I May Have Already Mentioned This, But The Whole Offensive Goaltending Rule Is Stupid‏‏

On Sunday night at the end of a very heated game between the Washington Wizards and my Chicago Bulls, Joakim Noah tapped an errant shot that was going in any way through the hoop and the Wizards’ bench threw up their arms, disgusted at this heinous, earth-shattering crime they had just witnessed. The play was clearly one that could be classified as offensive goaltending, as Noah’s hand and the ball were obviously within the cylinder.

SBM Exclusive: The Worst Teams Of All Time

Here’s another feature from Sports Blog Movement. One of the things we love to do in sports is celebrate success, but in order to truly appreciate greatness, we must look at the other side of the coin.  This series, aptly enough called the Worst Teams of All Time, is dedicated to some of the worst teams in the history of sports.  Some were just truly bad, and some became bad at the wrong time.  Either way, all of them exemplify the opposite of greatness. Some had laughable regular seasons, and some had strong ones, only to die in the post-season. In any event, sit back and enjoy a good laugh or a good cry and celebrate the teams that were woeful so you can better appreciate the teams that weren’t.

Part 41: The Michigan Wolverines in the 1985 NCAA Tournament

Part 40:  The 1992 Seattle Seahawks

Part 39: The 1976 Montreal Expos

Part 38: The 2013 Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Part 37: The 1982-83 Houston Rockets

Part 36: The 1992-93 Ottawa Senators

Part 35: The 2002 Saudi Arabian World Cup Soccer Team

Part 34:  The 1989 Dallas Cowboys

Part 33: The 1998 Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Part 32: The 1982 Pittsburgh Pirates

Part 31: The 1986-87 Los Angeles Clippers

Part 30: The 1977-78 Minnesota North Stars

Part 29: The 1998 U.S. World Cup Soccer Team

Part 28: The 1996 New York Jets

Part 27:  The 2007 Toronto Argonauts

Part 26: The 1982 Minnesota Twins

Part 25: The 2007-08 Miami Heat

Part 24: The 1984-85 Toronto Maple Leafs

Part 23: The 1994 Greek World Cup Soccer Team

Part 22: The 2004 San Francisco 49ers

Part 21: The 1985 Calgary Stampeders

Part 2o: The 1987 Cleveland Indians

Part 19: The 2000-01 Chicago Bulls

Part 18: The 2000-01 New York Islanders   

Part 17: The 2001 XFL Birmingham Thunderbolts

Part 16: The 1990 United Arab Emirates World Cup Soccer Team

Part 15: The 1980 New Orleans Saints

Part 14: The 2003 Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Part 13: The 1998 Florida Marlins

Part 12: The 2009-2010 New Jersey Nets

Part 11: The 1989-90 Quebec Nordiques

Part 1o: The 1986 Canada World Cup Soccer Team

Part 9: The 1976 Tampa Bat Buccaneers

Part 8: The 2003 Detroit Tigers

Part 7: The 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks

Part 6: The 1980-81 Winnipeg Jets

Part 5: The 1982 El Salvador World Cup Soccer Team

Part 4: The 2008 Detroit Lions

Part 3: The 1993 New York Mets

Part 2: The 1982-83 Cleveland Cavaliers

Part 1: The 1974-75 Washington Capitals

Stay tuned, there’s more to come…

Sports Blog Movement NBA Preview – Central Divsion

It’s going to be very hard for me to do this piece without bias, as I’ve been a die hard Bulls fan my entire life.  In this case, circumstance would tend to favor my interest because the biggest story in basketball will be coming out of the Windy City this year.  The Pacers may be the reigning division champs, but the buzz will be centered around the Bulls.  As for the rest of the division, there’s definitely a level of suckitude that’s not present in the other five chunks of the NBA.  Here’s how things ended up last year…

MEEHAN’S NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS PREVIEW

by Ryan Meehan

While not as glamorous as those in the Western Conference, the Eastern Conference Semis still have some great storylines that are full of wholesome family entertainment. And since it’s my job to take such entertainment and turn it into what essentially amounts to material that’s unsafe for your work computer, let’s take a look at what you can expect to see in the second round.

Miami Heat vs. Chicago Bulls

Joakim Noah and Lebron James will get the opposite of cuddly starting this week

What happened last round:

Proving once again my theory that sub .500 teams should never make the playoffs in any sport, the Miami Heat wiped the Milwaukee Bucks off the face of the earth. I don’t have nearly enough euphemisms to describe what happened in that round, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to give it a shot. Basically LeBron James heard that Brandon Jennings predicted the Bucks to win in six games, and after he stopped laughing he realized something had to be done about that. So James showed up at Jennings’ farm in the middle of the night, opened the barn door, and then it got really quiet for a few seconds. After that, the clucking started and what happened next was one of the most grisly displays of chicken sexploitation in American history. As my buddy DJ KFC would say “That shit was mad fowl”. Of course, none of that actually happened but if it did would it have been any less embarrassing than the series itself? Not bloody likely, and my version gave you a better visual didn’t it? Don’t you just hate it when somebody ends three sentences in a row with question marks?

