The Weekender: Volume 3: 29 June 2012

Hey welcome to The Weekender after having a week off it. The Weekender, for those new to the blog, is my thoughts on sporting stories during the past week and what's happening in the weekend. Feel free to follow by email or by liking my facebook page to follow the latest articles and posts.

Euro 2012 Final

Well the Euros are almost over with the all Group C final of Spain and Italy happening on Sunday after Italy upset Germany 2-1 yesterday.

The Italians now face a Spanish side who quite frankly have not been playing inspiring football. Spain, without their best forward David Villa, maintain 70% possession but create very few scoring opportunities in their games. It was refreshing to see the Portuguese take the fight to the Spanish by pressing them high and not allowing them to construct their intricate passing patterns. This works into the Italians favour has they have been very attacking and, as they showed against Germany, they are not afraid of playing against more fancied opposition.

This particular Italian team is remarkable because it plays attacking football-going against historically what Italian football has been about. This video sums up Italian football historically well, passion and absurdity all in one: (note De Rossi’s reaction at 1.00 at the bottom of the picture-classic.)

Well, there is still racial bashing happening in the metaphorical sense in Italy. An Italian newspaper has had to apologise for its appalling cartoon of striker Mario Balotelli depicted as King Kong on top of Big Ben. Balotelli has been a source of racial tension throughout the tournament but the team has ignored these constant issues as well as no one fancying them to reach the finals. The fact that no one gave them the chance to reach the finals has probably helped their cause.

I think the final will be close and it will not go to penalties. Italy will continue to attack despite Spain’s reputation of exposing teams who do so. It is how Italy got through to the final so I hope they continue. I don’t usually support Italian teams because of their negativity but I am hoping they will pull this upset to win the Euros. My prediction- Italy 2-Spain 1.

Other Euro thoughts:

• Picking Holland to win the whole tournament was a bad choice- talk about self-implosion     

• The amount of headers being scored has been a strong talking point of Euro 2012. Jonathan Wilson of The Guardian wrote this excellent piece about how the Tango 12 ball has been a lot more predictable then the notorious 2010 World Cup Jabulani ball which was bouncy and very difficult to control. This is one area in which Fifa should restrict changes, why make the ball lighter and rounder every 4 years? You’ll end up playing with balloons. A pure marketing strategy which is hurting the game

• Needless to say Fifa can we please make goal line technology mandatory in all professional games? If rugby union, league and NFL can do why can’t you with your more infinite access to funding? People should be tired of the game being a based on human fallibility and chance.

• Also, Uefa could you please select host countries for tournaments which can sell out games? Here’s an excerpt from the Guardians Simon Burnton after the Germany-Spain game:

In the run-up to kick-off rumours spread that hundreds of tickets had been given away locally. Even so the stadium was far from full, but perhaps it was no surprise: the average salary in Ukraine is £230, and cheapest tickets for last night's match cost £36. The best seats, with a face value of £216, cost almost an entire month's pay for the average salaried Ukrainian. to see Shakhtar Donetsk in the same stadium start at 20 hryvna, about £1.60, and nothing outside the corporate hospitality areas costs more than 90 hryvna (£7.15). It is all very well for Uefa and Fifa to bring major competitions to obscure locations, but their pricing must then reflect the regional realities.

            I mean what is the point of hosting these massive events in which

      the locals can’t even afford to go to the games? Shame on you Uefa.

·         Portugal made a huge mistake allowing Christiano Ronaldo to be the last kicker in the penalty shootout. I say ‘allow’ because I bet you Ronaldo put himself in that situation. What better situation for the egotistical, ‘me-first’, Ronaldo then to have the chance to beat your Spanish Real Madrid teammates with the last kick of penalties. Ronaldo has putting himself before the team is typical and he will continue to struggle to win in major competitions because of it.

NBA Draft

   

• The NBA draft occurred yesterday. For a round up of the first round check here. The draft wasn’t full of drama and suspense like previous years due to the lack of blockbuster trades between teams. The Houston Rockets stockpiled picks trying to get Dwight Howard from the Magic but to no avail, it seems everybody is waiting for free agency to make the big splashes.

•  I found this interesting infographic on espn while looking at draft stuff- informative for those who like visuals over words.

• The loudest moments of the draft were left for commissioner David Stern who received boos all night long from the crowd, a result of his perceived fixing of trades and draft positions (well half of that’s true).The way he reacts suggests he quite enjoys being the villain.

• Finally the popular Michael Vickers ‘safe as houses’ pick of the week, this time from the man himself. No longer do I have to make things up, he’s made it himself. Hi pick this week is $11 odds for Padraig Harrington to win the Irish Open in golf. His reason is actually quite sound- “ he came close recently at the US Open, and he’s due, and he’s at a course he won some Amateur titles on. At a glance many would say Graeme Mcdowell or Mcliroy cos they’re Irish and quite good, but i gotta feeling.” I can’t argue with that logic.

Well that concludes this week’s Weekender. Don’t hesitate to leave a comment on my blog, suggestions for future articles etc. Enjoy your days off where ever you are.

Cheers

Photo sourced from upcomingcrisis at blogspot.com

Just for the Sake of It: Dumb Traditions in Sport.

Competitive sports have for centuries, been based on traditions. Some are good, sensible and even rational, like the winner being spared his life while the other contestants are sacrificed to Sun gods.  Others though, aren’t so logical, in fact they infuriate me for their idiocy, backwardness and just plain stupidity. So here is a list of some of the most confounding and hair tearing aspects of sport for me.

