Rolling Thunder

Now that the first round of the NBA playoffs is mid-way through, we can see how some of the series might turn out and who they will match up in the next round. First, let’s start with the teams that are up 3-0 and are in a commanding lead. The Bulls are up 3-0 in the series versus the Pacers and look like they will close it out in one of the next games. Although the series is 3-0, the Pacers have put up a fight and have been in every game but the Bulls find a way to win. The Pacers have been aggressive and at times a little too aggressive with Derrick Rose, trying to disrupt his game in any way possible. Then there is the Heat and 76ers series, where the Heat lead 3-0. This series has not been too close as Miami’s big three have shown why they came together in the offseason. Now, the teams that lead 2-0 and the teams I believe will be in the finals. The Thunder have come out strong and even though their first game was close their two stars (Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook), came up big when they were needed. In game two they blew out the Nuggets and look to carry their effort on into Denver. Boston on the other hand have won the first two games but they have been close. They may not win by a big margin but they know how to close a game out and win. The rest of the series are tied at 1 win each and headed to the other teams home court. If the Thunder can step their defense up just a little more they will take the Championship this year. They are playing good defense but if they can play at a higher level, I think they are on the way to a Championship title. They already have one of the best scoring duos in the game and that will keep them in any game but with a step up in defense they could be unstoppable.
(updated series:Boston 3-0, Lakers 2-1, Hawks 2-1, Dallas 2-1)

Each Series Overview

Los Angeles Angels: Future is Bright

After a shaky start my Angels are showing signs of a great season ahead. Their top two starters (Jered Weaver & Dan Haren) are proving that they are both “Aces” and can match up with any pitching duo in the MLB. They are also showing an improved offense even without one of their best players. Three rookie position players are starting and each of them are making a statement to stay in the majors. After today, there may be two rookie pitchers on the roster, one in the bullpen and one in the rotation. So overall, things are looking good with the young talent contributing early on and the veterans leading the way. The Angels still don’t have arguably their best player, Kendrys Morales, back from injury but his replacement Mark Trumbo (rookie) has played well. When Morales comes back they will get back a key part of their offense and defense. Due to injuries to two of their starting pitchers, the Angels called on 21 year old Tyler Chatwood again and this time he showed off his skills. He is just the latest rookie to be called on and he showed he can play at the major league level. When watching the an Angel game there are many young and new faces in the line-up but it is for the better and it just shows that the future is bright for the organization.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

The 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs have begun and there are already suspensions for violent and illegal hits. Players are getting smashed into the walls from behind and even a player stomping on another player with his skate. I have never been much of a hockey fan but I think after these playoffs I will be a hockey fan. I have always liked watching hockey highlights because they are exciting. Not only is there hard hitting, they are actually allowed to fight one another. I’m in to contact sports so I may have to watch hockey more often.

Now, as for the teams playing in the playoffs, there are 16 teams, 8 from the Western Conference and 8 from the Eastern Conference. The teams in the East are Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Montreal, Buffalo and NY Rangers (teams in order of rank). In the West the teams are Vancouver (best record in NHL), San Jose, Detroit, Anaheim, Nashville Phoenix, Los Angeles and Chicago. I don’t know who is favored but based off of standings I would guess Vancouver and Washington are favored. I do know that Washington has one of the best players in the NHL, Alex Ovechkin, so I think I’m going to pick them to win it all. Hopefully the playoffs stay exciting and keep up the big hits.

