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| Dominant Rivera helped AL win annual All Star Game last night. |
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Rivera's Farewell Tour Continues As AL Shuts Out NL In Midsummer Classic
Monday, July 1, 2013
NCAA Begins New Chapter With End of Conference Realignment
The NCAA has undergone some major changes over the past few years with conference realignment playing the biggest role. Prior to the Big Ten inviting Nebraska to join as the conference's 12th member in the summer of 2010, college athletics began to change in the early 1990s with Arkansas and South Carolina becoming the 11th and 12th members of the Southeastern Conference, and the Big Ten expanding past the Midwest with the addition of Penn State as its 11th member. College athletics were very disorganized prior to the 1990s with multiple national champions crowned each year and schools represented as either independents or divided among many small regional conferences. The 1990s would alter college athletics forever and college football became the driving force of the NCAA landscape.
The 1990 and 1991 football seasons resulted in co-national champions, so an organized postseason, known as the Bowl Coalition, was implemented in 1992 and became the original precursor to the BCS. It included all the major conferences and independent Notre Dame, but the Pac-10 and Big Ten were excluded because they had previous agreements to send their yearly champions to play in the Rose Bowl. The new system established a yearly national championship game with the nation's top two teams, but it was very flawed because the Big Ten, Pac-10 and mid-major conferences were not eligible to play in the set bowl games or national championship game. It was eventually replaced after three seasons by Bowl Alliance in 1995. It included the same entities as before and a lawsuit brought the end of this system, also after three years. BYU was the #5 team in the nation but was passed over because it was a mid-major. They finished the season with a 14-1 record and victory over Kansas State in the 1997 Cotton Bowl. The development of the college football postseason during the decade resulted in adjustments for the Bowl Championship Series in 1998 and a scheduled 4-team playoff after the 2014 season.
The Big Ten is the oldest Division 1 college athletic conference and has always been one of the nation's most powerful conferences. The conference from the Midwest has always been very active in strengthening its brand across the country with conference realignment. The most recent conference realignment era began with this conference's recurring interest to expand to 12 members after it added the prestigious Penn State program in the early 90's. Many rumors were prevalent around late 2009 regarding the conference's interest in many of the nation's top athletic programs, including Texas, Notre Dame and Nebraska. Rumors heated up again in late May and early June when the conference announced a possible expansion to 14 or 16 teams with Notre Dame and the Big 12 North members as the main attractions, but Nebraska became the only addition for two years. Towards the end of November 2012, the conference once again wanted to spread its brand and conference television network into other major media markets. It eventually added Maryland and Rutgers, schools in neighboring states to a current Big Ten member Penn State, for the Baltimore, New York City and Washington DC media markets. They will join and become the conference's 13th and 14th members on July 1, 2014.
The SEC became the first "superconference" in 1991 and was an innovator for college athletics in establishing divisions and a conference championship game for football. It added Arkansas and South Carolina, but it swung and missed on their main target, Texas A&M, in the mid 90's. The conference had high interest in the university because it would fit well with the other schools in history, tradition, persona and politics. It would also expand the television market and recruiting region into Texas. Texas A&M eventually passed on the offer and joined the newly-created Big 12 Conference instead of parting ways with their in-state rivals. What they didn't know was they would be faced with the same situation just over a decade later when instability hit their conference again. The university evaluated the situation again in the summer of 2010 when they faced three likely scenarios for their athletic future. The Aggies had offers to remain in the Big 12 or take their talents to the Pac-10 or SEC, but decided to remain in the conference and keep it alive after Nebraska departed to the Big Ten and Colorado left for the Pac-10. After much uncertainty, Texas A&M accepted the SEC's long-awaited invitation the following September, and left its heated rivalries in the Lone Star State. Missouri, another Big 12 member, also joined college football's top conference later that fall and became the conference's 14th member.
