Thoughts of a Sports Addict

The Dwightmare is Finally Over

2012-08-11T19:20:00.001-07:00

Remember when you had to watch those movies in school, the ones that went with the book you were reading in English class and were supposed to have an underlying message? They would drag on for what seemed like weeks and there were moments where you seriously considered gouging out your eyes just so you wouldn't have to watch another minute. Well the entire Dwight Howard trade watch was that movie.

I'm going to assume that if you're reading this you have at least somewhat followed the ongoing Dwight trade talks that have been taking place for over a year now. First he wanted to be traded, then it had to be to a big market, then it had to be Brooklyn, then he didn't want to be traded anywhere, then he did want to be traded, then he wanted to be a free agent, which led to him opting IN for another year in Orlando, then he got back surgery and missed the end of the season, then he wanted to stay in Orlando, then he wanted to be traded to Brooklyn, and finally he accepted a trade to the Lakers.

Read that paragraph again and remember that this all happened in an 8 month span from Christmas to this past Thursday when he finally got traded. While he broke the record for most change of hearts in less than a year it became very obvious that Dwight is a 26 year old man who still has a little child in him.

Now onto the really fun part for me, let's break down the trade for the four teams involved.

LA Lakers: How can you not LOVE this trade for them? They upgraded from Andrew Bynum to Dwight Howard and all it cost them was a first round pick, which is destined to be between 25 and 30. The Lakers now employ four of the top 30 players in the league with Steve Nash, Kobe, Pau, and Dwight. They have become the favorites to win the championship and have jumped the Heat as the team with the most talented starting lineup. Kobe Bryant, a former MVP, is now the third most important player on his own team. By starting Howard in place of Bynum the Lakers now have a low post defensive presence that can block shots and challenge plays at the rim. Bynum was a superior offensive player but with Steve Nash running the point, Dwight might set the record for most alley-oops that cause a fan base to collectively lose their shit. The word Boom-Shakalaka was invented for this pairing. Throw in Pau Gasol, one of the best big men in the league in his own right and that's a destructive combination of big men. Oh and I almost forgot, they employ a certain Black Mamba who is also capable of taking over a game and putting up 40 points on any given night. Perhaps the person who will benefit most from this is The Artist Formerly Known As Ron Artest, who will set the record for most wide open threes clanged off the side of the rim. Should he even be able to shoot a respectable percentage, every other team won't even have a chance. Also with his defensive abilities he will be extremely valuable in trying to stop Lebron and Wade should they meet in the finals. If the Lakers can fill out the bench with veterans like Leandro Barbosa and maybe Darko and younger guys like Jodie Meeks then they will be a tough out in the playoffs.

Denver Nuggets: Another team that I love this trade for. They picked up Andre Iguodala while giving up Aaron Afflalo, Al Harrington, and a couple draft picks. Iguodala is a solid upgrade over Afflalo and will give the Nuggets a better defensive presence on the wing. Pairing him with JaVale Mcgee, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, "The Manimal" Kenneth Faried and Ty Lawson will give the Nuggets a very 2004 Detroit Pistons feel. I don't think they're going to win the championship but they will definitely do better than anyone expects. That is a well balanced team with some great defensive players, great rebounders, and guys that can get into the paint on offense.

Philadelphia 76ers: Incredibly I also love the trade for the Sixers. They got the second best player in the deal and finally got themselves a franchise level big man in Andrew Bynum. I know I sort of trashed him when I was talking about how Dwight is better than him but Bynum is the second best center in the league when motivated. They also picked up Jason Richardson, who can step right in and replace Iguodala's offensive production plus add three point shooting. They return Evan Turner, J'rue Holliday, and Spencer Hawes to a team that took the Celtics to seven games in the playoffs last year. Turner and Holliday should only get better and Bynum gives them a low post presence that they haven't had since Charles Barkley left town twenty years ago. This is my sleeper team in the Eastern Conference, they are going to be a top four seed in the playoffs and will outperform the WAY overhyped New York Knicks that everybody seems to love. Richardson had a tough year last year but in his defense he was playing in Orlando, Dwightmare Central, and he came into the lockout shortened season very out of shape.

Orlando Magic: HATE IT, HATE IT, HATE IT, HATE IT, HATE IT, HATE IT, HATE IT.......and did I mention that I HATE IT. They just bent over and took it from Dwight for 8 months and then sent him to the best situation....really? Really? Really? The man has been a pain the ass for almost a year and you send him to the best situation for him to immediately win a title....does that make ANY sense? I could try to defend it if they had gotten a kings ransom back, something like Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum or Bynum plus multiple lottery picks, but they just gave Dwight away. The centerpiece of their return was Aaron Afflalo.......seriously Aaron Afflalo. Nothing against Afflalo, I'm actually a big fan of his and thing he's pretty talented but is he any better than Rudy Gay or Kevin Martin? Would either of those guys have been accepted as the best player in return for Dwight.....no. You could say they got three first round picks but look closer, all three teams they got them from will be in the playoffs, which means at best they will be at #15 or worse. If they had sent Dwight to the Rockets last month they would've received three picks that were all between 10 and 20 in a loaded draft. This trade is like going out to eat and choosing quantity over quality. It's like going to Wendys and realizing that for 5 bucks I can either get a full meal or I can get five loaded bake potatoes. Sure the baked potatoes are good but do you build an entire dinner around them? No, you don't. You make sure to get one main piece of the meal and then surround it with other food that compliments the main piece. Orlando traded their main piece for a bunch of side dishes, when they already had enough side dishes. Their best players are now Aaron Afflalo, Big Baby Davis, and Jameer Nelson. And with your first pick in the 2013 NBA Draft the Orlando Magic select.........

So there it is, the Dwightmare is over and the result has turned into a nightmare for every team in the NBA. Orlando got nothing worth keeping in return for him and they gave him to a team that is now the overwhelming favorite for the NBA title. At least I can root for Steve Nash.

Thanks for reading, be sure to leave a comment, go back and read all my other entries, tell your friends about the blog, and follow me on twitter @joshviola19.

-Josh

From Jesus to Judas: The Ray Allen Story

2012-07-21T18:52:00.001-07:00

Welcome back to Thoughts of a Sports Addict. After a looooooonnnnnggggg delay, I've finally decided that now is the time to post some thoughts. Why now? Because I'm attempting to watch a complete Red Sox game and figure that even though it's the fifth inning I probably still have another three hours to crank out a column.

Anyways, I'm tempted to change the title of the blog to Thoughts of an NBA Addict because let's be honest, I'm probably never writing about anything other than NBA basketball. Maybe I'll throw out a quick one on March Madness or give my thoughts on potential draftees but that's as far off of the NBA as I'll go.

So let's see, since the last time I published an entry the Heat won the finals, Ray Allen broke my heart, Steve Nash joined the Lakers, and Dwight Howard is a Net.....wait sorry he's on the Lakers......oh wait no he's changed his mind again and he's been traded to the Flint Michigan Tropics to play with Jackie Moon (still won't sign an extension though). I never thought ANYONE could upstage Lebron's "Decision" but at least he made a decision and got it over with in one day, Dwight has turned the last two seasons into the equivalent of the Iranian Hostage Crisis for the NBA. So please Dwight, speaking as someone who is probably in the top .001% of NBA fans in the entire world, just pick a spot and let yourself be traded there, this has to stop. Even as a Celtics fan I don't care if the Magic trade Dwight to the Heat for Joel Anthony, Juwan Howard, and the rights to the Dolphins, just please send him somewhere else.

Now let me go ahead and surprise everyone by saying that I'm perfectly fine with Lebron James raising the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Yes, he gets the benefit of EVERY call, carries himself with the utmost arrogance, and has the words "Chosen One" tattooed on his back but for this season he deserved to win the championship. I remember watching him in game 6 against the Celtics, as he hit jumper after jumper after jumper and proceeded to rip my heart out, thinking that this is the way I've always wanted to see him play. The biggest problem I ever had with Lebron was that he was wasting his talent and it offended me. Having missed the Jordan era, just bad luck being born too late, I felt that Lebron was my chance to experience what it was like. For the first 8 years of his career it didn't really work out that way though. Lebron didn't have the killer instinct that Jordan had, wasn't the closer that Jordan was, and certainly didn't carry himself with the supreme confidence that seemed to ooze out of MJ's every pore. He was robbing me of my chance to be able to sit my grandkids on me knee someday and tell them about how I saw Lebron James dominate the NBA, just like Michael, Larry, Magic, Kareem, and Bill Russell had done before him. My biggest fear when Lebron went to Miami was that he'd win a title playing second fiddle to Dwyane Wade, proving that Lebron was more Scottie Pippen than Michael Jordan.

But this year something changed. Lebron came out in the playoffs and dominated to a level that I've never seen before. He was everything I've ever wanted him to be, taking over in the clutch, hitting big shots, and playing lock down defense. Unfortunately he decided to have this coming out party against my favorite team in the Eastern Conference Finals......so I'm still not a fan but at least now I can tell myself that I'm ok with him winning the championship. Now that we've decided that Lebron is indeed the Michael Jordan of the Heat, that would make Dwyane Wade the Scottie Pippen and Chris Bosh the Toni Kukoc. Bosh being Kukoc is actually a lot closer than you'd think, with both being in the 6'10" range and left handed........well I suppose that's where the comparison probably stops.

.........Now we move on to a topic that has been pretty hard to deal with. I'll let the video speak first.

Before I rip on Ray Allen for the decision he made, let me first say, thank you. Thank you for helping my favorite team win a championship in 2008, thank you for always playing hard and being in shape, thank you for hitting more game winning shots than I can count, thank you for crossing over Sasha Vujacic so badly that he almost cried, and thank you for helping to make the Celtics relevant again.

I'll never forget watching Ray Allen hit his first game winner in a Celtics' uniform against the Bobcats. We stole the inbounds pass, Ray ended up with the ball and nailed the shot. I'll never forget when the picture went out and I had to listen to Tommy and Mike describe the game winner Ray Allen hit against Toronto. How could I not remember forever when Ray made the most clutch lay up I've ever seen to secure a victory in the Game 4 comeback against the Lakers in Los Angeles? Even the next season when KG was hurt and the Bulls put up a huge fight in the first round series agains the Celtics, Ray hit big shot after big shot to put down the Bulls in 7 games. Then another trip to the finals in 2010 featured Ray breaking the record for threes in a finals game as the C's came agonizingly close to a second title in three years. Ray was at times incredible in a Celtics' uniform and I will never forget that. He made me jump out of my seat so many times that I eventually decided to just not sit down during the end of games.

And then he broke my heart......

I'll never understand how anyone could do what Ray did. In fact I've never known of another player to sign with the team that just beat his team in the playoffs, let alone the team that is the main rival. If KG had decided to just retire and Ainge was set on blowing up the team it would be understandable but when KG came back and the Celtics began to reload it seemed only natural for Ray Allen to return. However, he could not have done more to spite the Celtics. He signed with the Heat for half the money that the Celtics were offering and a role that is similar, or perhaps even less than, what Boston was offering. Ray Allen effectively spit in the face of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and every other teammate that he played with last year (although to be fair he probably would like to actually spit in Rondo's face). I know people like to argue that Ray was justified in what he did and he may have been, that's not what I'm interested in, my interest is in why he would leave. Imagine for a moment that Ray had stayed in Boston and retired at the end of his contract. In 2016 we get the incredible moment of Ray, Pierce, and KG coming back to the Garden to have their numbers retired together and a chance to soak in the adulation of the crowd one more time. Ray goes down as a Celtic legend and beloved New England figure, having also gone to college at UConn. In reality he gave all that up to be a mercenary, a hired gun, for the Heat. He'll get no credit if the Heat win another championship, at least no more than Mike Miller, Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem, or any other role player got this year. It's sad for me to think that when Ray Allen finally does retire, he will belong to no franchise. He was a Buck for the first five years of his career, a Supersonic for the next five years, then a Celtic for five years, and finally a member of the Heat. The two teams he had a chance to have his number retired for, the Celtics and Sonics, are no longer options. The Sonics were moved to Oklahoma City and are now known as the Thunder and Ray just torched his bridge with the Celtics.

Alright, well that's enough for now be sure to check back often though because I'll be breaking down the Celtics new players, Courtney Lee, Jared Sullinger, Fab Melo, Jeff Green, and maybe one or two more.

Thanks for reading, be sure to leave a comment, become a fan of this blog, and follow me on twitter @joshviola19.

-Josh

NBA Playoff Predictions

2012-04-28T18:37:00.003-07:00

I know, I know, they started earlier today but I'm always late anyways.

East

(1) Chicaco Bulls Defeat (8) Philadelphia 76ers

And the very first prediction is affected by a game that happened today. Derrick Rose is done for the rest of the playoffs with a torn ACL and MCL. Losing the reigning MVP in game 1 of the playoffs is usually a death nell for any team, but if there's any team equipped to compete without him it's the Bulls. They were without him for much of the season and still managed to maintain a stranglehold on the top spot in the Eastern Conference so they have proven that they can play without him. CJ Watson and John Lucas III are going to be extremely important in this series now and have shown that they can step up when called upon. The Bulls also have one of the best coaches in the league with Tom Thibodeau and one of the best big man rotations in the league in the form of Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, and Omer Asik.

The Sixers are going to make this an interesting series because they can throw out great athletes and one of the best benches in the league. Andre Iguodala, J'Rue Holiday, Elton Brand, Lou Williams, Thad Young, and Evan Turner will lead Philly and could very well pull off the upset. I think, unfortunately for Philadelphia, this team is still a year and a scoring big man away from being a team capable of knocking off the Bulls. As it stands now, without Rose I can see the Sixers extending the series to six games, but not having enough to stop the Bulls.

Final: Bulls over Sixers in 6 games.

(2) Miami Heat Defeat (7) New York Knicks

This is the second game in a row where a game 1 injury is affecting my prediction. This time it isn't the reigning MVP but a rookie named Iman Shumpert. Now if you're not a big NBA fan then you've probably never heart of Iman Shumpert because he got overshadowed this year by teammate Jeremy Lin. Shumpert could probably be considered the "Anti-Lin" because of the way that he plays defense and doesn't dominate the ball on offense. For Celtics fans, Shumpert is comparable to a bigger Avery Bradley, complete with pressure defense and streaky shooting. Unfortunately for the Knicks Shumpert went down with what is being called "a probably torn ACL". Now with no one to play suffocating defense on Dwyane Wade, the Knicks are in rough shape because the other point guards on the roster, Mike Bibby and Baron Davis, haven't been good since Bush left office.

The Heat story is well known so I won't waste time explaining it here, I'll leave it for the next round when they have a better matchup. If Shumpert hadn't gotten hurt, I think this would have been the best series because the teams seemed evenly matched, and even with the injury I think it will still be more competitive than it looked today. If you have Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony then you are going to be in a series. I would bet that at least one game sharpshooters Steve Novak and JR Smith catch fire and win the Knicks a game but the Heat are going to be too much.

Final: Heat over Knicks in 5

(6) Orlando Magic Defeat (3) Indiana Pacers

I'm currently watching this game and the Magic are down by 2 points with two minutes left in the third. My favorite sports writer, Bill Simmons, has a theory that he called the "Ewing Theory". The idea is that when a teams best player gets hurt and is out for an extended time, that team comes together over the adversity and plays better than anyone expects. The theory is named for Patrick Ewing, as when he got hurt during the last strike season the Knicks shocked everyone and went from the eighth seed in the East to the NBA Finals. Currently Dwight Howard has gotten hurt and the Magic are a prime candidate to prove the "Ewing Theory" correct. The part that worries me is that the team right now is just a three point bombing squad that really has no inside presence. I've seen Big Baby play as a starter and it's not a good thing for the Magic.

I'm underrating the Pacers. I know I am, and I don't care. To me they are the most perplexingly good team in the league. Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert are there two best players and neither is a top 25 player in the NBA. My worry is that when the going gets tough and they need someone to take the ball and make a big shot they're all going to look at each other. Orlando has Big Baby, who for all his short-comings, definitely does not lack the confidence to take the big shot. So I'm going to ride the Magic in this series. I just have a feeling.

Final: Magic over Pacers in 7

(4) Boston Celtics Defeat (5) Atlanta Hawks

Homer pick? Sure. The Hawks are a good, athletic team that gave Boston trouble in 2008 when the Celtics' best players were four years younger. The difference this time is that Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia are both out for the series. Boston's biggest problem is rebounding, it's been their achilles heal all year long due to a lack of big quality big men. No Horford or Pachulia for the Hawks means that their rebounding will be that much weaker and Boston should be able to keep the rebounding numbers fairly equal.

The key to the Celtics success after the all star break has been the shrewd move by Doc of moving KG to the center position. I've written before and it's been well documented that Garnett has never wanted to be a center, but for the good of the team he moved over to allow Brandon Bass into the starting lineup as the power forward. Since then it's done wonders. Because Garnett and Bass are both lethal from 18 feet, the lane is wide open for Avery Bradley, Rajon Rondo, and Paul Pierce to slash to the basket. The emergence of Bradley, as not only the best wing defender in the conference but also as a decent shooter of the corner three, has made the offense that much smoother. Ray Allen is crucial to the team success but running plays designed to get him an open shot was slowing down the offense and hurting the flow of the game for the Celtics. Bradley is able to score points just by reacting to what Rondo does and cutting to the basket. The Hawks best chance is to hope Joe Johnson and Josh Smith play out of their mind. Johnson is certainly a capable offensive player and Smith can be one of the best defenders in the league when he's playing smart, unfortunately for the Hawks Josh Smith too often falls in love with the jump shot and when it isn't falling his defense suffers. The Celtics are winning this series, they just have too many positional advantages not to.

