The NBA: First half season review

nba

Game of the week–LA 87 @ Cleveland 93

The Cavs trailed for 3 quarters but the 4th quarter is LeBron time. LeBron scored 37 with 12 in the last period to make the difference. Bryant had 31It was an outstanding game. Varejao adds so much energy and rebounding and that was critical in this game. He hit 2 free throws with 20 seconds to go after forcing a fowl going after a miss on a free throw by LeBron. This is the kind of game that the Cavs would have lost a couple of years ago. They have now swept the Lakers in their 2 games.

Top NBA teams are struggling with injuries.

The top teams from last year are all struggling with injuries.

Cleveland (33-11) leads the Eastern Conference but will not have G Mo Williams for up to a month. They traded for Shaq but Coach Brown has not figured out yet how to make a square peg fit into a round hole. He is not playing enough minutes to have the impact the Cavs expected. The Cavs need to find a way to stay in front of Boston and Orlando to keep the home floor advantage in … Read more at FryingPanSports

Some Christmas wishes in the Sports world.

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Cowboy Coach Phillips—Some wins after Turkey Day. The Boys haven’t done very well in December. JJ told the Boys faithful that if Phillips doesn’t win in the playoffs, he will be history. Phillips needs some help selling his house ’cause that ain’t happening.

Browns coach Mangenous—One more really silly owner to bail his career out again. Holmgren is “Football Czar of the Month” in Cleveland. There is little chance that Mangini will keep his job past 4:01 PM Sunday January 3. He got the current gig just after getting fired in New York. He needs another very gullible owner.

Buc Coach Morris—A copy of The Idiot’s Guide to Pro Football. Morris is badly over his head in Tampa. He was not even qualified to be OC let alone HC. With the team 1-forever, he needs to learn the game a lot more quickly to keep his job for next year.

Saints’ DC Greg Williams—A head coaching job in the NFL. Williams never got a decent shot in Buffalo and has proven with both the Redskins and Saints that he is ready for a top job. With the number of teams that will be looking for new top guys after this … Read more at FryingPanSports

What to watch for in the games this weekend.

football

College Football:

Georgia Tech v. Clemson  This game was interesting on a couple of levels.  First, GT is going to be a nightmare to defend.  They have the Navy option game working like a fine tuned race car.  But Clemson in previous years would have folded up like a 78 Ford Fairmont after the opponent put 21 points on the board.  But this Clemson team fought back and made a game of it.  These two should be fun to watch going forward.

USC @ Ohio State Forget what the experts are saying. This game will depend on 2 things—the OSU O and D lines. Can OSU drive USC off the ball to run and give Pryor time to throw? Can OSU’s D stop the run and put pressure on the USC QB? The answer to both is no and OSU will lose the game by 14.

Notre Dame @ Michigan Coach Rich Rodriguez’s system will work but he does not have the players on O or D to make it effective. ND finally has some key parts in place. ND wins by 10.

South Carolina @ Georgia Last year all the experts had Georgia at the top of the rankings. … Read more at FryingPanSports

Tuesday Morning QB Analysis: Key issues of Week 3 PS

NFL

Why hasn’t QB Vince Young developed in Tennessee?

Young’s biggest problem is that he hasn’t developed the vision and anticipation for both his receivers and the coverage. Part of that is because he played in the spread at Texas. There he had wide open receivers running all over the field. He has to spend more time in the film room and understand that the NFL definition of “open” is about 1/8th the separation of the college version of the the same thing.

On the pick that Browns LB Hall ran in for the TD, Young never saw Hall. That is a perfect example of his lack of vision and recognition of coverage. On the next drive 5 plays 80 yards, the biggest single play was Young’s scramble. He can make plays with his feet. That will win some games in the regular season but not AFC South titles or Super Bowls. And those are the things that the Titans want most of all. The Titans need a passing QB that can run rather than a runner that passes a little.

This explains why Young has double the number of INTs than TDs. As you get closer to the endzone, … Read more at FryingPanSports

Don't get too excited about a 3 team deal involving Jay Cutler and the Browns.

Fryingpan Sports

Don’t get too excited about a 3 team deal involving Jay Cutler and the Browns.

By Bill Smith

There is a lot of talk about the Browns being the point guard in a three way deal for Denver QB Jay Cutler. Not so fast, my friend. There are more than a couple chuck holes between Cleveland and anywhere Cutler is liable to end up.

The trade chatter has Brown’s QB Brady Quinn going to Denver, Cutler going to Detroit, Tampa, Seattle, or the Jets, and a covey of draft choices coming to the Browns. There are a covey of problems with that scenario.

  1. There is no way that Denver gives up a semi-proven QB with a pro bowl and 37 starts in the NFL over 3 seasons in exchange for Quinn and his 3 starts and 65.8 passer rating. The Broncos will want Quinn and a high draft pick (late 1 or very early 2) to make that deal.
  1. Tampa is out of the contest because they don’t have a second. They traded it to Cleveland for TE Kelvin Winslow. They would give up their 1 for Cutler but that would have to go to Denver to complete
Read more at FryingPanSports

Saturday's nibblets around the net.

Fryingpan Sports

Saturday’s nibblets around the net.

By Bill Smith

What can the Cavs do to keep LeBron James after 2010?

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Every time James plays in the Garden or talks about playing there, he acts like a 15 year old in puppy love with his 25 year old English teacher. So what is the big deal?

It can’t be the endorsement money because LeBron already ranks #59 in the Forbes list of top Celebrities Endorsements list. According to Forbes, he got 125 million dollars in deals last year alone. He can make just as much money in Cleveland as in New York.

The only things that New York has to offer is life style and the Garden. So what can the Cavs do?

My Advice: Win baby, just win. The Cavs have added some great pieces to help LeBron win a Championship in Cleveland. Win a title in 08-09 and another in 09-10 and James will stay. If New York signs James, he will be right where he was 3 years ago in Cleveland—the star surrounded by sows ears. They won’t have enough money left to sign any help for him. Jordan couldn’t win until the Bulls brought in help Read more at FryingPanSports