NHL Website

NBA Playoff Overview

The NBA is in its final week of the regular season and the playoff picture is just about set. The Eastern Conference is already set with Chicago, Boston, Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia and Indiana. In the Western Conference it is San Antonio, LA Lakers, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Denver, Portland, New Orleans and the last spot has not been secured but it will likely be Memphis. The top seed in the Eastern Conference will likely go to Chicago and Boston and Miami will fill out the top three. In the Western Conference San Antonio is the top seed followed by the Lakers, Dallas and Oklahoma City. Going into the playoffs, in the East, Chicago may be the favorite lead by MVP (not official) Derrick Rose. However, Boston, the defending Eastern Conference champs, are still a legit team in my eyes and the big three in Miami are out to show that they are the team to beat and not just a team of stars. In the West many believe it is San Antonio or the Lakers who will take the East. I agree that these are the favorites but I think there are two teams that can upset one of them. I think the Thunder can make run with Durant and Westbrook’s scoring abilities along with the presence of Perkins and Ibaka.  The other team to watch for is Portland. I think they have a good starting five and if Brandon Roy can come off the bench and contribute, they have a chance. Overall, there should be some good matchups in the first round of playoffs and I can’t wait for the Lakers to choke.

NBA Standings

UConn the NCAA National Champs

As I predicted the NCAA Men’s National Championship was a low scoring game and Butler was able to slow down Kemba Walker and kept him from having a huge game. However, Butler had the worst shooting performance in the NCAA Championship game history. Their defense was good but they missed many easy shots and helped UConn win by the final score of 53-41. Butler shot a mere 18.8% while UConn shot 34.5% from the field. Overall, this was a sloppy game with many missed shots and made you think where was the Butler and UConn team that played so well throughout the tournament. Many people have said this was one of the worst championship games in history and from the few NCAA championship games I have seen, I would have to agree. While Kemba didn’t have a huge game he still put up 16 points and had 9 rebounds. With his great performance throughout the tournament, Kemba was awarded the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the tournament. Now that the tournament is over and UConn are the new champs, the focus in NCAA men’s basketball shifts to the NBA draft. Depending on what players go into the draft, it will determine who will be the favorite for next year. From my point of view I don’t see UConn repeating because Kemba Walker will likely go in the draft and possibly their second best player (personal ranking) Jeremy Lamb will go as well. I believe that Kentucky will be the team to beat next year but only if their eligible players stay another year.

NCAA Championship

The NCAA Men’s National Championship game is set and it will be UConn vs. Butler. Butler and VCU were both “Cinderella” stories this tournament and they had to play each other today. Butler came out strong and never looked back as they beat VCU 70-62 and will now be back to where they left off last year. Butler made it to the championship game last year but lost to Duke and now they are back in the championship game but this time they are determined to end this year with a championship win. The other game that took place today was Kentucky vs. UConn and it was a close one. UConn lead by Kemba Walker edged out Kentucky and won by a score of 56-55. Once again Kemba Walker showed off his talents and proved that he along with his teammates is a force to be reckoned with.  Now the championship stage is set with Butler and UConn playing each other on April 4, 2011 in Houston. It will be a matchup between arguably the best player in college basketball (Kemba Walker) and Matt Howard and his team of underdogs. Not many people believed that these two teams would make it this far but they proved everyone wrong and are on the grandest stage of college basketball. My pick to win it will have to Butler. I believe that Butler is more balanced and they will be able to slow down Kemba with their defense. It should be a close, low scoring game but I think Butler will pull out the victory and get the championship win they almost had last season.

VCU vs. Butler

UConn vs. Kentucky

2011 MLB Season

Finally, the 2011 Major League Baseball season has started. I am a huge baseball fan and I have been waiting for the season to start since the end of the NFL. The Sacramento Kings (my NBA team) aren’t even close to making the playoffs so baseball is all I have to look forward to. I am an Angels fan unlike most of my family and just about everyone else that lives in the LA area. I personally hate the Dodgers and I am tired of people saying they are better than the Angels, because year after year they beat them and have a better record. As for the Angels, they are coming off their first losing season since 2003. They dominated the division for years but last year fell off and ended up in third place in the division. This year the Angels look to rebound with their best player, Kendrys Morales, returning from an injury that ended his season early and with off-season acquisition Vernon Wells. The Angels have a better team than last year and could regain their Division crown. However, regaining their top spot will not be easy because the Texas Rangers are still the team to beat in the division and the Oakland Athletics are improving. Although they may not be the team to beat this year, I believe that they will win the division and be able to match up with the other teams come playoff team. This should be a good season for the Angels and I can’t wait to go to a game.