‘Free Kicks’ in Football

Why does a ref award a free kick just outside the box but then allows the defending team- in what seems a millennium- to establish a wall, a moat and a surface-to-air missile system to thwart the free kick? By then it certainly isn’t a ‘free’ kick, there should be a time limit from the moment the penalty occurred to when the free kick is taken. 30 seconds would do it. This would stop, what has effectively become 2min timeout for the players, the continual interruption of the flow of the game.

But what really infuriates me is how wasteful teams are with their free kicks. How many times have we seen the best player on the team (or the one with biggest ego) trying to kick it over an eight man wall and into the top corner only to see it travel 10 yards over the bar? cough.....Balotelli...cough! Why not some imagination? Check out these free kicks out and tell me they wouldn’t still work in today’s game?

Why do cricket players still wear whites?

This is one of those classic traditions which has passed its used by date. I know wearing white clothes make you clean and spotless and it helps absorb heat but cricket is also played on grass. Sliding on grass happens to make quite a mess on white clothes, by the end of a match players look like they have processed an Indian curry in their pants. I swear the IOC has secret agreements with detergent companies throughout the world to keep playing in white, increasing the amount of laundry powder used in households. With clothing advances there is no need to play in white anymore, it’s time to move on boys.

Why do Boxing refs go over the rules before EVERY fight?

 Seriously?!? These people have been boxing for years and there are no variants in professional boxing- it’s not chess! Really it confirms that boxing organisers know that boxing can have a detrimental impact on a person’s body and mind. I mean they can’t even be expected to remember the rules from one fight to the next.

NBA in-game interviews

Now these haven’t been around very long but they have already become a constant source of clichéd sport terms which give you no information whatsoever. I don’t know why the NBA thought it was a great idea to ask coaches and players during the start of quarters and halves generic questions which reveal nothing new to the viewer. Just stop it, for at least Gregg Popovich’s sake.

Baseball managers wearing team uniforms

It’s like these guys are expecting to come on to play at any stage. Frankly, they just looks stupid.

NFL preventing team end-zone celebrations

The ‘No Fun League’ as people like to call it, banned team celebrations in the end-zone a long time ago because of fear the celebrations will go too far. It really is no fun stopping creative team celebrations occurring, the fans would love it. Imagine something like this happening in the NFL, or even this. It couldn’t hurt could it?

Golf players counting their own score

With the advancement of technology and TV coverage- this tradition makes absolutely no sense to me in professional golf tournaments. Golf is one of the most mentally demanding sports in the world, where pinpoint accuracy and consistency is key. In the advent of automatic scoreboards and tracking technology to ask professional players to mark each other’s scorecards and make sure that they are correct is simply archaic.

Roberto Vicenzo was tied for first after the final round of the 1968 Masters Championship and should have gone to a 18 hole playoff for the chance to win the tournament if his playing partner hadn’t written down his score wrong, thus disqualifying him. A girl in a recently, despite having a nine shot lead at the end of her competition, lost because she failed to spot that her scorecard was wrong. To win fair and square and still lose over a ridiculous and backward tradition is just plain ridiculous. Why don’t you just let the players play and get someone else just to count the strokes who isn’t wondering what iron to use for their next shot. It’s not hard people, just do it!

 Photo sourced from espn.go.com

On The Line- LeBron and his Legacy- Part B

Comparing LeBron James to the NBA Greats

So when his career is all said and done where will we place LeBron James amongst the very best to ever play the game? I feel like we can now project the ceiling AND the floor of where he will rank in NBA history’s greatest players. For arguments sake I feel that projecting James to win three championships is a fair for a couple of reasons:

• It’s a middling number considering the fact he is still in his prime but he hasn't won a title yet.
• However-his team is ageing and he needs a team without injuries to win, other teams will improve and make it tougher to win.
• Self-preservation-I don't want to be classed a 'hater' for projecting anything less. 

Here are my Top-12 players ever to play in the NBA without future projections:

1.Michael Jordan

2.Kareem Abdul- Jabbar

3. Magic Johnson

4. Bill Russell

5.Larry Bird

6.Tim Duncan

7. Wilt Chamberlain

8. Kobe Bryant

9.Oscar Robertson

10. Hakeem Olajuwon

11.Jerry West

12.Shaquille O'Neal

 19. LeBron James

1509. Brian Scalabrine

As you can see LeBron is not in my Top-12 players at this point in time, all these players have had long, successful careers with multiple championships, apart from West who won just one. There are two current players in my top 12- Duncan and Kobe. Let’s suppose that LeBron wins the three titles and Kobe and Duncan don't add any. Lets also claim that he eventually becomes second all time on the most career points list ahead of Kobe as well as third all time on career points per game list. For argument sake where would he rank?

1.Michael Jordan

2.Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

3.LeBron James

4.Kobe Bryant

5.Magic Johnson

6.Tim Duncan

7.Bill Russell

8.Larry Bird

9.Wilt Chamberlain

10.Oscar Robertson

11.Hakeem Olajuwon

12.Jerry West

13.Shaquille O'Neal

2506. Brian Scalabrine

Some thoughts on my final rankings:

• LeBron is a physical specimen and so I think he can outlast Kobe when it comes to overall points scored in career. LeBron has had no serious injuries in his career so far and he started scoring earlier in his career then Kobe because he had to sit on the bench the first couple of years of his career.
• I think he has a chance of beating Kareem's all-time career points record but too surpass him on the all time greats list he will need to get at least four championships as the top guy on that team as well.
• To beat MJ he will need to lead a team to six or more championships to be honest and I think  that is highly unlikely happen. 
• The fact he has Dwayne Wade, another alpha male and future Hall of Famer, must be taken into account in the future. People will note he didn't start winning titles until he teamed up with Wade, who carried the Heat to the title in only his third season.