Final: Celtics over Hawks in 6

West

(1) San Antonio Spurs defeat (8) Utah Jazz

If the Grizzlies hadn't beaten San Antonio last year, I would have picked Utah this year. This series is going to be A LOT closer than anyone believes. The Spurs biggest weakness comes when they have to play a team with more than one quality big man. It's why they lost to the Grizzlies, with Z-Bo and Marc Gasol last year. Tim Duncan is getting older and even though he's still a great player, he can't cover for everyones' mistakes anymore. The Jazz boast a big man rotation of Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors, and Enes Kanter that can reek havoc down low. That means that Dejuan Blair and Tiago Splitter are going to have to prove their worth on the defensive end to at least slow those guys down.

Tony Parker and a healthy Manu Ginobili are going to be the difference for the Spurs this year. Ginobili got hurt last year and missed the series against the Grizzlies and Parker has been out of this world this year, even generating some MVP talk. Again though, I think the real reason I'm picking the Spurs here, even though my gut says they're in for a second "shocking exit" is because they lost last year and I can't see a team with Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich losing to an 8 seed twice.

Final: Spurs over Jazz in 7

(2) Oklahoma City Thunder defeat (7) Dallas Mavericks

The defending champs aren't getting out of the first round this year. The feel good moment of the sports year in 2011 was definitely the Mavs winning the NBA championship. To see Dirk, Jason Kidd, Peja Stojakovich, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, and Tyson Chandler finally get a ring was awesome, but it's not happening again. The trade for Lamar Odom killed this team. If you had told me that the Mavs were going to give up a first round pick and get Lamar Odom I would have told you it was a great trade but he imploded in Dallas and ruined the Mavs. The other reason I don't think the Mavs can win it again is a reason that has nothing to do with talent. Last year they had the motivation to win it all because so many of them were dying to finally win a championship and get that ring, where is the motivation coming from this year? I'm sure Vince Carter would like a ring but he's not exactly the guy I'd want to have to try and get my team fired up. Don't worry though Mav fans, you'll have Deron Williams next year.

The Thunder are playing fantastic basketball with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook leading the way. Serge Ibaka, James Harden, and Kendrick Perkins are also playing well and contributing to a team that is becoming a well oiled machine. Can't see them losing yet, but I'll spoil the ending for you, this team isn't going to the finals. Why, you ask? Well look at this video. The man in the black (Shawn Michaels) is Russell Westbrook and the man in the red (Marty Jannetty) is Kevin Durant.

Final: OKC over Mavs in 6

(3) Los Angeles Lakers defeat Denver Nuggets

Not because of Kobe and Gasol but because of Andrew Bynum. He's the new big man in LA and should be the guy that the offense runs through. This will never happen because of Kobe but it should happen. The trade for Ramon Sessions at the trade deadline was probably the most helpful trade any team made at the deadline because it got Derek Fisher out of the starting lineup (and later he was sent away too). Sessions has been the steady hand that the Lakers have needed to solidify their starting lineup.

Why am I not picking Denver? Go back and read the reason I'm not picking Indy and it's the same reason. Lots of talent but no go-to guy.

Final: LA over Denver in 7 (only because I'm unsure about Kobe's injury situation)

(5) Memphis Grizzlies defeat (4) LA Clippers

Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are great players (and great floppers) but they're overmatched in this series. The Grizzlies have too much talent to lose to the Clips. Randolph, Gasol, Gay, Conley, Tony Allen, Mayo, and the list goes on of guys who would be starters on the Clippers. They only two guys on the Clippers that would start for the Grizzlies are the aforementioned Paul and Griffin. Deandre Jordan has been a bust after signing a big new contract, Caron Butler is a shell of his former self, and Chauncey Billups went down early in the season with a rupture achilles possibly never to return.

So as great as Blake is when it comes to highlight reel dunks, his defense leaves a lot to be desired. Z-Bo and Gasol are going to eat him up inside. The only way the Clippers are going to win this series is if Chris Paul goes into "F-U" mode and puts the Clippers on his back for 4 games. Chris Paul is the best player in the series and has the ability to single handedly bring the Clippers to the second round but I'm not betting on it. Let's not forget as well that Vinny Del Negro is the worst coach in the league...it's not even debatable.

Final: Grizzlies over Clippers in 5.

So there you have the first round of the NBA playoffs. I'd love to hear from you guys on whether you agree, disagree, think I'm an idiot or whatever.

Thanks for reading, leave a comment, become a fan of this blog, go back and read all my other blogs (check out how I correctly predicted the NBA and NHL champion last year in the correct amount of games), and follow me on twitter @joshviola19.
-Josh

NBA End of Season Awards

2012-04-21T20:05:00.001-07:00

The saddest day of the year is coming up soon....the last day of the NBA regular season. So for the three of you that actually care about NBA regular season basketball, this column is for you.

How much do I love the NBA? Let's put it this way: I'm unemployed, single, a part time student, and I still don't feel like I have enough time for all the NBA basketball I want in my life. I may not be able to remember what I had for breakfast but I can remember how many points Paul Pierce scored in the second half of a game against the New Jersey Nets 10 years ago (46). For the last three months I've used the three hours a week of Pathophysiology class to play NBA Sporcle games and read through message boards, debating such amazing topics as "Lebron's Receding Hairline" and "What's the best nickname for Greg Stiemsma". I can rattle off the order of draft picks for just about every draft of the last 12 years, including where the draftees went to college. At a party one time in college I had a 20 minute conversation with a drunk classmate on why a zone defense wouldn't work against the Suns. Why am I telling you all of this.....no not because I had to prove that I really have no life, but to show you just how much I love the NBA. I've read Bill Simmons Book of Basketball enough times that I think I can recite it like snobby upper class people can recite Shakespeare. These are the reasons that I write this blog. I LOVE sports, especially basketball, and I love to share my passion for it with other people. So ya, the last day of the NBA regular season is a sad one for me, it means that I have to wait at least six months for another season to start. I might even have to find a job to help pass the time. So here goes.....

MVP:

The NBA MVP is the best MVP award in all of sports. Can you name the last 10 NFL, MLB, or NHL MVP's? I bet you can't. My guess is that you could at least stumble into the last 10 NBA MVP's, because the NBA MVP is rarely handed out to a guy that isn't GREAT. Let's look at those last ten guys that have won the trophy. 2001-2011 we had Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan (x2), Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash (x2), Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James (x2), and Derrick Rose. Every one of those guys is going to be a Hall of Famer. Other than Rose and possibly Nash they are also all among the top 30 guys to ever play in the NBA. So what am I trying to say here? I'm saying that the NBA MVP is more important and the person who wins it needs to have dominated a season to the point that ten years from now when you think back they are the first person you think of from the season. For me the contenders are Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Tony Parker, Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul, and Kevin Love. The only two guys who put up the stats that are worthy of the MVP award are James and Durant. Kobe, Love, Paul, Rondo, and Parker had excellent seasons but they're a step below Lebron and Durant.

Between Kevin Durant and Lebron James, I'm taking Lebron as the MVP. It's a regular season MVP award, so his playoff failures have nothing to do with this pick even if it is hard to understand how he can be so good in the regular season and so bad during the 4th quarter of playoff games. What it really came down to was that the main argument against Lebron is that his team is too good, but I actually think Durant is surrounded by more talent. Lebron is in a starting lineup with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Joel Anthony, and Mario Chalmers along with nothing off the bench. Durant has Russell Westbrook, Thabo Sefalosha, Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins, and James Harden off the bench. I might be alone on this but I'd take the talent on OKC over the talent on Miami. Lebron has LESS help than Kevin Durant. Both are great players, but Lebron has put up historically great numbers and when I think of this season in 10 years it will be about his quest to get back to the finals.

Coach of the Year:

This boils down to three coaches competing for this award. It has to be either Gregg Popovich, Doc Rivers, or Tom Thibodeau. Pop has taken the Spurs and led them to the top of the Western Conference once again this season. I know what some of you are thinking though, "Come on, if I had Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili I'd be able to take the Spurs to the top of the West too". Well ask yourself a question, how many years in a row have you been saying that? Tim Duncan was drafted in 1997, Ginobili in 1999, and Parker in 2001, and they've been winning championships since the last strike shortened season in 1998-1999. The case for Doc Rivers is similar to that of Pop. He took a team led by older stars and has led them to a division championship and top four playoff seed. Combine that with the job he's done integrating Avery Bradley into the starting lineup and getting the best out of guys like Greg Stiemsma, Mickael Pietrus, and every other guy who was signed with the intention of wearing a suit and sitting on the bench cheering. He had to deal with season ending injuries to Jermaine O'Neal, Chris Wilcox, and Jeff Green while also losing Rondo, Pierce, Garnett, and Allen for stretches of time at different points in the season. Thibodeau won the award last year and this year he once again will be up for consideration because of how he kept the Bulls in the drivers seat of the Eastern Conference with 2011 MVP Derrick Rose sitting out for a third of the season.

Of the three I'm going to go with Doc. Call me a homer but he had to deal with injuries to just about everyone on the roster, had the confidence to play a 27 year old white rookie center big minutes in crucial games, and somehow talked Ray Allen into accepting a bench role. Props to Pop and Thibs but Boston asked Doc to do everything but suit up and play this season and somehow they're still the Atlantic Division champions.

Rookie of the Year:

I'm picking Ricky Rubio for this award and you can't stop me. I know he tore his ACL and missed the end of the season but I don't care he was the most important rookie in the league. Kyrie Irving had better stats but it didn't really matter because Cleveland didn't even come close to sniffing the playoffs. Rubio, along with Kevin Love, had the Timberwolves in position to make the playoffs before his unfortunate injury. Most experts had the T-Wolves as bottom feeders in the West once again but Rubio changed all that. He threw the best passes of any player in the league (sorry Rondo) and he energized an entire franchise that has had little to cheer about since KG left 5 years ago. When you think of the 2011-2012 season the first rookie that comes to mind will be Ricky Rubio. Sorry Kyrie, but no one in Cleveland has forgotten about Lebron yet.

Most Improved Player:

My apologies to all of the Jeremy Lin fans that are reading this but I just can't pick him for this one. I don't think he improved, he was just given a chance to finally start playing big minutes. It was a great story but if you look at the games before he got hurt he was starting to tail off. If you want to compare Jeremy to a band it would have to be Nirvana. Kurt Cobain killed himself when Nirvana was at its apex, allowing music fans to romanticize them forever after, much the same way that Jeremy Lin injured himself at his apex allowing basketball fans to romanticize how great he was. The difference is that Lin will be back next year, probably overpaid, and everyone will find out that he isn't nearly as good as he showed in his first few games.

The real winner of this award should be a guy who was in the NBA for a while but never really made the kind of impact people thought he would before finally living up to his potential this year. For me the guy that fits that description, primarily because I just wrote it for him, is Gerald Green. G-Money was a first round draft pick by the Celtics in 2005 and was playing in Russia by 2010. That is a LOOOONNNGGG way to fall. He entered the D-League this year and enjoyed tons of success before dominating the D-League all star game and getting the call-up from the Nets. Since getting called up he's had the dunk of the year and is scoring 12.5 points per game on excellent efficiency. So "The Shocker" (check out his right hand) is taking this award home.

Defensive Player of the Year:

For me, this award belongs to Kevin Garnett. Check out the way he shut down Kevin Love, Chris Bosh, and every other great power forward in the league. Maybe I'm a homer and maybe it's because I've watched just about every Celtics game this year but Kevin Garnett is still the best defender in the league. It's incredible that even with the loss of athleticism over the years he can still shut down talented players that are 10 years younger than him. Tyson Chandler, Tony Allen, Andre Iguodala, and Dwight Howard were also up for this award. Tyson was the closest to unseating Garnett and if he had been coached by Mike Woodson all season he may have. Unfortunately for Tyson he had to play for Mike "no D" D'Antoni with defensive midgets Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire as teammates. Tony Allen doesn't play enough minutes to really qualify for the award, although he's probably the best wing defender in the league. Iguodala is a great defender but a little overrated. Dwight Howard is just a big douche bag who bailed on his team and threw his coach under the bus. We'll remember this as the season where Dwight Howard committed character suicide.

Sixth Man:

~~Brian Scalabrine~~ I mean, James Harden. They're easily confused. The man with the best beard in pro sports is the runaway winner of this award. Tons of guys were great sixth men this year but no one even came within shouting distance of unseating James Harden here.

So there are the NBA regular season awards. Check back next week when I'll be posting my playoff predictions, sure to be wrong. Remember to leave a comment, go back and read my other blogs, become a fan of this blog, and follow me on twitter @joshviola19.

-Josh

Understanding Lebron

2012-04-04T16:33:00.004-07:00

Welcome to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict, probably the most shocking one yet. I'm going to try and psychoanalyze Lebron James and figure out why he has never become the player that everyone thought he was going to be. What other blog provides the psychoanalytical ramblings of a chemist? This is one of a kind.

Let's start out with a speech from the movie Coach Carter, because it describes what you're about to read about perfectly. (Thanks to Jake Viola for showing me this)

Being under-employed I have lots of free time during the week to do pretty much whatever I please and lately that has been some soul searching and reflection. Of course not all my time is spent doing that and I've been watching an inordinate amount of sports, usually spending my mornings watching Skip Bayless argue with a host of other national pundits about any number of topics. They were debating a topic earlier this week about Lebron James not wanting the ball in the final few minutes of a game. Other than the fact that the topic has been beaten to death, it's also one that I thought I had a solid opinion on. Lebron doesn't want the ball at the end of the game because he fears failing and isn't confident enough in himself to get the job done.

I've changed my mind though...

I've always thought that my biggest fear in life was failure. It's the answer that I always give when people ask me what I'm afraid of most. But over the last couple of weeks I've slowly come to the conclusion that this is simply incorrect. I thrive on failure. Failure has built a chip on my shoulder that motivates me every day to be better than the day before. Failure is the reason that I bust my ass at the gym 7 days a week and the reason that I am motivated be a better teacher. So then that begs the question, what do I really fear? It took me a few days to figure it out, but what I fear most in the world is success. It sounds completely backward but as I began looking back at events in my life it bore itself out. Whether it was sports, school, girls, teaching, wrestling school, or anything else, I've always feared being as successful as I could have and should have been. I was always content to fail and let that chip on my shoulder grow.

So why is this important to Lebron James? I've been thinking about it and he has the same problem. He fears success. Don't get me wrong, the guy is incredibly successful as a basketball player. He's a multiple time MVP and the best player in the league, but he has failed again and again in crunch time of big games. When you get to a certain level in sports you can no longer be measured by individual achievements but instead must be measured by championships. The greatest of all time, Michael Jordan, feared failure and would work himself tirelessly to ensure that he NEVER failed. He wanted to be the greatest to ever play the game and wanted the big shot every time. I can imagine a Heat huddle now that has Lebron asking Dwyane Wade if he wants to take the game winning shot, and that's the problem. Can anyone imagine Jordan or Larry Bird offering to pass up the game winning shot to run a play for a teammate.....no you can't. I imagine one of those Bulls huddles went something like this: Coach: "OK here's the play...." Jordan: "Just give me the ball and get the F*** out of my way".

Does it make Lebron a bad guy that he doesn't want to take that shot? I don't think so. I think Lebron, like myself, loves to be loved......by EVERYONE. There is no way to insure unanimous popularity but there's a difference between wanting to be liked by everyone and being comfortable playing the villain role. I've ripped on Lebron a lot for making the decision to leave Cleveland by way of a live television special, and I still can't defend it but I understand why he did it. If I was going to upset a lot of people with one decision I would definitely want to do something to try and soften the blow. Knowing that, I can see why he made the decision to hold a live "Decision" special with the proceeds going to the Cleveland boys and girls clubs. I can understand his thinking that maybe Cleveland wouldn't hate him as much if he did this one act of charity on his way out. I'm not sure I wouldn't have made the same decision or at least allowed myself to be talked into it being a good idea.

Going back to looking at decisions that I've made, it's easy to see that I hate upsetting people or giving bad news of any kind. Sports, especially basketball, is an area where it's pretty easy for me to pick apart where I did things just to keep everyone happy. I rarely looked for my own offense. Everyone loves to shoot and when you're taking their shots away they get upset, especially if you're missing. So rather than look to shoot the ball, I decided to focus on passing and rebounding, though it mostly amounted to bench warming. I've had coaches literally yell at me to shoot the ball, but I never wanted to rock the boat. I was afraid of success, not that I was a fantastic player, however I will forever believe that I had more to offer. The one year that I did look for my own offense was a year I spent playing rec ball. It was the only time in my entire basketball career, 8 years, where I believed that I had to score for the team to win and that I was our best option.

