Sports Blog
Check out the sports blog, where the State News sports staff will discuss everything from Spartan to professional athletics on a daily basis.
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Recent posts
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It's good to be a Cubs fan
Being around a desk full of die-hard Tigers fans, I have a hard time spreading my love of the Cubs. Now, I feel as though it is time to spread the joy to the rest of the Cubs fans at MSU.
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New stadium will benefit Spartan soccer
The grass is untouched and completely smooth. The white lines are perfectly painted and the bleachers are waiting for a good stomping.
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Olympics served as needed distraction
With the 2008 Olympics coming to an end and the rest of the world moving on, I remain sitting in my imaginary seat in Beijing —- head down, heart broken and an emptiness inside.
I can’t help but think, maybe if there were more games it could have gone on longer … to pull me out of this funk that I’ve found myself in.
NBA playoffs unpredictable
When it comes to the NBA this postseason, all bets are off — at least they are for me.
In the past few months, anything and everything pertaining to the NBA has been more unpredictable than Jamie Foxx.
From the Philadelphia Sixers making the playoffs — and even winning two games against the Detroit Pistons — to just about every playoff team in the Western Conference finishing with 50 wins, the only thing predictable about this postseason has been the unpredictability.
From the New Orleans Hornets dismantling the Dallas Mavericks and going blow-for-blow with the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, to the Houston Rockets winning 22 consecutive games during the season and getting forced out in the first round, there’s hardly been time for me to catch my breath.
The only prediction that came true for most people was Kobe Bryant raising the MVP trophy.
At the end of all these unexpected occurrences, one would think it would be safe to take a breather.
Wrong.
After relaxing, we learned that two prime time coaches, Mike D’Antoni and Avery Johnson, were fired by the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks, respectively, immediately following their first round playoff losses.
Because that wasn’t enough drama, we then learn that Larry Brown will be coaching the Charlotte Bobcats (good luck Larry), Rick Carlisle will succeed Johnson as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, Scott Skiles will assume the coaching duties of division rivals the Milwaukee Bucks, and D’Antoni will take over as head coach of the New York Knicks.
I would try to predict who will face the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals, but with the Boston Celtics’ road woes and LeBron James’ persistent struggles for the Cleveland Cavaliers, why even bother?
From this point on, it’s going to be pretty bleak for those die-hard fans who feel they have premonitions about playoff results. Anything can happen, so don’t be surprised to catch the Hornets in the Finals.
In the end, only time will truly reveal what happens. Either way, the best thing we can do is simply watch and enjoy to prevent any personal disappointments.
Comments
Fish
05/14/08 @ 10:51pm
For as little attention as I pay to the NBA, this postseason has been interesting. I haven’t watched a complete NBA game in three years but I could’ve told you the Pistons would make the Eastern Conference Finals… again. That part is predictable.
Lebron
05/15/08 @ 6:48am
Unpredictable??? Home teams are now 19-1 in the second round. How is that not predictable.
Furthermore, Mike D’Antoni was not fired from the suns. They permitted him to speak with other teams.
“Anything can happen, so don’t be surprised to catch the Hornets in the Finals”.
Couldn’t we predict that the team with the fourth best record in the league could make the finals? Especially a team having that record in the much tougher West.
Do you even watch basketball?
Johnny
05/15/08 @ 6:52am
There have been no “upsets” (if you can call it that in the NBA) so far. The higher seeded team has won every series to date and it looks as if that will continue.
Cindy
05/15/08 @ 6:55am
Ralph, i think that you should kick back with your Jamie Foxx cd and let ESPN cover sports.
NBA
05/15/08 @ 8:58am
The NBA sucks. A bunch of lazy guys who start playing with 3 minutes left in the game.
Curly Bill
05/15/08 @ 9:42am
I hate to pile on and beat a head horse here, but this has been one of the most predictable NBA playoffs of all time, for many of the reasons listed above. The Hornets have the better record and are the better seed: Why wouldn’t they have taken out a lackluster Dallas team and gone toe-to-toe with the Spurs? And all those 50-win teams from the West? They won those in the regular season, not the postseason—how is that even relevant to your post?
ZA
05/15/08 @ 10:19am
A T-Mac led Houston team lost in the first round! That is unpredictable. It almost seems like it happens every year.
This column grind my gears…