If he wins less than three championships on the other hand- I think he drops down all the way down to No.9- ahead of Wilt Chamberlain. In fact I believe LeBron should be compared to Wilt Chamberlain more than Michael Jordan in terms of legacy for several reasons.

• They are both physically gifted beyond anyone else in their era. Chamberlain was a colossus amongst men during the 1960’s, no one could approach his combination of height and power. LeBron also has the edge physically in an era of elite athletes. He has the strength and length to play power forward  but the speed and quickness to play point guard. Both are untouched in their respective eras.
• Both are extremely gifted scorers. Chamberlain is 2^nd all time behind MJ in all time points per game with 30.1. LeBron is third with 27.6 ppg.

• Despite both having the physical skills to dominate the NBA they have shrunk under the stresses of the playoffs. Chamberlain would routinely disappear vs Bill Russell and the Celtics when they faced off despite the fact he was fat bigger than Russell. LeBron has not dominated crunch time situations as much as someone of his skill and size is expected to do. LeBron has passed up many shots in the dying seconds of close games to pass to a open team mate, much to the chagrin of many.

• Despite having virtually no opposition outside of Russell to face every year it Chamberlain eight seasons to win his first championship. At nine years and counting(probably not for long) LeBron has had to wait longer to be this close to a title.

Both players had the physical tools to be the best in the world but for reasons still unexplained, they weren’t or aren’t strong willed enough like MJ and Bill Russell to win titles consistently. I don't think there will be any question that LeBron James will become one of the Top-10 best players to ever play once he retires. How high he gets depends on how many championships he wins- it's as simple as that.

  

Photo sourced from BleacherReport.com

Part One- Link here

 

On The Line- LeBron and his Legacy- Part A

I'm just going to put it out there from the start- I don't think LeBron James will ever become the greatest player to ever play basketball. There I've said it, please leave your complaints at the end. I am not a hater, just resigned to the fact that he will never live up to the potential he fully had in him to top Michael Jordan as the greatest player ever.

 If LeBron was ever going to beat Michael Jordan in that department he should have won the championship last year. It's not a question of whether physically he has it but the mental side of it. MJ never folded over and capitulated in an NBA Finals, he never joined forces with an arch rival in the prime of his career. Jordan's desire to win and enforce his will on others may never be replicated in SPORTS history. He was truly one of a kind.

 LeBron has the physical tools to match Jordan but he doesn't nearly have the competitive drive to match. You can't just manufacture that drive either, if he had it he would have won a championship by now, pure and simple, because physically he can dominate any team, any player he chooses. LeBron though has a sense of entitlement and a tinge of arrogance which rubs many people the wrong way(The Decision, moaning to refs, mocking opposition), something MJ was very good at hiding to the public. LeBron also focuses a large amount of his time on his image and brand, trying to be 'hip' and 'cool' and part of the in crowd. 

His career is indicative of the generation of players directly impacted by MJ's career. Almost all the superstars of today have failed to replicate, or come close to for that matter, MJ's career successes on and off the field (Kobe Bryant being the exception). 

So, with all that being said LeBron is on the verge of winning his first championship got me thinking- how will the result of this series impact the rest of his career and how will he be compared and ranked with the other NBA greats to play the game?

Where He Stands 

Many will argue that it's too early in his career to talk about his career implications for. LeBron is, after all, only 28 years old and still in his prime. He's maybe the best athlete-physically- to ever play the sport of basketball, he is a beast on both ends of the court and  he still has several years of dominating the league before his skills begin to decline. 

That maybe all good but consider he has lost two Finals previously. He's into his ninth season(where did those years go?) already! Not one superstar of his calibre of the NBA had to wait this long for their first championship: here is a list of the greatest players since 1979 to play and what number season career wise did they win their first championship:

• Michael Jordan (7th Season)
• Magic Johnson (1st Season)
• Larry Bird (2nd Season)
• Kobe Bryant (4th Season)
• Tim Duncan (2nd Season)
• Dwayne Wade (3rd Season)
• Shaquille O'Neal (8th Season)
• Hakeem Olajuwon (10th Season)
• Kevin Garnett (13th Season)
• Dirk Nowitzki (13th Season)

The final three on the list are the most interesting when comparing with LeBron. All three dominated their particular positions for parts of their careers and it took them a while to win their first championship. Both Garnett and Nowitzki suffered from the lack of supporting players early in their careers, just like LeBron did. However they both can't match LeBron in terms of dominating the league year in, year out as he has done almost since the time he entered the league.

Whether you accept it or not(I think he, himself, is more than aware of it), time is slipping away for LeBron to live up to the expectations placed on him to win multiple championships and become one of the top two or three players to ever play the game. 

So I present you with the two NBA Final outcomes  and how they directly affect LeBron's subsequent career and legacy.