Doesn't that sound like Lebron? When he was on the Cavs he took a team with no other all stars to the NBA Finals. Really the only year where he BELIEVED he was the best player and should be taking the shots at the end of games. He had the 48 Special against Detroit in the conference finals because there was nothing to lose, he was the only hope for the Cavs. When the Cavs started putting better pieces around Lebron he started to lose that swagger. He was still clearly the best player on the team but with Antawn Jamison and Shaq he now had guys who were older and had been all stars before. If you don't think Lebron started having doubts about whether he should be taking the crunch time shots or whether he should be feeding Shaq then I don't think you've been paying attention. Fast forward to when he went to Miami and he's feeling the pressure even more. He has no idea whether he should be deferring to Wade/Bosh or whether he should be taking over. To say that Michael Jordan would have gone to any team in the league during the 90's and deferred to ANYONE wouldn't just be asinine, it would be asiten, asieleven, asitwelve. Michael never feared success with any team, no matter whose toes he was stepping on. Lebron is too sensitive of a guy to step on other people to get to the top. And I totally get it.

So why, after 9 years in the league, hasn't Lebron listened to the media and just started taking the crunch time shots to shut everyone up. To be honest, if he just started taking the shots most of the hate would subside. Even Jordan missed more game winners than he made. The reason is the same reason that I still suck at dating. It's another quality that we share, not stubborness but an increased level of cautiousness and an inability to live in the moment. I believe that Lebron passes up the crunch time shots, not because he's not confident he can make them, but because he fears what will happen if he starts making them. If he starts making them, then expectations rise that he'll make them every time. That's a good thing, unless you're the type of person that hates to let people down....which is exactly what Lebron is. So rather than take that last shot, he'll gladly pass it off to Wade, Bosh, or even Udonis Haslem. In my situation I've never had an entire television show dedicated to breaking down my dating woes, but I do have some close friends that do their best Skip Bayless impression whenever we start talking about it. And what compares to a last second shot better than that awkward moment when you're dropping someone off? Much like Lebron my body language is terrible and my mind ends up in a million different places. It's not that I wasn't interested in the person I went out with, in fact I've never gone out with someone I DIDN'T like. It boils down to the same issue of wanting everyone to like you. If you never take a chance than the worst case scenario is that you'll end up as friends.....again fearing success and settling for someone simply "liking you" when it probably should've been more. Although it is more failure to add to that ever-growing chip on the shoulder. So Lebron and I both ignore what is usually GREAT advice because both of us fear the success and expectations that might come with it. Instead of living in the moment, we're both thinking 15 moments ahead to what might go wrong in the future.

Another thing that I've ripped Lebron for is joining up with Wade and Bosh in Miami instead of staying in Cleveland and trying to get the Cavs a title. After thinking about it some more though would I have been able to resist the urge to do the same if I was in his position? If I was a free agent and had the option of going to Miami to play basketball with two of my best friends, would I say no? I honestly can't tell you what I would do but I do know it wouldn't be an easy decision. Perhaps the most well liked athlete in the world, Tim Tebow, recently picked the New York Jets over his hometown Jacksonville Jaguars yet no one had a problem with it. Sort of the same reason that I haven't started full time at wrestling school. Go do something that has a high probability of failure or spend the time with my friends? Again fearing that I might be successful in something that would leave a mark. Lebron winning a title in Cleveland would have definitely left a mark, much bigger than winning any number of titles in Miami.

Someday I like to think something like this will happen and we'll get a whole new Lebron. (Figuratively of course, although if he really freaks out like this on the court I'd be a fan for life.)

I'll never be a fan of Lebron. You'll never see me wearing a James jersey. He's had too much of a rivalry with my beloved Celtics for that, but my opinion on the man has changed. I understand Lebron and I don't hate him.

I'd like to end this with something for everyone to chew on for a while. If Lebron James was given the choice to have the career he's had or the career of Robert Horry which do you think he'd pick? The choice boils down to himself (obscenely rich, future hall of famer, 2 time MVP, picked apart and bashed every day by everyone in the media) or Horry ("Regular rich, solid role player, 7 championships, nicknamed Big Shot, never talked about unless he does something well). I know which one I'd pick and I think if Lebron was really honest with himself he'd pick the same.

Ok Lebron your session with Josh Viola professional chemistry teacher and amateur psychiatrist is over, I expect my check is in the mail.

Thanks for reading, leave a comment, become a fan of the blog, go back and read all my other blogs, and follow me on twitter @joshviola19. I promise I'll never compare myself to an NBA player again....maybe.

-Josh

Props for KG + Anthony Davis Hype

2012-03-31T17:27:00.003-07:00

Welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict. Wrestlemania is tomorrow, the NCAA championship will be decided Monday, and the NBA playoffs are only a month away. So let's get into it.

How about a hand for Kevin Garnett. The guy has been completely revitalized since the All Star Break. What happened, did he find the fountain of youth? Take a trip to Germany to see Kobe's doctor? Start drinking G1 Gatorade? No, he simply moved positions. Kevin Garnett has been a power forward his whole career, despite the fact that he was usually the tallest player on his teams in Minnesota and Boston. This goes back to when he was drafted and listed himself as 6'11" instead of his true height of 7'1" because he didn't want to get labeled as a center. In 1995, when KG was drafted, a center was pigeonholed as a back-to-the-basket player who worked inside and used their power as opposed to their finesse ability. Garnett was more of a finesse player and wanted to play power forward, where he'd get a chance to play around the perimeter and not be stuck underneath the basket all game. Knowing that KG hates being a center, Doc would consistently put both Glen "Big Baby" Davis or Brandon Bass in the "center" role off the bench when they were on the floor with KG. Every Boston season has seen a heavier player as the starting center, whether it was Kendrick Perkins, Shaq, or Jermaine O'Neal.

Let's fast forward now to around the all star break of this year. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvpp (that's my fast forward noise). Doc has no other options and makes Kevin the starting center with Brandon Bass at power forward. It should be mentioned that up to this point in the season KG was averaging a paltry 14 points per game and around 7 boards. He appeared to be on his last legs, literally, and had even inspired me to write more than one column about how he should probably just call it a career and retire. So KG missed a couple games with what was called "personal issues" and came back ready to contribute. Since moving to center Garnett has averaged 19 points and 9 rebounds per game, while playing the best defense in the league. It could be argued that at the moment he is the second best center in the East, trailing only Dwight Howard. He actually looks like the Kevin Garnett of 2008, just with slightly less athleticism.

So what happened, it can't be just a position change can it? Let's look at the change in position and what it means for KG. When he came into the league most big men were slow plodders who preferred to play inside and score down low. This was perfect for Garnett, because he was quicker than all of them and could have his way with them off the dribble. As he aged however, forwards became quicker and more explosive negating his quickness advantage. When the athleticism left him, KG couldn't compete with athletically elite power forwards anymore and he struggled to be much more than a jump shooter on the offensive end and a merely above-average defender on the defensive end. By moving to center, Kevin is being defended by larger, mostly slower players and his quickness advantage is back. He is still a jump shooter but you can see him go inside more now. He is an incredibly smart player and realizes that the Celtics need an inside presence on the boards, and as the center it's his job now. On the defensive end, he's getting the luxury of playing against more guys who don't play large offensive roles on their team. This is crucial because he now can be more well rested for games against players like Kevin Love and Al Jefferson, the latest two superstar big men that Garnett has shut down.

With this change in position, I think KG could play another couple years if he really wanted to. He may still decide that this is his last year though, as I can't see KG being the type of player to hang around just to be an end of the bench guy, like Juwan Howard, Gilbert Arenas, Tracy McGrady etc. At one time he was called "The Kid" and later he was known as the "Big Ticket", he's neither of those now but he's still an all star level player even at 35 years old.

His renaissance is also the reason that I now believe the Celtics could make some noise in the playoffs. It's crucial that they beat out Philadelphia and New York for the division championship but if they can get Indiana in Round 1, then a Bulls team with a banged up Derrick Rose in Round 2, and a lucky break with the Magic in the conference finals, I could see this team getting to the finals somehow. And don't even get me started on maybe winning a championship if we can get a dysfunctional Laker's team or San Antonio in the finals. The Heat are the only team in the conference that I fear, because the Celtics don't match up well with them. Also the Bulls are a poor matchup if Rose is healthy, but he hasn't proven he can be this year.

Before I end this blog I'd just like to throw in my two cents on Anthony Davis. After watching all of one game of his this year, the Final Four game against Louisville, I'm not ready to proclaim him as the next great center yet. First some good stuff about him though. He's got incredible length, with a 7'4" wingspan, great defensive instincts, and what looked to be a pretty solid right handed hook shot. These three things alone will guarantee that he's not only a top pick but, assuming he stays healthy, will get a contract of at least 10 million dollars a year when he becomes a free agent. I do have a lot of worries with Anthony Davis though. During the game they said that two years ago he was 6'2", he appeared to be a subpar rebounder for his size, and he's just missing that "it" factor. When they said he was 6'2" two years ago, that shocked me. How do you grow that much in two years? His body looks like someone just grabbed his arms and legs and started stretching him out like he was a Stretch Arm Strong doll. I'm worried that when he puts on weight to fill out his frame that his knees and joints might have problems. Growing that much that quickly can't be healthy and with his reckless style of play it seems that injuries are inevitable. In my opinion he was outplayed by the Louisville center tonight and even though he grabbed double digit rebounds I wasn't impressed. The game was played at a very fast pace and there were rebounds galore for Kentucky players. Maybe once Davis fills out a bit and has enough muscle to box out better he'll be able to grab some more boards, but it's definitely a worry right now. The last thing that bothers me is that "it" factor. It seems like every guy that ended up being a superstar had it. Either they had an awesome name, like Shaquille, Kareem, (H)Akeem, Lebron, Magic etc., a marketable look, or an infectious personality. I just don't see it with Davis. I feel like when you see a player get drafted you can tell if they're going to be a star 99% of the time. Watching Lebron's high school games I would've bet my life on him being a superstar in the NBA and I would bet that anyone who watched Hasheem Thabeet in college wouldn't have bet 10 cents on him being a superstar. Rarely is the eye test ever wrong. If they don't look like a superstar, they probably never will be. And above all else, let's be honest can you see that unibrow on a billboard? Didn't think so. Could he be a solid player, sure I guess, but Sam Bowie was a solid player too, and for those of you that don't know he was the player drafted one spot ahead of Michael Jordan perhaps the guy with the greatest "it" factor of all time.

Thanks for reading, be sure to leave a comment, become a fan of the blog, follow me on twitter @Joshviola19 and go back and read all my other columns.

-Josh

Finally.....The Rock Is Back

2012-03-18T16:30:00.003-07:00

Welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict, this week I'm going to tackle Wrestlemania 28 and give my predictions for what will happen at the biggest wrestling event of the year.

If you've been reading my blogs and thought "Wow, he really knows his basketball", just wait because that's nothing compared to what I know about professional wrestling. This was going to be a column about the NBA trading deadline but my Celtics didn't do anything and it's just too disappointing to write about how the Lakers were the big winners. So because of that I'm diving into Wrestlemania and proving how big of a dork I really am.

With two weeks to go until the big show there have been seven matches announced. In the undercard we'll watch The Big Show take on Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental Title, a 12 man tag team match for control of Raw and Smackdown, and a divas tag team encounter featuring Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounous fighting champion Beth Phoenix and Eve. I would expect at least one more match to be added to the undercard but of all of those matches the one I'm looking forward to the most is Rhodes vs Big Show. Cody, the son of the American Dream Dusty Rhodes and brother of Goldust, has really broken out this year as a great entertainer and should get the win over Show. If you're unfamiliar with the Rhodes Family, check them out in this video.

The real draw of this Wrestlemania are the FOUR main events on the card. How can there be four main events you ask? Very simple actually, there are two world titles and then anytime the Undertaker or the Rock are in a match they are automatically main events. The four this year consist of Sheamus challenging Daniel Bryan for the World Title, CM Punk defending his WWE Title against Chris Jericho, HHH taking on the Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell, and the biggest one of all, John Cena versus The Rock. Let's break down all of them, starting with the least interesting.

Sheamus vs World Champion Daniel Bryan: Since there's probably a good chance that you don't know who either of these people are, let's start with a couple videos so that you can get an idea of, at least, what they look like.

So now that you at least know who they both are, let's break down the matchup. As far as in ring talent goes, these two are both very good, Bryan is even considered by many to be the best in the world. The matchup should be very entertaining, as the two have worked well together in the past. I think my favorite part about Daniel Bryan is that he's approximately 5'10" tall and 190lbs, exactly the same size as I am. At the moment he's playing a character that is technically a "bad guy" but there's no way I can cheer against him in this match. As for my prediction, it's set up for Sheamus to be the conquering hero and take out Bryan, so I'm leaning towards that's what's going to happen.

Chris Jericho versus WWE Champion C.M. Punk: Let me get this out of the way now because I know someone is wondering, "What is the difference between the World Title and the WWE Title?" The difference is that one is the top title on Smackdown and the other is the top title on Raw. Chris Jericho and C.M. Punk are fighting over the top title on Raw, otherwise known as the WWE Championship. So with that cleared up, let's go to the videos for these two guys. First up is C.M. Punk, the promo that made him a superstar and the goosebump inducing entrance he had at the Money in the Bank ppv last year.

And two moments of JericHistory, first his 2012 return to the WWE and then his original debut back in 1999, the debut that made him a star in professional wrestling.

As for the actual match, I would guess that C.M. Punk will emerge victorious, after what should be a VERY entertaining match. Punk and Jericho are two of the greatest in-ring talents and mic workers of all time in professional wrestling. Punk has just been on too much of a roll to have Jericho take the title now, especially when rumors are that Jericho will be taking off the spring to tour with his band, Fozzy.

Triple H vs The Undertaker: Anyone that has ever watched wrestling should be able to tell you who the Undertaker is and most likely will be able to tell you who Triple H is. The Undertaker has a 19-0 record at Wrestlemania and every match over the last 8 years or so has been promoted as someone trying to break the streak, and this year is no exception. Triple H has twice tried to break the streak, failing in 2001 and last year. With both wrestlers being only part time attractions these days, I can't see HHH breaking the streak. There should be limited drama over the result and Undertaker should get to 20-0. The interesting part of the match is that it will take place in a Hell in a Cell with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. Michaels has a storied history with both men, actually having wrestled both HHH and Undertaker in a Cell match himself. Some of you also may remember that Shawn and HHH formed the group known as Degeneration-X, starting in late 1997 and reforming in 2006.

And now for the videos for these two. First we'll start with the moment when the Undertaker returned to challenge HHH to a match at Wrestlemania.

Highlights from last years match, a true battle between two of the all time greats.

And finally, a tribute to the special referee Shawn Michaels. His history with both men is well documented and should be a nice addition to an already great match.

The Rock vs John Cena: Let's be honest, this is the real main event of the show. This is the match a year in the making, having been made the day after last years Wrestlemania. The Rock coming back in February 2011 was a huge shock for most wrestling fans and was trumped in November when Rock put on the wrestling tights again for a match, his first in almost 8 years. John Cena was extremely critical of the Rock when he returned, using the fact that Rock left for 7 years as a reason for why the fans shouldn't cheer him. This whole match really breaks down into one main question, how old are you? If you're a fan that has been watching for a while and is old enough to remember when the The Rock was the man from 1998-2002, then you're cheering for him, however if you are younger and started watching later then John Cena is your guy. For me, I'm pulling for the Rock to get the win. Adding to the drama of the match is that it will be taking place in the Rock's hometown of Miami, Florida. There's going to be a lot of videos for this one, because the two are so great and the build has been so long. So let's get started.

We'll start with John Cena, featuring what Cena used to be like and what he is now. First, the John Cena that I was a fan of back in 2003 when he was doing his Vanilla Ice/white rapper thing.

Then moving on to what he's become....issuing a challenge to the Rock

The Rock coming back has brought out some of the old edge that Cena used to have, the edge that made me a fan back in 2003 and would make me a fan today.....but he just doesn't have "it" anymore.

So that's John Cena, let's move on to the Rock. This is probably my favorite Rock moment ever.

The return of the Rock in 2011

The Rock Concert for John Cena

These two are arguably the two most entertaining wrestlers of the last 15 years and in two weeks they'll go one on one to decide who the best really is. As far as I'm concerned, no matter what happens, the Rock will always be the best all around entertainer I've ever had the privilege of watching on a wrestling show.

Thanks for reading, I assume 99% of you have now confirmed your assumptions as far as me being a huge dork are concerned. I hope you enjoyed the videos, I had a good time watching them again. My hope is that next year I get to write something like this again, but that the big star making his comeback to the ring is a different guy.....maybe someone who will open up a can of whoop ass or stomp a mudhole and walk it dry or flip the bird...someone like,

Be sure to leave a comment, become a fan of the blog, and go back and read all my other blogs.

-Josh

Luck(y) Horseshoe: Peyton's Gone

2012-03-07T11:01:00.006-08:00

Peyton Manning is no longer a Colt. Let that sink in. Can you even name the last quarterback that was number 1 in Indianapolis? I'll save you the google search and tell you that it was Jim Harbaugh, the same Jim Harbaugh who is now coaching the 49ers. I can't even imagine what Peyton Manning will look like with a different logo on his helmet, it just seems wrong. Much like Joe Montana with the Chiefs, Michael Jordan with the Wizards, and Willie Mays with the Mets, Peyton will just look out of place in another teams uniform.

