NBA: Where The Return Happens

Finally, Derrick Rose is back to playing basketball. After a year and a half long absence due to a prolonged leg injury (ACL), David Stern rewarded our hero with a game against the defending champion Miami Heat. (Derrick Rose: 4-15 FGM, 1-7 3PM / 12 points, 4 assists, 5 turnovers) The Bulls might be ready for the Heat in May, when the playoffs are back, but they were out classed by the champions last night. They could have used a game against an easier opponent to start with. The Miami Heat have one of the best transition defenses in the league, led by last years league MVP Lebron James.

Meanwhile the Magic and Pacers opened the season in what was an obvious mismatch on paper. The Magic want the number 1 pick in the draft and the Pacers want the #1 seed in the East. Roy Hibbert looked amazing. (Roy Hibbert: 8 points, 16 rebounds, 7 blocks) Here we see the joys of having an elite shot blocker. Weirdly, David West, not known as an elite shot blocker had 5 blocks (tied for most in his career).

The biggest blowout was in the Battle for LA, Lakers vs. Clippers. The game itself ended up being surprising with the Lakers winning in dominating fashion. (Xavier Henry 22 points, 6 rebounds)As a result of the Lakers win, they have the best record in the conference.

Unless you're a fan of those teams, the season opens tonight (every team other than Chicago and the Clippers has a game tonight). Some of the games look like mismatches on paper (Rockets/Bobcats, Heat 76ers) and some feature rosters that are generally the same as they were last year or are otherwise not particularly interesting (Spurs/Grizzlies). However there are a couple of match-ups that I'm interested in watching.

Games to watch tonight


**League pass is free all week. Just a heads up.


Wizards @ Pistons 5:30 PM

The Wizards just traded their troublesome center Emeka Okafor for Marcin Gortat a solid, if unspectacular center. The team could be very interesting as the Eastern Conference playoff race goes on. Also, the Pistons spent the offseason upgrading at PG (Brandon Jennings, hurt) and adding a new big man (Josh Smith). This should make for an interesting matchup that's fun to watch.

Pacers @ Pelicans 6:00 PM

Do you like blocked shots? (Spoiler: If you don't this might not be your blog to read). Anthony Davis and Roy Hibbert will be in the same game.

Hawks @ Mavericks 6:30 PM

The Atlanta Hawks and Mavericks are both fringe playoff teams. I like the moves they made in the offseason   (adding Paul Millsap for the Hawks and adding Calderon and Ellis for the Mavericks)

GTA V: Musically inclined

♫ Like a sound you hearThat lingers in your earBut you can't forgetFrom sundown to sunset
It's all in the airYou hear it everywhereNo matter what you doIt's gonna grab a hold on you
California soul, California soul ♫

There's an argument that the best thing about the Grand Theft Auto Series is the music. The game has historically had a great soundtrack and the most recent iteration of the game is no different. The music in Grand Theft Auto is amazing, as usual, spanning genres and decades to make wonderful soundtracks.

The newest Grand Theft Auto game takes place in Los Santos, a fictionalized version of modern day California. As usual, the soundtrack puts you in the mood by using some songs of the decade. San Andreas, the last GTA game to take place in this setting, used Radio Los Santos for their modern music. However, "modern" for that game was the music of the early 1990's. Radio Los Santos now plays Kendrick Lamar and other modern day West Coast rappers. 

My favorite station has been "The Lowdown 91.1" a station that plays classic soul and disco. A lot of the time I spend in game is time that I spend drifting from one place to another, or driving around enjoying the scenery. Having Smokey Robinson playing in the background makes everything in game better. Double for hearing "California Soul". The actress, Pam Grier is the host for that station, because who else represents that era better.

For the times that I miss the old Radio Los Santos, there's a station for West Coast Classics, a nod to the N.W.A. west coast gangsta rap era, hosted by DJ Pooh. That station features songs from the era that you would expect, including the haunting Streiht Up Menace and a surprising feature of Mind Playing Tricks on Me, which I wouldn't expect on a West Coast classics station. 

For all out the things that make the game realistic, the larger variety of music is the most important effect. The music here sets the mood and enhances it.  Sometimes, it serves as humorous backdrop and often, it helps tell the story of a mission.  No matter what the specific effect ends up being, the music is to notch.