Outcome A- Miami win the NBA Finals 

LeBron is undoubtedly playing like the MVP in NBA Finals so far. He has been out of this world to be honest since Game 6 of the Indiana series. Here are his stats since then (taken from Grantland.com and up until Game 3): 45.4 minutes, 32.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.6 steals, 51.3 percent shooting, 3.1 turnovers. He's getting three minutes a game off, an absurdly low amount. He is still shooting over 50% from the field though and he has been making big shots in the 4th quarter. This has been one of the sticking points for LeBron's critics over his career- his knack of disappearing in big time pressure situations. 

Now if LeBron can carry on playing like this all the way to a championship I believe critics will back off from and put him amongst the Top 5 players to ever play the game. He carried a team with an injured Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh as well as a mediocre supporting cast all the way to the NBA Finals. This would be classed as an amazing performance by any other player in the NBA, but for LeBron this is classed as merely living up to his potential. It really shows how great a player he is when such high expectations are placed on him. To win the championship will be THE defining moment of his career and it will only be for the better, no more second guessing and wondering, a monkey off his back.

 For LeBron to be truly classed as one of the Top 5 players ever he will have to win at least three championships and give the likes of Larry Bird and Kobe Bryant a run for their money. He would have to win almost every championship from now on till he was 35 to top Michael Jordan as the greatest player. I think this is extremely unlikely, as talented as LeBron James is, because of reasons I will highlight in the next outcome scenario.

 Outcome B- Durant and Thunder win the NBA Finals

 Now if somehow LeBron and the Heat lose to the Thunder after being up 3-1 in the series, this would be THE biggest choke in NBA history and would damage his legacy irreparably, I believe. Not one of the NBA superstars listed above has lost their first 3 Final appearances. To lose in such a crushing way would leave LeBron’s career in limbo. He already has a reputation for choking so this result would just confirm to many that he doesn't have what it takes to win. He would easily be the greatest player to never win a championship at this stage of his career by a long shot. 

Age is also against the Big Three as the graph in this excellent article shows. James and Bosh are at their peaks while Wade is on the downside. If the NBA stood still this might not be such a problem but it doesn't. Regardless of who wins these Finals the Heat are going to find it more difficult to win championships as their star players reach the twilight points of their careers and the likes of the Thunder and Derrick Rose's Bulls reach their peaks. The time for LeBron and the Heat to win is now.

Stat to consider: No team in the NBA Finals has ever WON A GAME when they are down 3-1 (30-0 all time record).It would be a monumental choke if the Heat lost this series from this position. Bet that's a relief for LeBron.

Part 2- A mid-career look at where LeBron will rank among the greats when he retires. Link Here

Racism vs Undies: What's Worse?

Solving the issue of racism is supposed to be one of FIFA's top priorities. They have promised to deal with it more severely, via harsher punishments for the guilty parties. As usual though, their lack of bite and consistency, is farcical. Take, for instance, the fines imposed by UEFA- the organisers of Euro 2012- on its members (that is, country FA's, clubs and individuals who come under their jurisdiction) this year:

• In April, UEFA fined FC Porto (Portugal) US $25,000 for the racist conduct of its fans who subjected Man City striker Mario Balotelli to monkey chants.
• This past week, in the Euro 2012, the Russian, Croatian and German FA's were fined a combined a total of US $82,000 for the behaviour of their fans during matches. This behaviour included violence and racist chants.

On the other hand;

• Nicklaus Bendtner, the Danish Striker, was fined a whopping $126,000 US and suspended for one match after exposing is undies after scoring. It wasn't the undies themselves which drew the ire of UEFA but what was on them-an advertisment from a company which isn't officially sponsoring the tournament.

To fine Bendtner more than all the fines imposed on the FA's and clubs put together- for exposing his undies- is just laughable. It is only serves to highlight that UEFA and FIFA's priorities are not, in fact, set on dealing with racism in the sport seriously. They are more worried about preventing ambush marketing and keeping their corporate sponsors happy. This seems to conflict with their ethos of being socially responsible organisations and the campaigns they use to promote these ideals (see the Respect Campaign section).

No, it seems that racism is still just another minor inconvenience to the leaders of football these days- though I would like to suggest that it is a growing one, which they cannot ignore forever. One hopes that sooner, rather than later, the issue will be more important in world football than a player who has adverts on his undies.

What are your thoughts on the issue?

P.S THIS is how you use undies to advertise a product. 

Photos sourced from theobamadiary.com and thetelegraph.com 

The Weekender- Volume 2: 16 June 2012

Hey guys and girls, The Weekender is back, a preview of the sport coming up this weekend. Just finished watching a thrilling English victory over Sweden which contained three lead changes. Good to see two teams looking to go for the win rather than a draw. To be honest it really is a bunch of rematches this weekend apart from the Euros, international rugby teams are playing the same teams and the Heat v Thunder is the only NBA basketball left. That is why these previews will be sweet and short.

International Rugby

All Blacks v Ireland- The AB's are looking to do a lot better this week after a scrappy but promising 42-10 win last week. I think the All Blacks could easily break the 50 point mark this week and with the game being in Christchurch, the first test there since the earthquake, extra motivation will not be needed.

Prediction- All Blacks 52 Ireland 20

Australia v Wales- This series is a lot closer, a try only separating these two last week. I think the Welsh could beat the Aussies but I still see them losing in a tight match.

Prediction- Australia 25 Wales 24

South Africa v England- As long as England lose I am happy. South Africa will win in altitude. Penalties galore! P.S- I didn't know Thomas Waldrom was eligible to play for England!

Prediction- South Africa 27 England 21

NBA Finals


Thunder v Heat- This series is going to be a close one. After the Thunder won Game 1 at home the Heat stole one away in Game 2. The series goes to Miami now where I see the Thunder coming back from a poor performance in Game 2 to win Game 3.

