New York Knicks: 2011-2012 Season Preview

          The shortened, 66-game NBA season tips off tomorrow with a matchup at Madison Square Garden between the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics. The Knicks have made some big changes to the team that got swept out of the first round of the playoffs by this Celtics team last season. Here is a preview of the Knicks upcoming 2011-2012 NBA season, summing up what the team has done in the shortened offseason, what to watch out for during the season, and what the Knicks need to do to be successful, as well as best and worst case scenarios for the team.

NBA Free Agency Madness (Paul-Howard Edition)

The Trade(s) that Wasn’t

When free agency began on December 9 many people speculated where future free agent Chris Paul would go. The Lakers and Hornets agreed to a trade that, with a third team being the Houston Rockets, would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers from the Hornets; Pau Gasol to the Houston Rockets from the Lakers; Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Goran Dragic, and a 2012 first round pick to the Hornets from the Rockets; and Lamar Odom going from the Lakers to the Hornets.

The Penn State Scandal

Allegations
          Serious charges have been filed against former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky regarding his sexual abuse of at least nine children over the span of 15 years. In addition, Penn State’s athletic director has stepped down. This case will most likely rock the State College campus in a way that it may not be able to bounce back from, which is a shame considering the history and tradition of the football program and its legendary coach.

Jerry Sandusky was the man who made Penn State into Linebacker U., his defensive schemes helped lead the Nittany Lions, under head coach Joe Paterno, to two national championships in 1982 and 1986.

Does Justin Verlander Deserve to Win the AL MVP?

Dominating the Mound

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander has been the most dominant pitcher in baseball this year. At 24-5 he leads all of baseball in wins, innings pitched (251.0), strikeouts (250), and WHIP (0.92) in addition to being first in the American League with a 2.40 ERA. Verlander also has 4 complete games, of which he has one no-hitter and three other times he pitched eight innings or more and gave up two or less hits during those outings. His fastball can reach triple digits even late into games, his changeup can leave batters looking foolish with an early swing, and his curve breaks so hard that you would think it was because just for an instance earth’s gravity changed. Perhaps just as important, his Tigers won the AL Central by double digit games. He is having one of the best seasons a pitcher has had in about a decade. The AL Cy Young is his, but what about the AL MVP?

The University of Miami Scandal

The Investigation

After 11 months and many, many interviews Yahoo! Sports broke the story about a University of Miami booster, Nevin Shapiro, giving illicit benefits to at least 72 Miami football and basketball players between 2002 and 2010. The football players include well known athletes such as Jonathan Vilma, Vince Wilfork, Kellen Winslow Jr., Devin Hester, Andre Johnson, Frank Gore, Antrel Rolle, Jacory Harris as well as multiple football and basketball coaches. Shapiro is currently in jail and looking at a 20 year sentence for a ponzi scheme that amounted to $930 million. The booster is said to have given players money; paid for nights out at clubs and strip joints, meals, and drinks; allowed them to stay at his house and use his yacht anytime; offered bounties, money for an accomplishment during a game; provided prostitutes; and in one case even provided money for an abortion. He also used his power to impress and bribe potential recruits to join the Hurricanes. Shapiro has provided many receipts from nights out and photos of himself with players as proof for his actions.

Aybar Bunts in Attempt to End No-Hitter

Verlander’s No No-Hitter

It was a pitching duel between Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers and the Los Angeles Angels with Jared Weaver. In the bottom of the third inning the Tigers’ Magglio Ordoñez hit a ball off of Weaver that was borderline fair/foul as it sailed into the outfield. Ordoñez stood in the batter’s box watching the ball to see on which side of the foul pole it would curve. With the ball eventually sailing to the right of the pole for a home run, Weaver took this as Ordoñez admiring the hit and the two began to share some words. In the bottom of the seventh, Carlos Guillen decided to get back at Weaver for calling out the teammate of the former so when Guillen hit a home run he stood there to admire it and then skipped off to first base. Understandably, this ticked Weaver off. As a result, the next hitter, Alex Avila, got a fastball high and inside that caused Avila to duck. Weaver was ejected and the game continued.

