River's NBA?

Could Doc River's son Austin enter the NBA Draft this year? He sure can. Duke's very own freshman says he's ready to play for the big league after one year at Duke. When asked about Austin's choice his father responded "He loved it at Duke, but on the other hand, he's a kid who has always been around the NBA game," he adds on "Coach K knew that, and that's why they had such a great relationship this year, because he understood it".

When saying "Coach K" Doc is referring to Mike Kryzewski, Duke's head coach. Doc mentioned if it it wasn't Coach K, leaving to the NBA draft would be easy but since their relationship is so good, it was a very hard choice for Austin.

Doc goes on to explain Austin's thrills of playing for Duke. He says "I asked him what he enjoyed the most, and he said he knew that people didn't like Duke, but he had no idea they didn't like them that much until he got on the road.""That was the most fun, being on the road, and the fans are killing you. You get a chance to shut them up. That's actually who he is, too, so it played into his hands".

Well Austin will get a lot of that if he makes it into the big league. And his father won't have to worry about being able to watch him play.

The Celtics will be competing against him.

http://bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1061120215&srvc=sports&position=3

Toney Douglas > Mike Bibby

Remember that guy Toney Douglas who was a fan favorite at the garden last year and who was supposed to be the starting point guard for the 2011-2012 Knicks? That's the same guy who shot close to 40% from 3 point range in the previous two seasons and has been known and was drafted for his ability to play defense on the perimeter.

With the recent injuries to Amar'e Stoudemire, Jared Jeffries and Jeremy Lin the Knicks rotation has had some minutes available at the guard spots. With Lin being injured on Monday night, Mike Bibby was inserted into the rotation as the backup point guard to Baron Davis. Davis is still getting into game shape so Bibby was on the court in some key minutes in the most important game of the season for the Knicks so far.

Bibby was a great player in Sacramento and even in Atlanta. He struggled last year with the Miami Heat and has yet to find his range from the 3 point line which was his strength for most of his career. He struggles on the defense end of the floor, especially against younger and quicker point guards, and doesn't bring much to the offense end of the court as far as penetrating and creativity.

So why not give Toney Douglas another shot? No doubt about it Toney struggled at the start of the season when he was asked to be the starting point guard on a team with high aspirations. He was still recovering from having off season shoulder surgery, and was asked to play point guard in a system that is built for a facilitator and not a scorer at the position. Toney has always been considered in between a 1 and a 2 but his defense and accuracy from behind the arc is something that this team could use off the bench.

With a new coach and a new system why not wipe the slate clean on Douglas and give him some minutes off the bench and see what he has. With all the injuries piling up, and the grueling compact season coming down to the final stretch, you never know when you might need him.

LINK

Magic Johnson and group of investors buy Dodgers

A group led by Magic Johnson has just agreed to purchasing the Los Angeles Dodgers from its previous owner Frank McCourt.

Good news for Dodgers fans and the teams as a whole, the new regime in my opinion will make major improvements to the team that McCourt wasnt willing to make.

For example, the Dodgers desperately need to get help for Matt Kemp who had MVP level season last year and with another batter to back him up the Dodgers could once again rise to prominence.

Another positive about the change is the people actually in charge now, Magic Johnson's star power might be high enough to draw free agents to the team just for a chance to say they played for Magic Johnson and you can also give Johnson props for being a good businessman.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/sports/baseball/sale-of-dodgers-nears-a-resolution.html?_r=1&ref=sports

Tebow or Sanchez ?

Something dramatic. That’s what the Jets do after the Giants win the Superbowl. Win in 2008? Sign Favre. Win again in 2012? Sign Tebow. But will the Jets dramatic move to be the popular NY team pay off this time? Many people think it won’t, and Tebow will just be a 2^nd string qb? Which doesn’t make sense; it’d be a waste of money and not to mention talent.

There’s no doubt that Tebow can produce on the field, even though he’s barely out of college. And from the looks of it, Tebow will sadly be a bench warmer. Earlier today, the owner of the Jets (Woody Johnson), was quick to make it clear, that Sanchez was their starting quarterback, and that he trusted him enough to give Sanchez an extension. He even went as far as to comment on how consistence Sanchez is.

While that mostly true, he hasn’t been consistently good. Rather, he’s  been consistently mediocre. Johnson was asked whether or not Sanchez would be benched if his performance was subpar, which he refused to answer. But the facts are, even though Tebow is inexperienced he’s performed better than Sanchez in almost every way.

For instance, Sanchez has had a total of 43 interceptions, and he’s played just 40 games. While Tebow has played just 16 games and only has 3 interceptions. The two players’ pass completions are within 5% of each other. But who knows, maybe a situation similar to Kyle Orton’s will happen in the Jets camp, allowing Tebow to show he is the better qb. He’ll only get better with time!

