Indiana Pacers vs. Miami Heat- Live Commentary

Tonight's NBA game between the Pacers and the Heat is huge. These two teams have both been going through a rough stretch in the season, but they are still atop the Eastern Conference. This will be their third and final match-up this year (in the regular season, at least), with everything on the line. The Pacers have spent most of the year on top of the NBA, but their spot could be in jeopardy. Put that together with the fact that this is the winner take all grudge match, with each team winning on their home floor, and that it is taking place in Indiana, the stage is set for one hell of a game. The NBA hashtag for tonight is #BeastsoftheEast, in case you want to follow it. (This post is going to be very long, fair warning)

Paul George (White) and LeBron James (Red) will add one
more chapter to their rivalry tonight

Here we go, Chris Bosh wins the tip-off for Miami, knocking it to DeWayne Wade. Wade pulls up for a shot and passes out of it mid-air, but Mario Chalmers can't do anything with it. After an Indiana turnover, Wade drives and makes a pump fake layup for the first score of the night. Indiana responds with center Roy Hibbert powering through Miami's bigs. Paul George gets the ball wide open on the three point line, and takes a very long time to hit the uncontested three. The refs are letting them play, which is fun to see. They are both physical teams, and it is no secret that they don't like each other. Greg Oden and Chris Bosh have both commited fouls on Roy Hibbert in the past 20 seconds. Their game plan? Wear him down. He is a disruptive force, but he doesn't have the most level head. They will try to rattle him. Oden is flailing his arms everywhere, he kind of looks like one of those car dealership balloons. Greg Oden was actually recruited to give the Heat size after Hibbert dominated in the 2014 Conference Finals.

Oden in the offseason

Roy Hibbert is showing Greg Oden how to play ball, scoring on him seemingly at will.  A stat just popped up, Roy Hibbert has 9 points, shooting 4-5 from the field, compared to the Heat's 8 points, shooting 4-11. Hibbert is pulling a one man army tactic right now.

Roy being Roy

Chris Bosh couldn't catch a cold right now if he tried, with two consecutive drops. Maybe it's the fact that he has short arms because he's part Raptor still (he played with the Toronto Raptors for the beginning of his career, plus he makes what's referred to as the dinosaur face.)

I'm beginning to think every NBA star has one of these pictures

LeBron just fell to the ground, and started to yell something at the ref who was nearby. It is believed he is upset for contact between the two, but a replay showed that there was space between. He might be the first person to ever flop on a ref. LeBron just nailed a shot off the top of the backboard, not even close.

Accidental whistle by a ref on David West, called it off before things got out of hand. Very rarely do you see a ref change their mind, but it was a good no-call in the end. With 1:06 left in the first, the Pacers lead 21-14. The home team has both of their matchups this year, and so has the team with the lead after one. LeBron goes 2-2 on free-throws to make it 21-16 Indiana. Evan "Almighty" Turner has turned out to be a great trade deadline deal for the Pacers, following up a missed shot and putting it back for two points. Paul George goes to the bench with his second foul. No sense in him picking up a third before they need him. 

End of the first: Indiana-23, Miami-17. Roy Hibbert has 13.

Turner was probably just happy to get off the sinking ship that is
the Philadelphia 76ers

The Pacers will start the second without Hibbert, who is getting a well deserved breather on the bench. Twelve straight minutes is a long time for the 7'2" 290 lb. monster called Roy Hibbert. Wade is the only member of Miami's big three on the court.

Indiana is playing the much more intense game, seeming to pick off and rebound everything that leaves Miami's hands.

Phantom call on Mahimi, Chris "Birdman" Andersen will essentially get two "free" throws in all senses of the word. Timeout Miami, down six.

Either this ref is the hulk, or Birdman's not the tough guy he thinks he is

Lance Stephenson just hit a very deep three. a good five or six feet past the three point line. Mario Chalmers tries to fire right back and misses. He recovers the ball, and appears to hurt his leg on the drive, picking up a travel. He will head to the Miami Bench. LeBron checked in, and was immediately called for a foul. 

Neither team can hit their first shot, turning everything into a rebound battle. Miami is 0-6 from behind the arc. They cannot win without that. Timeout called, Evan Turner takes his time to go over to Wade, appearing to mention something about flopping. Nobody likes it, especially when it happens to them. If Wade keeps it up, he will most likely have some very real fouls coming his way.