I'm a Patriots fan. I think Tom Brady is the best quarterback in the league and that the Patriots have been the best franchise of the past 11 years. But I also have all the respect in the world for Peyton Manning. I've tried to hate him, I really have. I don't want to like a guy that routinely is said to be better than Tom Brady and plays for a team that can be argued as the greatest of the 2000's, but I just can't help it. He's a great player, from all accounts an extremely quality human being, and an extraordinarily funny guy. There's something about Archie and Eli Manning that is innately "hateable" but Peyton didn't inherit that quality.

March 7th will go down as the day that Peyton Manning, the best quarterback in Colts history was released. It wasn't cold or emotionless, both Peyton and Colts owner Jim Irsay shed tears at the press conference, and there was the insinuation that Peyton will always be a part of the Colts organization and the city of Indianapolis. But it happened, the Colts told Peyton Manning that they didn't want him anymore, choosing instead to go with unproven rookie quarterback Andrew Luck.

I'm going to miss the battles between the Patriots and Colts, featuring Manning and Brady. They always seemed to be epic and were as big a part of my childhood sports fandom as anything. He was a player that I always feared having the ball with the game on the line against my team but he became more than that. Peyton Manning grew into a player that I respected more than any other in the NFL, including Tom Brady. Peyton doesn't hob knob in Hollywood, change his hairstyle by the week, or ditch Indianapolis as soon as the season is over, he's a football player who put his heart and soul into a small market city and turned them into a Superbowl champion.

I like to think of Peyton as the classy Brett Favre. I guarantee that you'll never hear "BREAKING NEWS PEYTON SEXTS INTERN" or see him retire only to repeatedly come back. He's like Brett Favre though when it comes to being a great quarterback in a small market that formed a bond with the fans of that city closer than any other quarterback could have. Unlike Green Bay, Indianapolis does have another major sports team, the Indiana Pacers. Unfortunately for the Pacers they haven't had an iconic player since Reggie Miller retired, so Peyton has been the sole king of Indiana for the last 5+ years. He means more to that city than any other athlete means to their city.

I know I've rambled and I know that I probably repeated myself a bunch, but these are just my off the cuff feelings on what happened today. All I know after today is that I'd HATE to be Andrew Luck. He's going to be paid a kings ransom as the number 1 pick in the draft to try and replace a legend. Good luck to him, it's not going to be easy to escape the enormous shadow of Peyton Manning, especially if he goes somewhere else and wins a Superbowl.

Thanks for reading, leave a comment, become a fan of this blog, and follow me on twitter @joshviola19.

-Josh

The Trade Deadline Approaches

2012-02-29T16:31:00.004-08:00

Remember those movies where there's a crazy guy with an axe waiting for an unsuspecting person to walk into the dark house? Well Danny Ainge is the crazy guy with the axe and the Celtics are the unsuspecting person walking into the house. He's going to figuratively chop them apart (although I don't think he'd mind literally hitting Jermaine O'Neal with an axe).

What are the possibilities? Who might be coming in? Who might be sent out? Could they do nothing? Are they going to blow it up or try to compete for a title?

These are the kind of questions that Danny Ainge needs to be asking himself. The last one is the most interesting because that will determine every move that follows. From everything I've seen this season, as presently constructed, the Celtics can not win a championship. The problem is that they are stuck in the same position that they were when Danny took over, mediocrity. It's the death zone for an NBA team, just good enough to make the playoffs but not good enough to really compete. You never get a high enough draft pick to obtain a franchise player and you never get over the hump to being a great team. The only options they have now are to "blow it up" and start all over again, hope for a big free agent signing, or make trades to keep the team a title contender.

Option 1 Blow It Up: This is a pretty enticing option for many reasons. The age of the Big 3 is a huge concern going forward, Rondo is reportedly a problem in the locker room and hard to get along with, KG and Ray are done after this year, and the 2012 draft looks great. If this is the course of action that the Celtics choose to take, then it would pretty much just be a firesale to get what they can out of the guys they have and then tank for a good pick in the draft. Taking some rumors I've read lately, you might see something like Ray Allen to Minnesota for Michael Beasley, Anthony Randolph, and Darko Milicic. Then Rondo sent to Golden State in return for Steph Curry and Kwame Brown, while Pierce could be dealt to LA (Pierce in purple and gold makes me want to puke) in a three team deal to net the Celtics draft picks and players. Kevin Garnett would be tough to deal because of his large contract, but worst case scenario his contract is just allowed to expire after the season. The Celtics would go into next season with Steph Curry and at least three first round picks. Not a bad starting spot for a rebuilding team. This was the strategy that Ainge used before he got KG and Ray Allen. He stockpiled draft picks like Al Jefferson, Delonte West, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Jeff Green etc. and then cashed them in for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett when the time was right.

Option 2 Pray for Dwight: This is really the only big time free agent signing that would help this team for next year. If the Celtics just stand pat at the trade deadline and allow this team to finish the year then they must be reasonably sure that Dwight is coming to Boston. The only potential move that would make sense would be to send Rondo to Golden State in the aforementioned deal for Steph Curry and Kwame Brown. Curry makes less than Rondo and would allow the Celtics to also make a play for Deron Williams (a close friend of Dwight). This is the plan that I like the most but also the least likely to happen unfortunately. Imagine a Celtics starting five next year of Williams-Curry-Pierce-Garnett(re-signed)-Howard. That's a lineup that would immediately compete for a championship.

Option 3 Reload: This option is really only good for this year. The Celtics need a couple things right now to become a team that can compete for a championship. They need a big guy that rebounds and can score inside and a perimeter player that can create his own offense. With the news coming out today(2/29) that Lamar Odom would like to be bought out and come to Boston that would solve the big man problem. As much as I hated Lamar when he played for the Lakers he is a good big man that can rebound and score inside. The perimeter player that can create his own offense could come from another legitimate rumor circulating the web, Jermaine O'Neal and a 1st round pick to Minnesota for Michael Beasley. I know that "Super Cool Beas" doesn't have the best reputation but he's exactly what the Celtics need for their ailing offense. At 23 he also could be a major player for the future. Probably my least favorite option because even with those moves the Celtics still aren't getting by the Heat or Bulls, but at least they'd be contenders.

Those are really the only three options that Danny Ainge has and by March 15th, the trade deadline, we'll all know which one he chose. Personally I'm hoping that, whatever he decides to do, Paul Pierce is still wearing Green when it's all said and done. I was watching some youtube videos earlier and this one caught my eye. I would recommend watching the whole thing but if not then at least fast forward to the 8:00 mark and look at Paul Pierce's face when he gets his ring. It clearly means something for him to be a Celtic and to win with the Celtics. He needs to be here to teach the next generation of players what being a "Celtic" is all about.

The second thing I want to talk about is the Dwight Howard situation in Orlando. It seems like every day new information comes out about where he wants to be traded, or even if he wants to be traded. In the last week I think I've read that he wants to be traded to New Jersey, LA, Dallas, or Chicago, then I read that he might exercise his player option and stay in Orlando another year, then I heard that he wants to become a free agent so he can pick his destination. I'm not even sure Dwight Howard knows what he wants to do. The problem with Dwight Howard is that he saw what happened to Lebron when he left the Cavs and he saw what happened to Carmelo when he forced his way out of Denver. Dwight doesn't want the backlash that either of them got because he loves to be loved, but at the same time he wants to leave Orlando. My prediction on the whole situation is that he doesn't get traded before the deadline this year. I actually think that Orlando might bring in another star to play with Dwight, perhaps Steve Nash if they can get him away from Phoenix. Dwight has given the Orlando ownership and general manager Otis Smith enough of an indication that he might be open to staying that I don't think they'll trade him. It will be terrible for the Magic when he leaves in free agency this summer, most likely for Dallas or Brooklyn, but I don't blame the Magic for hoping that he'll stay. Whether it's by trade or through free agency, Dwight is leaving Orlando and most likely going to wherever Deron Williams ends up. Just remember when you boo Lebron for leaving Cleveland high and dry that Dwight is going to do the same to Orlando. I would respect him more if he just told them that he wasn't going to re-sign and said "trade me now, I'm not coming back" (or just signs an extension) but he doesn't want to be the "bad guy" so that's not happening. At least Carmelo was honest with the Nuggets. Dwight Howard may think of himself as Superman but right now he's showing that he has the fragile ego of Clark Kent.

Thanks for reading, leave a comment, become a fan of this blog, go back and read all my other posts, and enjoy what could be the last two weeks of the Big 4 era in Boston.

-Josh

An Epitaph for the Big 3

2012-02-20T17:53:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict.

Name: Boston Celtics Big 3

Time of death: 2/20/2012 at 9:00pm

Cause of Death: Murdered by Father Time

I've given up on the Big 3. I've always considered myself an optimist but from everything I've seen this season, I just can't picture this team winning a playoff series, let alone a championship. The defense is still there however offensively the Celtics are abysmal, not even able to score over 100 points against the worst teams in the league. So what happened, can it really just be father time?

Let's investigate.

One of the major problems with the Celtics' offense is that the starters don't all play the same style. Look at some of the most efficient offenses in the league over the last few years. Teams like the Suns, Spurs, Heat, early 2000's Kings, and even Mavs have starting fives that fit well together and have a set style of play that they adhere to. The Celtics' problem is that Rondo wants to run but Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, KG, and Jermaine O'Neal want to slow it down and play in the half court. Rondo is a terrible shooter and therefore almost useless in a half court offense. The problem gets multiplied when you realize that Jermaine O'Neal is useless in any kind of offense. That's two players who really don't need to be guarded in the half court, allowing their men to sag off and play help defense on Pierce, KG, and Ray. I remember when Jermaine O'Neal was a GREAT player, it was right around the time I was playing 8th grade basketball.....10 years ago. He's not even a shadow of his former self though, as evidenced from his inability to make a jump shot or finish around the basket. JO goes out every night trying to do his best Kendrick Perkins impression. Speaking of shadows of their former selves, Ray Allen is only good for shooting at this point in his career and KG has settled into being an 18 foot jump shooter. Paul Pierce is the only player left on the team that can create his own offense in the half court set. A major problem for a team that relies heavily on scoring points in the half court.

Another huge problem for the Celtics has been Doc Rivers' coaching. I like Doc as much as the next Celtics fan, but he needs to realize that it isn't 2008 anymore and Ray Allen can't be a focal point of the offense. In the four years since he arrived in Boston, Ray has lost a lot of his explosive first step. This means that when he curls off screens for jumpers his man is already up on him to contend the shot. What I would like to see Doc do is shake up the whole team by making a lineup change. He can go two ways with the change, either have Rondo come off the bench or have Pierce and Jermaine come off the bench. If he has Rondo come off the bench then Avery would start and they would play a half court game. The other team would have to stay up on Avery to honor his jump shot. When KG comes out of the game after the first five minutes, Avery comes with him and Rondo and Brandon Bass enter. Wilcox would sub in for Jermaine as well and the lineup would run run run. Pietrus would replace either Ray or Pierce a few minutes later and the run and gun offense would continue. The other option, which is my favorite, would be to bring Pierce and JO off the bench. Start Rondo, Allen, Pietrus, Garnett, and Wilcox and start the game running and gunning. In this lineup Rondo is surrounded with shooters and a center that can run with him and finish on the fast break. When Garnett goes out, bring in Pierce, Jermaine, and Brandon Bass. This will give Pierce free reign to create against either the other teams subs or their winded starters.

Let's be honest though, the biggest reason that the Celtics are struggling is Father Time. He is the reason that Jordan isn't dominating anymore, Bill Russell isn't winning, Nolan Ryan isn't throwing no hitters, Babe Ruth isn't hitting home runs, Joe Montana isn't throwing td's, and Wayne Gretzky isn't scoring goals. Father Time is the only person that will definitely retire undefeated. Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett aren't leading this team, or any team, to a championship because they've lost most of their athleticism and just can't compete with the younger teams. A team like OKC will run them off the floor.

Speaking of the Thunder, it's interesting to imagine how different things might be if the Celtics hadn't gotten screwed in the lottery in 2007. Just think about this starting lineup right now... Rondo, Pierce, Durant, Jefferson, Perkins. Theoretically this could be the Celtics lineup if they had gotten lucky in the lottery. Would I trade the 2008 championship for a lineup with Rondo/Durant/Jefferson starting the next 10 years? No, but it's not an easy decision and I did have to think long and hard about it.

I think the reason that I've had such a hard time with coming to terms with the end of the Big 3 is that I'm a wrestling fan. You see, for those of you who don't know, wrestlers don't get worse when they get older. The Undertaker is 47 years old and will be main eventing Wrestlemania this year. He's been wrestling since I started watching 20 years ago and is still a top guy in the business, while there isn't one basketball player that has been in the league for 20 years that is still star. So when I hear that Kevin Garnett is making his return to the Celtics after missing a couple games, I picture him coming in and saving the team. Sort of like this video: KG=Hogan Celtics=Eugene Opponents=Crazy Middle Eastern Guys

When Paul Pierce missed the first 3 games of the season and the Celtics started 0-3, I pictured his return going something like this....Pierce is obviously Stone Cold

But unfortunately real sports aren't like wrestling, older players don't miraculously find the fountain of youth and start to dominate again. Even though Hulk Hogan can still come out and save other wrestlers, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen can't save the Celtics anymore. Sorry KG, anything may be possible but unless you turn into Benjamin Button it's impossible for the Celtics to win the championship. So what else can I say except..........Thank You, the Big 3 coming to Boston provided me with moments that I will never forget, and the best four years I've had as a sports fan.

Thanks for reading, leave a comment, follow this blog, go back and read all my other entries, and enjoy the last games of the Big 3 era.

-Josh

The Forgotten Legend

2012-02-14T18:27:00.001-08:00

Welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict. In this entry I'm going to take a look at an NBA legend that has recently gone bankrupt. Not only monetarily but also in terms of his legacy. So let's take a look at....

"THE ANSWER" ALLEN IVERSON

All anyone ever thinks of anymore when the topic of Allen Iverson is brought up is the "Practice" rant that he went on. While it is an all time great interview, it also has clouded peoples view of one of the best basketball players of all time.

Let's just look at the awards that he amassed in his 15 year NBA career.

-1st overall selection in the 1996 draft

-1997 Rookie of the Year

-11x NBA All Star

-2x NBA All Star MVP

-4x NBA Scoring Champion

-3x All NBA First Team

-3x All NBA Second Team

-NBA MVP

That's a hell of a lot of achievements for a guy that is mostly remembered for a rant. Allen Iverson was the most iconic player in the NBA over the course of his career. He wasn't just a prolific scorer but a true trendsetter. Never before had a player completely disregarded the unwritten rules of a major business. While Michael Jordan and every other major star was wearing suits, AI was rocking baggy shorts, XXXL shirts and throwback jerseys. Most players had shaved heads or Fade hair styles, Iverson changed all that with his cornrowed look. He was counterculture, a rebel, and a hero to every young person who watched the NBA. You know that when even little awkward white boys like me wanted to dress like him, he had major influence.

For those of you that may not remember the '90's, which makes me feel extremely old, it was a time of rebellion. Whether it was Nirvana cranking out hits, Steve Austin beating up his boss, hip hop becoming cool, or Allen Iverson wearing cornrows, baggy pants, and oversized throwbacks, the 90's were dominated by people who were counterculture. It was the perfect match of the right time and the right player.

So now that we've covered all the off-court reasons of why Allen Iverson is a legend, let's move back to on-court. Today, with all the advanced metrics that experts use to evaluate players, AI's career has been picked apart and downplayed more than any other former player. They say that he wasn't efficient, had a low pps, low ts%, a high usg%, and other bad advanced stats that I don't know anything about. Here's what I know, he had career averages of 26.7pts, 6.2asts, 3.7rbs, and 2.2stls. He peaked in 2005-06 averaging 33.0pts and 7.4asts per game. He was the MVP in 2001 and led the 76ers to the finals that same year. Everyone talks about how Lebron led a terrible Cavs team to the finals in 2007, but look at the team that AI brought to the finals.

2000-2001 Philadelphia 76ers

Starters: Eric Snow, Allen Iverson, George Lynch, Tyrone Hill, and Dikembe Mutombo

Bench: Matt Geiger, Todd MacCulloch, Jumaine Jones, Aaron Mckie, Kevin Ollie, Roshown McLeod, Rodney Buford, Raja Bell, Pepe Sanchez, and Speedy Claxton.

That team is TERRIBLE other than Iverson and Mutombo. The only reason that they went to the finals was because of AI. At six feet tall and 170 pounds soaking wet he did EVERYTHING for them. I've never seen someone with as much heart and determination as Iverson, he took a beating every game and kept coming back for more. Even stepping back from the incredible stats, there are other ways that a player can be defined. Think about when you watch a game, whether it's the NBA, MLB, NFL, or NHL, what players do you fear when they're facing your team? As a huge fan of the Celtics, I can remember watching countless games against the 76ers and always watching in absolute fear because I knew that Allen Iverson could take over the game at any moment. There are only few players that can make a fan feel that way. In my time watching I've only felt that way about Iverson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Jason Kidd. I knew that when those guys came into town, the Celtics probably weren't going to be leaving with a W.