Week 7: A season that will live in infamy

I think at this time we can start talking about the '72 Dolphins and '08 Lions. I've already alluded to it in previous post titles but right now there are a few teams that are at least thinking privately about destiny and infamy, referencing going undefeated or winless, respectively. 

The 2008 Lions were as terrible as their record 16 loss record would suggest. The previous season, the Miami Dolphins narrowly avoided the tag by winning a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (a franchise which once went 0-14 before the league went to a 16 game schedule. Also, they lost the first 12 games of their next year.) The season is marked by Dan Orlovsky running out of the back of the end zone untouched in a game and giving up Matt Ryan's first career win (of many). This year, the current contenders for the spot are the New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Jacksonville Jaguars. None of these teams play each other, so it's (theoretically) possible that all of these teams could lose all of their games. 

The 1972 Miami Dolphins are the current mark for perfection in the NFL. They are the only team to win all of their regular season games and win the championship. The only other teams to have an undefeated season are the 1934 Chicago Bears, 1942 Chicago Bears and most recently the 2007 New England Patriots (Notably, the '34 Bears and '07 Patriots both had their undefeated seasons ruined by the New York Giants). The current contenders for the title are the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs who are in the same division (and therefore are more likely to ruin each others bids at perfection than going undefeated themselves.)

Early Games

Buffalo at Miami

This AFC East matchup features the Buffalo Bills have had major injury issues at the quarterback position. Thad Lewis who was the quarterback for Duke's vaunted football team is their current starter and the struggle to find healthy quarterback play has led them to pick up Matt Flynn. Meanwhile,  Miami is coming off of a bye week, they plan on taking care of business at home.  

Chicago at Washington

Da Bears have the division lead in the NFC North. Washington is trying to fight their way back into the NFC East picture, since they are only 2 games out of the division lead. Chicago is amazing. 

Cincinnati at Detroit

This battle of 4-2 Division Leaders features two teams that have been amazing.  

Dallas at Philadelphia

The NFC East is terrible, but the winner of the division gets a spot in the playoffs just like everyone else. The winner of this game will be the clubhouse leader for that spot. 

Houston at Kansas City

Case Keenum will start this game. I'm so excited about this, or at least I would be if they weren't playing against the Chiefs who have been amazing on defense.  

New England at NY Jets

Recent history has these two teams carrying an interesting rivalry.  difference in coaching styles, reaction to media and 

San Diego at Jacksonville

West Coast team going east? We've seen this story before. Travelling across the country to play a road game is never fun, even if that team is the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

St. Louis at Carolina

This battle of former number one quarterbacks features Sam Bradford and Cam Newton, both who were expected to take their teams to the mountain top and have yet to even see the playoffs. 

Tampa Bay at Atlanta

The Falcons were fringe Super Bowl contenders according to some prognosticators. Now, they are struggling to find healthy players on their offense after losing their top two wide receivers (Julio Jones for the year and Roddy White for the week) and top running back (Steven Jackson).   

Late Games

Baltimore at Pittsburgh

Remember when this rivalry mattered? Pepperidge farm remembers. 

San Francisco at Tennessee

The titans need this win to keep pace in the AFC south. 

Cleveland at Green Bay

The browns have been surprisingly good this year after the trade. 

Sunday Night Football

Denver at Indianapolis

Luck vs. Manning. Manning vs. His old team. Irsay vs. Fox.

Monday Night Football 

Minnesota at NY Giants

Who needs Luck vs. Manning when you can have Freeman vs. Manning? 

 

   

Adrian Peterson and remembering what’s important

"Said my homeboy Reek, he just lost one of his kids

And when I heard that I just broke into tears

And see in the second hand; you don't really know how this is

But when it hits that close to home you feel the pain at the crib

So I called mine, and saddened my wife with the bad news

Now we both depressed, countin’ our blessings cause Brad's two

Prayin’ for young souls to laugh at life through the stars

Lovin’ your kids just like you was ours

And I'm hurtin’ for you dog; but ain't nobody pain is like yours

I just know that heaven'll open these doors

And ain't no bright side to losin’ life; but you can view it like this

God's got open hands homey, he in the midst… of good company

Who loves all and hates not one

And one day you gon' be wit your son

I could've rapped about my hard times on this song

But heaven knows I woulda been wrong" - Scarface (This Can't Be Life)

Sometimes we forget that the world isn’t simple. Football players are many things other than a mechanism for point gathering on our favorite teams (or fantasy teams, for that matter.) I was happy about the outpouring of sympathy and empathy for All Day after the news about the death of his son.  While there were people who said things like "AD better be playing on Sunday" because of their fantasy teams, the response has mostly been positive. On the other hand, I also understand that concern for NFL stars’ personal lives doesn’t rank highly on people’s radars. It’s a sad, sad story all the way around. 