Open Letter to Derrick Rose

Derrick,

I am simultaneously writing this letter and watching the Bulls/Kings game. I will describe to you (in parenthesis) what is happening in the game as I write. This should give you a good idea of the shit show that I am witnessing right now. Your team is down by 30 right now. To the fucking Kings! The Kings are 22-43! They are tied for the worst record in the Western Conference. Not to mention, the Kings are playing without their best player, Demarcus Cousins. (Cole Aldrich dunk) As a Bulls fan, I think I speak for everyone in saying that it’s time you come back and play.  (Nate Robinson bricks 3 pointer) The doctors have cleared you to play. They’ve said that getting back on the floor is the final step in the recovery process. (Tyreke Evans fade away from 3. Drains it.)

I know that you don’t feel ready yet. But the only way you’ll ever feel ready again is to get out there and play. You have to work through the discomfort. Ask Jamal Crawford! He had the same injury. (Jimmer Fredette banks in a 2) He’ll tell you to listen to the doctors. You need to come back this season. Do you really want to (Fredette drains corner 3) spend a whole off season with people speculating on whether you’ll be ready or not. You need to get your confidence back, I understand. Get it back by being on the floor. (Halftime. Score 65-36)

Your team just scored 36 points in a half. 36 POINTS IN A HALF! The Kings scored 65. They allowed the Kings to shoot 58% from the floor and 46% from 3. The Kings have 1 turnover. The Bulls have 8. The Bulls bench has scored a grand total of 4 points. This is basketball hell. (Second half starting)

SBM Exclusive Feature: The BLAST-CAST – Volume 2: Derrick Rose Exposes The Hypocrisy Of The Sports Media

In today’s episode of the SBM Blast-Cast, co-hosts Ryan Meehan from East End Philadelphia and J-Dub from Dubsism examine how the sports media has exposed it’s own hypocrisy with the all the commentary that has surrounded Chicago Bulls’ guard Derrick Rose stating that he doesn’t feel ready to play after his knee injury despite being cleared by doctors.  There have been some hot opinions surrounding this topic, and Meehan’s and J-Dub’s are no exception.

Click here to listen or download the Blast-Cast (MP3 format) to see whether you agree or disagree with  where Meehan and J-Dub. Either way, you don’t want to miss this! (Rated R for language, because J-Dub can’t help from dropping a few F-bombs…)

Jeremy Lin: Better Move For The Rockets Or The Knicks?

(Jeremy Lin picture via www.usatoday.com )

The choice has been made by the New York Knicks and Jeremy Lin is the newest member of the Houston Rockets. But was this the correct move for the Knicks? What does this mean for the future of the Houston Rockets?

In New York, it was thought that the signing of veteran point guard Jason Kidd meant that the Knicks were bringing in a veteran presence to mentor Lin. After all, the Knicks said they would match any offer that was made to Lin by any team. Maybe they thought that this declaration would be one that would keep teams away from him. Well, there was one team that wanted Lin and wanted him at any cost. The Houston Rockets stepped in and offered him a three-year, twenty-five million dollar deal. On the surface, that would seem like a deal that the Knicks would match, but as you look into the meat of the deal, the Rockets made it pretty hard for that to happen. The third year of the deal that the Rockets offered Lin had a price tag of $15 million.  If New York would have matched that, then they would have had Lin, center Tyson Chandler, forward Amar’e Stoudemire and forward Carmelo Anthony all signed to huge contracts in the third year of Lin’s deal. And that would have crippled that team and made it almost impossible to build a team around them. The Knicks made the smart move for a change and let Lin walk. And in addition to that, they brought back former Knick point guard Raymond Felton on a three-year, ten million dollar deal. These point guards may not bring the level of excitement that Lin did, but both are professional and are more proven point guards than Lin is at this point.

(Kevin McHale picture via www.blog.chron.com )

Are The Sixers For Real?

In the NBA’s Eastern Conference, the Heat and the Bulls are considered head and shoulders above the rest of the East. But is it time to mention Philadelphia in this equation? The Philadelphia 76ers made their case to be mentioned at the top of the pecking order by dominating the East-leading Chicago Bulls 98-82 in Philly. The Sixers are now within one game of the Eastern Conference lead with their win. Some may wonder what they have done to get there. A few things stand out.

They say offense sells tickets and defense wins games. The Sixers are definitely subscribing to this statement because of the excellent defense they are playing. They are scoring 97.5 points per game this year, but on defense, they are Top 5 in steals and rebounds per game. The Bulls and the Heat, both top teams in the East, cannot say this at all. But even without all the statistics, the Sixers are playing together defensively. An example of their togetherness was on display against the Bulls on Wednesday night when Derrick Rose beat his man to the basket and small forward/power forward Thaddeus Young stepped over and helped contest Rose’s shot. This type of defensive intensity wasn’t evident in the most recent versions of the Sixers.