It's been said that as generations go by, the memories fade as well and fans start to proclaim the new generation as better. It's the reason that young fans today try and claim that Kobe is better than Jordan or that Magic Johnson and Larry Bird wouldn't be able to play in the league today. Well, the same thing is starting to happen to the guys that I grew up watching. Fans who started watching today are only going to remember Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett as worse versions of Blake Griffin, and Jason Kidd as the guy who can't hit a jumper for the Mavs. This is the reason that it's so frustrating to hear fans today compare Allen Iverson to guys like Monta Ellis. It's not that Monta isn't on Iverson's level, it's that he's not even on the level below him.

Thanks for reading, leave a comment, go back and read all my other posts, become a fan of DieN2LivE on Facebook, and enjoy the games.

Josh

Paul Pierce Passes Larry Legend

2012-02-08T18:25:00.000-08:00

I know, I know two blogs in three days is overkill but I had to write this one. I mean I was at the game on Tuesday and got to see it live, it was probably the greatest sporting event that I've ever been to. What am I talking about? Paul Pierce passed Larry Bird, for second place, on the Celtics all time scoring list.

In my life I've watched a lot of sports, which I'm sure you've guessed from the title of my blog, but the one sport that I love more than any other is basketball. More specifically NBA basketball. The team that I love more than any other in the NBA is the Boston Celtics, which if you've read any of my other blogs was probably obvious. I've been blessed growing up in New England and having the Red Sox, Patriots, and Bruins, but they all take a back seat to the Celtics for me. Being a huge Celtics fan my whole life I've gotten to watch a lot of players suit up in the green and white, guys like Antoine Walker, Gary Payton, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Joe Johnson, Al Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins, and even the much loved Walter McCarty have come and gone but the one constant, and my favorite player, has been Paul Pierce.

I was twelve years old when I remember sitting down and watching a complete Celtics game from start to finish. It's the only sport where I can remember the first game I ever watched and exactly how it ended. I was watching it up in my room and the Nets had the ball with 2.0 seconds left and a two point lead, all they had to do was get the ball in bounds and the game was over. What happened next set the tone for my obsession. Milt Palacio stole the ball and hit a miracle three from just over half court, winning the game for the Celtics. The whole team mobbed him and had a pig pile on the court, including even Coach Rick Pitino, it was the most exciting sporting event I had ever watched up to that point. Amazingly this made it to Youtube...

From that moment on I was a fan and rarely missed a game. I remember being scared to death when it was reported that Paul Pierce was in critical condition after being stabbed in a nightclub in Philly. I remember being outraged that Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker were left off the all star team in 2001. How could anyone who watched it forget the 21 point 4th quarter comeback against the Nets in game 3 of the 2002 eastern conference finals or the three that Antoine Walker banked in to beat the Lakers earlier in the season? I remember when Paul Pierce had a 2 point first half followed by a 46 point second half to beat the Nets. I remember when Antoine got traded the first time and the Celtics were Paul Pierce's team, he talked about reading books on how to become a leader over the summer and looked ready to take it on. I remember when he failed as the leader during the 2005 playoffs against Indiana and trade rumors ran rampant all summer, one that was even so close that Pierce had to publicly make a statement to kill it. (The trade was Paul Pierce to Portland for Nick Van Exel and the #3 pick in the draft, which would be used to take Chris Paul). The 2005-2006 season is when Paul Pierce finally grew up and it was incredible to watch.

I want to really dig into that 2005-2006 season. The Celtics weren't very successful but really that was secondary. This part of the decade was when star players on bad teams were forcing their way out of town to join good teams, Vince Carter did it, Tracy Mcgrady did it, Kobe forced Shaq out, it was done by seemingly everyone, except Paul Pierce. He finally took the responsibility of being a star player and a franchise guy. It was like he finally understood that the Celtics were HIS team and that it was his job to make sure that they gave maximum effort every night, even if he was starting with Brian Scalabrine, Marcus Banks, and two kids who weren't even old enough to drink in Al Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins. Paul Pierce became a man that season.

Then Paul Pierce did something that I never thought he'd do.....he made me cry. I'm not one to be very emotional, I couldn't tell you the last time I cried out of sadness or anger, but May 30th 2008 was the last time I cried out of happiness. It was the day that Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics won the Eastern Conference Finals by beating the Pistons in six games. I wasn't weeping or anything, just teared up a bit when I saw Paul and Doc Rivers embracing on the court in celebration. The people I was watching with looked at me like I was crazy but they didn't live and die with the Celtics like I had over the last 10 years. For me it was bigger than just a trip to the finals for a team that I liked, it was Paul Pierce coming back from being stabbed, it was the trade that didn't happen with Pierce to Portland, it was about Erick Strickland, Tony Battie, Eric Williams, Milt Palacio, Walter McCarty, Antoine Walker, Al Jefferson, Kenny Anderson, and every other guy that loved being a Celtic that wasn't there to enjoy the moment. So yeah, I cried, but it was like being a parent and seeing your kids grow up, I couldn't have been more proud of any team I've ever watched.

All of this brings us to Tuesday night. I only go to one or two games a year and when I realized that this might be the game that he passed Bird, I was excited to be a witness to history. Going into the game Pierce needed 9 points to tie and 10 points to pass Larry Legend and move into second place on the Celtics' all time scoring list. He started out slow, scoring seven points in the first half, but early in the third quarter it happened, and the Garden exploded.

I chose this fan video as opposed to the live broadcast because it showed how long the standing ovation was for. We stood and cheered from the moment the basket when in, through 3 free throws for the Bobcats, through the timeout that happened after and then through the video that the played for him. At the end of the video that put the spotlight on an empty spot on the banner of retired numbers, indicating that Pierce's 34 will someday join them. That was the moment that really hit home for me, when they showed that banner of retired numbers and I thought about Pierce having his number added, it made me realize just how privileged I'd been to get to watch him play. For the last 14 years I've gotten to watch one of the best scorers in the history of not only the Celtics, but the entire NBA. He was drafted by Boston, was a 9 time all star in Boston, won a championship in Boston, won a Finals MVP in Boston, and hopefully he'll retire in Boston. Paul Pierce may be from Inglewood California, he may have grown up a Lakers' fan, but he will always be a Celtic.

When I heard the experts talking about this accomplishment, they mostly downplayed it and made sure to say that Pierce wasn't in Larry Bird's league. I'll be the first one to say that he isn't in Bird's league but what the experts need to understand is that I'm 23 years old and for my generation of Celtics' fans, Paul Pierce IS our Larry Bird.

It's been a complete honor to watch Paul Pierce play. For as long as I've been watching basketball he's been the best player on my favorite team. The day that he does retire and have his number retired will be bittersweet for me. Much like graduating college or high school, I'll be sad its over but happy that it happened and proud to say that I got to experience it. I heard a dad talking to his young son at the game on Tuesday and he was telling him all about watching Larry Bird back in the 1980's and I smiled to myself thinking that someday I'll be able to go to a game with my kids and tell them about getting to watch Paul Pierce. (Authors Note: For those of you don't know me, I have no kids) For the rest of my life I'll get to be "that guy" who sees the new players and tells people that they're good, but they'd never be better than the guy I grew up watching.

It was a historic day for Paul Pierce and for everyone that has been a fan of his since he came into the league. I've seen a Red Sox vs Yankees game which doubled as Roger Clemens last start in Fenway Park, I saw Manny Ramirez hit his first grand slam as a Red Sox player, and I've been to a dozen Celtics game, but nothing will ever compare to watching Paul Pierce make history in the TD Garden on Tuesday night.

Thanks for reading, be sure to go back and read all my other columns, leave a comment, become a fan of this blog, and let me know if there's anything specific that you'd like to see me write about, I'm open to anything sports related.

-Josh

The Truth Will Set The Celtics Free

2012-02-06T18:27:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict. Today I'm going to discuss the Boston Celtics and a few other things that I've been thinking about in sports lately.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: The Superbowl was cancelled this year and I won't listen to anyone who tells me anything differently.

The Celtics have been on a roll lately, even if they are largely being ignored by the national media due to the football bias that exists in this country. A team that started out a disappointing 6-9 and had even the most loyal fans calling for Danny Ainge to make a big trade or for the team to "tank" for a better draft pick, now has fans talking championship. At the beginning of the season I wrote articles about Kevin Garnett being "done" and about how the Celtics should be looking to trade away the big 3 for value before they become untradeable. Unlike most writers I'll admit that I jumped the gun and called for change much too early.....my bad.

So what changed? Why are the Celtics now above .500 and seemingly on a roll? What I didn't account for at the beginning of the season was that maybe the guys weren't ready for the season to start. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were two of the most vocal players calling for the lockout to last the whole year, indicating that they probably weren't expecting the season to start as soon as it did and weren't in the kind of shape they needed to be. The lockout also eliminated the lengthy training camp that usually precedes the season, knocking it down to a two week preseason. Included in those two weeks was a free agent frenzy, the opening of the trade block, and two preseason games. On the surface the Celtics appeared to be bringing back the same team as last year, as all the starters were returning, but not so fast. Dig a little deeper and it's easy to see that this is a completely different team 6-12 than it was last year. The bench last year included Shaq, Big Baby, Nenad Krstic, Jeff Green, Von Wafer, Troy Murphy, and Carlos Arroyo. All of those guys played decent minutes at the end of the year. They are also all no longer on the bench. Last years bench has been replaced with Brandon Bass, Chris Wilcox, Greg Stiemsma, E'twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson, Mikel Pietrus, and Keyon Dooling. The only holdovers from last year are Avery Bradley, Marquis Daniels, and seldom used Sasha Pavlovic. That is a lot of turnover for one year. The Celtics being on a roll has as much to do with the players finally getting in shape as it does with the bench beginning to fit in with the starters.

Perhaps the biggest reason for the turnover has been the remarkable play of "The Truth" Paul Pierce. After a disastrous start to the season, missing the first three games with an injury and then playing poorly in the next few, he has really turned it on. Pierce earned player of the week honors for this past week after his great play. At 34 years old, Paul Pierce is playing the best of any of the big three and arguably the best of anyone in the Eastern Conference. Over his last three games he's averaged 23pts 6rebs and 6asts per game. Last month fans were using the trade machine to see if they could get someone like Josh Smith or Kevin Martin in Pierce trades......I think it's safe to say they're not anymore. On Tuesday, against the Bobcats, Paul Pierce will try to pass Larry Bird for 2nd place on the all time Celtics scoring list. Unless you're a big Celtics fan, I'm going to guess that you didn't know he was that high on the list. Pierce has been CRIMINALLY underrated and under-appreciated by Celtics fans since he came into the league. Passing Larry Legend is no small feat and if Pierce can stay somewhat productive for the next few years, he'll pass John Havlicek for first place on the Celtics all time scoring list. (Cool Authors Note: I'll be at the game on Tuesday to hopefully witness history)

To a lesser degree, Kevin Garnett has reinvented himself and seems rejuvenated. Doc Rivers has him on a strict 5-5-5 structure pertaining to his minutes, where Garnett plays five minutes then gets five minutes rest and then plays five etc. The emergence of Brandon Bass has allowed Garnett to get more rest this year, as well as the surprising health stability of Jermaine O'Neal. Ray Allen has been Ray Allen, shooting the ball at the highest percentages of his career and being as consistent as ever. The man doesn't age.

Don't write this team off yet, the Celtics are starting to get it rolling and have quietly risen to a top 5 defense in the league. The truth is that the offense is better and the defense is comparable to last year. I can only hope that the C's get to play Miami in the playoffs again, because this year is going to be different.

And Boston may not be getting a parade tomorrow, but keep late June open on Causeway Street because.........KG?

And really just a video that I found funny, KG explains how he learned to take a 3, which he's now 3/3 on in his last 3 games.

-Pitchers and catchers report on Feb. 19th and Wrestlemania is April 1st so at least we have that to look forward to in the near future.

-The Pride of South Portland, Charlie Furbush, begins his second season in the majors.

-I decided today that if Lebron James would just embrace the hate I could almost be ok with him winning a title. I just want him to accept that he's hated and encourage it, like a good wrestling heel would. Try to get crowds to boo him and just love it when it happens. It's too bad he's too much of a wimp.

-GISELE BUNDCHEN = YOKO ONO it's true and every Patriots fan knows it. She absolutely ruined Tom Brady. Since he married her he's endorsed Uggz, grown a Bieber haircut, moved to California, and seemingly lost his passion for the game.

Thanks for reading, be sure to go back and read all my other entries, leave a comment, become a fan of this page, Like Jake's on the Lake on facebook (yes he's my brother), and enjoy watching Paul Pierce pass Larry Legend.

-Josh

A Spoonful of Sugarloaf

2012-01-30T18:24:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to Thoughts of a Sports Addict, this week will feature my trip up to Sugarloaf. I almost called this "A Face Full of the White Stuff" but quickly realized that maybe that would work better for a blog about something completely different.....anyways here we go.

"Fuck this, I'm done" These were my words during the final run I took on Sunday at Sugarloaf mountain in Carrabassett Valley, Maine. For those of you who know me, you know how frustrated I must have been to swear. I'm not one to casually cuss, even amongst friends, let alone drop the F-Bomb in a very public place, but after what had to be fall number 200 I was just about at the end of my patience.

In what has become a month of trying new things, snowboarding was only the most current new activity that I've tried my hand at. For those of you have read "Living the Dream" you know that I've also tried my luck with wrestling school this month. The decision to attempt 'boarding is one that I have been contemplating for a few years now and finally decided to do earlier this week. The decision was spurred on by the fact that I might be the only person in Maine that has no outside hobbies in the winter. I don't skate, ski, or snowshoe, and I'm a bit old to be building forts, having snowball fights, and sledding....yet another reason I need a kid. (Other reasons include being able to go to Funtown and Aquaboggan again without just being the creepy old guy and so that by the time I hit my late thirties I'll never have to mow the lawn or shovel the driveway again).

I was joined on my foray by four friends, two of them former housemates of mine. They showed far more patience with me then I did myself. They were incredibly helpful and sacrificed half of their day to help me figure out what I was doing. By the end of the day I had gotten a bit of a handle on standing up and working my way down the mountain, completely a credit to them.

There may be no more ego bruising activity than snowboarding. Usually when a 23 year old man is matched up against a 5 year old kid in a sport the result is a foregone conclusion, not so however with snowboarding. I was passed by more 5 year olds than I care to count and even smack talked by a couple as they watched me face plant into the snow. One kind soul however told me "Don't worry, you'll get it" and then he promptly dug it into the snow himself.

Overall my day at the mountain was a mixture of pain, cold, wet, and humiliation....and I promised myself that I would never go again. Two days later though, and I'm having second thoughts about my "never again" proclamation. There are only two other activities that I said I'd never do again, the Beach to Beacon and wrestling school.......I did them both again. When I fail, it usually bothers me enough to the point that I need to do it again, either to succeed or prove to myself that it wasn't a fluke that I failed. Losing to my brother in the Beach to Beacon was one where I proved that it wasn't a fluke but wrestling school was a success the second time. I think snowboarding is going to get at least one more chance.

So if you made it through the whole thing, I appreciate it. Here's a video that one of my friends took of my last run when I uttered the phrase mentioned above. I think it was appropriate, but it's your decision.

*May or may not actually be me.

Cheap Plug: Become a fan of Jake's on the Lake on Facebook. The best ice cream boat in Maine.

Thanks for reading, leave a comment, become a follower of this blog, go back and read all my other posts, and try new things.

-Josh

Previewing Superbowl XLVI

2012-01-25T18:24:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict. The Patriots are in the Superbowl once again and the Celtics are getting ready to go on a long win streak ( I hope). Let's jump right in and preview the biggest rematch in Superbowl history.

Go ahead, watch it, because to understand what's going to happen in a week and a half you need to accept what happened four years ago. The 18-0 Patriots LOST to the Giants in Superbowl 42... go ahead and say it to yourself, punch a wall, throw things around, do whatever you need to, but just know that this happened. Are you good? Ok great, let's never watch that video again and move on because this year is completely different.

In Superbowl 42 the Patriots were the overwhelming favorites, due in large part to the fact that they hadn't lost a game yet and had the greatest offense of all time. Randy Moss, Tom Brady, and Wes Welker re-wrote the record books in 2007 but came up just short in the Superbowl. The Giants were a surprise team to get to the Superbowl, led by a devastating front four on defense and an emerging quarterback on offense. This year, the Patriots are still led by Welker and Brady, but they've been joined by Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez as well as Ben-Jarvis Green-Ellis. The Giants conversely are led by a devastating front four and an emerged now-elite quarterback.

Hmm....so in 2007 the Patriots had a great offense and the Giants countered with an amazing defense......I guess things haven't changed much.

