NBA All Star Weekend

The NBA All Star game and all of the festivities that go with it will take place from February 12th to the 14th and will include a multitude of events. It starts lightly on Friday, when the celebrity game is played. Usually this game sort of makes the celebrities seem normal because you realize they are absolutely terrible at basketball. But it is still fun to watch, Kevin Hart is a regular at these games and tends to make for good entertainment. Then it continues on Friday night with the Rising Stars game, which is essentially an All Star game for the rookies and second year players. The teams are divided up  between international and American players. On the international team there are players such as Kristaps Porzingis, Andrew Wiggins, and Nikola Mirotic. Players such as Jabari Parker, D'Angelo Russell, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor highlight the United States team. This game is always a good chance to see who the best prospect is out of the last draft class. I don't think any of the players taken really early in the 2015 draft can be called busts yet. The most questionable pick at the time of the draft was Kristaps Porzingis, but now he is one of the most popular rookies, he is averaging around 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game.

Then my favorite part of the weekend is on Saturday, that's when the skills challenge, three point contest, and dunk contest all take place. Last year Steph Curry torched the 3 point contest and Zach LaVine had some of the best dunks I have ever seen. It really revitalized the dunk contest and the whole All Star weekend, which had been lacking. The participants in the dunk contest haven't yet been revealed, although I'm guessing Zach LaVine will be a headliner. I think the NBA should reach out to guys like LaVine, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Demar Derozan, Andrew Wiggins, and Gerald Green so they can get some real competition going. We are still waiting to see Lebron in the Dunk Contest, as he is one of the best power dunkers in NBA history, but we may never see it. I think the NBA should encourage the players to attend the side events more, especially the star players. I say this because those are the players everyone wants to see. They should put less importance into the actual all star game, that should be a game played at half speed where everyone just messes around, it shouldn't be taken very seriously. The NBA should do whatever necessary to avoid having their all star game end up like the NFL Pro-bowl, which has very low ratings.

Big 12 Basketball

Even though I am a Big Ten fan, I think it is obvious that the Big 12 is the best conference, even if the ACC wasn't in a down year I think that would be true. The Big 12 has four, maybe five teams that are capable of making the final four, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Iowa State are all expected to make it pretty far, and West Virginia and Baylor could possibly pull it off.  Oklahoma is perceived to be the best team in the Big 12, but Iowa State has certainly made themselves known after starting poorly. After starting 2-3 in conference the Cyclones had a brutal stretch of games coming up, home vs #1 Oklahoma, at TCU, home vs #4 Kansas, at #5 Texas A&M, and home vs #9 West Virginia. They've already played and won the first three games, and next they have to travel to Texas A&M. Beating Kansas and Oklahoma was big for them because many consider them the two best teams in the conference. Both games were at home for the Cyclones so that plays a role, but the Cyclones have already traveled to Oklahoma and lost and will have to travel to Kansas too. As much as I hate Iowa State, right now they are playing like a top three team in the country. What remains to be seen is if they can actually get far in the NCAA Tournament (Last year they lost to a 14 seeded UAB team in the first round of the tournament).

The biggest surprise of the Big 12 has been West Virginia, although they need to improve their resume, they have beaten Kansas when the Jayhawks were #1 and lost by only 2 at Oklahoma. West Virginia runs a complex zone scheme and will look to beat Florida in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Speaking of the challenge, there are some very good games in the challenge. One of the bigger games would be Kentucky at Kansas, two of the top programs in the nation should make for a big games. Then it turns from top programs to top players as Buddy Hield (Oklahoma) takes on Ben Simmons (LSU). Hield is one of the best pure scorers in the nation, mainly because of his ability to shoot the three. Simmons scores in the exact opposite way, his jump shot is practically non existent so he scores by slashing inside. Either way both games should be outstanding.

Big Ten Basketball

The Big Ten season is almost halfway over, and it's pretty clear to this point who the contenders are. Iowa (16-3) and Maryland (17-3) are probably the two top teams in the Big Ten, they have the best resumes out of the bunch. The next tier of teams are just barely below the top two, those teams would be Indiana (17-4), Michigan State (17-4) and Purdue (17-4). Michigan might be included in there, but I'm not sure they are good enough to challenge for a Big Ten Championship, while all the others above them probably could. The next group is kind of in the middle, they aren't bad teams, but they are either too young or don't quite have enough pieces to be a good team. Those teams would be Michigan (15-5), Ohio State (13-8), Wisconsin (12-9), Nebraska (12-9) and Northwestern (15-6). Then there's the bottom teams, Illinois (10-10), Penn State (11-10), Rutgers (6-14) and Minnesota (6-14), these teams need a lot of work.