In 1996, four schools from the Lone Star State (Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor) left their longtime home, the Southwest Conference, and merged with the members of the Big 8 to create a powerhouse conference known as the Big 12. The move by the Texas schools, as well as the departure of Arkansas a few years earlier, dissolved the conference and left the remaining members searching for a new conference (Houston to Conference USA; Rice, SMU and TCU to the WAC). The newly formed Big 12 was expected to dominate like no conference before with powerhouse programs Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas representing the conference. It succeeded as a 12-member conference until the summer of 2010 when Colorado and Nebraska announced they would leave the conference the following summer for the Pac-10 and Big Ten respectively. There were many rumors surrounding the future of the Big 12 because it was the prime spot to pick from. For a year and a half, the Big 12 was the focus of conference realignment with interest in its members coming from different conferences across the country. Rumors ranged from an early death to a 16 team Big 12, but it ultimately added two new members (TCU and West Virginia) in the summer of 2012 after losing four original members (Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas A&M) in 2011 and 2012.
The Pac-12 was built from the ground up since its inception in 1915. The conference, originally known as the Pacific Coast Conference, began with four members (California, Washington, Oregon and Oregon State) in the inaugural year and was an eight-member conference by the early 1960s. The first major expansion occurred in the 1978 when the conference invited a pair or Arizona schools, Arizona and Arizona State, and became known as the Pac-10 for the next 33 years. In the summer of 2010, the conference once again looked to expand and was an active suitor for the next two years. Beginning in the 1990's, the conference had continued interest in the University of Texas and there was a bright possibility that the institution would be involved in its expanded future. The summer of 2010 almost made it a reality when the Pac-10 initiated a plan for UT and friends to head west. Along with Texas, there were plans to add Big 12 members Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and either Colorado or Baylor. The plan ultimately fell though, but the conference added Colorado and Utah (of the Mountain West Conference) by summer's end and became known as the Pac-12. With the Big 12 on life support, talks between the Pac-12 and members of the Big 12 resumed in the fall of 2011. The future of the conference was bleak after Texas A&M became the third Big 12 school to depart from the conference when it accepted a bid to join the SEC on September 25th. The Pac-12 continued its pursuit of Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, but fell short once again. The smaller schools in the Big 12 have UT to thank for wanting to keep the conference members together because they could have been left out of the cold and ended up in a smaller-tear Division 1 conference, like the Big East, Conference USA, Mountain West, or WAC.
The Atlantic Coast Conference has never been perceived the major conference that the Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC have throughout time. Like many other conferences, the 1990's began a period of growth and expansion for the conference. It was an eight-member conference before Florida State's inception in 1991 and would become the third major conference to institute a conference championship with additions Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech in the early 2000's. Even at 12 members strong, the conference's future was undetermined when the next major conference realignment began in 2010 because many of its members expected invitations from the Big 12, Big Ten and SEC. The conference only lost one member in Maryland and was more successful than the Big 12, who faced the same scare. The conference invited Pittsburgh and Syracuse in the fall of 2011, and Louisville and Notre Dame the following year. By July 1, 2014, the conference will consist of 14 full-time members and part-time member Notre Dame, but an announcement on April 22nd solidified the conference for a long time. The conference signed a grant of media rights deal to lock in its fifteen members from 2014 until 2027. It looks to be the final straw for the current conference realignment era of college athletics, but that is yet to be seen after all the hoopla of the past three years.
The 1990 and 1991 football seasons resulted in co-national champions, so an organized postseason, known as the Bowl Coalition, was implemented in 1992 and became the original precursor to the BCS. It included all the major conferences and independent Notre Dame, but the Pac-10 and Big Ten were excluded because they had previous agreements to send their yearly champions to play in the Rose Bowl. The new system established a yearly national championship game with the nation's top two teams, but it was very flawed because the Big Ten, Pac-10 and mid-major conferences were not eligible to play in the set bowl games or national championship game. It was eventually replaced after three seasons by Bowl Alliance in 1995. It included the same entities as before and a lawsuit brought the end of this system, also after three years. BYU was the #5 team in the nation but was passed over because it was a mid-major. They finished the season with a 14-1 record and victory over Kansas State in the 1997 Cotton Bowl. The development of the college football postseason during the decade resulted in adjustments for the Bowl Championship Series in 1998 and a scheduled 4-team playoff after the 2014 season.