Today will have  a shorter post just discussing the games viewable in Denver and NY

Early Games

CBS

Pittsburgh @ New York Jets (NY)

Jacksonville @ Denver  (CO)

None of these games should be fun to watch. The Jets should grind out an ugly game against the Steelers. Denver should miss out on covering their crazy +27.5 point spread. Out of the games this year only 5 had a point differential over 27.5

FOX

Green Bay @ Baltimore (CO) 

Should be a competitive game between former Super Bowl winners. Both teams need a win as they play in extremely competitive "North" divisions (NFC North and AFC North)

Late Game

New Orleans @ New England  (NY)

This should be the best game of the  weekend. This game features a match up 2 of the best QB's of the past decade. Brees is leading his team to a divisional championship. 

Sunday Night

Washington @ Dallas

The NFC East has been a profound disappointment this year. The Cowboys might clinch the division with a win here, and I'm only half joking. Dallas has played well this year, however Washington does a good job in Dallas. This game will be really close and fun to watch. 

Monday Night

Indianapolis @ San Diego

Both of these AFC teams were considered to be dead in the water when the season started. Now they are playoff contenders. Both have been helped by amazing QB play. Rivers has put up a Comeback Player of the Year season and Luck may be a borderline MVP candidate (as much as non-Peyton Manning players can be MVP candidates this year)

NHL: Opening Night in Denver

So last week I went to my first NHL game last Wednesday and something felt overwhelmingly dirty about it. When I was a young fledgling sports addict, I watched a lot of New Jersey Devils hockey. The Devils were dominant in the late to early 90's. In 2001, they had an epic seven game series against the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche won the series led by the play of their Finals MVP goaltender Patrick Roy. 12 years later, largely removed from watching hockey, I've gotten back into it by watching and following the Colorado Avalanche. Then I lived in New York City, now I live in Colorado. Then, I didn't have any friends or associates who watched hockey so I had no one to talk about it with. Now, I have classmates who are really into it. Then, Patrick Roy was the goalie getting in the way of my team's victory. Now, Patrick Roy is the head coach of the team I'm rooting for. Things have changed.

Going to this game was my first time experiencing the Pepsi Center and the Pepsi Center crowd. The Pepsi Center is a nice arena, one where I fully intend on watching a few Nuggets and Avalanche games. Denver is a great sports town with a nice balance of hometown fans and people from other areas who bring their sports loyalties with them. The crowd was great the entire time. Looking up at the rafters, you see the Avalanche banners. You also can't be in the arena without noticing the amazing screen that the Pepsi Center hosts. The screen is currently the largest screen in the NBA or NHL. More on this later.

As far as the actual game. Patrick Roy got his first victory. The fans of the Avalanche were treated to an amazing game by their team, albeit a non-competitive one. The Ducks goaltender was abused the entire game. The rap on the Avalanche is that they are a strong offensive squad and a weak defensive one. (See generally, Denver Nuggets.) Their first game ending in a near shutout is promising.

While I don't know a ton about the nuances of what makes one good player better than other good players in hockey, I can look at number one pick Nathan MacKinnon and tell that he's really good. He was all over the ice and ended up with 2 points (both from assists) and a minor fight.

It was a great experience and I hope to do it again this season. Most of my hockey watching will come from watching the Avs on TV this year. It was a great crowd and a great game.


That was awesome: 
Seth who? I was really excited to see Seth Jones (son of former NBA journeyman, Popeye Jones) on the Colorado Avalanche. He was projected to be the number one player in the draft. However, the Avs management decided to go with Nathan MacKinnon. So far, so good. MacKinnon was absolutely amazing.


That was disappointing:

The first game of the season was almost a 6-0 shutout but with less than 10 seconds to go, the Ducks scored. Also, the second game against Seth Jones's Nashville Predators wasn't on Altitude (Colorado's local sports station for the Avs and Nuggets) because of technical difficulties.