Angels Official Website

NCAA Tournament: Elite 8

Since my last post a lot has changed in the 2011 NCAA tournament. When I wrote my last post the final two games of the Sweet 16 had not been played and Ohio State was considered by most to be the favorite to win it all. However, as I stated in my blog, Kentucky has a young, talented and determined team and they showed it when they pulled off the upset over Ohio State. As for the other game, Kansas easily defeated the lowest seed left in the tournament Richmond. Now to the present (Elite 8), UConn and Arizona, who both have star players, battled it out in a close game. Once again Derrick Williams and Kemba Walker showed that they were both elite players by putting up 20 points each.  Fortunately, Kemba Walker wasn’t doing it himself as teammate Jeremy Lamb put up 19 points to combine with Walkers 20. Arizona had its chance twice in the final seconds to win the game but they missed on two separate three point shots and ended their hopes to make it to the Championship game. Connecticut on the other hand will move on to the Final Four. The other game today was Butler vs. Florida. Florida had an 11 point lead late in the 2^nd half but Butler managed to tie the game and force it to overtime. In the final seconds of overtime Butler went up by three after some free throws and Florida had a chance to tie it with a three. Erving Walker got the last shot but failed to make it and Butler will be moving to the Final Four. Butler has been the underdog throughout the tourney but now people are remembering that they were in the Championship game last year and may be the team to fear. The other two games take place on Saturday and they are: Kentucky vs. North Carolina and Kansas vs. VCU. The Kentucky and North Carolina game will be the game to watch and whoever wins will play UConn in the Final Four. Kansas is favored over VCU but they have been the underdog just like Butler. By the end of Sunday we will have the Final Four set and two games away from the NCAA Championship Game.

New National Champion!!

Derrick Williams and teammates after win

Kemba Walker and teammates after win

  























Once again the NCAA tournament has lived up to its hype. After today it will be down to the Elite 8 and we already know that there will be a new National Champion. This year’s tournament has had its blown calls, upsets, and Cinderella stories like every other year but for a person, like myself, who has only recently joined the college basketball world; this has turned out to be one of the better tourneys. Two number one seeds have already been eliminated (Duke and Pitt) and four teams that are ranked ten or higher are trying to advance into the Elite 8. Three of the top players were in action yesterday and two of them are advancing.  Derrick Williams led his number five seeded Arizona wildcats over the defending champs, Duke, ensuring a Elite 8 birth and a new National Champion. Kemba Walker of Connecticut led his team to a victory over San Diego State and showed why he is in the conversation of the best player of the year. Now they will face each other in the Elite 8 and Wiliams and Walker will try to show that they are the better player and who has the better team. Unfortunately, Jimmer Fredette who has been carrying his BYU throughout the season with his elite scoring ability, seen his team fall to a well-rounded Florida Gators. The favorite to win is still Ohio State in many eyes, but they face a young, talented and determined Kentucky team today. On the other side of the bracket is Kansas (the other number one seed) and they face Richmond, who is the lowest ranked team (ranked 12) left in the tournament. Butler has also advanced to the Elite 8 as they look to follow up on their last year loss in the Championship game with a victory in the National Championship game. 

Tournament Highlights and Recaps

UFC 128

Today was UFC 128 and it featured a fight for the light heavyweight championship belt. The main card consisted of five fights and the preliminary card had seven fights. The two main fights were: Urijah Faber vs. Eddie Wineland and Jon Jones vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. The Faber and Wineland fight was a back and forth fight that went to a judge’s decision. The first round was dominated by Wineland but the second round was dominated by Faber. Going into the third and final round it looked like an even fight but Faber kept the momentum from the second round and dominated Wineland on the floor with several punches. After the three rounds Urijah Faber won the fight by unanimous decision. The main event of the fight was Jones vs. Rua for the light heavyweight championship belt. Rua was going in as the veteran while Jones was rising star and possibly the future of the UFC. The first round of the fight started with Jones leading the charge and by the end of the round it seemed like it was going to be a long night for Rua. In the second round Jones badly hurt Rua with elbows and fists to the face and body of Rua. Entering the third round Rua was tired and bloody but went after Jones early. However, Jones was just too much and earned a TKO (technical knockout) over Rua. This was possibly the beginning of long and successful future in the UFC for Jones while Rua may think about dropping down in weight to stay competitive in this grueling sport. The fight card overall was good with plenty of excitement even though many of the fighters I was rooting for lost.