I expect this officiating crew will receive a reprimand or two. They cannot seem to get out of the way.

Paul George recovers a loose ball and puts it in almost immediately after checking in. He recovers another loose ball, passes out to Stephenson, and gets the assist on the three. Indiana Pacers playing some of the best team ball in the league. 

Udonis Haslem (MIA) and Roy Hibbert just collided in midair on Hibbert's shot. I could actually hear them both hit the ground. Hibbert drilled another hook shot, making it 40-30, giving the Pacers their first double digit lead. LeBron has made short work of it, with the Heat making it 40-39, timeout Indiana. David West is fouled by Bosh, hitting both free-throws to go up by three. The Heat take their first lead since being up 6-4, with the score 41-40, Miami. David West reclaims the lead for Indy with two free throws, 42-41. LeBron drops a layup in. Pacers will run off as much time as possible. The Heat close out the second quarter on a 15-4 run, leading 45-44. Whoever wins this will have homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern half of the playoffs.

7'2" Hibbert (left) and 6'4" Wade (right)

DeWayne was guarding Hibbert down low, which is a huge size advantage for Hibbert. Instead of the easy two, Wade sent him to the foul line, where he went 2-2.LeBron just mowed over Lance Stephenson with an elbow to the neck. George Hill hits his first bucket of the night, putting Indy up three. Lance drives in with contact in puts in a hell of a layup, which Wade responds to with one of his own. Indy by three. DeWayne Wade shoves Lance Stephenson, and the teams have to be broken up. Wade was the instigator, a double technical foul was given, but Wade was the only one to put his hands on someone. Double techs are given way too easily. I will try to find video of this for your own opinions on it.Fight PG hits another bucket, and Bosh fouls on the next play. The crowd has seemed to pick up their intensity again, which will give the Pacers a huge advantage.

George and James keep going at it, making this rivalry more than just team versus team. This is the rising star versus the king himself. Should be a good finish in this final quarter and a half. Absolutely filthy block by David West, I thought they would call a foul, even though one wasn't warranted. Paul George buries another three, he and David West have really picked it up in the second half. LeBron responds with another three. He has 29 tonight. The rest of the Miami Team has 27. Mario Chalmers scored a quick two, then stole it and put in a layup. Miami is up one. Mario commits a foul, but the Pacers can't capitalize. 3 pointer by Rashard Lewis. Miami is up four, their largest lead of the night. David West goes to the line. One of the commentators (whois showing why he shouldn't be one) is wondering about the purpose of backing down in the post. LeBron just got wrapped up and threw himself to the ground. Good call, personal foul, but no flagrant. LeBron goes 2-2 and has 31. Paul George pulls off a great dunk to get the Indy fans back in to the game.When they're involved there is no way the Pacers can lose.

Paul George just performed a hang-glider dunk, I will try to get this in the highlights too. George Dunk. Getting the crowd involved is something he does better than just about anyone in the league. Miami by one. Foul on Luis Scola, LeBron's holding his nose, but replay shows contact was on his shoulder. Grow up. LeBron comes out with gauze in his nose to stop bleeding, most likely. LeBron goes up for a dunk but Roy Hibbert is there. LeBron elbowed Hibbert in the face, and Roy goes down.

This is a perfect example of a flop by LeBron, in case you
wanted to see one

Fans are calling for a flagrant foul. Roy is very dazed, falling after standing up the first time, and then eventually walking over to the bench. He's being brought to the locker room for a concussion test. A flagrant foul should be assessed here, but it looks like it won't. Figures. They assessed it is a Flagrant One, and Hibbert comes back out for his two free throws. He opened his mouth, his teeth and tongue were very red. He's a trooper, no question. He will return to the locker room after his free throws. DeWayne Wade hit a huge three, but his foot was called on the line, so it didn't count. It looks like he did make it though. Paul George just picked LeBron's pocket, and then missed a wide three pointer that would have given the lead. Hibbert's bleeding was stopped, and he changed his bloodstained jersey. George was just knocked to the ground hard, coming down on his shooting elbow. Not a good sign. He went 2-2 on free throws, so it doesn't appear to be a huge problem. Roy Hibbert has checked in again. Indiana picks up the lead on a Stephenson score, first non free-throw points in the game in 3.5 minutes. Wade misses a 15 foot jumper, and Hibbert recovers. Chris Bosh fouls Paul George. Lance Stephenson is ejected with his second technical foul. He was celebrating by yelling something aloud, but it was interpreted as at Wade, who already had a fight with him earlier. Reading his lips, he said "What?" to Wade while walking by.