That was a n00b move, kid:

http://www.sportslogos.net/logos/view/271/Quebec_Nordiques/1976/Secondary_Logo

I saw the fleur-de-lis logo on a hat in the team store and called it a "(New Orleans) Saints" logo. Apparently, it's the secondary logo of the Quebec Nordiques, which was what the Avalanche franchise was before it moved to Colorado. France is not well represented in the NBA or NFL outside of the teams that play in New Orleans. The NHL's placement in Canada gives them a french connection outside of Louisiana, especially for teams that play in Quebec where French is an official language.

Week 5: Where the Broncos go undefeated

There are 5 undefeated teams currently. All 5 of them are on the road this week. There are 4 teams have yet to win a game. 2 of them will remain that way courtesy of a merciful bye week. The other 2 have decent matchups against 1-3 teams.

Early Games

Baltimore @ Miami

Miami is a really good team. Their only loss was last week, against a New Orleans team that might be the best in the division. The Ravens look like the struggling team we expected them to be after giving Joe Flacco a raise. Now the raise isn’t the only problem, the Ravens were an aging defense last year and now they feel the effects of that. Also, while Ray Rice should appear in this game, he’s coming back from injury.

Detroit @ Green Bay

This ought to be an amazing divisional game with unbelievable offensive play. The presence of Reggie Bush gives the Lions a running game which has been a struggle in their recent history. The Packers are still looking, but seem to have something with the combination of rookies Eddie Lacy and Jonathan Franklin . However, we’re here for the quarterbacks. Stafford and Rodgers should give us an amazing show.

Jacksonville @ St. Louis

The Jaguars are taking the fast route to going winless. It’s an ugly team that’s injured and banged up. The Rams are also bad, but they’re probably good enough to handle themselves at home.

Kansas City @ Tennessee

Both are teams that are doing better than originally predicted. The Chiefs are winning against the teams they should beat. The Titans have had a tougher schedule but have done nearly as well. However, without Locker the Titans could struggle against the Kansas City defense.

New England @ Cincinnati

On paper this would be a difficult matchup for the Patriots. The Pats are really banged up on offense, but it’s matched and surpassed by the important injuries on the Cincinatti Defense.

New Orleans @ Chicago

Drew Brees has never won (0-4) in Chicago. Not ever not once. This game won’t be in the winter, but it’s still supposed to be an ugly field. New Orleans will be in for a war against the Bears who suddenly look like the contender they’ve been predicted to be over the last couple of years.

Philadelphia @ New York Giants

The NFC East is going to get a win here. Both of their fan bases can tell themselves that they aren’t far away from the playoffs, because it’s true. However, they couldn’t be further away from actual contention.

Seattle @ Indianapolis

The Seahawks aren’t as dominant on the road as they are at home, but they aren’t pushovers. Luck is going to have to go against what’s arguably the best defense in the league. Wilson goes against the Colts defense.

Late Games

Carolina @ Arizona

Both fanbases are waiting for their team to escape mediocrity. Whatever team wins won’t be that happy about it.

Denver @ Dallas

This game should be great for fantasy purposes. Will the Cowboys be the first team to bring the Broncos below 36 points. 22 teams haven't scored 37 points. The Broncos have 3 of the top 4 scoring performances of the year. Monte Kiffin, Dallas's defensive coordinator, will have his hands really full.

Sunday Night Football

Houston @ San Francisco

Disappointed fanbases galore here. Schaub isn't playing for his job but the Texans fans have largely turned on him. On the other hand, winning would qualify as a statement win for both teams, as they are both projected to be playoff teams even if they aren't as dominant as they were once predicted to be.

Insomniacs Unite (11:35 EST Sunday Night)

San Diego v. Oakland

Really? My dream of a post midnight football game comes in the form of this divisional matchup? Ugh. Well, there's the resurgent Chargers team with the even more resurgent quarterback Phillip Rivers. The Raiders were kicked out of their home stadium by the Oakland A's baseball team, causing this late start.

Monday Night Football

New York Jets v. Falcons

Embrace the fact that the Falcons have a worse record than the Jets. This won't last long. Finally the Falcons get an easier squad to go against.