UFC 128 Results and Analysis

2011 NCAA Tournament

The 2011 NCAA tournament field is set and the four number one seeds are: Ohio State (number one overall), Duke, Pittsburgh, and Kansas. Unfortunately, Long Beach State lost its spot in the tournament when they lost to UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Tourney and now will be in the NIT (National Invitational Tournament). There are 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament and they are divided into four regions. Each region has 16 teams and one of the top seeds in each region. Ohio State is in the East region and in their bracket North Carolina, Syracuse and Kentucky are the top challengers.  The West is headed by Duke and their top competitors are San Diego State, Connecticut, Texas and Arizona. In the Southwest the top seed is Kansas with Purdue, Notre Dame and Louisville being their toughest opponents. Pittsburgh heads the Southeast region and the top challengers are Florida, Wisconsin and Brigham Young. Once there is a winner from each region and the final four is set, the West and East winner will face each other and the Southwest and Southeast will face each other. The winner of each of these games will go to the finals and play for the National Championship. I believe Ohio State will win it all but you can never count out the Duke’s. I think a number one seed will win the tournament but if I was choosing someone other than the number ones it would be San Diego State. 

NCAA Bracket

NFL Lockout

After months of talking and even bringing in a federal mediator, the NFL and NFLPA (National Football League Player Association) could not get a deal done and now starts the lockout.  This is the first lockout since 1987 and it puts the 2011 season in limbo. The NFLPA decertified, which means they are no longer an association and now are suing the NFL for money.  During the lockout the players cannot use the facilities or communicate with any teams. Also, players without contracts cannot even negotiate a contract with any team. If you’re a fan of football, this is devastating knowing that there possibly will be no 2011 season or a late start to the season. Many of the players have stated that if there is no agreement soon that they will pursue some other sport or activity. This can also be a big blow to the fan base of football. The NFL is at an all-time high and yet they could not come up with an agreement in appreciation to the fans. It leaves fans like me thinking that they do not even care about the fans, just about the money.  This has also made me focus more on other sports like the NBA and MLB. While the NFL has locked out its players and NFLPA has decertified, there is still one event that will occur under the last contract. That is the NFL draft, which usually teams use to fill holes in their team but this year could turn out different. Teams usually go for certain players and whatever they do not get, they get through free agency, but this year free agency will not happen until they have a deal in place. This causes the teams to strategize a little differently. Once the draft is done there will be nothing to look for in football except a possible deal that could take a while to occur. So for all those football fans out there, all we can do is hope that there will be some deal done soon.

Lakers Overrated? Overhyped?

In my opinion, I believe that the Los Angeles Lakers are both overrated and overhyped. Although they are coming off back to back NBA Championships they just aren’t the same team, which is why I don’t see them in the finals. Ron Artest hasn’t played well this year and is affecting the way they run their triangle offense, Andrew Bynum is due for an injury, and Derrick Fisher has been inconsistent. This is the sign of an aging Laker team that is just not as good as before. However, every time that there is a conversation about the NBA Finals, many sports analysts say that in the Eastern Conference it is going to be a battle between the Heat, Celtics, Bulls, Magic and now maybe the Knicks. But when it comes to who they are going to play in the finals they often assume that they will play the Lakers.  They rarely mention the Spurs who have the best record in the NBA and the Mavericks who have a better record than Lakers as well. Many people think that the Lakers are the best team in the Western Conference but there are two teams with better records and a couple of teams that are getting players back from injury. So I don’t see how they are the best team in the Western Conference or even in the NBA. As far as being overhyped, I think they are at the top of the list of overhyped teams. No matter who they play, the game is made to seem like a huge game. Maybe the reason for this is that I live in Los Angeles. But regardless of that, If they win three straight against bad teams they make it seem like a big deal, even though it was a given. On the contrary, they make big deal about them losing to a bad team but shortly after they say it was just a game that got away from them and doesn’t show who they really are.  So, as far as the playoffs go I think they will get to the semi-finals but no further. And for the record, even though I hate the Lakers, I am not being biased when I say they are not the same team because the facts are there and even though I hate saying it the Lakers are a good team, just not good enough for another Championship this year. 

