2013/14 NBA Season Western Conference Outlook

The new basketball season has finally arrived and I'm excited to see how it plays out.  I'm even more excited to write about it.  I don't like to use the word preview in my writing because you can't see the weird things that run through my mind as I'm putting thoughts to paper.  I see everybody else giving predictions and such, so figure I'll just throw some things out there for your reading pleasure and come back later to revisit them.

The first four are legitimate title contenders:

NFL Week 9 Power Rankings

Not much has changed from last week.  Although, the Chiefs, Broncos, Patriots, and Seahawks looked shaky in their wins, none of the previous top 10 lost.

1.  Kansas City   They continue to not lose to the teams on their schedule. It's crazy to see the lack of respect this team as a whole gets because nobody believes in their shoddy quarterback.

NFL Brain Dump: All About Luck

If we didn't learn anything from this past weekend of footballing, we were at least reminded that the games aren't decided on paper, the win has to be earned in between the lines.  Place kickers are often mocked for being lesser men or considered unimportant members of the team.  There also comes a point in time where things that we once perceived to be true have to be disregarded once the facts are eventually presented to us.  In this edition I’ll touch on these points but when it’s all said and done, maybe all that is needed is bit of luck.

NFL Week 8 Power Rankings

My friends over at the The OpinioNation blog releases a weekly "The Strength Of Ten" article which is basically a top 10 version of NFL power rankings. I'm on the panel that comes up with the list, I figured I should share my personal choices that factor into it.  Check there rankings and see how it compares to mine.

BBN Report - Nazr Mohammed profile

6'10" 220 lbs
Chicago, Illinois
15 seasons
career: 6.3 ppg 5.0 rpg 16.9 mpg
2012/13: 2.6 ppg 3.1 rpg 11.0 mpg
'96 & '98 NCAA Champion
2005 NBA Champion

Nazr is the last of Rick Pitino's high flying Kentucky Wildcats that is still playing in the NBA.  While in Lexington he rode the bench as a 300 pound freshman, playing sparingly as team cut the nets down in 1996. After he got in shape, he became a key player on the '97 team that lost to Arizona in the National Championship final game; it was also the last game of the Pitino era.  The 1997/98 season ushered in the Tubby Smith era of UK hoops with a National title.  Nazr entered the NBA draft after his junior season.

NFL Week 7 Power Rankings

My friends over at the The OpinioNation blog releases a weekly "The Strength Of Ten" article which is basically a top 10 version of NFL power rankings. I'm on the panel that comes up with the list, I figured I should share my personal choices that factor into it.  Check there rankings and see how it compares to mine.

The NBA's Crucial Year Three part 3: "A Rose on the Hardwood"

Derrick Rose has set the bar high for all first round draft picks because of the accolades he achieved during his third NBA season.  In the 2010/11 season, Rose's third year, he was a starter on the East All-Star team, named to the All-NBA first team, and selected as the league's Most Valuable Player.  His brand of basketball was so exceptional that season that when the most recent collective bargaining agreement was finalized, there was a provision written in to reward players that out-play their rookie contract. Part 1 of this series looked at players from the 2011/12 rookie class who have shown star potential but need to raise their level of play to be considered for the 25% max.  Part 2 featured the young stars of this class who are likely to receive the max. 

In this final installment of "Year Number Three" series, we'll look at this draft's cream of the crop and his chances of earning "The Derrick Rose Provision"

NFL Brain Dump: XOXO

I love watching football.  It isn't always about what plays are called, because sometimes passion is what ultimately decides the outcome.

The main thing that I took away from the epic Patriots versus Saints showdown is that Bill Belichick is still a better coach than you, me, Sean Payton, Rob Ryan or anyone else that loves football.  For the most part this season, the Saints have been taking what defenses give them, which have lead to Jimmy Graham taking a lot of yardage and dunking the football over crossbars.  In this game, Bill decided to play along and give Brees whatever he wants EXCEPT for passes to the elite tight end.  This was accomplished by having his best coverage defender shadow New Orleans’ best receiver, seems like a simple concept, it’s surprising that up until now no other coordinator employed this basic tactic which worked so well that Jimmy was held without a catch.  As well as “project shutdown Jimmy” worked, it still wasn’t enough to win the game; the game was decided by heart, mind control, and clutch plays.

NFL Brain dump: Week 5

It's been said that NFL teams that have opened the season with two losses over the past five years haven't made the playoffs.  This week, I'll track the eight teams that this applies to this season as well as some other musings.