Prediction- Thunder 102 Heat 98

Euro 2012

Greece v Russia- All the teams are still in with a chance to advance so the games aren't going to be boring affairs. Russia has looked sharp so far and should deal with Greece with ease.

Prediction- 2-0 Russia

Poland v Czech Rep- The host country have a great chance to advance but the Czech Republic are good and I can see a lot of goals in this one as both teams go for the win.

Prediction- 3-1 Czech Rep


Portugal v Holland- Holland, the team I predicted to win the whole tournament, has now become the most disappointing team in the whole tournament. The Dutch are in disarray, they can't defend and they can't score (see Van Persie photo above) but they are still have a mathematical chance of winning. If they defeat Portugal by over three goals and Germany beat Denmark then they are through. That isn't going to happen, the Dutch gave up before the tournament started it seems, they can't wait for this all to be over.

Prediction- 3-2 Portugal


Germany v Denmark- Collusion could be in play here as the Germans and Danish could play out for a draw and they could both advance. Germany should win this match but I think they want to knock Holland out of the tournament so a dull draw seems likely unless the Holland v Portugal result says otherwise.

Prediction 1-1 draw

Sports betting time


If you followed my picks and put some money on them last week you would have made some serious money. I was three for three with the fourth one pending. The Michael Vickers 'safe as houses' bet did not work out unfortunately but there is always the next week-

Holland v Portugal- Head to Head- Portugal- $2.80

Holland are playing so bad and can't recover from where they and Portugal still need to win to be assured a place in the quarter-finals. How the Dutch are $2.40 favourites is beyond me, take Portugal and be set to get really good returns for realising the Dutch are rubbish.

Heat v Thunder- Combined Points- 195 points & over- $1.90

Both teams are high scoring and I believe the Thunder will offensively turn it on in Game 3 as they had a slow start in Game 2. High scoring affair for sure.

South Africa v England- Winning Team & Margin- South Africa 12 & Under- $2.65

Easy enough call to make, South Africa at home, like scoring through penalties. They are playing England who only score points from penalties. Close game and I back the home side with altitude on their side.

New Zealand v Ireland- New Zealand Total number of tries- Over 4.5- $ 1.82

This line I feel is way to low, it should be at least one try higher. The AB's did not play well last week and they still scored over five tries. Another week of training to knock the rust off and these guys are going to smash the Irish and get you some money.

Michael Vickers 'safe as houses' bet- last week Andrew Hore (paying $22) didn't get the first try in the AB's v Ireland. Now its obvious that a few of you put some money on this last week as the line for Hore this week has dropped down to $17. This week is a Rugby League bet involving the Warriors vs Sharks. The bet is for who will score the last try of the match- a bet you don't see much. Paul Gallen the Sharks captain is paying $25. After watching him lead NSW to victory in State of Origin this past week I feel that he carries on that form to score the last try of the match. I have a good vibe about this one.


Hope you enjoy the sport on offer this weekend, safe travels.

Peace

Photo sourced from funnyjunk.com

The Meteorological Match-up of the Millennium- Thunder vs Heat NBA Finals preview.

The NBA Finals have finally arrived.  The two teams that most casual fans were hoping would reach them are facing off in one of the most eagerly anticipated finals in recent history. Both teams were considered the pre-season favourites to meet in the final but such predictions rarely come to fruition. For the NBA and David Stern, the commissioner, this is a dream come true. The two most marketable teams, with the two best players in the game, facing off for the title- it doesn't get better than that.

Both teams have arrived in the finals via different paths. The Miami Heat's squad were famously put together in free agency two years ago with LeBron James and Chris Bosh joining Dwayne Wade, promising multiple titles and making South Beach the place to live. They made the Finals together the first time around but they lost to the Mavericks within six games. This year expectations were just as high and they have managed to battle their way into the finals again despite significant injuries to Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, meanwhile, have had a remarkable turnaround.  From being the fourth worst team three seasons ago, to now being on the verge of a basketball dynasty. Building through the draft, they selected in succession; Kevin Durant in 2007, Russell Westbrook in 2008 and James Harden, 2009. They now have three players under 23 years old who are Top-5 in their positions.

The Thunder are playing in their first finals since 1996 when the team were called the Seattle Supersonics. That time the team lost to the greatest player of the day, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, in six games. Now the Thunder franchise plays arguably the greatest athlete the game has ever seen and the greatest team ever constructed by free agency. So who's going to win? I'll break the match-up into several fields:

 Talent

The Miami Heat have; the three-time and reigning MVP- LeBron James, the future Hall of Famer- Dwayne Wade and the multiple All-Star- Chris Bosh. Point guard Mario Chalmers can play, depending on the day but after the Top- 3 there is very little in the way of talent.

Oklahoma have the three time scoring champ Kevin Durant, the explosive point guard Russell Westbrook and the current sixth man of the year, James Harden, as their Top-3. They also have athletic defensive specialists in Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha.

Advantage: Thunder

Form

Miami have had to work hard to get to the finals, first battling through the Pacers without Chris Bosh and then being taken to a 7^th Game by an ageing Celtics squad. LeBron dominated the last two games of the Celtics series and Bosh made crucial contributions but Wade is coming off the worst play-off performances in his career.