Is it just me or does he look like Chris Tucker when he turns around

Tied at 76. Missed basket interference. Wade with a huge dunk and a foul. He misses the shot, Miami by two. Hibbert gets fouled, and hits one of two. Roy is still bleeding.

Evan Almighty picks off LeBron and then gets the assist on a lay in, Miami by one. DeWayne Wade was reaching for his hamstring, and the Heat call a timeout. His leg has kept him out of about 20 games this season, and he certainly isn't getting any younger. Mario Chalmers had the ball and believed he got fouled, he walked out of bounds waiting for this whistle. He got one, but it was telling him that he had just given the Pacers the ball. Evan Turner made quick work of this possession, performing a spin move and then a layup for a Pacers one point lead. LeBron misses a three pointer, recovered by Indiana. He's got 38. Roy Hibbert recovers a loose ball, and an Indy timeout is called.

Evan Turner has been a real gem for the Pacers. He was a star in Philly, but has accepted his role as a 6th man with no noticeable issues.

David West buries a three pointer, his fourth of the year, and the Pacers are up four with forty seconds left. Bosh misses a three, and the Pacers are going in for the kill. I don't know why Miami isn't fouling. They have 10 seconds for four points. Bosh buries a three with 2.9 seconds left. Timeout by Indiana with 2.9 seconds left. If they get the ball in, Miami will send them to the line with a foul.

Luis Scola inbounds to George Hill, who is immediately fouled by Norris Cole. George Hill misses his first. He misses his second. The Heat need any kind of score to win with 1.8 left. The Pacers cannot foul, but they are the best defensive team in the league statistically. 83-84. They will try to go to Bosh or LeBron. Chris Bosh misses the game winner, and Indiana survives their toughest test of the year, 84-83. This is the first full game of the Pacers I've been able to catch all season, and it was a great one at that.

The road to the Larry O'Brien Trophy will run through Indiana after they locked up Eastern homecourt advantage tonight.

For Tonight, Indiana has established itself as the true Beast of the East

The Slim Reaper

Kevin Durant is on a tear. After dropping 51 points on the Toronto Raptors last night, the Oklahoma City Thunder forward has recorded 34 straight games with 25 points or more, which is the longest streak since Michael Jordan recorded 40 straight in the 1986-87 NBA regular season. I think he can definitely do it. Interesting stat: The streak started 25 games ago on the 25 of January. In other NBA news, the Philadelphia 76ers can't catch a break, playing the Bulls tonight and the defending Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs on Monday. If they lose both, which is highly likely, they will wake up Tuesday the 25th with their loss streak will coming to......25 straight. You can't make this stuff up.
This was his 39th career 40 point game. The next four players on the Seattle Supersonics/OKC Thunder list (they relocated in 2008) have less 40 point games combined.
Kevin Durant also has the best nicknames in basketball, if not all of sports. (That's nicknames-plural.) The first is the Slim Reaper, for his ability to sink dagger's into the hearts of opposing teams, and his long stature and arms. The second is Durantula, which he earned for his monstrous wingspan.According to The Funky Locker, Durant's wingspan is 7'4.75". He is 6'9", meaning his arms are 5 3/4" longer than he is tall! This has lead to some great pictures on the internet about him.



 My personal favorite?

No Caption Necessary

Someone tried to tell me yesterday that LeBron was better than Kobe. Not only that, but that James was tougher. Laughable. About a month ago, LeBron got a bloody nose. He ended up having to be helped off the court, and wore a protective mask for his nose. People made fun of him, saying he looked like that Bane guy from Batman. Bloody Nose

The creativity in today's pictures is impressive

Kobe will go down as the fiercest competitor in the NBA's history. Watch this video after reading this section. In a late season game against the Golden State Warriors, Kobe drove the ball on Harrison Barnes. His legs stretched unnaturally, and he fell to the ground. He held his knee and was told by his coach and staff, that he should leave the court. Kobe shook his head 'no', and limped to the foul line for two free throws. After sinking both, he declined help to walk to the locker room from his teammates, walking off on his own power. He had just torn his Achilles tendon. Now, with that in mind, watch the video.

