Post-Game Reaction: USA 1, Belgium 2

All Hail Tim Howard

Tim Howard, Tim Howard, Tim Howard, Tim Howard. Did I mention Tim Howard? Holy cow, can a goalie get some help from his field players? There was no offense or defense in the majority of this game for Team USA, there was only Tim Howard and his imitation of a brick wall in the Round of 16 against Belgium. 16 unbelievable saves to single-handedly keep the United States in this game for 120 minutes. The offense could not keep possession of the ball and the defense did the bare minimum in trying to stop the Belgian attack. That left Howard holding his ground as the last resistance to a relentless Belgian team that for most of the game could not crack the code that is getting the ball passed Howard.

2014 NBA Draft Recap

Knicks Trade into the Second Round

            The Knicks were one of many teams to enter this draft with no picks in either the first or second rounds. However, a trade with the Dallas Mavericks sent Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to Dallas in exchange for Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin, Wayne Ellington, and Dallas’ two second round picks (numbers 34 and 51).

            With the 34^th pick, the Knicks selected Wichita State’s Cleanthony Early. Leading up to the draft, Early seemed to be a mid to late first round selection but, for unknown reasons, dropped to the second round. When the 34^th pick came up I was hoping the Knicks would select one of two players. Spencer Dinwiddie out of Colorado was one of them and Early was the other. Anyone who leads their team to an undefeated season entering the NCAA tournament should get serious consideration and I think Early was a great pick at the top of the second round. He is not going to be the focal point of an NBA team like he was at Wichita State, but his scoring ability and aggressiveness could keep him in the league for a while. He is going to bring a lot of energy to the Knicks and I think New York will embrace him soon after he steps foot on the court.

Post-Game Reaction: USA 0, Germany 1

Life After The Group of Death

Very few people, myself included, expected to see the United States survive the Group of Death, but they remain standing and continue on to the knockout round. The U.S./Germany game is a difficult one to break down because both teams were essentially playing for the tie. Neither team really seemed to want to push too far up for fear of giving up a goal on the counterattack. However, Germany did have a lot of chances in the first half to really make the U.S. sweat, but the Germans had a lot of trouble finding the back of the net. Most of the same problems the U.S. have had in this World Cup did stick out against Germany one again, but there were a couple of bright spots.

Post-Game Reaction: USA 2, Portugal 2

30 Seconds To Glory

The United States entered this game with the strategy of playing for the tie, which is very rarely a good idea because it means having the ball in your defensive end for most of the game. Klinsmann, in the absence of Jozy Altidore due to injury, chose to play a 4-5-1 with two defensive midfielders and just Clint Dempsey playing up top. The game plan, however, quickly needed to be adjusted when the U.S. got off to a nightmare start to the game, a horribly botched clearance by Geoff Cameron led to a gift of a goal six yards out by Portugal’s Nani in the 5th minute, and now had to look to score and get the game back level. The U.S. did a great job maintaining their composure after going down early and actually outplayed Portugal for almost the entire game. Jermaine Jones tied the game in the 64th minute after a picture perfect strike from almost 30 yards left Portugal goalkeeper Beto merely a flat-footed spectator. In the 81st minute Dempsey converted on an easy tap in off his stomach from a cross courtesy of Graham Zusi and the U.S., needing a win to guarantee a spot in the Round of 16, looked like they were on their way to a victory. However, when you are facing Ballon d’Or award winner Cristiano Ronaldo you cannot afford to celebrate until the final whistle blows, which is exactly what led to the game-tying goal for Portugal. With the last play of the game the United States seemingly fell asleep and Ronaldo sent in a beautiful cross that was headed home by a cutting Varela, who was undeterred on his way to the ball. Portugal’s slim hopes were kept alive in this World Cup and the Americans were denied a guaranteed spot in the knockout stage.

Post-Game Reaction: USA 2, Ghana 1

Right Out the Gates

If you turned away to settle into your chair, you might have missed it. It was the start the United States needed against a Ghana team built to counter attack. Half a minute into the start of the game midfielder Jermaine Jones played a great ball to a cutting Clint Dempsey who maneuvered around his defender and struck a left footed shot just far enough away from the outstretched foot of the Ghanaian goalkeeper to hit the back post and then the back of the net. Just like that, the United States were on top and could allow themselves to play it a little safer in order to stop a fast moving Ghana team from countering. For a United States team playing by far its easiest match it will face as a member of the Group of Death, the often offensively inept American squad was injected with a much needed boost of confidence by captain Clint Dempsey, who now has more career World Cup goals (3) than Argentina’s Lionel Messi (2) and England’s Wayne Rooney (0) combined.

The NBA and Its New Replay Problem

          The first two rounds of the NBA postseason so far have been some of the most exciting and memorable playoff games in recent memory. The first round saw five of its eight matchups go to seven games, eight games go to overtime, and a series clinching three pointer at the buzzer by last year's Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard. However, the last two nights have been marred by an replay problem the NBA needs to address in the offseason that involves the power of the officials to review out of bounds plays with two minutes or less left in the 4th quarter and all of overtime.

Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery: The Best Bromance in Sports

          When March comes around you can count on the madness that comes with the NCAA tournament: A 15-seed upsetting a 2-seed, an 11-seed reaching the Final Four. What is more predictable than the games themselves is the greatness of two of the men that call some of those games, the broadcasting tandem made up of play-by-play announcer Verne Lundquist and color commentator Bill Raftery.

B1G Dance Contest! Tom Izzo (Michigan State) vs. Bo Ryan (Wisconsin)

            There is no doubt that the Big Ten has some great basketball coaches, but between them who has the best moves off the court? Michigan State coach Tom Izzo became an off-court sensation over the last couple of days thanks to a local commercial he filmed for a ladder company during which he dances at the top of a ladder in order to demonstrate all the room at the summit. A few years ago, Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan, for reasons I am not quite sure of but fully support, filmed a choreographed video of him dancing to the short lived hit “Crank That” by Soulja Boy. Two legendary coaches, two fantastic videos, but only one can be named the Big Ten’s Best Dancing Coach. So which coach has the better moves? Let’s break down the videos.

Ranking the Nicknames from the Heat/Nets Game

The NBA seems to be experimenting a lot with jerseys this season in a sad and obvious scheme to try and make more money. First it was the awful retina-burning, short-sleeved Christmas Day jerseys and now the NBA is experimenting with nicknames in lieu of last names on the back of players’ jerseys. I think I speak for everyone when I say that this idea, like the new basketball they tried to use in 2006, should be quickly shelved. However, there were some bright spots on the back of jerseys last night. Here are my rankings of the best NBA nicknames used from last night’s Miami Heat/Brooklyn Nets game.