Oklahoma on the other hand, have just come from two games down against the most in-form team in the play-offs, the Spurs, to win four games in a row and close the series. Not to mention they convincingly beat the previous two NBA champions, the Mavericks and Lakers, in the lead up.  They are playing as well as anyone could hope. Kevin Durant has been instrumental in the Thunder’s success throughout the play-offs and both Westbrook and Harden have stepped up when need be.

Advantage: Thunder

Experience

The Heat were in the finals last year with almost the same squad, so the players will not be over-awed by the experience. For LeBron this will be third time lucky in the finals but Wade was victorious in the 2006 championship so he knows what it takes to win one.

This is the first time to that the Thunder’s young stars have played in the finals but they have Kendrick Perkins and Derek Fisher on their squad, who have a combined six titles, playing for other teams.

Advantage: Heat

Depth

When the Top-3 of the Heat aren't firing they have little behind them to help offset that. With their three maximum contracts creating cap issues, the remainder of the squad is made up of young players and older, past it, veterans who have joined the team for the chance to win a championship before they retire. This top-heavy approach has meant they have struggled to compete without Bosh and Wade at full capacity.

The Thunder have perhaps the deepest squad in the NBA. They can afford to drop a player of James Harden’s ability to the bench because they have Sefolosha to start. They also have Nick Collison on the bench who is an effective forward/centre substitute for Ibaka and Perkins. Throw in the long range specialists Cook and Fisher as well and you have a team that runs deep into the bench of players who can contribute.

Advantage:  Thunder

Summary

Both teams have explosive offences which can score in bunches. Defensively, the Heat may be a little bit better on the perimeter with Wade, LeBron and Battier but the Thunder have the better interior defence with Ibaka, Perkins and Durant. The Thunder are going to have a huge advantage inside with rebounding as the Heat have very little size up front. Another weakness of the Heat is their slackness in transition defence, this was especially evident vs the Celtics who aren't really known for scoring off the fast break. If they struggled against the Celtics how are they going to stop the best team in fast break points- the Thunder? The Thunder love to take advantage of their young, explosive players and attack off any opposition turnover. This could be a very short series if the Heat don't hustle on defence.

For the Heat to win this series they need LeBron to have at least a couple of games like his Game 6 performance vs the Celtics. They need Chris Bosh to contribute on both ends, especially rebounding. They especially need Wade to snap out of the funk he has been in the last couple of weeks and they need some consistent contribution from their bench. However, even with all that, they could find themselves down against the Thunder. Durant is the most unstoppable offensive player right now, even with LeBron on him he will still find ways to get at least 30 points per game. Wade can keep Harden largely under wraps but the biggest problem for the Heat is who is going to defend Westbrook? He's too powerful for Chalmers and too quick for Wade right now in his injured state. They could rotate LeBron over to him but that would mean Durant has a favourable match-up. A situation they don't want.

It really is a pick-your-poison situation for the Heat, they can't contain everyone, they can only hope that Durant and Westbrook have bad nights and that LeBron dominates the series. Going on form though, I don't see this happening and I see the Oklahoma City Thunder winning in six games. I mean how are you going to win when you are up against this?!

Peace


Photos sourced from streetball.com

Trendsetter?

So apparently the Polish newspapers and The Guardian have caught up with Don'tKickIt,PassIt. Here is what I wrote last week on my Euro Group A post: 


"Game to watch from Group: 12 June- Russia vs Poland- the historically oppressive neighbour vs the host of the tournament. It's 1920 all over again!"


And here's what The Guardian had to say about 1920:


"The meeting between Poland and Russia in Warsaw on Tuesday has been billed in some Polish newspapers as the Battle of the Vistula part two, a reference to a famous Polish victory over a stronger Bolshevik army in 1920. The game also falls on Russia Day and rumours that visiting supporters are planning to march en masse from the city centre to the stadium have created concerns that violent clashes could overshadow the game."


Looks like I am on the right track. Lets just hope that the march doesn't occur otherwise there maybe another battle off the football field.


Photo sourced from Wallpaperpictures.net

Recapped

Hey guys,welcome to Recapped, a look back at the sport results around the world that happened this weekend:

• On Saturday I managed to find an empty Irish Bar (no mean feat) wherein just my wife and I could watch the All Blacks play Ireland. After predicting a 35-15 win it was looking good at 35-10 but unfortunately the AB's scored one more try with three minutes to go on to finish the game 42-10 (highlights here). It was a good start to the year for the AB's, albeit a scrappy one, scoring many of their points from turnovers and counter-attacking.
• Julian Savea on debut scored a hat-trick and looks incredibly dangerous with ball in hand. 
• Half-back debutant Aaron Smith also played well, delivering quick ball to the backline, he deserves another chance to start in the upcoming Tri Nations I beleive. 
• I also thought Carter was exceptional, converting all but one of his attempted conversions and directing play superbly. I thinks its one of his best performances since the 2005 Lions Tour when he was the best player in the world. Lets hope he carries on that form into the Tri-Nations.
• Next game vs Ireland is in Christchurch this Saturday.
• Steve Hanson, after the game, told the critics to lay off Piri Weepu. I am not sure why, to be honest because he showed nothing to suggest that he deserved to be an All Black with his performance on Saturday. He didn't play badly but he didn't stand out when he came in as a substitute, I still think Andy Ellis is the better player out of the two.  Hopefully Weepu gets a chance vs Ireland to show us why he deserves to be in the All Blacks ahead of Ellis.