The Big Ten is the oldest Division 1 college athletic conference and has always been one of the nation's most powerful conferences. The conference from the Midwest has always been very active in strengthening its brand across the country with conference realignment. The most recent conference realignment era began with this conference's recurring interest to expand to 12 members after it added the prestigious Penn State program in the early 90's. Many rumors were prevalent around late 2009 regarding the conference's interest in many of the nation's top athletic programs, including Texas, Notre Dame and Nebraska. Rumors heated up again in late May and early June when the conference announced a possible expansion to 14 or 16 teams with Notre Dame and the Big 12 North members as the main attractions, but Nebraska became the only addition for two years. Towards the end of November 2012, the conference once again wanted to spread its brand and conference television network into other major media markets. It eventually added Maryland and Rutgers, schools in neighboring states to a current Big Ten member Penn State, for the Baltimore, New York City and Washington DC media markets. They will join and become the conference's 13th and 14th members on July 1, 2014.
The SEC became the first "superconference" in 1991 and was an innovator for college athletics in establishing divisions and a conference championship game for football. It added Arkansas and South Carolina, but it swung and missed on their main target, Texas A&M, in the mid 90's. The conference had high interest in the university because it would fit well with the other schools in history, tradition, persona and politics. It would also expand the television market and recruiting region into Texas. Texas A&M eventually passed on the offer and joined the newly-created Big 12 Conference instead of parting ways with their in-state rivals. What they didn't know was they would be faced with the same situation just over a decade later when instability hit their conference again. The university evaluated the situation again in the summer of 2010 when they faced three likely scenarios for their athletic future. The Aggies had offers to remain in the Big 12 or take their talents to the Pac-10 or SEC, but decided to remain in the conference and keep it alive after Nebraska departed to the Big Ten and Colorado left for the Pac-10. After much uncertainty, Texas A&M accepted the SEC's long-awaited invitation the following September, and left its heated rivalries in the Lone Star State. Missouri, another Big 12 member, also joined college football's top conference later that fall and became the conference's 14th member.
In 1996, four schools from the Lone Star State (Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor) left their longtime home, the Southwest Conference, and merged with the members of the Big 8 to create a powerhouse conference known as the Big 12. The move by the Texas schools, as well as the departure of Arkansas a few years earlier, dissolved the conference and left the remaining members searching for a new conference (Houston to Conference USA; Rice, SMU and TCU to the WAC). The newly formed Big 12 was expected to dominate like no conference before with powerhouse programs Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas representing the conference. It succeeded as a 12-member conference until the summer of 2010 when Colorado and Nebraska announced they would leave the conference the following summer for the Pac-10 and Big Ten respectively. There were many rumors surrounding the future of the Big 12 because it was the prime spot to pick from. For a year and a half, the Big 12 was the focus of conference realignment with interest in its members coming from different conferences across the country. Rumors ranged from an early death to a 16 team Big 12, but it ultimately added two new members (TCU and West Virginia) in the summer of 2012 after losing four original members (Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas A&M) in 2011 and 2012.
The Pac-12 was built from the ground up since its inception in 1915. The conference, originally known as the Pacific Coast Conference, began with four members (California, Washington, Oregon and Oregon State) in the inaugural year and was an eight-member conference by the early 1960s. The first major expansion occurred in the 1978 when the conference invited a pair or Arizona schools, Arizona and Arizona State, and became known as the Pac-10 for the next 33 years. In the summer of 2010, the conference once again looked to expand and was an active suitor for the next two years. Beginning in the 1990's, the conference had continued interest in the University of Texas and there was a bright possibility that the institution would be involved in its expanded future. The summer of 2010 almost made it a reality when the Pac-10 initiated a plan for UT and friends to head west. Along with Texas, there were plans to add Big 12 members Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and either Colorado or Baylor. The plan ultimately fell though, but the conference added Colorado and Utah (of the Mountain West Conference) by summer's end and became known as the Pac-12. With the Big 12 on life support, talks between the Pac-12 and members of the Big 12 resumed in the fall of 2011. The future of the conference was bleak after Texas A&M became the third Big 12 school to depart from the conference when it accepted a bid to join the SEC on September 25th. The Pac-12 continued its pursuit of Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, but fell short once again. The smaller schools in the Big 12 have UT to thank for wanting to keep the conference members together because they could have been left out of the cold and ended up in a smaller-tear Division 1 conference, like the Big East, Conference USA, Mountain West, or WAC.