Ending Soccer Matches in Penalty Kicks

Past PKs

There is no doubt that there has been a lot of backlash towards the sport of soccer after the U.S. lost to Japan in the Women’s World Cup Finals 3-1 in penalty kicks. This brought up the old argument against ending such an important game with PKs, something that may not necessarily validate the winning team as champions. Two of the last four Women’s World Cup champions have been crowned after prevailing in penalty kicks during the finals, the other one being the famous 1999 game at the Rose Bowl between the U.S. and China when Brandi Chastain famously ripped off her shirt in celebration after scoring the winning PK. Of the four quarterfinals matches in the 2011 Women’s World Cup, two went into penalty kicks, one of which was when the U.S. prevailed over Brazil and the other was France defeated England.

How to Fix MLB All-Star Weekend

Home Run Derby

          The Derby right now consists of eight players, three rounds, and three hours along with having to hear Chris Berman yell “Back, back, back, back, back, back, back, gone!” every other pitch. In addition, this year they seemed to have introduced a new idea where each league has a captain, this year it was David Ortiz for the AL and the NL’s Prince Fielder, and that captain selects three players from their league to join them. One would think that this would make the Home Run Derby something like a team event where maybe the most combined home runs wins the Derby, but we quickly learned that the whole “captain” concept really had nothing to do with the actual event as hitters were on their own once the pitches were thrown.

U.S. Women Battle Past Brazil in World Cup Classic

Fighting Through Adversity

It will go down as one of the greatest World Cup matches in history, both men’s and women’s. Number 1 in the world United States vs. the 3rd ranked Brazilian squad with goal scoring machine Marta. The United States went up 1-0 on a Brazilian own goal less than two minutes into the game. The game went without another goal until U.S. defenseman Rachel Buehler was called for a foul in the box on Marta, given a red card, and sent off. Here is when things got messy for the head referee and the U.S. team. The penalty called was certainly not clear cut. Although the red card had to have been shown if the foul was given, considering Marta had a clear path to the goal, the foul could just

2011 NBA Draft Recap

 

The Knicks Keep Piling on the Mistakes

It is unbelievable how my favorite sports franchise refuses to do anything to make the team better. This year alone, between trading half the team for Carmelo Anthony and in doing so losing Danilo Gallinari instead of Landry Fields, a decision Fields quickly made the Knicks regret as his excellent first half of the season was followed up by a nearly invisible second half and playoff performance (apparently he did not realize that a sophomore slump usually starts in the second year); not re-signing Donnie Walsh, the man who brought the team back to a respectable level after the Knicks were a punch line for half a decade; and now wasting their 17th pick in the draft. Again, that was just 2011, and we are still in June.

My Belmont Stakes Experience

The 3rd Leg of the Crown

Last Saturday was my first experience at a horse race. I had watched the bigger races; the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes; on TV over the last few years as I attempted to get into the sport that has captured so many different people. So as I went to Belmont Park with my friend Dillon last Saturday I really did not know what to expect. There was no triple crown at stake so I was not expecting too much excitement. As we walk in we see people to sets of very different people. Some people were tailgating within the park wearing very casual clothes such as shorts and no sleeve shirts as their young kids ran around them. The other set were people dressed just like you would expect at a horse race, full suit and tie, smoking cigars, and on some occasions wearing fedoras. I realized that this experience was a lot more than just the Belmont Stakes. For some people this park consumed their whole day, arriving at eight in the morning when the first race is run, until eight at night when horses of the final race cross the finish line.

Mavs Win 2011 NBA Finals

Dirk

          That’s all he needs, one name and now you’ll recognize it forever. The greatest European players to ever play in the NBA has now proven himself by finally winning his first NBA title. I could have started this article out with how much I hate LeBron, as you may have seen in my past articles, and how he continually choked in the 4th quarter but that would not give enough credit to the great Dirk. That would not be fair to Dirk nor the Mavs, so I am starting with the NBA Finals MVP. Dirk carried this team throughout the playoffs and finally gets the recognition he deserves.