Now, on to the biggest story lines heading into the game:

1. The Patriots Revenge Tour

This is my favorite story line, primarily because I haven't heard anyone talk about it except me. Let's look at the Patriots playoff losses since their last Superbowl win: 2005 they lost to the Broncos in the playoffs, 2006 was a loss to the Colts in the AFC championship game, 2007 had a GIANT loss in the Superbowl, 2008 the team missed the playoffs, 2009 the Patriots lost to the Ravens in the first round, and 2010 they lost to the Jets in the first round. Take a look at that list again and tell me what they all have in common......stumped? In the 2011 season the Patriots beat the Colts and Jets (x2) in the regular season, then beat the Broncos and Ravens in the playoffs, bringing them to a Superbowl rematch. They have beaten EVERY team that eliminated them from the playoffs since 2004, and are looking to avenge the biggest loss a week from Sunday. I'm not sure why the "experts" aren't playing up this story line, since it all fell very nicely for them.

2. Eli becomes the most successful Manning?

25 years from now when Peyton and Eli are both retired, how will we remember them? If Eli wins this Superbowl he'll be remembered as one of the best playoff quarterbacks of his time and the ultimate Patriot killer. He will have affectively murdered the Patriots dynasty and been the only person that Tom Brady and Bill Belichick couldn't figure out. Peyton, assuming he doesn't win anymore Superbowls, will be remembered as the best stats quarterback of his generation. With the way people value championships and knowing that Superbowl 42 will be one of the most popular ESPN Classics games, isn't it possible that Eli will be remembered as the greater Manning? Will this be like thirty year old basketball fans today who have to argue the merits of Michael Jordan, while kids fawn over Lebron James? If Eli wins a week from Sunday, don't be surprised if Peyton fades from the common fan's mind and Eli is remembered as the best Manning.

3. Indianapolis

As if the Eli vs Peyton debate hasn't been beaten into the ground enough already, the Superbowl is taking place in the RCA Dome, otherwise known as "The House that Peyton Built." There's no question which team has the home field advantage in this game, it's clearly the Giants. Indy is full of not only Colts fans, not only Manning fans, but also Patriot haters. This could not be a worse location for New England to have to go play. There would be a certain sweetness for Tom Brady to go into Indy and beat Eli Manning in Peyton's stadium for his fourth Superbowl championship.

4. Tom Brady......not clutch?

Slow down Patriots fans, don't all start yelling at me, I know that Tom Brady has three championships, two MVP awards, and multiple fourth quarter comebacks, but he's been, shall we say spotty, lately. Tom has really struggled in big games since the last championship. He hasn't played particularly well in any playoff game since then and was actually outplayed by Joe Flacco last week against the Ravens. He struggled against the Jets last year, the Ravens the year before that, and even the Giants in the first Superbowl encounter. I'm not sure if it's age, desire, or nerves, but Tom Brady isn't the same Tom Brady that led the Patriots in the most clutch performance in Superbowl history when they beat the Greatest Show on Turf.

1 Bold N.E. Prediction: Chad Ochocinco is going to come up big for the Patriots in this game, catching at least one game breaking pass. Whether it's a touchdown, a crucial third down conversion or a late game catch down field, it will be important and he will do it.

1 Bold N.Y. Prediction: Jason Pierre-Paul will record a 4 sack game, cementing himself as the next leader of the Giants defensive line.

Final Score Prediction: Patriots 35 Giants 28

I have the Patriots winning this game by a touchdown. Last time the two teams met in the Superbowl the Patriots starting running back was Laurence Maroney. Needless to say, there wasn't a lot of running by the Patriots. This time they have BJGE and Danny Woodhead who are both significantly better than Maroney and will provide the Patriots with some balance this time around. The two tight ends, Gronk and Hernandez, are going to give the Patriots more options for the short passing game, whereas in 2007 it was Randy Moss deep or bust. The Giants do put the fear of God into me though with Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, Ahmed Bradshaw, and Brandon Jacobs all playing on turf. The horrendous Patriots secondary could get burned multiple times by Cruz, but I'm banking on them playing at least decently. The game will be a shootout and I'm banking on the Patriots offense to lead them to victory this time.

Let's be honest, I don't think I can take watching Eli Manning raise that trophy again.

Thanks for reading, be sure to leave a comment, become a follower, go back and read all my other columns, and enjoy the big game.

-Josh

Perk Comes Home

2012-01-18T15:35:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict. This will be a shorter than usual entry, as there's really only one thing I want to talk about: The return of Perk. For those of you that don't know, Perk is former Celtics and current Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins.

Where do I begin when talking about Perk? Should I talk about watching the 2003 draft from my trusty Lay-z-boy recliner and seeing the Celtics draft an 18 year old center from Clifton J Ozen High School in Beaumont, Texas? What about watching him evolve into a starting center in the NBA as he transformed his body? Perhaps I should talk about how he was the most underrated starter on the 2008 championship team? I could even start with how he was traded and the Celtics players shed tears that he was leaving?

I think I'll start at the beginning. Kendrick Perkins was drafted with the 27th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. This was the same draft that produced Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and even the immortal Darko Milicic. The Celtics possessed two picks in the first round of this draft, and traded them to Memphis, who also had two picks in the first round. Boston drafted Troy Bell and Dahntay Jones with their picks and then immediately traded them to Memphis for their two picks, Marcus Banks and Kendrick Perkins.

In his first year, Perk was a fat high school kid who looked overwhelmed. He played sparingly but behind the scenes his work ethic was second to none. During the playoffs of his rookie year he was forced to take series deciding free throws against the Pacers due to Paul Pierce being ejected. He missed them both and returned to the bench for the rest of the game, eventually a Celtics' win. I remember being worried that the confidence of our 18 year old "center of the future" had just been killed. Displaying incredible mental toughness, Perk shook it off and got himself into the best shape of his life, insuring that he would be a player the following year.

The next few years were difficult for the young center in green. He was eventually given the starting spot when Raef Lafrentz and Mark Blount were traded, pairing up with my favorite Celtic at the time, Al Jefferson. Perk and Al had both come out of high school in consecutive years and were going to be the Celtics big men of the future. They had a rule that they played by called "No Layups" meaning that they would give a hard foul instead of allowing a layup. They meshed extremely well, with Perk being the defensive-minded, hard nosed, rebounder and Al being the finesse, offensive scoring machine in the post. The two both suffered through injuries, Perk's shoulder and Al's ankles, but when they played together it was obvious that they were both special players.

In 2007, Al Jefferson was traded in a mega-deal for Kevin Garnett. This was the best thing to ever happen to Kendrick Perkins. Unfortunately, Al was Perk's best friend on the team and he hated to see him go, but Garnett was about to transform the Celtics into a championship level team. Before the 2006 season, Kendrick had resigned at a home town discount price with the Celtics, a contract that would run through the end of the 2010-2011 season. Everyone knows how the 2007-2008 season played out with the Celtics winning a championship and Perk being the big defensive center that held everything together.

February 24, 2011. The day the Celtics broke apart a team that was a favorite to win the championship. I was leaving UNE after a trip to the gym and I heard it on sports talk radio. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I'm not sure I can do it justice though, check out this video to see what the players thought.

This video doesn't even show Rondo, who was Perk's best friend on the team or the reaction from Perkins himself. From all accounts there wasn't a dry eye in the building when they informed him he had been traded.

This past Monday Kendrick was back in the Garden for the first time since his trade to Oklahoma City last February. If there was any doubt about the legacy he left here, I think this video answers it.

We watched him grow up, from a fat 18 year old kid into a man. He was in Boston for eight years and as someone who has been a fan since before he joined the team, I can say that it was a true privilege to watch him play. He won a championship in Boston, started a family in Boston, and will always be a Celtic.

I'll give Perk the last words.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Be sure to leave a comment, become a fan of this page, go back and read all my other entries, and don't count out the Celtics yet.

-Josh

ps. I've been reading about Paul Pierce trade rumors. If that happens be prepared for a blog written by someone who just had a complete breakdown.

Living the Dream

2012-01-15T14:21:00.001-08:00

Welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict. This will be a very special entry, as I want to talk about my experience at wrestling school. Yeah, that's right, wrestling school. So let's dive off the top rope and into a retro-diary of my Saturday.

*Before we start, a lot of people asked why I decided to do this. The answer is pretty simple actually. Can I really be a teacher and tell my students to follow their dreams, no matter how far fetched, if I never tried to follow mine? My answer was no.

6:55am- The alarm goes off and I'm up...not happy though to be up before 7am on a Saturday. This might be the first time I've seen any part of a Saturday before 10am in a couple years.

7:45am- Hitting the road for the trip down to North Andover, MA. Anyone who has EVER taken a car ride with me, whether it was 2 minutes or 2 hours, knows that there is always high probability of it being epic. This trip was pretty ho-hum though, as the trip is a pretty straight shot all the way down, although I did see a girl completely take out a post by the on-ramp of the highway on my way back, it was fantastic. The wooden stake/post completely lost the battle and got sent flying into the oncoming traffic.

9:30am- I pulled up to the Killer Kowalski school of wrestling, also doubling as the North Andover School of Dance, and walked in expecting a whole new experience. And then they handed me a clipboard with a test on it...maybe not so much of a new experience. With 150 college credits so far, I think it's safe to say that taking tests is something I'm pretty much a pro at, but none have ever been like this. This was a test on wrestling history and also was the easiest test I've ever taken. You see, in addition to physics, chemistry, the NBA and one-hit wonders (don't ask), my other trivia topic speciality is pro wrestling history.

10:00am- At this point all the "students" had arrived and were milling about in the one room building, awkwardly trying to make conversation. I made the mistake of trying to have an intelligent conversation with someone. He was talking about the schools founder, Walter "Killer" Kowalski, and I remarked that it must have been pretty interesting to have been born in 1926 and in his late teens during World War 2. His response, was that he agreed and added that Killer was so old that he had been born before World War 1 even.........At that point I just stared at him and nodded while thinking, "These are the people I always defend as not being as dumb as people say." For those of you who aren't big history buffs, or even semi-intelligent people, World War 1 ended in 1918.

10:05am- I'm looking around at this point at all the other students and amazingly I think I'm in the best shape of anyone else there. It wasn't exactly an all star cast, but everyone else was either really overweight, or 130 pounds soaking wet. The instructors and full time students were a different story as they were all in shape and looked like wrestlers normally look. Also a bit perplexed that more than one person thought that skateboarding shoes would be the best idea for footwear...going to guess that they've never played any type of sport before. Ankle support is pretty crucial.

10:15am- The class starts with a calisthenic warm up, consisting of 25 pushups, 25 jumping jacks, 25 squats, and 25 sit ups, of which we did 4 sets. After three months of p90x this wasn't much of an issue for me, but it was clear that some of the other people hadn't seen the inside of a gym in a while. Also at this point, I was asked if I was related to Frank Viola, former Red Sox pitcher. I said no, but they decided to call me his Frank's grandson all day anyways.

10:30am- "Handsome" Johnny gets into the ring along with Johnny Vegas, and tells us to get up on the apron, as we're going to have the first lesson. He gets two of his regular students into the ring and tells them to demonstrate a collar and elbow tie up, generally the first step of any wrestling match. It looks pretty simple, but just about everybody got critiqued when they tried. Some were pretty good, only having issues with their foot placement or bending too much at the waist but others were about as coordinated as your average guy with two left feet and no control of their extremities. Surprisingly I managed to sum up enough coordination to nail the tie up on my first try.

10:45am- Step two was locking up with someone and then "working" the hold around the ring. Pretty much locking up and then walking around as a pair into the corners, against the ropes, and then back to the center of the ring. They said it was like a dance, which is when I started sweating because I'm possibly the worst dancer in the world. Rhythm has never been my calling card. This however was much easier than any dance I'd ever done. You just listen to the person that you're locked up with and they tell you exactly what to do. If the girl did that while dancing, I think it might be easier too. I was locked up with Andrew Rock, who hissed out directions and we successfully "danced" our way around the ring, earning praise from the instructors. Funny moment happened when one of the regulars was leading someone around the ring and Handsome ran up behind him and gave him the greatest wedgie I've ever seen. Unintentionally but awesomely ripped the kids boxers completely in half, causing him to collapse in great pain.

11:00am- Our next lesson was to learn how to exit the ring. The trainers explained that there are four different ways to exit the ring, you can go forward through the middle ropes, backwards through the middle ropes, forwards over the top rope, and backwards of the top rope. These sound easy, but in reality were pretty difficult. The first attempt was to go forward through the middle ropes, which most people had little trouble with. This entailed grabbing the second rope with your left hand, then propelling your body through the top and middle rope while placing your right hand on the mat to help you stabilize yourself as your feet hit the floor. The only part that really hung anyone up was throwing their feet too high and hitting the top rope. The second way we tried was to go out of the ring backwards through the middle rope. This was quite a bit trickier because you had to hook the middle rope with your right arm and then let your body fall out of the ring being sure to use your forearm to push off the mat so that you don't crash into it. This one didn't go smoothly for anyone, and I was no exception. I came away from it with bruising on my arm from the ropes and bruises on my legs from crashing into the side of the ring a few times. You had to keep going until you got it right, so I eventually did but this wasn't anyones favorite. The third one, and by far the easiest one, was to go over the top rope forward. This was done by pushing the top rope down with your left hand and jumping up so that your body is split by the rope, then leaning towards the ground so that your bodies momentum takes you over the ropes, placing your hand on the apron of the mat and landing with your feet on the ground. I don't think this took anyone more than two tries, as it was very straight forward. The final, and most difficult, way to exit the ring was over the top rope backwards. Amazingly this was accomplished by hooking the top rope with your right arm, pushing it down with your left arm, jumping up and letting your bodies momentum take you straight back, then when you were completely upside down it was necessary to place your left arm on the apron of the mat to stabilize your trip down to the floor. This all ended with you landing on your feet...ideally. This was not made any easier by hearing the story of one student that had been there before and suffered a compound fracture in his ankle. Incredibly this went well on my first attempt, but others weren't so lucky. Many were scared to death to try it, but all eventually did and made it.

11:45am- At this point the instructors decided that we were ready to learn how to run the ropes. This was the part that I was looking forward to the most, because it looked like it would be the most fun. How wrong I was. I had noticed when I felt them earlier in the day that the ropes were pretty stiff. Unlike the rubber bands they appear to be like on television, the ropes are actually made out of stiff cables that have been wrapped in what I can only compare to electrical tape. Needless to say, these were not comfortable to run against, as you need to throw all of your weight against them to get any bounce. They warned us that we would definitely end up bruised afterwards and they weren't lying...a day later and my sides are all black and blue. It was fun though, as we got to run the ropes with another person running the other way, so we made a criss-cross pattern in the ring. This was a timing exercise so that we could understand how it would be to adapt to an opponent.

12:05pm- Lunch Break. I pulled out my PB and Fluff while some others messed around in the ring. As one of the older "one day" students, I feel like being a bit more mature led me to not try and bounce around the ring with some of the others. I generally don't like to try and do something potentially dangerous until I've actually learned what I'm doing. And I was proven to have made the right choice when one of the other guys chipped a tooth trying to learn how to get hit by a clothesline.

12:35pm- We're back in the ring learning how to fall or take a "bump". For those of you that know me, you might remember this being the thing that gave me a concussion last time I went to wrestling school. I was a bit nervous this time, although I have been thinking about taking a bump again ever since the last time. Where I failed last time was that instead of tucking my chin I whipped my head back and cracked it off the mat. Easy mistake...unfortunate result. This time I got in the ring and executed a perfect back bump, didn't knock my head off the ground, and they didn't critique it at all. I did a couple more and it was over, I avoided a concussion and actually got a little praise from the instructors, not something that they handed out freely.

1:15pm- The part that I was looking forward to, not for myself, but to watch everyone else look stupid. It was time to cut a promo. To accomplish this you had to come up with a character, and talk into a microphone explaining who you were and possibly answering questions. Embarrassing fact notice: I often think about what I would say during a promo while I'm driving. It's not rare to see me talking to myself while I'm in my car, sometimes singing along with the radio and other times thinking about what I would say in an interview. The one part of the interview that I've never been able to figure out though is what my name would be. I had settled on being a teacher type of character who thought he was better than everyone else because he was smarter than everyone else. On the spot I decided to call myself Professor Trent Richardson. Yeah yeah I know, he's the Alabama running back, but it sounded like a smart name so I just went with it. Talking in front of people was clearly uncomfortable for a lot of people, but teaching every day has really taken the fear out of it for me. I gave a pretty decent 30 second promo saying who I was and that I was at Chaotic Wrestling to beat everybody who stands in my way. On the way home, I came to the conclusion that I should have called myself Professor Trent Richardson the "Sexual Intellectual". If only I had realized it in time...

2:00pm- This was the end of my day at wrestling school and the instructors let us have a q & a with them for a while. Handsome Johnny, Brian Fury, and Johnny Vegas all took turns answering questions about their careers and what it took for them to make it. I got a New England Pro Wrestling Academy t-shirt, which I plan on wearing everywhere, and headed home free of head injury.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Remember to become a member of this page, go back and read all my other blogs, follow me on twitter @joshviola19 and follow your dreams, I just followed mine.

-Josh

Random Thoughts

2012-01-11T16:44:00.000-08:00

Nothing has tickled my fancy lately in the sports world enough to write an entire column, but there are still some things that I want to give my thoughts on.

