NBA West: Houston

Yao is out, but are the Rockets. Sitting currently in the number seven seed is the Houston Rockets, who have won thirteen straight games. After losing Yao Ming for the rest of the season and the playoffs, the speculation was that the Rockets have no chance anymore. I think that their win over Washington (though it’s Washington) without Yao, may have put some of that doubt to rest, at least it did with me.  I feel that they will struggle some without him, but don’t count them out of the playoffs. I would see these guys at the number six seed come playoff time.

NBA West: Golden State

#8 Golden State is the next team I will be taking a look at today. Just a half of a game ahead of Denver and only 5.5 games behind the number one seed, anything can happen with these guys. Baron Davis has played very well this year, and with the addition of Webber, this could be a second round playoff team. That is if Webber can get into a grove with his old team, and play well come playoff time. Just like Denver, the Warriors need to put some kind of defense together, Jefferson needs more playing time, and Webber needs to step up his game. They have had impressive wins, but at the same time they also have had losses that they shouldn’t have. My vote come playoff time, these guys wont be there. Too inconsistant, and Denver will beat them out for the final playoff spot. 

NBA West: Denver

Playoff time is drawing near, and 6.5 games separate nine teams in the western conference. I am going to talk a little bit about each of these teams and their chances on making the playoffs.

#9 The Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets have been as high as the fourth team in the West, but all the other teams have gotten better and they haven’t, making them worse. The Nuggets are coming off of three straight losses and four of their last five, including Chicago and Milwaukee. Denver needs to get a little defense put together or they will not make the playoffs. They have allowed over 100 points in every game in the last six except for Detroit. I see Denver in the number 8 seed come playoff time, but they have to get it together real quick if they want to see some playing time come late April.

Shaq And Kidd Debut

Yesterday was the debut’s for two stars on different teams.

Jason Kidd made his Dallas debut yesterday against New Orleans, and it didn’t go so well for him.  Kidd turned the ball over more tims than he had assists, and he only racked up 8 points, two of which were from the free throw line. Dallas lost the game 104 to 93.

Last night was Shaq’s debut in phoenix against Kobe and the Lakers, in L.A. The Lakers won the game, but Shaq looked good. Shaq ran up and the floor all night long, playing 28 minutes. His numbers weren’t great, but you can tell that when this team starts getting into a grove together, they could definitely be the team coming out of the west.

Will Kidd Be A Mav

Jason Kidd wanted to be traded for a while now and nothing has happened. The most interested team in the matter is the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs said once that they could not afford Kidd, so they would have to give up half of their team and they like their team. Then it seamed as if they didn’t like their team when they were going to give it up in a huge trade including Jerry Stackhouse, Devon Harris, and Devon George. This didn’t go through yet, because now George is excercising his right to not be traded. If this trade goes through, the Nets will once again be one of the elite teams in the east, but the Mavs will drop down the list in the west. I say this because the Mavs are giving away three very good players for one elite player. The problem is Kidd wont have many more good players to pass the ball to, while the Nets entire starting line up will be racking up the points, with Jefferson, Carter, Stackhouse, Harris, and George.

The Lions And S. Rogers

The Detroit Lions have said that Shaun Rogers will not be released. This said after reports that Rogers will not be a Lion next season no matter what. The new report is that they will entertain trades for Rogers and Roy Williams, but if they don’t get offered a trade for these guys that they like, then they will still be in a blue uniform next year. The Lions have no desire to release either of their pro-bowl caliber players, probably because they don’t want to take a hit on salary. These guys leaving the team would be good for both parties.

Shaq And Marion In New Homes

The Heat has finally gotten rid of Shaq after missing fourteen games this year for Miami. After their Championship year, Shaq has not performed the way they thought he should, nor the way he has in the past. On the the other side of the trade, Shawn Marion has done very well for the Suns, but he wanted out. The Suns thought that Shaq would be a great fit in Phoenix, and that he would be the one to put them over the edge in the West.

Shawn Marion has played one game with the Heat, it was a heart breaking loss to the Lakers in which Marion played the way anybody would expect him to. Marion getting a double double in his Miami debut is a big boost to the moral of the Heat organization and fans.

Shaq has yet to make his first appearance on the court with the Suns, and he is not expected to tomorrow against Golden State, but when he does, we will see what these Suns are capable of in the West.

Sports Headlines And This Weeks Stories

*Shaq and Marion in new homes(Tue)

*Redskins new headcoach(Wed)

*Lions will not release Rogers(Thur)

*Kidd not going to Dallas(Fri)

*Who’s hot in the American league(Sat)

The NFL Pro Bowl

Yetserday was the NFL Pro Bowl in Hawaii. The AFC was sitting on a big lead in the second quarter that they let slip away from them in the second half. Did anybody even watch this game? I came across it on accident, flipping through the channels.

The NFC took a commanding lead, thanks to peterson and T.O. It felt very strange seeing garcia throw to Owens again. A big supprise that Derek Anderson was not throwing well. I knew that this guy was not the real deal, he is not Drew Brees, where he comes in under the radar as a veteran backup and become a hot shot. NFC wins the game 42-30.

What should the NFL do with the Pro-Bowl? No one cares about it anymore. I have heard that they shouldn’t even play the game, and just announce players as pro-bowlers. Isay they play it on the Sunday before the superbowl, excluding the players in the superbowl. Give these guys something to be proud of, they played hard all year and they should be playing in January.

Super Bowl Review

Alright I am finally back, sorry about the delay on the superbowl story.

Well did anybody see this coming? The New York Giants over the Patriots 17 to 14. I am not a fan of either of these teams, but I gave the Giants no chance of winning this. I knew it would be a close game but I predicted the Pats to win it 28 to 23. I laughed just like everybody else when Plaxico said they would hold the Patriots down to 17 points, and they held down to 14. Once again the quarterback that led the season in passing, lost the superbowl.

The Giants got to Brady and brought him down five times, including twice in the Pats final drive. I want no excuses about Brady’s ankle, he played on an injury that the whole team said it was no big deal. I wanted to see the Giants win this one, I am just so sick of the Patriots winning every year, Brady is only thirty years old and already has three rings. Don’t get me wrong I love Brady, he is a Michigan guy, but enough is enough already. Even New Yorkers couldn’t have really thought that the Giants were going to bring down the 18-0 team.

Well thats it for the 07-08 football season, but I will be back with more football news for the off season.