          Up until winning it all, all Dirk was known for was losing the 2006 NBA Finals to the Heat after the Mavs took a two games to zero lead and being named 2007 NBA MVP after having his top seeded Mavs bow out in the 1st

2011 NBA Draft Lottery

Past Mistakes

Let me start by saying that I am about to embark on eating my big plate of crow. In a past article that I posted just after the hectic NBA trade deadline, I was very critical of the Cleveland Cavaliers for sending Jamario Moon and Mo Williams to the Clippers for Baron Davis and a 1st round pick. Well, I was wrong. I figured that that pick would be at best a mid-lottery pick in a not so talented draft and the Cavs would have to absorb Davis’ sour contract and attitude. That wasn’t the case at all, however, as that Clippers pick, which had a 2.8% chance of winning that #1 pick, was the last pick announced and thus the Cavs got the first pick in the draft.

Coach D’Antoni Needs To Go

Flashy Offense

There is no denying that Mike D’Antoni’s fast paced offense is fun to watch. Averaging over one hundred points a game year after year with quick, long range 3s and run and gun passing is going to draw in crowds. His Suns teams between 2004 and 2008, the four years D’Antoni was coach the whole season, won at least 50 wins all four years and at least 60 in two of those seasons. He won NBA Coach of the Year his first season as head coach of the Suns and the team made it to the Western Conference finals twice during his reign in Phoenix. His “7 seconds or less” offense, referring to his preference of having his team shoot no later than 7 seconds into the 24 second shot clock, in Phoenix became a 

VCU: First Four to Final Four

Beating the Goliaths

The single greatest run to the Final Four in NCAA history. 11 seeded VCU, thanks to the introduction of the First Four games, became the first team ever to make it to the Final Four by winning five games. Of those five wins only one, their Sweet Sixteen matchup against 10th seeded Florida State, was the only close one. In beating USC (by 13), Georgetown (by 18), Purdue (by 18), Florida State (by 1 in OT), and Kansas (by 10) VCU of the Colonial Athletic Association defeated members of 5 of the 6 power conferences: Pac-10, Big East, Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12 respectively. It is too bad that the Rams could not play an SEC team in the Final Four, then maybe they would have won. But fellow mid major Butler gave the Rams all they could handle in a 70-62 win for the Bulldogs (a score that really does not represent how close the game truly was).

Arizona’s Derrick Williams in the NCAA Tournament

Pulling Away From the Field

Derrick Williams was a man amongst boys playing in this tournament. Straight up. The sophomore forward for the Arizona Wildcats was already a top prospect in the NBA draft but with Kyrie Irving recovering from a toe injury and with Jared Sullinger announcing his return to Ohio State, Williams proved to be, as of now, the consensus number one pick in the 2011 NBA draft. It seemed like he was playing so well in the regular season that all he could go was down in stock. He may have been playing for the Arizona Wildcats, the Pac-10 regular season champions, 

Outdoing Blake Griffin’s Car Dunk

Dunk Contest First

It didn’t take long for some to surpass Blake Griffin’s dunk during the Dunk Contest of All-Star weekend when he jumped over a car. If you watched the contest, or any new Kia car commercial, you know that Griffin for his final dunk and set it up just out from under the rim, the sun roof then opened and a grinning Baron Davis popped his head out of the opening, holding the ball and ready to toss it to Griffin. While the car was getting set up, an entire choir (not just a few people, an ENTIRE CHOIR) lined up at half court and began to sing ‘I Believe He Can Fly’ and Griffin began to back up, ready to start his run. Finally, he started his sprint and just as he reached the car Davis tossed the ball up and Griffin jumped over the

Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel Suspended

Withholding Information

Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel has been suspended by OSU for the first two games of next season and fined $250,000 for withholding information about his players’ involvement in selling football memorabilia in exchange for benefits. As you may recall in my article “Suspended Players Lead Ohio State to Bowl Victory,” five OSU players, including QB Terrelle Pryor, were suspended for the first five games of the 2011-2012 NCAA season but were still allowed to play in Sugar Bowl against Arkansas after it was found that they violated NCAA rules. Now, it has been discovered that months before the NCAA found out about the players selling their football items, their coach found out about it and decided not to report it to the school nor the NCAA, hoping that everything would disappear and his star players could remain on the field.