-Do you realize that the two most polarizing athletes in the United States right now are white? Tim Tebow and Ricky Rubio are both taking their sports by storm.....are they popular because they're white, I don't think so. Both are great players and have the "it" factor that makes someone go from star to superstar.

-Watch out for Kobe Bryant, he was ranked the seventh best player in the league by ESPN.com and he's not taking it well. After dropping 48 points on the Phoenix Suns he was quoted as saying "Not bad for the 7th best player in the league". Something tells me that much like Jordan, Kobe isn't someone that you want to piss off. This is bad news for the rest of the western conference and the NBA.

-Do you realize that New England could play Tim Tebow, TJ Yates, and Alex Smith in their next three games? That's the only way that they are going to win the Superbowl because let's be honest, Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers would throw for 650 yards and 8 touchdowns against the Patriots defense.

-I saw an interview with Manny Ramirez on ESPN recently. He seems legitimately apologetic for everything he did and contrite with his responses. I know, I know, I'm a sucker but I'd love to see him back in a Red Sox uniform......can he really be worse than Carl Crawford? Stick Manny back out in left field, Crawford in right and Ellsbury in center....now that's an outfield that has high potential. At the very least David Ortiz would love it.

-Lebron recently announced that he's getting married to his long time girlfriend. Did Dwyane Wade teach you NOTHING?!? I'll say it again, if you are a famous athlete then DON'T GET MARRIED! Unless that is of course you want to lose half of your money and most likely be involved in a messy divorce at some point.......hey Hulk Hogan.

-This happened on Monday......I'm still trying to process it...

Is there anything MORE entertainingly hilarious than a fat man dancing? I say no.

-While I was killing time watching youtube videos, I remembered how great Vince Carter used to be at dunking the basketball. I don't think he gets enough credit for being the greatest dunker of all time......probably because he's also missing a heart and has no passion, the most frustrating player of all time. In the words of Kenny Smith "It's OVER, Let's go home"

-BCS Game: I know it stands for Bowl Championship Series, but when it's Alabama vs LSU it should have stood for Boring Championship Series ( I know that's not very witty). That game was a snooze fest. Let's make a rule, a championship game always has to have at least one offense that's capable of scoring 60 points. If you're a football purist and love defensive battles that's great, but I'll take a 50-48 shootout over that any day.

-The Bruins are on fire right now. What else can you say except that they have two of the best goaltenders in the league and probably the best offense. I don't watch as much hockey as I'd like, but I don't see how this team can possibly lose a seven game series.

-I'll throw in a little free pub here....check out the latest song from up and coming 17 year old rapper, CJ The Kid.

-To wrap up these random thoughts, I'll throw in the announcement that this Saturday, January 14th, I'll be heading down to Massachusetts to live the dream one more time. For those of you that don't know me, that means I'm going down to a one day wrestling camp for the second time in my life. I know, I'm a loser, but who doesn't have their quirks?

Thanks for reading, leave a comment, go back and read all my other blogs, become a follower, and be sure to follow me on twitter @Joshviola19.

-Josh

1st Round NFL Playoff Predictions

2012-01-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

Here we go, some playoff predictions bound to be wrong. When you read these and see that I'm wrong on every single one, just remember that I predicted the winner of the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals last year in the exact amount of games.

AFC

Steelers vs Broncos

Injuries: Rashard Mendenhall and Maurkice Pouncey are both out, while Big Ben, Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, and Brett Kiesel are all hurt. For the Broncos only Brian Dawkins is out. The injury battle clearly favors Denver. With no Mendenhall the Steelers won't be able to effectively run the ball which puts, an already injured, Ben Roethlisberger into multiple obvious passing situations. The Denver defensive line is going to be able to tee off on Roethlisberger because his ankle injuries aren't going to allow him to evade the pass rush. With Pouncey being out, the offensive line is going to be weaker than usual, making Ben even more vulnerable.

For the Broncos it's going to be all about their defense. Missing Dawkins is going to be a much bigger problem than anyone thinks, but having Vonn Miller and Champ Bailey is definitely a plus. The other positive thing the Broncos bring to the table in this matchup is TIM TEBOW. After reading though Bill Simmons picks for this weekend, it almost seems like the stage is set for Tebow to win. His whole season has played out like a Disney movie and this is where he takes his biggest step.

With the game being in Denver that means thin air and the Steelers aren't used to playing in it....so for that reason, I'm picking the Tebow Time over Rapelisberger. Plus, does the bad guy ever win at the end of a disney movie?

Broncos 17 over Steelers 13

Texans vs Bengals

Why the Texans will lose: Yates or Delhomme? I know that TJ Yates is getting the start, but how long of a rope does he get until the coaches get antsy and put Jake Delhomme in? Delhomme is a former Superbowl quarterback and played fairly well in last weeks game against the Titans. Yates has been decent since coming in for Matt Schaub earlier this year and deserves the start, but with a season on the line he may not be enough to get it done. Even getting past the quarterback issues, they have injury problems. Andre Johnson is still a bit gimpy after his hamstring injury and they haven't had Mario Williams since October.

Why the Bengals will lose: Andy Dalton is a rookie starting quarterback in a playoff game against a good defense. He's been great this season, but the Bengals haven't beaten a good team all year and Dalton hasn't played well against a good defense yet. Arian Foster is the best running back in football...period. Finally, the game is in Houston. This is the first playoff game that the Texans have ever been in and their crowd is going to be amped up.

My pick? Yates and Dalton will both struggle, but the Texans have a better defense and a better running game so....

Texans 21 over Bengals 17

NFC

Saints vs Lions

The matchup of two 5,000 yard passers. This is going to be a video game type of contest where both offenses are going to put up a ton of points and both defenses are going to be frustrated. Matthew Stafford is turning into a great quarterback who, along with Calvin Johnson, is leading one of the best offenses in football. The only problem with that is that the team they're playing is THE best offense in football, led by a quarterback who broke the all time passing yards record and has more offensive weapons than anyone else in the league. With the game being in New Orleans and the Saints having Darren Sproles, aka Super Reggie Bush, I can't see any way that the Lions walk out of the Superdome with a victory.

I do have one prediction for this game though. Remember when the Ravens played against the Raiders back when they won the Superbowl? Tony Siragusa landed on Rich Gannon and broke his leg, effectively ending the Raiders season even before the final whistle. Well if you were to predict that to happen again wouldn't you bet on it being Ndamukong Suh accidently on purpose breaking Drew Brees' leg?

Saints 48 over Lions 35

Giants vs Falcons

Probably the hardest game of the weekend to predict. On paper I want to pick the Falcons but with the recent resurgence of the Giants I'm not sure that I can. The Falcons offense looks unstoppable on paper, however it hasn't worked out that way in reality this year. When you see a team that has Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Roddy White, and Michael "Burner" Turner, putting up points shouldn't be an issue. The Falcons have sputtered in big games this year though. Eli Manning and the Giants have been the opposite of the Falcons this year, seemingly winning every big game and then dropping games that they should win.

Every expert is picking the Giants based on the reasons that I've outlined in the above paragraph. The mix of the Falcons losing big games and the Giants stepping up in big games has put the Falcons into a great situation. There is no pressure on them right now. The Giants have to sit here all week and listen to people talk about how this is just like the 2008 team that upset the undefeated Patriots, pumping up their confidence and possibly allowing them to overlook Atlanta.

This is my only upset pick of the first round, Atlanta is going to beat the New York football Giants. Eventually a good team puts it all together and plays a complete game. The Falcons haven't done it yet and the Giants are a team that just barely snuck into the playoffs by beating an overrated Dallas team. It's going to be close but final score....

Atlanta 24 over New York 21

I hope you enjoyed reading through my first round playoff predictions, be sure to check out next weeks predictions when I have to explain why all of these were wrong.

-Josh

TMac Turns Back the Clock

2012-01-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict. One of my favorite moments in sports is when a veteran player, who everyone thinks is done, comes out and dominates one more time. It happened again this week, and it inspired me to do some writing.

When you become a sports fan, no matter what sport you choose, you always pick a favorite player. Usually the player is on the team that you support, but occasionally there are players on other teams that you end up liking for whatever reason. As you continue watching, you see these players get older and start to break down. It's one of the sadder events to watch in sports, a guy has been an all star or all pro for the last ten years, and now they are breaking down. This season in the NBA there are a lot of players like this, who used to be all stars and even MVP's , that are now either solid starters or even bench players. I have to look no further than my favorite team, the Boston Celtics, to see Jermaine O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, all at different stages of decline.

In addition to the Celtics foursome, you can also include Grant Hill, Tracy Mcgrady, Tim Duncan, Shawn Marion, Jason Kidd, Mike Bibby, Chauncey Billups, Elton Brand, Vince Carter, Ben Wallace, and Michael Redd. I left out Kobe and Dirk because they really haven't shown signs of slowing down yet, although Kobe looks like he might hit the wall first. The players that I did list though all have one thing in common. They were all stars in the league when I started to watch religiously. Back in 2001, these were the guys that ran the league, with the possible exception of Chauncey and Ben Wallace who hadn't hit their groove yet. What about today though? Wouldn't you be shocked to turn on sportscenter and see that Elton Brand had a 25 point 15 rebound game or Jason Kidd blew up for a 20 assist game? Back in the early 2000's these things happened regularly, which makes it all the more sad that these players are breaking down. The kids who are just getting into the sport now are going to see these guys as role players and guys that aren't that good. I think one of the reasons I like to write this blog is to educate younger fans on the history of the game.

Which brings me to the main topic today, Tracy Mcgrady. He's one of the players that seemed to be completely done and for the last few years has been a shell of a shadow of his former self. For those of you that don't remember Tracy's prime, check it out here....

How many of you knew that he was actually that good? Did you know that he averaged 32 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists a game during the '02-'03 season? He was THE MAN during those years. Unfortunately, because of an injury to Grant Hill (called by many "The New MJ"), those Magic teams never made it out of the first round of the playoffs. Instead of having a reputation as one of the best players of his generation, Mcgrady is remembered for playoff failures and injuries. So when he claimed that his knee was "100% healthy", people scoffed and said that he was just trying to get a new contract. Well maybe it was only for one night, but the Tracy Mcgrady that I remember was back. He poured in 13 4th quarter points against the Heat to beat Lebron, DWade, and Chris Bosh. It was almost as if Mcgrady just wanted to remind everyone, and let Lebron and Wade know that once upon a time this was his league. It was reminiscent of another Mcgrady performance.....

The ironic part? I was never a big fan of Mcgrady when he was dominating the league. There was never a big rivalry with the Celtics, but I never appreciated what I was watching until it was over. Now when I look back over his career I feel honored to have had the privilege of watching him get drafted out of high school, learn to play in the league, dominate the league, and eventually break down and become a bench player.

There are other examples of older, former great players, having big games. One of my favorites was when Gary Payton hit some big shots in the 2006 finals and everyone reacted with surprise. Should we really have been surprised though? Gary Payton is one of the 10 best point guards of all time. My absolute favorite "former star shines again" moment hasn't happened yet though. It will be this year, when Kevin Garnett shocks everyone by throwing up a 28 point 16 rebound game at some point in the playoffs.

Thanks for reading, remember to leave a comment, go back and read all my other entries, become a fan, and keep watching for the next old timer that turns back the clock.

-Josh

Ricky Rubio has Arrived and Kevin Garnett is Changing (I Hope)

2012-01-01T18:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict. In this entry, I'm going to do an in depth look at Ricky Rubio, as well as explore how Kevin Garnett can salvage the rest of his career. Let's dive right in...from Barcelona Spain.....

RIIIIIIICCCCCCKKKKKKKKYYYYYYYY RUUUUUUUUUUUUBBBBIIIOOO!!!!

I've had a lot of favorite players in my time as a basketball fan, but Ricky Rubio is definitely the most recent.....or at least my favorite one from Spain. When I say he's my favorite player, what I mean is that he's my favorite player to have never been a Celtic because obviously current and former Celtics rank at the top. Ricky Rubio has taken the state of Minnesota by storm and shortly will be taking over the entire NBA. I have had the privilege of watching Rajon Rondo for the best five years and it's safe to say that he's one of the best passers in the NBA, but Rubio is simply on another level. People said that he wouldn't be able to play in the NBA because he can't shoot, was too slow, wasn't a good enough defender, and didn't have the athleticism.We had to wait two years for Ricky to come to America, but he's here and proving all the naysayers wrong. The Timberwolves are three games into their season, and Rubio has come off the bench to average 28 minutes per game, scoring 8 points per game, throwing 7 assists per game, and even coming down with almost 5 rebound per game. He even recorded his first ever double double against Miami with 12 points and 12 assists, while also hauling in 6 rebounds.

Very rarely do players live up to the hype, but Ricky looks like he is going to. His first game showed that he had passing skills, a basketball IQ, and awareness that was just as good if not better than anyone in the league, and he's only 21 years old. You might remember hearing Ricky Rubio's name before the 2009 draft, as he was the youngest player on the Spanish National Team during the 2008 Olympics. Being on live in the wee hours of the morning, only the most hardcore of basketball fans stayed up to watch it, but this was Ricky Rubio's coming out party. He dominated Jason Kidd. Step back and think about this for a minute, Rubio was 17 years old and Kidd was a 35 year old future Hall of Famer and great defensive player. Kidd clearly wasn't "done" because he played an integral role in the Mavericks championship last year. When most people are 17 they are going into their senior year of high school and getting ready for a varsity season. Ricky Rubio was playing at the highest level and beating the best NBA players to the basket. He put on a show that had experts gushing about his potential and fans drooling over the idea of seeing him in the NBA.

If you get the opportunity this year, sit down and watch a Timberwolves game. You can see Rubio throw the prettiest passes in the NBA, Kevin Love throw down a 20-20 game, and who knows what Michael Beasley might do.

The second part of this entry is about Kevin Garnett. In my last blog entry I said that this was the end for KG, and I stand by what I said, this is the end for the KG that we all know and love. After watching a couple more Celtics game though, I've come to the realization that Garnett has the ability to transform himself into a completely different, but still effective, player. All big men reach a point in their career where they either adapt to a new style that is lower impact or they retire. If you made a list of all the greatest big men in NBA history, you can pinpoint where their athleticism completely fell off and they had to change the way they played. Looking at the list of big men that aged gracefully they all had one thing in common, they passed well. Chris Webber, Hakeem Olajuwon, Vlade Divac, Arvydas Sabonis, Shaq, and even Wilt Chamberlain were all great passers and all changed their games to remain effective into their later years.

Which brings me to Kevin Garnett. He is one of the best passing big men of all time, averaging just over 4 assists per game for his career and peaking at 6 assists per game in the 2002-2003 season. KG can stay effective if he alters his game to becoming a high post distributer of the basketball, as well as shooting a high percentage on his jumpers. On defense, he should be paired with Greg Stiemsma because the "Stiem-roller" is young and athletic, complementing KG better than Jermaine O'Neal. Check out Aryvdas Sabonis, who was infinitely more immobile in his later years than KG is now, and you can see that he was still effective and still contributing to a Portland team that was 10 minutes from the finals. For me, Sabonis is the best comparison of what Garnett should be aiming for. Chris Webber is another example of an ultra athletic power forward who suffered knee injuries later in his career and had to change his game. KG should start watching tape of CWebb's later years to use as a blueprint.

My expectations going forward would be for KG to average somewhere in the 14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists area. KG can dribble, pass, and shoot better than most big men, which should give him an advantage on the slower, plodding, big men around the league. Having an athletic guy like Greg Stiemsma next to him should also make defense easier on Kevin. Let's hope that KG can make the switch to being more of a facilitator and realize that his days as an athletic, freak of nature, phenom are over. If he can successfully adapt to this new style, I could see The Big Ticket extending his career by at least a couple more years.

Thanks for reading, be sure to go back and read all my other columns, follow the blog, follow me on twitter @joshviola19, and stay tuned for another entry in the near future.

-Josh

The End of Kevin Garnett

2011-12-28T19:18:00.001-08:00

Welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict. In this entry I'm going to try and decode the past to predict the future of the Celtics and decide whether Kevin Garnett is done.

"I would've traded Larry Bird"-Danny Ainge

Let me take you back in time to 1991.

The Celtics were led by a different big three, the original big three, Larry Bird, Kevin Mchale, and Robert Parish. Larry Bird had a problematic back and feet that were falling apart, Mchale had lingering effects from a broken foot that he played on throughout the 1987 playoffs, Parish was healthy but, as with the other two, wasn't immune to father time. The front office at the time was faced with the decision of whether to trade Bird, Mchale, and/or Parish to try and bring in youth or allow them all to keep playing until they retired. Management chose to allow them to keep playing, losing Bird in 1992 to retirement, Mchale in 1993 also to retirement, and Parish in 1994 to free agency. When those guys were gone the Celtics were left with nothing and struggled for the next 15 years until Danny Ainge brought in Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. To be fair, the deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis also helped set the franchise back, but the death of Bias happened in 1986 well before decisions had to be made.

Let's flash forward now to present day.