Controversial NFL player Michael Vick has finally found a new home after his time with the Philadelphia Eagles came to an end. The New York Jets finally cut ties with Mark Sanchez, a player who brought them to consecutive AFC Championships in his first two years. Unfortunately for him, his name will now be forever linked with probably the most infamous screw up in professional sports. The buttfumble. What happened? Exactly what you would think. This will be in the links today.

Vick (left) will most likely be taking Sanchez' (right) former job

The Last of a Dying Breed-Adrian Peterson is without a doubt, the best running back in the NFL. He just turned 29, which is a turning point in a running backs lifespan, when their knees catch up with them, and they lose a step. The last two great backs before him were LaDanian Tomlinson and Barry Sanders. Peterson gets a lot of comparison to Sanders, and for good reason. They both made their careers off of making defenders just look bad. Career highlights for both will be in the links.

Adrian "All Day" Peterson going trucking

The Sandman

I'm not getting $1,000,000,000 from Warren Buffett this year. But neither is anyone else. Anyone who enters a perfect bracket wins the prize. Too bad the Ohio State Buckeyes had to choke and mess mine up. Everything about being a Michigan fan told me that Craft and company would lose, but their was no real way to justify Dayton (who?) beating star Aaron Craft and the rest of OSU. OSU isn't the only powerhouse getting shocked, with No. 14 Mercer sending Duke back to North Carolina a few weeks earlier than they would have liked. Whether this will encourage Jabari Parker to return next year for revenge, or cut his losses and go to the NBA, nobody is sure. Only time will tell.

That's for messing up my bracket, Craft

Update: As of 9:30 pm Saturday night, Dayton has upset another giant. Syracuse and their star Tyler Ennis were sent home. You may remember me talking about Ennis and Parker in an earlier post, predicting a deep run by both. About that... Ennis continues to do everything Jabari Parker does, including getting bounced from the tourney by a no name school. I think he's applying 'anything you can do I can do better' wrong.

From Top Left (Clockwise): Julius Randle (Kentucky) Andrew Wiggins (Kansas)
Jabari Parker (Duke) and Tyler Ennis (Syracuse)

The Los Angeles Dodgers opened up the 2014 MLB season for the entire league by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks in Australia, 3-1. They will have a rematch starting in about 20 minutes. It's 9:40 on Saturday night for reference. Many major sports in the US have been trying to expand their markets, with baseball now taking the step.

Links for today: Buttfumble-Not Top 10 - Countdown video- Jump to 3:28 for Sanchez

                        Peterson

                        Sanders
                        Durant for MVP
                        Little Guy Gets Blocked-Must See

Bracketology

Brackets are Back! This is going to be all basketball today.

With the preliminary games over from last night, the tournament "Officially" begins tonight! My Final Four matchups are 2 seed Kansas over 4 seed Michigan State, and 2 seed Wisconsin over 2 seed Michigan. I have Kansas defeating Wisconsin easily, and, as a bonus prediction, Kansas forward Andrew Wiggins going number one overall in the NBA draft, who that will be, I have no idea.

Mount Rushmore?

Mount Rushmore has been an interesting topic in sports recently. For those of you who don't know, a "Mount Rushmore" is your top four of something, now the NBA is all the focus, with a feud between Celtic's great Bill Russell and King James himself.

Shots Fired

James included Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson, and Magic Johnson on his list. He then went on to say that he would "for sure" replace one of them on their.

My turn. 

Russell, James, Robertson, and Bird all get taken out of my top five.

#5. Kobe Bryant.

Kobe has been the face of the Lakers for the past two decades. He brought them back after Magic Johnson's career ended with his HIV announcement. Kobe established himself as the greatest one man defender ever, a king of clutch, and a champion. 5 times. People will tell you three of them were earned by Shaq. People also don't know that Shaq was either injured or fouled out in most of their Finals appearances together. Kobe has made a career off of dominating anyone who tells him he can't. He has a killer mentality, and will win at all costs. The man tore his Achilles last April, got up, and finished his foul shots before walking off the court under his own power. I'm not a Lakers fan, but I am a huge Kobe fan. I hope I haven't seen this great play for the last time.

