in the playoffs on the road, you have to have an anchor. Our guys have that, and they believe in it."
It was the first real test of the postseason for the Cavs, who had posted double-figure wins in their first seven playoff games. This went in the books as a double-figure win, too, but it wasn't decided until Mo Williams hit a 3-pointer with 52.1 seconds left to put the Cavs up by eight.
That shot ended a fateful 63-second Cleveland trip that featured two of the defining elements of this series -- the Cavs owning the boards, and Cleveland attacking the defense of Atlanta's Mike Bibby. The possession began with 1:55 left and the home crowd in full lather after the Hawks cut the deficit to 79-74, but Anderson Varejao and Ilgauskas each rebounded James misses to keep the possession alive for more than a minute.
Then, after a foul on Joe Johnson created a dead ball, the Hawks failed to go offense-defense and take Bibby out of the game. Cleveland created a switch that left Bibby guarding James in the post, Atlanta doubled, and when the next-closest defender, Josh Smith, turned his head to call out a rotation behind him, James snapped a pass out top to Williams -- who took advantage of the extra split second it took Smith to react to nail a backbreaking triple.
"It's a game of inches," James said. "I see a lot of plays before they happen. I knew the double was going to come, and I knew Mo was going to have an open look because they weren't rotating quick enough to our guards."
The two offensive rebounds on that trip were symptomatic, as well: Cleveland owned the rebound battle 48-33, after doubling the Hawks' rebound total in Game 3. Varejao and Ilgauskas combined for 21 of those boards, including 12 on the offensive end.
"We realized we don't want to have to jump with these guys on every possession, we need to put a body on somebody and then go pursue the rebound," Brown said. "Once we decided to do that, we had some great results."
However, the reason the Cavs were in that game at all by that point was because of their suffocating defense -- one that completely eliminated the Hawks' secondary scorers. Although Johnson (7-of-18) and Smith (8-of-16) shot reasonably well, their teammates were a ghastly 8-for-39. Starters Bibby, Al Horford and Marvin Williams combined to score seven points on 2-for-19 shooting.
"It goes all the way back to childhood: Defense wins championships," said Delonte West, who guarded Johnson for most of the series. "We've been learning that since day one."
Unusually, James was more good than great in this one -- he finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, but shot only 9-for-22. He even committed three fouls, after being whistled for just 10 in his first seven playoff games combined.
Nonetheless, the Cavs will get another long layoff before they play Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. That game might not be for nine days, depending how the league's other second-round series play out, so rust is a concern going forward.
"We have to manage our time correctly," West said. "We have to get some days of rest and some days where we get a good sweat in."
As for the Hawks, they bow out after exceeding all expectations and making the second round of the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Plus, it might be the second year in a row they got knocked out by the eventual champion. But injuries to starters Johnson, Williams and Horford made an already difficult task all but impossible against the Cavs.
"I just wish we had a healthier team," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "It's hard to judge our team in this series, not being healthy. "
"We just didn't have enough. They're playing at a very high level, and they have a legitimate shot at winning the title."