• In other international rugby fixtures- the Australians bet Wales 27-19 in Brisbane after losing to Scotland the week before. They have another two tests vs the Welsh coming up. South Africa bet England 22-17 as well, in Durban. The return of three test series in international rugby is pleasing as it harps back to the days of tours where teams were on tour for 2-3 months. 

• Euro 2012 has started and all teams have played their first games. There have been  a few interesting results so far-
• Holland wasted a multitude of goal opportunities to lose to Denmark 1-0. Holland were very underwhelming and are in serious danger of not making the later stages. Van Persie and Robben were especially horrendous. They must now beat both Germany and Portugal to advance.
• Spain and Italy battled out for a one all draw. More well known for their tendency to play very defensive football the Italians played a more attacking 3-5-2 formation and played well. Spain continues to struggle to score goals but it's not for the lack of strikers with the likes of Torres, Llorente and Solgado. The way they play, with short, sharp passes around the opposition's penalty box allows the opposition to crowd the area and shut down the strikers. It could come back to haunt them later on in the tournament.
• Croatia smashed the Irish scoring their first goal in under three minutes. Shay Given, the Irish goalkeeper player who I said was the player to watch even though he doesn't score, did in fact score. However it was an own goal which led to a 3-1 defeat. Its going to be a short tournament if they play like that against Spain and Italy. After the match there was a riot in Poznan, where the game was played, resulting in 14 people being arrested. The photo at the top of the article is two Irish supporters with a sense of humour in front of a Polish police riot squad during the riots. Good to see some supporters being sensible and trying to stop the violence in creative ways.
• Finally Group D played last night,  England and France played it out for a draw and Ukraine surprised Sweden by beating them 2-1, 35 year old Shevchenko scoring both goals. This makes England's run more difficult as they will face both Sweden and Ukraine in must win situations.
• Overall the tournament is going well but there has been a noticeable amount of empty seats in the stadiums as fans are staying away. 

• The NZ Warriors beat the Penrith Panthers 30-16 yesterday, maintaining ninth place in the NRL. They are still on the hunt for a spot in the playoffs half way through the season.

• The Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics convincingly in Game 7 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals to reach the NBA finals the second year in a row. The Celtics finally ran out of gas after defying the odds and being one game away from playing once again for the NBA championship. This may be the last time that we see this Celtics squad together as this team revolves around the ageing trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

• The Los Angeles Kings won their first Stanley Cup finals by beating the New Jersey Devils 6-1 in Game 6 of the NHL yesterday.

• Finally, in the 'Sport' of boxing, more controversy as another match looks like it has been rigged. Manny Pacquaio somehow lost to Timothy Bradley Jr when almost everyone could see that he had beaten him. I won't go into my theories as this article at Grantland.com sum up my suspicions really well. Boxing, I believe, has long ago lost its legitimacy as a sport due to its lack of central governance and constant match-fixing scandals. It's time something was done to eradicate this sort of practice once and for all from the sport.

Love to hear your thoughts on sport as usual.

Peace 

Photo sourced from reddit.com

The Weekender- 8 June 2012, Volume One

I introduce to you my first weekly post- The Weekender- herein I will quickly cover the sporting events and matches that will be occurring over the weekend, what to look out for and some sneaky bets you can place to save up for that deposit on your next house or scooter.

• The All Blacks play their first test since winning the World Cup tomorrow, against the Irish. Amazingly, the Irish have never beaten the All Blacks. That trend should continue this weekend as the Irish always struggle when they play down in NZ. I can see a score line around the 35-15 mark in favour of the AB's. Looking forward to seeing new All Black half-back Aaron Smith getting to start as well as watching Sonny Bill Williams. Should be a fine start for the AB's.
• Euro 2012 kicks off tonight (Thailand time) in Poland where the hosts play the impoverished Greece in Group A. I have given a detailed run down of the Euros in previous posts so go check them out if you want more. Here are is a quick summary of my predictions:
• Group A winner: Russia. Runner up: Poland
• Group B winner: Holland. Runner Up: Germany
• Group C winner: Spain. Runner Up: Croatia
• Group D winner: France. Runner Up: England
• Tournament winner: Holland Spain
• Most Goals: Robin Van Persie Mesut Ozil
• Most taunts given to player by fans: Mario Balotelli
• Nation with the most fans arrested: Germany ( Poland and Ukraine still have beef with the Germans over some things which occurred in the 20th century).
• Team who will surprise the most- Croatia
• Team who will disappoint the most- Portugal  Holland

• In the NBA, the Eastern Conference finals between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics has gone to Game 7 to decide who goes on to play the Thunder in the NBA Finals. Today Miami levelled the series with a emphatic victory and now head back home for the winner takes all match. As much as I would like Boston to beat the Heat, I reckon they will finally finish it at home and advance to what might be one of the more exciting match-ups in recent history. Game 7 is on Sunday.

• The NHL Stanley Cup finals are also running now, with the Los Angeles Kings looking to finish the series against the New Jersey Devils. Up 3-1 in the series, they are playing in New Jersey tomorrow. The Kings play has been out of this world and I predict they clinch the title on the road tomorrow.

• The NZ Warriors will play the Panthers in Sydney on Monday, in the NRL competition. The Warriors lie just out of playoff position in ninth spot while the Panthers lie in fourteenth but only two points separate the teams. The Warriors have had mixed results under their new coach 'Bluey' McClennan and will look to stay in top 8 contention this week, I fancy their chances.