The Black Mamba, Kobe Bryant

Kobe's Top 10 Plays

#4. Earvin "Magic" Johnson

The greatest point guard to ever play the game. He would most likely be higher on this list if his career wasn't cut short by his diagnosis of HIV. If anyone ever tells you Larry Bird was better, they're most likely a bitter Celtics fan. That's because Magic made his career off of trashing anyone The man made passes that will make anyone who doesn't watch basketball just watch in amazement.

#3. Wilt Chamberlain
Arguably the most singlehandedly dominant player ever. He dropped 100 points in one game once. The man was a tower. Simply put, there was no singlehandedly bigger game changer. That being said, he is only at 3 for me because of his lack of team play. But honestly, who needs team play when you can drop 100 points?

#2. Michael Jordan
That's right, Mike's not my number one. I know, 6 rings, 5 MVP's. His Airness. The perfect dunk. Space Jam. Who can compete with that?

This guy.

The Beard

#1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
6 Championships, 6 MVP's, a 20 year career of pure dominance. High school state and college national champion. The NBA's all time points leader, Kareem. This man developed the toughest move in basketball (sky hook) and perfected it into an art, a deadly weapon. And yet this man, formerly known as Lou Alcindor is forgotten in the list of greats today.

If anyone would like to share their top five on here, or disagrees with my list, feel free to leave it in the comments.
Links for Today:Russell Comments

Irsay's Issues

1.6 Billion Dollar Smile! 

It's been a really slow news day for sports, with disgraced Colts owner Jim Irsay's rap sheet has taken more importance than some freshly inked contracts that Indianapolis has made with free agents in the news. He was charged with DWI and four counts of possession of a controlled substance that was not specified. His bond was set at $22,500, (half of an average annual salary in the US) which is just spare change for him. The NFL could give discipline, but they have shown time and time again that the teams who bring in the most money have a way of escaping punishment.

I'm looking at you, Mr. Spygate

The Houston Rockets recovered from a three game losing streak by absolutely crushing the Utah Jazz, 124-86. The Jazz' record has dropped to 22-46, losing 5 straight. Rookie Trey Burke, drafted from the University of Michigan (Go Blue) has made a very compelling case for Rookie of the Year. It may be all for nothing, because the award has been known for only being given to rookies who are finding team success. I would be surprised to see him win it with today's league. I say this because of recent MVP choices. I believe that the MVP belongs to the player who makes their team the best it can be, not the overall best player. They have the most value to their team.Take last year for example. (This is going to be about LeBron again, heads up.) The MVP is voted for by journalists for major newspapers (Boston Chronicle, NY Times, etc.) LeBron received every single vote except for.....

Not the Times, but the Chronicle. That's right, Boston's most trusted and respected sportswriter chose Carmelo Anthony, the star of the New York Knicks to be the MVP. And he was! He turned a team that was in the bottom of the east into a top level contender. In one year, even! LeBron teamed up with an already championship caliber team and won. The MVP belongs in those who can make a pretender into a contender. Melo got screwed.

Semi-Live Commentary: LeBron is currently on fire against his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. True to his old form, he started out in the first quarter scorching the Cavaliers with 25 points. He currently has 39 with about 2:30 left in the game. After finishing the first quarter with a twelve point lead, the gap has been closed to about three with a minute left. This should be a good finish. With 15 seconds left, the most boring five minutes of basketball have begun. The Cavs will do anything within their power to stop the clock. Expect multiple fouls. Timeout Cleveland. So it begins.And there's a foul. This may get dragged out. The Heat recover the ball, and kill it to waste the clock. That was relatively painless. LeBron and the Heat edge Kyrie Irving and the Cavs 100-96. Fast stat-three number one overall picks were active tonight, all being drafted by the Cavaliers. James ('03), Irving ('11), and the Cavs' disappointing #1 pick Anthony Bennett ('13).