The Celtics of today are led by a big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. They won the NBA Championship in 2008, but today things are quite different. Garnett has had major knee surgery, Ray Allen had ankle issues before getting to Boston, and Paul Pierce, like Robert Parish, isn't getting any younger. The 1991 and 2011 teams are remarkably similar in that neither team is/was favored to win the championship, but they are/were a good enough team to not get a good draft pick. The major difference between the two teams is that Danny Ainge is the general manager in 2011. I have faith that he's not going to allow history to repeat itself in Boston. I will go on record right now saying that by the end of this season Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, or Paul Pierce will have been traded.

Out of everyone on the roster right now the only guys I'd like to see kept for next year are Rajon Rondo, Greg Stiemsma, Jajuan Johnson, and Brandon Bass. Selfishly I'd love to see Paul Pierce end his career in Boston as well. Everyone else can go.

In my mind the BIGGEST issue with the Celtics over these first few games has been Kevin Garnett. His athleticism is completely gone. The knee injury he sustained against Utah in the 2008-2009 season took away what little lift he had left and KG is now a shell of a shadow of his former self. Just watch this video from the 2008 finals, it shows you just how far he's fallen in the last three years. It's not just his physical skills either, his aggressiveness is gone. KG doesn't take it to the basket anymore and even his vaunted defense is going down hill. There should never be a basketball game where Kevin Garnett is the 3rd best big man on his own team, and that happened against New Orleans. I don't want to disrespect Kevin, he's a former NBA MVP, NBA Defensive Player of the Year, 14 time all star, 9 time all NBA selection, and 11 time all defensive team player. He's clearly one of the top 30 players of all time and the main reason that I got to feel the elation of watching my team win a championship. Just like watching Shaq last year though, it's very obvious that he's an AVERAGE player now. He can still give you 12 points and 7 rebounds a night while being a solid jump shooter, but he's not an all star or a big time player anymore. To be honest, the Celtics right now are a big 1 with that one being Rajon Rondo. Garnett is a jump shooting big man with above average defense and Ray Allen is a spot up shooter, granted he's the best spot up shooter in the league, but he's not the old Ray Allen. When Paul Pierce gets back we might have a big 2, but it's still up in the air on whether or not he's lost a step.

Father time is the cruelest injury of all. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are still able to hold it off and keep up good play, but KG is starting to succumb. He's been in the league since 1995 as a kid fresh out of high school, in fact his nickname was "The Kid" back then. Now "The Kid" is 35 years old and slowing down. His contract expires after this year, and it wouldn't shock me if he decided to call it a career. When he does I'll be the first one to write about how amazing Kevin Garnett was to watch in his prime, carrying the Timberwolves, how he transformed my beloved Celtics into champions, and how he was the most intense player I've ever watched. For now though, I simply call for him to be traded, because I'm a Celtics fan and it's for the greater good.

Thanks for reading, leave a comment, go back and read all my other articles, follow me on twitter @joshviola19, and keep watching the Celtics because you never know when you might get to see that moment when a former superstar gets the Garden crowd rocking one more time. Mchale did it in 1993 and I hope KG can do it in 2012.

-Josh

Year End Awards

2011-12-26T12:57:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict. This entry will be my end-of-the-year thoughts and awards. 2011 was the year of the "good guy" in sports. Without further adieu, here are the 2011 Thoughts of a Sports Addict Awards.

The Charlie Sheen "Winning" Award- This is presented to the best championship team of the year. The contenders this year were the Green Bay Packers, Boston Bruins, Dallas Mavericks, and St. Louis Cardinals. All four teams were the champions in their respective sports, so which team will we remember 20 years from now when talking about 2011. As impressive as the Packers and Cardinals were, neither had a defining moment that sticks out in the fans mind so I'm eliminating them. This leaves us with the Bruins and Mavs. As a Boston fan I'm tempted to pick the Bruins, they had a historic run through the playoffs and won a Stanley Cup final in seven games. As much as a I liked watching them though, they fall just short to the Dallas Mavericks as the best championship team of the year.

Winner: Dallas Mavericks......Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Peja Stojakovic, Tyson Chandler, Jason Terry, and Caron Butler are the reason that they are winning this award. The absolute height of my sports fanaticism was between the years of 2001 and 2006. During those years the NBA was dominated by the men listed above (with the exception of Butler). I was so thrilled to see not only Kidd and Dirk, future 1st ballot hall of famers, but Shawn Marion and Peja Stojakovic, severely underrated and under-appreciated players that most wouldn't guess were one time MVP candidates, win a title. For me, seeing the Mavs raise the trophy was the feel good moment of the year. (It also didn't hurt that they beat the Heat to do it, suck it Lebron)

Ashton Kutcher "Free Agent Pickup of the Year" Award- In honor of Ashton once again being a free agent, I've named this award after him. The nominees are: Albert Pujols, CJ Wilson, Tyson Chandler, and Jose Reyes. These were the four biggest signings of the year and, oddly enough, they all came at the same time in the year. To pick a winner you have to look at what the point of signing a free agent is, and then which one of these four hits that point. For me, there are several reasons to sign a big time free agent: Put a team over the top for a championship, revive interest in the team, be the centerpiece to build around, or sell merchandise. The man that fits all of these areas is our winner and he is...........

Winner: Jose Reyes. Pujols and CJ are both going to the same team, simultaneously lowering the impact of each. They make the Angels better, but they were already a great team and neither is going to get the credit that Reyes will if the Marlins turn it around. Tyson Chandler is a big signing for the Knicks but he's their third best player and could very well end up injured before the season is over. Reyes has the opportunity to be the star for a Marlins team that is moving into a new ball park and has a pitching staff that will make them competitive. Reyes is going to be responsible for drawing the fans, selling merchandise, and being the teams best player. That makes him the best free agent pickup of 2011.

We Remember The Stars That Left the Party in 2011

Anthony Weiner "Worst Decision of the Year" Award- For those of you who don't remember, Weiner was the politician who tweeted pictures of his junk for the world to see. The nominees for the award are: Billy Hunter for his handling of the NBA lockout, Ron Artest for changing his name to Metta World Peace, Colts management for giving Peyton Manning a 5 year 90 million dollar contract, and David Stern for vetoing the Chris Paul trade. Picking a winner from this is actually pretty difficult. Ron Artest changing his name was one of the least surprising moments of the year, but what he changed it to was the surprising part. For a guy that charged into the stands in Detroit back in 2004, I would've anticipated a name change to something like "He Hate Me" or "One Man Gang", but Metta World Peace.....really? Peyton Manning re-signing with the Colts might kill the Indianapolis franchise, because his neck seems pretty screwed up, but the other two might kill an entire league. Billy Hunter handled the lockout in possibly the worst way possible, but was outdone by our winner......

Winner: David Stern for vetoing the Chris Paul trade. This one act pushed a league that was just coming out of a lockout and was less than 3 years removed from finding out one its refs was cheating, even closer to the WWE-lite claims. Vetoing a trade that had been agreed to by two teams and appeared to be a fair trade will not go down as David Stern's best idea. Good luck trying to rebuild the good faith that was starting to come back after the, unexpected, resolution to the lockout.

The Blake Griffin "Breakout Star of 2011" Award- Blake Griffin was the 2010 breakout star of the year, and this year we are looking at another great crop. The 2011 nominees are: Justin Verlander, Derrick Rose, Aaron Rodgers, and Tim Thomas. All four guys were already stars in their respective sports, but they all took a giant step towards becoming household names this year. Verlander and Rose had amazing regular seasons culminating in Verlander being awarded the Cy Young award and Rose becoming the youngest MVP in NBA history. Being great in the regular season makes you a star, but the playoffs and finals are where legends are made and these two both came up short. Aaron Rodgers took the final step out of Brett Favre's shadow by winning the Superbowl and then following it up with one of the greatest statistical seasons in the history of football. He comes up short in this contest though to our winner........

Winner: Tim Thomas. Not only did he lead the Bruins to their first Stanley Cup Finals victory since 1972, but he did so in record setting fashion. Never has someone come up so big in so many games during the same playoffs. I had never been much of a hockey fan, but I watched the playoffs to see what Tim Thomas would do next, that's a star. Not to mention he had a great beard.

Betty White "Lifetime Achievement" Award- No nominees for this one, as there's really only one person who can win it. Derek Jeter is the recipient of this award. This year he got to 3000 hits, the 3000th coming on a home run at Yankee Stadium, and signed on with the Yankees for 4 more years. He has 4 World Series titles and was still good enough to make the all star game. He's a surefire first ballot hall of famer and even this Red Sox fan can acknowledge that Derek Jeter is the best shortstop I've ever watched play. (Sorry Nomar).

Happy Trails-We saw a lot of great stars send in their retirement papers this year. Shaquille O'Neal is probably the biggest star to walk into the sunset this year. The Diesel leaves behind a 19 year NBA career in which he won 4 NBA titles, 1 MVP award, and took three different teams to the finals. The Shaqtus joins Chris Webber and company as an analyst for NBATV. Other stars retiring this year include Peja Stojakovic, Brandon Roy (unfortunately due to injury), Garrett Anderson, and Rocco Baldelli (illness). These players will all be missed by their fans.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this. Leave a comment, go back and read all my other entrys, follow me on twitter @joshviola19, and Happy New Year.

-Josh

Christmas Crisis

2011-12-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

Thanks for coming back for another entry of Thoughts of a Sports Addict. Today I take on a different topic that has been bothering me lately...Christmas.

Let me start of by saying that for a long time Christmas was my favorite holiday. I looked forward to it more than any other day of the year, because it meant Santa Claus, presents, big family dinners, and school vacation. I have gotten to the point now however, where I'm just sick of the whole thing. Christmas has become too commercialized, the meaning has been completely twisted.

I've been thinking a lot lately about my future and what kinds of things I want to do. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I'm about as far away from having kids as anyone could be, but I've often thought about how I'd like to raise them. In the last few weeks my thoughts have turned to how I want to celebrate Christmas with them, and I decided that the status quo just isn't going to work. When I stepped back and looked at the things that I really loved about Christmas, I realized that it had nothing to do with receiving presents. To be honest, I probably couldn't name more than one or two things I received last year. I did realize though, that I LOVE giving gifts to other people, especially when I feel like they really appreciate it. I know the old saying "It's better to give than receive" is cliched these days, but it's true.

My ideal Christmas time would be different than most. I want my kids to grow up as givers, people who have a deep conscience and a strong desire to give a helping hand when someone needs it. Things like working at the soup kitchen or giving a hand up to the less fortunate is what I believe is the true spirit of Christmas. Currently the "spirit" of Christmas for most people means racking their brain to figure out what useless gift they can give to someone who already has it all. Please don't think I'm taking a "Holier than though" stance on this, as I'm just as guilty as anyone, I've asked for and been given many things that I simply didn't need just because I could. I grew up though and I'm a simple man, I've never been greedy for money, in fact when I dream of being rich it's always about the cool charitable stuff I could do with all that money. As awesome as it would be to be a pro athlete or celebrity, the coolest part would be making a sick kids day when you visit them in the hospital or donating a whole bunch of money in scholarship to underprivileged students. Maybe it makes me different, but I don't dream of having a garage full of cars or a huge mansion.

I know I've rambled a bit, but my disappointment in what Christmas has turned into has been rolling around in my head for a while. Christmas time is about spreading holiday cheer and helping out the less fortunate. Unfortunately it's turned into a month long contest to see who can buy the coolest new merchandise for the cheapest amount of money. Well I'm done with it, I'd rather do something to make a memorable Christmas for even 1 person, than buy presents for 100 people who won't even remember it a week later.

Maybe I'm just weird though, I've always seen myself like Hermie from the Rudolph movie. "Why am I such a misfit? I am not just a nitwit. I just don't fit in" But this time, I don't think I want to fit in.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Remember, follow me on twitter @joshviola19 and keep your eyes out for my next blog entry...an end of the year "awards" column.

-Josh

NBA, Tebow, and More!

2011-12-17T15:06:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome back to another edition of Thoughts of a Sports Addict. Today I'm going to talk about the Celtics first preseason game, Tim Tebow, and some thoughts on the TLC wrestling ppv. Let's jump right in, because today was like Christmas for me.

211 days. 211 days since I last saw the Celtics play a game of basketball. In those 211 days I lost a job, found a new job, made my coaching debut, ran the Beach to Beacon, started and finished P90X, and completed three more college courses. Needless to say, it had been too long. I watched pre-game, post-game, and was even so excited that I watched another preseason game (Mavs vs. Thunder) because I just couldn't get enough. So here are my thoughts on this game and the 2011/2012 Boston Celtics.

Starters: The starting lineup looks like it's going to be Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jermaine O'Neal. This is definitely a veteran unit and shouldn't offer too many surprises. Pierce and Allen have aged well, so I would expect that their play will be much the same as it was last year. Kevin Garnett looked good today, but is still a far cry from the KG that arrived in Boston four years ago. The real question with KG is what he'll be feeling like in April. According to Shaq's new autobiography, KG was in intense pain last year playing every day and had a hard time just making it through the games......not good news. This is the last year of his contract, and it wouldn't shock me if this ended up being the last year of his career. If you're a KG fan, like I am, then enjoy this year because it could be the last time you'll get to see "The Big Ticket" play in the NBA. At this point in his career Jermaine O'Neal is what he is, he'll give the Celtics somewhere around 1o points and probably 7 rebounds a game this year with a block or two a game. If this was 5 years ago I'm not sure this team would lose a single game all season, but being 2011 and not 2006, the starters are going to need some nights off.

Bench: VERY IMPRESSIVE. After the unfortunate news about Jeff Green needing heart surgery, the idea of having a great bench didn't seem likely, but I was pleasantly surprised today. Marquis Daniels, starting today because of a minor Pierce injury, played very well. He appeared to be completely over the spinal injury that ended his season last year, making cuts to the basket and playing good defense. Of every player, he probably had the best game for the Celtics today. Brandon Bass and Chris Wilcox were solid off the bench as well, providing solid minutes and giving the Celtics much needed athleticism. Having Big Baby be the best sub the past few years has made me forget what an actual athletic big man can do. Bass and Wilcox both DUNKED today, something Big Baby never did. Keyon Dooling played well and will probably backup both Rondo and Ray Allen, while Avery Bradley played fairly well and will see playing time this year as a backup.

Rookies: Jajuan Johnson (JJJ) and E'twaun Moore played decently for their first NBA game. Moore, the second round pick, actually looked like he could handle some playing time this year and Johnson showed flashes of great defense. With multiple back to back games and even one back to back to back set of games, Johnson and Moore will get their chance to play.

Bottom Line: As much as I love the Celtics, I had VERY little faith in their ability to win a championship this year, but I'm coming around. I know it was only a preseason game and against the Raptors at that, but the bench showed that they can play and actually provide a break for our starters. If they can find one more guy to come off the bench, either a scoring guard or rebounding big man, then they are right back in the championship hunt. Don't write off this veteran bunch yet.

TIM TEBOW

When I sat down to write this column, the Patriots vs Broncos game hadn't started yet, but I was already planning on writing about how Tim Tebow had beaten Tom Brady. Even though it didn't happen, I think it says everything you need to know about how I feel about Tebow that I was confident he'd beat Tom Brady. He's taking the nation by storm with his Tebowing, 4th quarter comebacks, and Bible banter. He is the best thing to happen for religion in sports and seems to be that "good guy" that every professional sports league is looking for to market. His future is bright and as long as he keeps winning, he'll continue to be a fan favorite.

TLC

For those of you who don't know....oh ok, I know that none of you know....TLC stands for Tables, Ladders, and Chairs (oh my). It's a wrestling pay per view where there is a match type for each of the letters (a tables match, ladder match, chairs match). There's really only two reasons that this is even getting a part of the blog, and the first is because ZACK RYDER won the United States Title. At the beginning of the year he was one of the guys that you looked and knew he wasn't going to be employed much longer. He was never on Raw or Smackdown (Zackdown) and certainly never made any appearances on pay per view, but then he took the reigns on his career. He started a Youtube show called Z True Long Island Story, proclaiming himself the "Internet Champion". He played up his Jersey Shore roots and made entertaining videos that ran for about 5 minutes once a week. The videos were hilariously funny and poked fun at the fact that he was never on the shows and had no merchandise. Amazingly, fans started flocking to the videos and he started to become a fan favorite. At first it was just a noticeable reaction the few times he was on t.v., but then it grew to fans chanting his name during shows, demanding that he be on Raw or Smackdown. By the end of the summer he had enough of a following to not only stave off being fired, but was starting to appear on Raw regularly. I may have even bought his t-shirt. Fast forward to the last pay per view of the year and he FINALLY won the United States title, one of the second tier championships in the WWE. For wrestling fans this was truly the year of the Long Island Iced Z, Zack Ryder.

The second reason is because Daniel Bryan won the World Heavyweight Championship. I know that none of you have any idea who Daniel Bryan is, and that's ok because there's really only one thing I want to point out. According to wwe.com, he is 5'10" tall and 210lbs. Those numbers are curiously close to someone else I know who has always been told they were too small to be a professional wrestler. But if it's good enough for the World Champion, then maybe it's not too small. Congrats to D-Bry.

Once again thanks for reading, be sure to go back and read all my other blog entries, leave a comment, follow me on twitter @joshviola19, and one more time for Zack Ryder....Woo Woo Woo.....You Know It.

-Josh