The Atlantic Coast Conference has never been perceived the major conference that the Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC have throughout time. Like many other conferences, the 1990's began a period of growth and expansion for the conference. It was an eight-member conference before Florida State's inception in 1991 and would become the third major conference to institute a conference championship with additions Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech in the early 2000's. Even at 12 members strong, the conference's future was undetermined when the next major conference realignment began in 2010 because many of its members expected invitations from the Big 12, Big Ten and SEC. The conference only lost one member in Maryland and was more successful than the Big 12, who faced the same scare. The conference invited Pittsburgh and Syracuse in the fall of 2011, and Louisville and Notre Dame the following year. By July 1, 2014, the conference will consist of 14 full-time members and part-time member Notre Dame, but an announcement on April 22nd solidified the conference for a long time. The conference signed a grant of media rights deal to lock in its fifteen members from 2014 until 2027. It looks to be the final straw for the current conference realignment era of college athletics, but that is yet to be seen after all the hoopla of the past three years.
The Big East Conference began as a non-football conference in 1979 with charter members Boston College, Connecticut, Georgetown, Providence, St, John's, Seton Hall and Syracuse, and would later add Villanova in 1980 and Pittsburgh in 1982. The conference, known for its basketball dominance, would be changed forever with the addition of football for the 1991 season. It added independents Miami, Rutgers, Temple, Virginia Tech and West Virginia to play alongside Boston College, Pittsburgh and Syracuse for the inaugural football season, but it was only the beginning of the end for the conference. In 2004, the Atlantic Coast Conference invaded the Big East for additional members and took Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech the next two years. In response, the Big East added Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida as full football members and added DePaul, Loyola (Maryland) and Marquette for other sports. The conference became too unstable with the next set of conference realignment beginning in 2010 and couldn't keep up with the nation's top conferences. It ultimately lost 20 members and the Big East name to the non-football members known as the "Catholic 7" (DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall and Villanova) and was renamed the American Athletic Conference. An ultimate divide occurred because there was too much conflict and discrepancy between the football and non-football playing members to remain a united conference.
Conference USA is relatively a young conference, but has developed regional programs into national-recognized entities since its inception. Members from the Metro Conference and Great Midwest Conference merged to create Conference USA in 1995. The University of Houston was also invited, but remained a member of the Southwest Conference until it dissolved in 1996. The conference began as a non-football conference in its inaugural year, but Houston was one of six members to offer football in 1996. The conference expanded with additions of football-only members East Carolina and Army and full-time member TCU in 2001, but changes were soon-to-be with two stages of conference realignment. In 2005, the conference lost five members to the Big East (Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and South Florida), two to the Atlantic 10 (Charlotte and St. Louis), TCU to the Mountain West, and Army became an independent. They responded by adding Rice, SMU, Tulsa and UTEP from the WAC, and Central Florida and Marshall from the MAC.
The conference begins a new era today with Central Florida, Memphis, Houston and SMU departing for the new American Athletic Conference. Three additional members, East Carolina, Tulane and Tulsa, will depart for the same conference on July 1, 2014. Similar to 2005, the conference regrouped and invited Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, Old Dominion, UTSA, Western Kentucky, as well as former members Charlotte and Florida International. Every invitee besides Charlotte, Old Dominion and Western Kentucky will be introduced as full-time members today as the conference begins a new chapter. Old Dominion joins the conference today as a non-football member, but will feature a football team for the 2014 season. Charlotte also joins the conference today, but their start-up football program won't be ready until 2015. Western Kentucky will spend another athletic year in the Sun Belt before joining Conference USA as a full-time, football-playing member on July 1, 2014.
Conference USA is relatively a young conference, but has developed regional programs into national-recognized entities since its inception. Members from the Metro Conference and Great Midwest Conference merged to create Conference USA in 1995. The University of Houston was also invited, but remained a member of the Southwest Conference until it dissolved in 1996. The conference began as a non-football conference in its inaugural year, but Houston was one of six members to offer football in 1996. The conference expanded with additions of football-only members East Carolina and Army and full-time member TCU in 2001, but changes were soon-to-be with two stages of conference realignment. In 2005, the conference lost five members to the Big East (Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and South Florida), two to the Atlantic 10 (Charlotte and St. Louis), TCU to the Mountain West, and Army became an independent. They responded by adding Rice, SMU, Tulsa and UTEP from the WAC, and Central Florida and Marshall from the MAC.
