It is safe to say that Kevin Durant is having one of his most explosive and well-rounded seasons of his career. Though he will most likely end up in second, he is one of the people on a very short list trying to challenge LeBron James for the honor of NBA MVP.
Games like this past week’s match up between No. 5 ranked Georgetown and unranked Villanova is why people watch college basketball. While one team has had the storied season, knocking off teams left and right, another team, who seems to be overpowered and overmatched, can pull off an upset that makes a statement. This is exactly what happened this past Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
It would be an understatement to say the Miami Heat are a good basketball team. A more fitting statement would be that the Miami Heat are playing like the defending NBA Champions and the team to beat this season. After finally jumping to the top of ESPN’s Power Rankings this week, Miami continued on their current tear, extending their win streak to 16 on Wednesday.
Last year wasn't a great year for the Philadelphia Eagles. After only getting four wins, missing the playoffs, and finishing dead last in their conference, they decided to part ways with famed and (hypothetically) loved coach Andy Reid. They had internal struggles, saw Mike Vick get hurt, then lose his starting job to rookie Nick Foles, only to lose him and put Vick back in. But, with all sports, each year is its own journey and next year will be a rejuvenation for the franchise.
The Oregon Ducks lost more than a great coach this week. With sources saying that Oregon’s head coach Chip Kelly will now become the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, U of O finds themselves in a tough spot. Under Kelly, the Ducks went 46-7 over four years. The decision to leaves comes on the tail end of a dominant victory over Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl in early January 2013.
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... well, okay, "Talking Points," not GameDay, probably. I been reading too many traffic-seducing Euro soccer headlines. Guess I shoulda went with "Is Walter Jones Preparing to Play This Sunday?!", followed by an article mentioning that he's not.
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=== Point ===
Dr. D will be watching the Vikings-Packers playoff game with more interest than almost any NFL game this year, that didn't involve the Seahawks.
Not only is this the most traditional rivalry left standing in 2012, but ... Minny has a decent chance of beating the Packers, with Adrian Peterson running the ball in cold weather, and if so, they have a good chance of beating the overrated Falcons.
And if that occurs, the NFC championship game, Minnesota-Seattle at CLink, would be a Seahawks bye into the Super Bowl. Having a bye during the NFC championship game would be ... valuable.
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=== CounterPoint ===
SSI fears for the officiating this Sunday. Not everybody realizes that the Redskins are one of the most valuable sports franchises on the globe, sometimes THE most valuable. Over the past decade the race has been between Manchester United, the Yankees, the Redskins, and a couple of other teams.
The furore over the Redskins' glamor (?) season has been preposterous. And when the New York Knicks are making a lunge for a championship, the refereeing they get in Madison Square Garden makes the games there unwatchable.
Complicating this, the NFL is going to be royally ticked off about Richard Sherman's In-Yo-Face to their drug testing. ... we read that the 2005 Super Bowl was fixed, which it was in my humble opinion, precisely because the NFL was annoyed at Mike Holmgren breaking code and mouthing off about things he shouldn't have. Dr. D nevvvvvverrrrr underestimates the seaminess of NFL back-stage dealing.
While flipping through the channels tonight, I ran across several movies that I have loved for years. These movies make for great dates, whether they’re tear jerkers or snuggle-worthy sigh fests. You can find them on Starz, Showtime and other subscription channels right now.
Phenomenon
Mike Schmidt, for about the first ten years of his career, got a boatload of boo'ing in Philadelphia: "They just want to spank me so I'll try harder and do better," Schmitty said with a wan smile one day. Y'ever notice, when an athlete is performing badly, our flinch reaction is to go get a hickory switch and give him a good lickin'. Bear down out there, you little pansy.
We don't always grab hickory switches, throw AA batteries onto the field, or jeer. Sometimes we're more civilized about our bitterness and we indulge only in
Of course there are times that our calls for a player's demotion are rational, such as whenever Dr. D does it .... Justin Smoak was getting to be a serious issue. But you know whutuhmean.
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=== Still With Fangs Down To Their Chins ===
.... though Danny Haren doesn't strike you as all that goth, probably. I dunno, is the werewolf look included in the fad or is it just vampires and, um, zombies?
Bill James' 'Pitcher Rankings' paradigm basically treats the last 2-3 seasons as one continuous season, underlining pitchers who have demonstrated their excellence. My favorite use of the 'World's #1 Pitcher' tool right now, is the large, overarc'ing insights into which teams may be playing over their heads. And which teams may be ripe for a surge in the standings.