The teams that can most contend for a regular season Big Ten title are Iowa, Maryland, Indiana and Purdue. Iowa currently leads the Big Ten and has been the most impressive, which is something I definitely didn't see coming. Maryland has lost twice in Big Ten play, but probably the best starting five in the conference. That is why this Thursday's game between Iowa and Maryland could very well be the biggest game of the year. Iowa has already beat Purdue and Michigan State twice each, as well as Michigan, which means that Iowa already has a leg up on most teams. Maryland hasn't really had many impressive wins, they've lost to the three best teams they've played (Michigan, Michigan State, and North Carolina). So for Iowa this is a chance to further extent their dominance in the Big Ten, and for Maryland it's a chance to get a signature win. 

Another team who hasn't really had a signature win is Indiana, but they have a lot of chances towards the end of their schedule. They had upcoming games against Michigan, Iowa twice, Michigan State, Purdue and Maryland. I think that Indiana could be one of the best teams in the conference they just need to prove it.

Super Bowl

Both of the conference championships are over and Super Bowl 50 is set, the Denver Broncos will play the Carolina Panthers. Both of the predictions that I made in the previous blog post were pretty inaccurate, first of all I predicted that the Patriots would beat the Broncos, the Broncos won 20-18. Secondly I said in the last blog post that the game between the Panthers and Cardinals would be really close, but in reality the Panthers won 49-15, it wasn't even close. I think everybody outside of Colorado thought that Tom Brady would outperform the aging Peyton Manning before the game, but by games end it was Manning who had two touchdowns to zero interceptions. While Tom Brady, who threw 56 passes, had only one touchdown to three interception. The last interception being the most important, the Patriots had just scored a touchdown, but earlier in the game their kicker had missed and extra point making the score 20-18. Which meant that the Patriots had to attempt the two point conversion if they wanted to tie. But as Tom Brady was being pressured he just flung the ball to whoever he could find and the ball was tipped and picked off by a Broncos player, meaning that the Patriots then had to get the onside kick and get a field goal to win. Which they didn't, the Broncos recovered the onside kick and took a kneel to end the game. The real story in this game was how much Tom Brady was pressured, Brady was sacked four times, but had someone in his face on nearly every single throw. Von Miller was probably the MVP for the Broncos, he had a couple of sacks, a couple tackles for loss and an interception, and the entire game he was pressuring Brady to thrown before he was ready.

The second game of the day was over by half, the Panthers simply manhandled the Cardinals from start to finish. The Cardinals had seven turnovers in the game, which was a big factor in why they lost. But also because the Panthers simply out gained the Cardinals in terms of total yardage. I didn't see this coming and really the Cardinals just killed their chances with the turnovers. It is difficult to win with three turnovers, it's almost impossible to win with seven.

The Super Bowl should be a great match-up, Carolina who hasn't been to the Super Bowl in a long time, will take on a much more experienced Denver team. But I will preview the big game in another blog post.

NFL Conference Championship

Today the final four teams in the NFL face off, the New England Patriots travel to Denver to take on the Broncos, and the Arizona Cardinals take on the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte. The biggest story line in the Pats-Broncos game is Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning, both aging superstars, although Manning is much closer to the end of his career. At this point the Broncos are being carried by their defense, they have an excellent secondary along with difference makers such as Von Miller, Malik Jackson, and Demarcus Ware. But the Patriots have an extremely efficient and powerful offense, and it's impossible to stop Rob Gronkowski so you can only hope to slow him down. Plus now the Patriots have some of their other offensive weapons back as many of them had been injured. As it has been with the Broncos for the whole year, the game will be likely be decided by whether their offense can get going, because their defense will likely bottle up the opposing teams offense. Prediction: Patriots 24 Broncos 16.

The second game of the day is all about how far Cam Newton can take the Panthers, because the Arizona Cardinals are probably the best all around team in the NFL. Whereas other teams like New England and Carolina are guided by superstars like Tom Brady and Cam Newton. Both teams have powerful offenses and stingy defenses and both teams have elite players at nearly every position so this game will likely be decided by the second and third options for both teams. Another thing to watch for both teams will be the running game, both teams have underrated running backs, Carolina with Jonathan Stewart and Arizona with David Johnson. Stewart especially could be a difference maker for the Panthers, as last week he rushed for over 100 yards against the Seattle defense, one of the best in the league. Really this is a very even game, both teams excel on both sides of the ball so something has to give. Prediction: Carolina 30 

Either way I think that for the most part we got the four best teams in the NFL, one could argue that the Seahawks and Steelers are also up there, but both teams had their chance. As a Steelers fan myself, it's easy to wonder what this team could've done if they had Le'veon Bell, Ben Roethlisberger, and Antonio Brown all healthy. But injuries are part of every sport, and Denver beat us fair and square. As for the Seahawks, they were down 31-0 to Seattle, there aren't many excuses for that. 