The conference begins a new era today with Central Florida, Memphis, Houston and SMU departing for the new American Athletic Conference. Three additional members, East Carolina, Tulane and Tulsa, will depart for the same conference on July 1, 2014. Similar to 2005, the conference regrouped and invited Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, Old Dominion, UTSA, Western Kentucky, as well as former members Charlotte and Florida International. Every invitee besides Charlotte, Old Dominion and Western Kentucky will be introduced as full-time members today as the conference begins a new chapter. Old Dominion joins the conference today as a non-football member, but will feature a football team for the 2014 season. Charlotte also joins the conference today, but their start-up football program won't be ready until 2015. Western Kentucky will spend another athletic year in the Sun Belt before joining Conference USA as a full-time, football-playing member on July 1, 2014.
The Western Athletic Conference was an afterthought until the 1990s when it added seven members to become the largest conference in NCAA history at 16 members strong. It added Fresno State in 1992, and San Jose State, Tulsa and the remnants of the dissolved Southwest Conference in 1996. It changed the reality of conference realignments with a new definition of "superconference". The radical move ultimately failed, as 8 of its members left to create the Mountain West Conference in 1999. Two additional members have departed since the initial split, but the conference will lose seven current members (Denver, Louisiana Tech, San Jose State, Texas-Arlington, Texas-San Antonio, Texas State and Utah State) today. The conference dropped football for the 2013-2014 athletic year with new additions Cal State Bakersfield, Chicago State, Grand Canyon University, Missouri-Kansas City, Texas-Pan American, and Utah Valley University. The only remaining members for the upcoming athletic year include Idaho, New Mexico State and Seattle, but more changes are to come. Idaho will depart from the conference on July 1, 2014 and rejoin the Big Sky Conference for all sports besides football, for which they'll play as an independent during the 2013 season before becoming an affiliate member of the Sun Belt next year. New Mexico State is expected to remain in the WAC, but will also be an independent in 2013 and join the Sun Belt as an affiliate members the following season. Seattle will be the only remaining full-time member from last year.
The Mountain West Conference began as an offshoot of it's geographic neighbor, the WAC, with eight members coming together in 1999. The conference has found success in it's short history with four BCS bowl appearances and deep runs in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, so a bright future lies ahead. After losing BYU, TCU and Utah, the conference added Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii (as a football-only member) and Nevada between 2011 and 2012. It will introduce San Jose State and Utah State today as the conference's newest members and hold its inaugural football conference championship game on December 7, 2013 after the conference splits into two divisions this fall. The Mountain Division will consist of Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, New Mexico, Utah State and Wyoming, while Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, San Diego State, San Jose State and UNLV will be in the West Division.
The Mountain West Conference began as an offshoot of it's geographic neighbor, the WAC, with eight members coming together in 1999. The conference has found success in it's short history with four BCS bowl appearances and deep runs in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, so a bright future lies ahead. After losing BYU, TCU and Utah, the conference added Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii (as a football-only member) and Nevada between 2011 and 2012. It will introduce San Jose State and Utah State today as the conference's newest members and hold its inaugural football conference championship game on December 7, 2013 after the conference splits into two divisions this fall. The Mountain Division will consist of Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, New Mexico, Utah State and Wyoming, while Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, San Diego State, San Jose State and UNLV will be in the West Division.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Parker's Heroics Lead Spurs To NBA Finals Game 1 Victory
The long-awaited NBA Finals matchup between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs finally launched Thursday night at the American Airlines Arena. Both teams had spectacular seasons in the 2011-2012 campaign and were expected to meet in last season's NBA Finals, but fans had to wait another year for the star-filled championship round between San Antonio's experienced Big 3 (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili) and Miami's Big Money Big 3 (Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh). Both teams are deserving of winning this year's Larry O'Brien trophy because they were two of the league's top teams this season and a Game 1 victory would be a great first step in accomplishing that achievement.
It took heroics to earn the imperative victory in the very competitive Game 1. Tony Parker stepped up with 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and nailed a memorable game-winning shot with 5.2 seconds remaining. His shot will go down as one of the greatest clutch plays in NBA Finals history because he beat the shot clock by milliseconds to put the Spurs up 92-88 after nearly losing possession of the ball seconds earlier. Tim Duncan also had an impressive individual performance, totalling 20 points and 14 rebounds in becoming only the second player in NBA Finals history to accomplish that feat at age 37.