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Media Amplifies Kobe "Benching"

I would like for it to be realized that Kobe Bryant was not "benched" on Sunday night versus the Grizzlies.

With about 5 minutes to go and the Grizzlies down 14, and with Andrew Bynum having a great game (he finished 11-16 with 30 points), Mike Brown subbed out Bryant for Metta World Peace.

He sat for about a two minutes, while the Lakers went on a nice run to get them back in the game. With a little over three minutes left, Brown called for Bryant to sub back into the game.

With the next dead ball deemed a tv timeout, Bryant was sure to be in the game soon. But there was no dead ball, as the game flowed and the two teams went back and forth missing and making shots without any fouls or violations called by the refs.

So by the time Kobe got in the game, there was only 1:51 left, and while the Laker team that was on the floor had initially reduced the lead by like 6 points, they then gave it back up right before Kobe was able to get in the game.

So when he got in the game it was basically over.

The next day, everyone is saying that Kobe was benched.

?! Doesn't really follow if you watched the game. But, of course, that is the job of the media, to hype things up and create drama, especially in Los Angeles, right down the way from Hollywood.

The reporters trying to get a story from Kobe reminded me a lot of the New York Mets book, and Kobe was very good about not giving them the story; refraining from that juicy, emotion-filled quote that would turn the Lakers upside down.

The reporters were doing their job though, and asked some good questions to try and get juicy answers out of Kobe and coach Brown.

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/03/26/la-story-brown-benches-bryant/

Fox: Bronco's offense to run Manning's way

     At a media breakfast in Florida during owners meetings, John Fox told reporters the Broncos offense would be run by Peyton Manning in the manner he did for 14 years with the Indianapolis Colts.
     Manning's way, if you haven't seen it, is an exciting thing to watch.  Like a general, he directs a no huddle offense by calling out audibles and giving directions to everybody as he's reading the defense.  It's truly an incredible thing to watch one of the greatest football minds to ever play the game direct the team, and then proceed to rip defenses up and demoralize them upon hiking he ball.  Its a style that has made Peyton a 4 time season MVP (NFL record), and has fixated himself on the Mount Rushmore of Quarterbacks.
     John Fox, who changed the whole offense around to suit Tim Tebow's strengths, said that although Peyton will run the offense, they will still have a few things in there reminiscent of last year.  "I think there will be some similarities," Fox said.  "It's just kind of how it is.  That's what coaching is.  You try to utilize your players and put them in the best positions so they can have success."
    Fox has established himself as an good NFL coach.  Between taking a Carolina team to the Super Bowl that had only won just one game the previous year, and then his work with the Broncos last year.  Fox has proven he's rather exceptional at realizing a team's strengths and reshaping the team onward them for the benefit of everybody.  Now that he has Peyton Manning, he's probably more than happy that he has one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time to work with.  "Peyton is like a coach on the field," Fox said.  "He paints a great picture.  He's going to direct traffic as well as maybe anybody in the league."
     One thing's for sure, people will be very excited to see this football legend back out on the field demoralizing opponents defenses when football starts back up again in September.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/john-fox-confirms-broncos-run-offense-peyton-manning-200905633.html

Baylor Looking for Perfection

The Baylor Bears are at the top of their game and playing with one goal in mind; To win a national championship. After losing last year in the Elite Eight to Texas A&M, the Bears have been at the top of their game all season hoisting a 38-0 record, just two wins shy of a perfect 40-0.

Led by the Women's basketball phenom, Brittney Griner, has been dominating all her opponents that stand in her way of a national championship. Griner, has dunked twice in the tournament already, getting the rest of the Bears fired up and sending a message to the competitors.

Baylor took down Tennessee and Pat Summitt, 77-58, showing the nation why they are such a dominant squad. Griner finished with 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 blocks, which is not to out of the ordinary for her. All season, Griner has been unable to be stopped, she can score at will with her dominant post moves and ability to out size and out strengthen all those who dare guard her.

The Bears next opponent will be Stanford, who hosts two sisters, Chiney and Nnemkadi Ogwumike, in the front court that have been able to average in double digits in points and dominate the boards. The same Texas A&M team that knocked Baylor out of the elite eight last year, beat this Stanford squad in the Final Four, sending them home just short of their shot at the title.

Griner has brought a lot of energy and media attention to the Women's basketball world in the recent years because of her height and dominant play. She will definitely be followed as her career moves on to the next level. But until then, Griner and the Bears have some business to attend to, hoping to take home the 2012 NCAA Women's Championship Trophy.

This is sure to be one amazing game between Baylor and Stanford. Both teams are one step closer to winning the championship and do not want that sour taste that they received from losing last year. Expect Griner and the Ogwumike sisters to be battling all game with one another trying to gain a competitive edge.

Source: http://www.northjersey.com/sports/college_sports/ncaa_basketball/144325665_Undefeated_Baylor_rolls.html?c=y&page=1