2011 NBA Trade Deadline

          The NBA trade deadline ended Thursday February 24 at 3:00 PM ET. It seemed like a lot of teams waited until then or pretty close to make trades and change up their roster before it was too late. The last few minutes were so busy that I had trouble taking notes in my classes, I was so focused on refreshing my page and waiting for breaking news as the countdown came to an end. This year more than ever, trades came down to the last minute and even after the deadline passed, news still trickled in regarding major transactions and power shifting moves. The NBA saw many of these power swings as players changed teams, not only among divisions but among conferences. Teams that were stranded in no-man’s-land suddenly become threats to make the finals while potential finals contenders slid down a few notches. Here are the major trades that took place at or around the deadline and analysis and grades of each one.

Knicks Land Carmelo Anthony

Long Awaited Trade

It’s been a long first half of the season for the Denver Nuggets but they have finally traded Carmelo Anthony. After much drama over the past months, it’s finally over. The Nets gave a hard push in attempting to get Carmelo Anthony, as well as teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets, but he has finally found a team, the New York Knicks. The Knicks, Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves have completed a trade that sends F Carmelo Anthony, G Chauncey Billups, F Renaldo Balkman, F Sheldon Williams, and G Anthony Carter from the Nuggets as well as F Corey Brewer from the Timberwolves to the Knicks. The Nuggets get F Danilo Gallinari, F Wilson Chandler, G Raymond Felton, C Timofey Mozgov, a 2014 1st round pick, two 2nd round picks, and $3 million all from the Knicks. Finally, the Timberwolves receive from the Knicks both C Eddy Curry and F Anthony Randolph.

Packers Win Super Bowl XLV

Green Bay Wins

After 14 years without a Super Bowl and a whole lot of Brett Favre drama, the Lombardi Trophy has finally returned home to Green Bay. The Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in a game that came down to the last drive. Aaron Rodgers, the Super Bowl MVP, threw for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns despite some major drops by his receiving core. The Packers had to overcome some major injuries in the regular season in order to make it to the Super Bowl, so it was only fitting that they fight through more

No Suspension for Kevin Garnett After a Cheap Shot

The Low Blow

In a game between the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns, Celtics’ forward Kevin Garnett got whistled for a foul and ejected from the game after hitting Suns’ forward Channing Frye in the groin on a 3-point attempt. Frye obviously took offense to this and got in Garnett’s face. The hit can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV-iGBfTkD0&feature=related. After watching the replay and considering Garnett’s reputation, it seemed like disciplinary actions would occur. However, instead of suspending Garnett for the cheap shot, the NBA decided to do nothing. Now one may question the decision for the league not to punish Garnett for an unnecessary shot to the man region, but once

Oregon’s New-Look Basketball Court

Grand Opening of a Different Style

In Oregon’s game on January 13 against USC the Ducks broke out their new basketball floor that has a interesting new design that has not been seen before. The floor, designed by Oregon alum Tinker Hatfield who is a vice president for Nike, is named after former Oregon athletic director Pat Kilkenny and is meant to pay tribute to the Pacific Northwest by surrounding center court with forrest firs. Much like Boise State’s blue football turf, the new floor is meant to be iconic and well noticed. Trying to be well noticed is

Suspended Players Lead Ohio State to Bowl Victory

OSU Suspensions

On December 26 five Ohio State University football players were suspended for selling championship rings, jerseys, and awards in addition to receiving improper benefits. QB Terrelle Pryor, RB Dan Herron, WR DeVier Posey, OT Mike Adams, and DE Solomon Thomas are suspended the first five games of the 2011-12 NCAA football season. These five include OSU’s top passer (Pryor), top 2 rushers (Herron, Pryor), and #2 receiver (Posey) from this season.

The controversy occurred on the decision to suspend the players for next season, but not for Ohio State’s BCS Bowl Game against #8 Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, which took place January 4 and resulted in a 31-26 OSU win. These athletes were recognized for breaking rules, but their punishments