The Spurs were down for most of the game, including a nine-point deficit in the second quarter, but fought hard in the second half to steal the victory in Miami. They attacked the basket, forced turnovers and limited mistakes in the game's final two quarters. Normally a great shooting team, the Spurs recognized early that their normal shots were not falling but relied on great ball control throughout the game to tie the NBA Finals' record for fewest turnovers in a game (4-tying the mark set by the Detroit Pistons in 2005). The Spurs' defense was spectacular against the Heat's top shooters in the second half, forcing a dismal shooting perfomance in the fourth quarter and six turnovers.
LeBron James has become the leader of the Heat during this year's playoff run and played well in Thursday's loss. He tallied his third career NBA Finals triple double with 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists in 42 minutes of play. Dwyane Wade, bothered with a nagging knee injury, added 17 points for Miami.
The San Antonio Spurs stole both Game 1 and home court advantage from the Miami Heat and now hold a 1-0 series lead in the NBA Finals. Coach Gregg Popovich is 20-3 in series with a Game 1 victory and the Spurs are 5-0 all-time in NBA Finals' Game 1's, so Miami could be in trouble as it enters Sunday's Game 2 because it doesn't want to go down 2-0 in the best-of-seven series that they once held home court advantage.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
LeBron & Wade Lead Heat To 3rd Consecutive NBA Finals
The Miami Heat were outplayed and embarrassed at times throughout the Eastern Conference Finals, but were at their best during the most opportune time of the series, tonight's Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers. After a competitive first quarter, the Heat outscored the Pacers 33-16 in the second quarter, took control of the game and never looked back. LeBron's 32 points led the Miami Heat to a third consecutive NBA Finals as the game's leading scorer. Dwayne Wade's knee injury plagued him throughout the series, but had a series-high 21 points alongside LeBron's impressive performance. The Heat won the game's two key statistical battles this evening, free throws and turnovers. Miami nailed 33/38 free throws tonight compared to Indiana's 14/20. Indiana struggled offensively throughout the game, as many of the shots that they relied on throughout the series did not fall for them tonight. They finished with 21 turnovers (9 in the first quarter and 15 by halftime), while Miami totaled 11 in the game. Miami closed out the Eastern Conference Finals with a 99-76 victory and will face the 5-time Western Conference Champion San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals beginning Thursday in Game 1.
The NBA Finals will feature a veteran Big 3, San Antonio's Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, vs. a Big Money Big 3, Miami's Dwayne Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh. It will be a fascinating and extended series because so much drama occurred when these two teams met on the court earlier this season. NBA Commissioner David Stern fined Spurs' coach Gregg Popovich $250K for resting starters Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green for a nationally televised matchup against the Heat on November 29th. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra returned the favor on March 31st when Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Mario Chalmers were benched for the final regular season meeting, but was not fined. Although there's not been a true meeting this season, I am not expecting this discrepancy to play the biggest role in the NBA Finals. Will San Antonio's extended rest or Miami's battle-tested series be the best preparation for the upcoming championship round? The Big 3 that steps up and carries the load for their team in the series will decide this year's NBA Champion.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Bruins & Luna Help Longhorns Eliminate Gators, Advance in WCWS
After yesterday's disastrous outing against Big 12 rival Oklahoma Sooners, the Texas Longhorns responded with an impressive victory in the Women's College World Series this afternoon. The nation's #4 team shutout and eliminated the #2 Florida Gators 3-0 to advance to play the #7 Tennessee Volunteers this evening in Oklahoma City. Texas only had five hits in the game, but were very efficient with runners in scoring position. Kim Bruins' three-run home run in the top of the third inning put a stamp on the game and they never looked back. Starting pitcher Blaire Luna had her 13th shutout of the season and struck out fourteen batters in her complete game, one-hit outing. She was clutch in the most difficult situations of the game, including bases loaded in the bottom of the third and runners on first and second in the fourth. Florida batters struggled mightily against the dominant Luna with runners in scoring position, as they did throughout this year's Women's College World Series. They stranded eight base runners in today's game and thirty-five in their three games against Tennessee, Nebraska and Texas in the Women's College World Series.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Longhorns Advance To Winner's Bracket With Late Rally
The nation's #4 Texas Longhorns and #5 Arizona State Sun Devils were involved in a bitter fight in tonight's opening round matchup of the 2013 Women's College World Series. The two teams previously met on March 14th in the season's only previous meeting and the Sun Devils shutout the Longhorns 3-0 in the Judi Garman Classic. This time around, the Longhorns looked for a revenge outing. Both starting pitchers, Texas' Blaire Luna and Arizona State's Dallas Escobedo, led the way with no-hitters in the early innings, but the Sun Devils broke open the game with the game's first hits and runs in the top half of the 5th inning. Elizabeth Caporuscio's first hit of the game started a big inning for both teams. After Bailey Wigness added another hit, Alix Johnson drove in both baserunners with only one out. Luna escaped the inning after two earned runs and her teammates played the offensive role in the bottom half of the inning.