• In other, disappointing, news the All Whites, New Zealand's Men's soccer team, have been knocked out of the Oceania's Nations Cup Tournament after losing to New Caledonia 2-0. The loss has effectively meant that the NZ Football Association has lost $1.3 million NZ dollars because the winner of the tournament gets entry into the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil as well as that money. Its the first time that a nation from Oceania other than Australia or New Zealand will go to that tournament. A disastrous result for Riki Herbert and the team but a fantastic opportunity for either New Caledonia or Tahiti, the two finalists of the Nations Cup, to play the best international sides in the world. 

Bets of the weekend

Here we go with some solid bets for the the weekend and beyond. (all are based on NZ TAB odds):

• New Jersey Devils vs Los Angeles Kings- Game 5- Total Combined Goals- 4 Goals & under- $1.92. All four games in the series have had four or less goals in them, New Jersey aren't scoring a lot but they are at home so they should be able to keep the Kings out as well. Good money.
• Warriors vs Penrith- Winning Team & Margin- Warriors by 13 & over- $2.90. State of Origin coming up so Penrith losing Jennings while the Warriors have their best players still. Penrith have not been playing well recently.
• Australia vs Wales (International Rugby)- Winning Team & Margin- Australia 12 & under- $2.65- After a sucky performance vs Scotland last week the Aussies have a tougher test against Wales. This will be a tough low scoring affair but I think Robbie's boys will deal with the plucky Welsh at home.
• Euro 2012- Group D-Teams to Qualify- Ukraine Not To Qualify-$1.57- Food poisoning concerns along with having to beat England and France to advance equals free money as far as I am concerned. Even though they are hosts they don't have a team which is good enough to take advantage of that.
• And finally introducing  the weekly Michael Vickers 'safe as houses' bet, the bet you are not afraid to lose your money but want to put a cheeky bet on for a big gain- All Blacks vs Ireland- 1st Try Scorer- Andrew Hore- $22- Good return for a player who has a knack of scoring tries. Put a fiver on him and get $110 back.

Hope you enjoyed the first instalment of The Weekender- would love to hear your comments about the post below, things you would like me to write about, etc.

Enjoy the weekend.

Photo sourced from Cheezburger.com

Euro 2012: Group D- Group Of England (and Co)

England, France, Sweden, Ukraine

• It seems whatever group the English are in they get a most disproportionate amount of media coverage, the English media and supporters are usually excessively optimistic regarding their team's chances of winning tournaments. Thankfully, that isn't the case this time as they field a very average team and their best player, Wayne Rooney, is suspended for the first two games.
• Oh yeah and there are three other teams too. France are considered the favourites while the Swedes will fancy their chances. As for the Ukrainians one gets the feeling they are there to make up numbers. 
• Must watch game: The France vs England match looks like the must watch but the first games of group stages tend to be very conservative and defensive. England vs Sweden on the 15 June should decide who will go through to the next round. It won't be exciting football but it will be tense and tightly contested.

England- world ranking (WR)- 6

• I honestly don't know how they are ranked number six in the world as they are rubbish and have been for a while now. Expectations from media/supporters are surprisingly low as the team has been riddled with injuries and is going through a rebuilding stage with new coach, Roy Hodgson. 
• Why they can advance- The Group is not particularly difficult, all they need to do is beat Sweden and Ukraine. A draw with France in the opener is not so far fetched. They have young, quick wingers and strikers, which will make them dangerous on the counter-attack, something they will have to do a lot.
• Why they may not- The side is very inexperienced and has been beset by injuries. No Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Scott Parker or Gary Cahill. They could be knocked out of the tournament by the time Wayne Rooney comes back from suspension.
• Player to watch- Ashley Young-forward- the Man Utd player creates goal scoring chances, he needs to convert them for England to have any chance of going through to the next round.

France- WR-14

• Why they can advance- The favourite to win the group, they have maybe the most talented squad of individuals in the whole tournament. Players like Nasri, Benzema and Ribery can create and score goals with ease.
• Why they may not- They may have too much talent, they haven't decided on their best starting XI yet. They could spectacularly implode as a team like we saw at the 2010 World Cup. Their defence is suspect, leaks goals.
• Player to watch- Frank Ribery-wing- the Bayern Munich player sums up the enigmatic French squad. Brilliant individually and can win games single-handedly but also tries too hard to win it all himself and holds on to the ball for too long. Where he goes, France goes (literally).

Sweden- WR-17

• Why they can advance- They play solid, sound football and have one of the best strikers in the world in Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Though they lost to England last month in a friendly they could beat them on a neutral site.
• Why they may not- They haven't done much at tournaments they have been in lately. Ibrahimovic needs to play well for them to advance, there is a lack of striking power around him.
• Player to watch- Zlatan Ibrahimovich-striker-the entertaining striker from AC Milan is the captain and hero of the Swedish team. He is up there with Balotelli of Italy for the most interesting character at the tournament.

Ukraine- WR-52

• Why they can advance- being hosts they will have home town advantage. That's about it though. I don't rate them with such tough opposition.
• Why they may not- Lack of talent.  Their captain, 35 year old striker Andriy Shevchenko, is still their best scoring chance. They are also recovering from suspected food poisoning earlier this week. The excuses are already being written up, not a good sign.
• Player to watch- Anatoliy Tymoshchuk- holding midfielder who plays for Bayern Munich will direct play for the Ukrainian side.

Prediction of who advances: France and England.

NZ TAB bet for the group: Ukraine not too qualify $1.57

Photo sourced from oleole.com