Another interesting thing that you notice about the Sixers is that their leading scorer is a bench player. Point guard/shooting guard Lou Williams(15.3 ppg) has been instant relief off the bench and he puts pressure on the opposing defenses with his relentless attacks to the basket. And when you play him for the drive, he pulls up and shoots the jumper. And Williams isn’t the only guy that can fill it up off their bench. Thaddeus Young can explode as well. When you have a bench that can go out and not only spell the starters but extend leads, you definitely have a serious advantage.

A huge key for this team is small forward Andre Iguodala. He does a little bit of everything. He scores, dishes, plays air-tight defense and above all, he’s exhibiting leadership skills. I personally didn’t think Iguodala would be a guy that could be a leader. I always knew he was talented, but I questioned some things about him. I guess with age and time came maturity and a sense of urgency because he’s playing better than he has ever played before and is looking more and more like the second coming of Scottie Pippen.

Defense, depth and Iguodala have been huge differences, but the biggest difference in this team has been head coach Doug Collins. Collins is a no-nonsense coach who believes in getting things done the right way. Even when you see his team winning games, he’s still hard at work making sure his guards make the right decision and coaching them up along the way. Young players like point guard Jrue Holiday, small forward/guard Evan Turner and center Spencer Hawes have all blossomed under Collins’ tutelage. If Doctor J is the Fish that saved Pittsburgh, then Collins is the prophet who saved Philly.

With all the positives around this team so far, there’s still a long road to go. It should be interesting how they react to adversity when it hits. But if this team reacts like I think they will, they are going to be just fine and will be a team to reckon with in the post-season.

Opposite Ends of the Spectrum

Living in Washington, DC affords us many wonderful experiences.  One of them is affordable ticket prices to sporting events.  Sad, but true.  The Verizon Center is just blocks away from where we work, and so we attend Washington Wizards games quite frequently, but his trip I was really excited because I got to check out my favorite team: The Chicago Bulls!

As I witnessed the visiting Chicago Bulls taking on my hometown Washington Wizards in the beautiful Verizon Center (four rows from the floor), I realized that Derrick Rose is a certified beast of a player. I also realized that he makes the Bulls a great team that CAN’T win without him.  What’s more is that John Wall WILL be a certified beast of a player, and he MIGHT make the Wiz a good team that CAN’T win without him. Let me clarify what I’m saying:  The Bulls are a good team without Rose. I would dare say that they can be a playoff team without him. They got great players: Noah, Boozer, Deng, and Hamilton just to name a few.    But Rose makes Chicago a championship contender.  In contrast, the Wizards one and only irreplaceable is Wall. Who are the other pieces, and why can’t we get the similar type of players? I’ve been a Wizards/Bullets fan my entire life. Its the ONLY local professional team that I truly support.

Rarely is the Verizon Center packed for a Wizards Game nowadays however, for this game-The Phone Booth was PACKED! Many were Bulls fans like me, but the Wiz had a lot of support.  The Bulls came off heartbreaking loss (at least it was heartbreaking for me) to the Miami Heat.  I was glad to see them bounce back.  I did have a few concerns.  The Bulls had more turnovers, less rebounds, less scoring in the paint, but still managed to win the game. That can’t continue.  The main difference?  Free Throws…the Bulls had more chances at the line.  They won’t go far in the post season with shaky play like this. 

 I danced in the streets when Wall was drafted AND when Ted Leonsis took the ownership of the team. I KNEW that brighter days were ahead. I’m still waiting!  Don’t get me wrong, I like some of the pieces that we have:  Nick Young and Trevor Booker are good role players for us. And I LOVE Javelle McGee!  I think this guy is going to be a star. But he’s playing out of position. He’s not a center, he’s a forward, which gets me to my point:  We need a big man. Someone who can play down low and wreak havoc in the middle.  I do have some suggestions:  we can make an effort to draft JD Sullinger this year, because it’s a lock that we won’t make the playoffs this year. Or, we can make a play for the Grizzlies Marc Gasol. Or, (and this is my personal preference) we can sign the Pacers’ Roy Hibbart. The rumor going around is that Hibbart wants out of Indiana after this season. This makes the most sense. Roy has really developed as a low post presence, and he has ties in DC as a former Georgetown big man. This will free up McGee to play his natural position to roam and run that baseline. But no matter what the Wiz do, Wall needs some help…..desperately.

Speaking of help, the Dwight Howard rumor mill continues to churn.  Now the star is saying he would not be opposed to playing in Chicago.  I’m going to remain calm but if that were to happen?! OMG!  We are truly East Coast basketball people and while our teams are on opposite ends of the spectrum, the game was entertaining.  Our seats were amazing and I can’t wait to check out more games!