NBA Trades

Finally, Carmelo Anthony has been traded to the New York Knicks in a deal that also included the Minnesota Timberwolves. Many players were involved but the key players that changed teams were: Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups (going to New York), Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, and Raymond Felton (going to Denver) and Eddy Curry (going to Minnesota). Although this was a major deal, it may not have been a good trade for the near future. The New York Knicks may have got the player they wanted but they gave a lot up for him and know have a depleted roster. The Denver Nuggets received some good players but their contracts are running out and none of them are star quality like Carmelo Anthony. The third team Minnesota didn’t really get anything nor lose anything so they don’t improve their team much. The trade may benefit the Knicks in the future with two star players but they need to add some more people around Carmelo and Amare (Knicks Power Forward) to be competitive with the other top teams.

On another note, the Utah Jazz and New Jersey Nets negotiated a surprising trade. The Nets were in talks with Carmelo but when he went to New York they quickly shifted their efforts to Deron Williams. The Jazz traded Deron Williams to the Nets for Derrick Favors and Devin Harris. This trade made sense to me because the Nets are trying to rebuild their team and by adding the all-star Williams they certainly took a step in the right direction. Also the Jazz receive a rookie in Favors that has plenty of upside and Harris who is a good young player as well. So, to me this trade seems to be more favorable because of the direction that these two teams are going in. Whereas the Knicks wanted to be competitive now but may have to wait a year or two and rebuild like Utah and New Jersey. 

NBA Dunk Contest Vs "Street" Dunk Contests

Although this year’s NBA All-Star Dunk contest in Los Angeles was one of the more exciting contests in recent years, in my mind it does not stack up to “Street” dunk contests. This year’s dunk contest had some unique dunks but certain dunks may have been under appreciated compared to others. The contestants were Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers), Serge Ibaka (Oklahoma City Thunder), DeMar Derozan (Toronto Raptors), and Javale McGee (Washington Wizards). First of all, many of the players that the fans want to see in this contest, primarily LeBron, do not participate so players not well known participate. In my opinion this year’s dunk contest was focused more on the presentation of the dunk rather than the dunk itself. Don’t get me wrong, the dunks were good but some of the gimmicks were unnecessary. A few of the dunks may have been scored a little low and some may have been scored higher than they should have. Serge Ibaka jumped from behind the free throw line and received 45 out of 50 when many thought it was a 50. This stopped him from moving into the final round.  The finals included McGee and Griffin and after two dunks each, Griffin prevailed as the winner. With that said, when you see the dunks that “Street Ballers” do, you seem to get amazed of what they do. If you watch the dunks in the video above you see dunks that have not been done in the NBA (now 17 dunks after today) and wonder why they don’t try them. These dunks are difficult and are sure to get a perfect score yet the NBA players don’t attempt them. On that note, DeMar DeRozan did 2 of these dunks and should have been in the final but was scored low and Griffin got into the final by one point. Griffin may have received the extra point because of the hometown crowd and because he was a fan favorite in the competition. This would lead to another flaw in the contest. The final vote came down to the fans vote and though Blake Griffin may have won the contest anyway, Griffin is one of the most popular players so many of his fans were likely going to vote for him anyways and made it unfair for McGee. Overall, this was a good contest but I believe that the real dunk contests are the ones that are taking place outside of the NBA.

Carmelo To The Nets?or Knicks?