Stephanie Ceo's single to third base was the Longhorns' first hit of the evening and the start of an explosive inning. After a walk by Brejae Washington with two outs, Taylor Thom's bloop hit in shallow right field drove in Ceo and a throwing error allowed Washington to tie up the game. The following batter, Kim Bruins, homered to left as the Longhorns added two runs and took a 4-2 lead. Bruins was snagged of a home run earlier in the game by leftfielder Caporuscio, but earned every inch of this home run as the ball bounced off the same fielder's glove and jumped over the wall.
Haley Steele opened the 6th inning with a solo home run for the Sun Devils, but the Longhorns struck with the game's final two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Torie Schmidt and Karina Scott reached base via a hit up the middle and walk, and scored via RBIs by Stephanie Ceo and Taylor Hoagland.
The Texas Longhorns advanced to the winner's bracket with a 6-4 victory over the Arizona State Sun Devils tonight. Kim Bruins closed out the game for Texas because starting pitcher Blaire Luna's pitches were stolen by an Arizona State coach, but had no issue retiring the side with two strikeouts in the top of the 7th. The Longhorns ended a seven-year scoreless streak in College World Series games with a program record-six runs in a College World Series game. The Longhorns will play the nation's top team Oklahoma tomorrow night in the winner's bracket, while Arizona State plays #8 ranked Michigan in the loser's bracket on Saturday.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Pacers Finish Off Knicks & Advance to 1st ECF in 9 Years
The Indiana Pacers found themselves in a comfortable situation when they hosted a potential-closeout Game 6 against the New York Knicks tonight. There was much uncertainty when Pacers' star George Hill went down in Game 5 on Thursday with a concussion, but his clearing prior to tonight's tipoff energized the hometown fans at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. It was a slugfest between the longtime rivals, but a hot start by the Pacers put them ahead early. They expanded their lead in the second quarter and led by eight at halftime. The Knicks were physical in the first half, but had no answer stopping the deep roster of Indiana until the third quarter. The Knicks had lived and died by the three point shot all season and were effective behind the three point arc in the second half tonight. They converted on four consecutive threes in the third quarter and erased a ten point deficit with a 12-2 run in a minute and a half. The Knicks and Pacers fought for every basket and control of the game. The Knicks continued to nail threes in the fourth quarter and finished with nine in the second half, but the Pacers' defensive stops became the deciding factor. The Pacers made defensive plays throughout the game, including nine forced turnovers and seven blocked shots, but the most important play of the game came with five minutes remaining. The Knicks were leading 92-90 when Roy Hibbert rejected what looked like an easy shot attempt for Carmelo Anthony. The Pacers scored seven unanswered points after Hibbert's key defensive stop and knocked out the Knicks with a 16-7 run in the game's final 4:50. George Hill's four clutch free throws in the final minute was the final dagger, as the Pacers eliminated the Knicks with a 106-99 victory in Indianapolis tonight.
Indiana advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in nine years with Lance Stephenson leading the charge with 25 points and 10 rebounds tonight. Paul George added 23 points and Roy Hibbert finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. They finished off the Knicks in six games and will face the Miami Heat beginning Wednesday night. The Knicks, on the other hand, begin the offseason earlier than expected after a great season. Carmelo Anthony finished with 39 points and 7 rebounds, Iman Shumpert nailed 5/6 threes and finished with 19 points, and J.R. Smith totaled 15 points off the bench.
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