Bennett (15) and Irving(2)

The First Four starts tonight, I would normally be watching, but the Bruins are played New Jersey tonight. They finished the Devils off 4-2, extending the win streak to 10. Jarome Iginla scored goal #556 on his career tonight, tying Bruins legend Johnny "Chief" Bucyk for the 25th spot on the all time list. That puts him four goals behind the 24th spot, held by Guy Lafleur with 560 goals. He should be leaping up this list by multiple spots come June. Go B's!

Iginla

Bucyk

The Spurs secured their 15th straight season with 50 or more wins. I will let that feat speak for itself. For those who don't know, the NBA runs a 82 game season. This streak also includes a partially locked out beginning of the season from roughly Thanksgiving to Christmas. That's dominance.

San Antonio-The Way Basketball Should Be

If anyone's filled out a bracket, feel free to share it here.

Links for Today:

Are the Spurs for Real?

NBA All-Injured Team

The LeBron Rant

I hate LeBron James. There, I said it. I hate his number. I hate his attitude. I hate his stupid little headband that he tries to cover his receding hair line with.  Am I biased against him? Yes. 100%. He has ruined everything about the sport I love. Whether it's his flopping (overexaggerating for the sake of a foul) or his hippocritical dirty play, one things for sure. I hate him. In 2003, a young high school player entered the NBA draft. His name was Lebron James. He had already drawn comparisons to Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Not bad company to be in. He was drafted #1 overall to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers. No matter how large he got though, he never forgot one thing.

He deserves it.

(Expecting some little thing about loyalty, or remembering where you come from?)
Don't hold your breath. LeBron James doesn't know what that means. In 2010, his contract ran out. He was a free agent, and could sign with anyone he wanted. I had no issue. I did have an issue with his manner of acting this out. Instead of a simple, I'm signing with Miami, which would have sufficed, he drew it all out. This was the LeBron show, and he knew it. He spent a good week or so leading his hometown fans to believe he would return. He then got a multi-hour long live special on ESPN called "The Decision" just to say what we all knew. "I'm taking my talents to South Beach." Jump forward to the signing reveal a few days later, with new teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The were a super group, no questions about it. This was the first US Beatles concert all over again, just with different names in a different medium. When asked how many championships they would win, LeBron responded "Not one, not two, not three,..." before someone finally cut him off. I kind of got off on a tangent there. Anyways, this 6'8", 250 lb. hulk of a man, with all the talent in the world relies on faking injuries to get ahead. He throws himself to the ground for the lightest contact. He's gotten pretty good at it too. Heck, he may get an Oscar before Leo Dicaprio at this rate.

Tonight in a game between two of the league's best teams, LeBron's Heat beat the upcoming Houston Rockets 113-104. My only issue with this was a no call on a blatantly obvious foul by LeBron James. There is a holding penalty, for restricting another player's movement. Restraining them is a whole other thing. LeBron got a grip on Jeremy "Linsanity"  (remember when that was relevant?)Lin and didn't let go. The refs saw nothing, apparently, and moved on. The next play, Lin was on revenge mode. LeBron went up for the score, and was set down just as hard. It's almost amusing he doesn't get were the hostility comes from.

(Congratulations to the Miami Heat's Ray Allen for moving up one more spot on the all time scoring list)

He will also be remembered for being dunked on by a high school student at one of his own basketball camps. He and Nike set out to destroy the video in any way possible. So here it is. It happens at about the thirty second mark, James is in black shorts and tank top. Crawford Dunk

LeBron, you ruin the sport I love. You are the best active player in the world, no argument here. So play the game right. Please.

Links for Today:
Heat/Rockets Jump to 00:47 for a great shot by LeBron
                      Jump to 2:30 for Lin being restrained
                      Jump to 3:00 for Lin's payback

Greatest Flops

Free Agent Frenzy

NFL Free Agency is already winding down from the early spree of big name signings that kicked it off, but their is still some excitement. A feud between volatile corner Richard Sherman of the Champion Seahawks and veteran DeAngelo Hall of the Washington Redskins has appeared to have come up. Hall appeared to have been giving advice to Sherman, but he didn't appear to take it. Washington Post-Twitter Feud.

Julius Peppers, the former Carolina standout defensive end, has signed with Green Bay, rival of his second team, the Chicago Bears. He will see Chicago twice a year throughout his tenure with the Packers. Expect anything with an explosive force like Peppers with a chip on his shoulder.