This weekend in sports features the NBA All-Star Weekend which includes the Rookies vs. Sophomores game, the skills competitions and the NBA All-Star Game. This may be the main event this weekend for many sports fans, primarily NBA fans, but another topic that is sure to be talked about is the upcoming trade deadline. One of the top players in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony, has been rumored to be involved in several trades the last month. The two teams that have been the most active in trading for him are the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets. However, last week the Nets supposedly were done trying to acquire Carmelo and then the Los Angeles Lakers were rumored to be interested in trading for Carmelo. Now fast forward to this week and the Lakers are likely out of the discussion and the Nets are back in the discussion. The latest news is that the Nets and Nuggets (Carmelo’s current team) have a structured deal in place but a few things need to happen first. The reason the Nuggets are trying to trade Carmelo is because his contract runs out after the year and there is no real reason to believe he will return. Therefore, they are trying to trade him so that they get some young talent out of it. The problem with this is that the Nets and Knicks want him to sign a 3 year, $65 million contract when they receive him. Carmelo has said that he would sign a deal with Knicks but they can agree on a deal. The reason the deal with the Nets has not happened is that the Nets are not a good team and after the trade they will be less competitive and he likely not want to sign a 3 year contract. So, in about 6 days when the trade deadline occurs Carmelo will likely end up in either a Knicks or Nets Jersey. 

Strikeforce

For those of you who have little or no knowledge of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), there was a big event that took place today. The event was held in Rutherford, New Jersey by the MMA organization Strikeforce. MMA is a combat sport that is on the rise in the United States. MMA has been around for years but it has been primarily popular overseas until recently. In the last five years MMA has become more popular in the United States due to organizations such as the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and Strikeforce. These fights usually take place inside of an octagon cage and are three rounds that last five minutes each unless it is a championship fight. In the case of a championship fight, there are five rounds instead of three.  Today’s Strikeforce event kicked off the start of an 8-man heavyweight tournament that leads to a championship fight. The two main fights of the event featured four of the sport’s top heavyweight fighters that are looking to gain the Strikeforce Championship belt. The first major fight featured Andrei Arlovski and Sergei Kharitonov whom were both trying to regain the top status they once had. The first minute of the first round seemed to be going Arlovski’s way but in MMA that can change quickly and it did. Kharitonov backed Arlovski into the cage and unloaded several punches and eventually dropped Arlovski. Two punches later Arlovski was knocked out cold and the referee jumped in to stop the fight and awarded Sergei Kharitonov the winner by KO. The main event was between Antonio Silva and MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. Fedor was a huge favorite coming into the fight and after the first round it looked to be an even fight. Then as the second round started Silva charged Fedor and took him to the ground. Silva managed to get on top of Fedor and dropped several punches on Fedor. By the end of the round Fedor could no longer see out of his eye and the doctor stopped the fight giving Silva the win by Technical Knockout. This event provided great entertainment and the next step for two fighters. While two fighters move on in the tournament, it may mark the end for one the greatest MMA fighters in history. Fedor Emelianenko is arguably the best fighter in MMA history and after the fight he said this may be his last fight. As a big fan of Fedor it is sad to see one of the best fighters leave the sport in this fashion. Although it may be his last fight he will never be forgotten in the MMA world.  

Intro To My Sports Blogs

Hi, my name is Vincent Vargas and I am currently attending my first year at Cal State University Long Beach. Throughout my life I have enjoyed playing and watching the different sports our world has to offer. Unfortunately, my days of playing football are over because I made the decision to come to CSULB. Football was a major part of my life and was tough to give up but now I have plenty of time to focus on my studies. So, as you have probably noticed my blogs will be sports related.  In my blogs I will talk about the major headlines in the sports world as well as give my insight on topics and events that occur. My main focus will be on the MLB, NBA, NFL, and the major MMA organizations. Throughout my blogs you will figure out which teams I like and which I hate. So if I put down your team or if you disagree with one of my opinions leave a comment and we can discuss it further. I am very passionate when it comes to sports so if you share that passion or you would just like to learn something about sports this is the place to be.