Turning to NBA news, the Chicago Bulls are becoming to make a little noise in the last month of regular season play. They are 8-3 in the past two and a half weeks, knocking off teams like the 2-time defending champ Heat, and then two of the best in the west, being Houston and Golden State. They could give the two big east teams, that being Miami and Indianapolis, a very tough run at a rematch of last years conference finals. The most impressive thing about this is that the Bulls are doing this without the help of 2008 #1 pick Derrick Rose.

The New York Knicks were expected to move star forward Carmelo Anthony in order to move in a new direction through the trade deadline. Instead, they brought in legendary coach Phil Jackson, but at a front office position, not coaching. Jackson has an impeccable record. He has coached names like Jordan, Pippen, Shaq, and Kobe. Carmelo wants to become the next star to win with Jackson. Throughout 20 years of coaching, he has 11 championships. He has officially signed as President of Basketball Operations. This also could have been a move to pitch Carmelo on the idea of staying in New York after his contract ends next year. He has more attractive options, with the frontrunner being Chicago. Current head coach Mike Woodson could be on the hot seat however, although he personally has made it known he feels otherwise. The Knicks could go through a significant overhaul after going from 2nd place in the east last year to fighting for the last spot in the east playoff picture this year. The Knicks are currently on a six game winstreak. This would be very positive news for them if they weren't 27-40 with 15 games left. That's right, they were 21-40. Not exactly high caliber.

St. Louis and Boston continue to dominate the NHL. Our hometown Bruins are 8-1-1 in their last ten games, and riding an eight game win streak. They are speaking volumes about their ability to come back. Chicago is 5-5 in their last 10, which would bring a smile to any Bruins fan's face after last seasons Stanley Cup Finals ended with the Hawks raising the Cup.

Links for today
Crying Panther Fan
More Sherman/Hall

The Madness of March

Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven

Halfway through day two of free agency in the NFL, there have been some huge moves. The largest of all has been the signing of LB/DE Demarcus Ware to the Denver Broncos. Ware is one of the best defensive players in the league, and now he will be teaming up with a Broncos defense that was dominant all year, except for the Super Bowl. The Broncos realize that if Peyton's going to have multiple rings, it's now or never. The Broncos also signed CB Aqib Talib, replacing the departures of DRC and Champ Bailey. It will be interesting to see how this works out. Talib is a young solid corner with a lot of potential. This will be a change from the leadership and dominance that Champ gave during the past decade with the team.

Michael Vick remains unsigned, which is surprising. He is a veteran, and a solid starter. Some are expecting him to be signed in May after the draft, once all the pieces start to fall together. Baltimore defensive standout Art Jones has been signed by the Colts. The ravens were not expected to have been able to afford him, and the Colts head coach Chuck Pagano was the Defensive Coordinator in Baltimore, so he has a large amount of pull with Baltimore's defensive free agents. Art follows Dannell Ellerbe and Paul Kruger as defensive standouts to leave Baltimore after their rookie contracts. Day One Recap
In NBA news, the legendary coach Phil Jackson has been hired by the New York Knicks to help turn them around in their front office. Jackson is of course the coach who was with Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant through their combined 11 championship runs. NY Star Carmelo Anthony will be hoping to add his name to this list. After a dissapointing campaign for the Brooklyn Nets through the 2013 leg of the season, they are 22-9 in the calendar year 2014. They are 2-0 against the two time defending NBA Champion Miami Heat. Paul Pierce has always found a way to be a thorn in the sides of the Heat and Lebron James. As long as Pierce is around, the Heat will always have a target on their back. That being said, the Pacers are only 1.5 games ahead of the Heat for the Eastern conferences top seed. A new rivalry is starting between their stars, Paul George and Lebron James. Their duel in the Eastern Conference Finals established this. 2013 ECF
Selection Sunday is this week, setting up the March Madness tournament. Two freshman, Tyler Ennis of Syracuse and Jabari Parker of Duke will highlight as two of the top players in the country. Freshman Andrew Wiggins of Kansas will bring a lot of hype as the most sought out high school recruit ever. Year of the Freshman Wichita State finished the first ever perfect season in Men's basketball. Like always, March Madness will be anyone's game.