Looking Ahead to the 2016 College Football Season

The 2015 College Football season ended with Alabama on top, beating Clemson 45-40, but even in a losing effort Clemson seemed to establish themselves as the early favorite to claim the title next year. While the Crimson Tide have plenty of talent to be able to reload and have a good season, they probably won't win the championship. They lose a lot of important players on defense, and their starting quarterback and Heisman winning running back. However Clemson also loses many of the key players on their stout defense last year. But I still think that Clemson will reload probably better than Alabama, first off they still have Deshaun Watson, probably Wayne Gallman, and a bunch of talented wide receivers. Secondly, they have recruited very well, they will be bringing the 2nd overall rated player in the 2016 class in defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, they also have three very talented wide receivers, and a couple of other talented linebackers that all can make a difference for Clemson. They are poised to have one of the best offenses in 2016, one that can probably win them the national championship next year.

Another team to watch is Michigan, I think the Wolverines can make the playoffs but I don't see them winning it all. The Wolverines went 10-3 in their first season under Jim Harbaugh, but many think that the Wolverines can go much higher than that. Harbaugh has done a very good job recruiting in his short time at Michigan, and is expected to sign the top player in the 2016 class. But I personally don't see it happening next year, maybe the year after that, but Michigan still doesn't have a really good quarterback, which is almost a must for playoff teams. Once Michigan establishes a quarterback for themselves then they can be in the conversation, but I doubt they will even beat out Ohio State for the Big Ten East crown. Ohio State is also a playoff contender, they were sort of forgotten about because they missed out on the playoffs, but don't be surprised if Ohio State is in the 3rd annual college football playoff.

National Championship Recap

The last game of the 2015-16 college football season lived up to the hype and gave us an idea of what next year might look like. Alabama beat Clemson 45-40 in very thrilling fashion, Clemson was able to move the ball all day on Alabama's great defense piling up over 500 yards of offense and 30 first downs. Although almost all of the offense generated by Clemson was earned by their quarterback Deshaun Watson, who I would say is an early Heisman favorite for next year. However early in the game Clemson's star cornerback Mackensie Alexander injured his leg and was out of the game. It just so happened that Clemson gave up two touchdowns and another long pass off breakdowns in their secondary. It makes me wonder if the game would've been different if Alexander had been in the whole game. 

I think it can be said for sure that if you run a spread offense you have an increased shot of beating Alabama. Clemson has all the tools they need to get to the championship next year too, and will have another opportunity to beat them. I would imagine that next year is Clemson's best chance to win a championship, as Deshaun Watson will likely going to leave next year for the NFL. Deshaun Watson is definitely Clemson's best shot, after all he almost single-handily beat Alabama, he had over 400 yards passing and another 70 on the ground. 

Alabama on the other hand, has won 4 championships in the last 7 years, and will probably win another in the next couple years. But I think teams have figured out the blueprint for beating Alabama. 

College Football Championship

The College Football Playoff will have it's second annual championship, this time between Alabama and Clemson. Hopefully this will be a good game because last year the championship was a blowout, and this year nearly every single big bowl game hasn't been competitive. I think that the game will be at least sort of close, but I think most people would disagree. Alabama is in the running for a national championship nearly every year and they have a lot of experience in big games. Clemson on the other hand is a program that is on the rise, so they don't have quite the experience that Alabama does. However even if Clemson loses this game I would be willing to bet they will be back in the title game soon. 

In terms of the actual game Clemson likely stands a much better chance than Michigan State, this is because they run a offense that is more spread out. A spread offense tries to spread or space the defense by using multiple receivers and moving the ball all around the field. This has proved to be almost the only way to beat Alabama because it basically takes Alabama's defensive front out of the game. If Clemson is able to actually move the ball then the game will probably be close, but I don't think they can rely on their defense to stop Alabama. Clemson should also try to take some deep shots, Alabama's secondary is certainly good, but not quite as dominant as their defensive line and linebackers. 

Despite all of this I still think Clemson has some room to grow,  prediction: Alabama 28 Clemson 23.

AFC Wildcard Summary

The first game of the day can pretty much be summed up by the final score, Kansas City 30 Houston 0. It just wasn't much of a game, the Texans committed five turnovers, which you just can't have in a playoff game. It seems like the Chiefs are one of the better teams in the playoff and they might just take the AFC crown.

The second game of the day featured a very intense rivalry and a lot of controversy. The Bengals committed two incredibly stupid penalties to give the Steelers a free 30 yards and an easy shot at a game winning field goal which they took advantage of to win 18-16. But it only got to that point because Pittsburgh's starting quarterback went out with a shoulder injury when the Steelers were up 15-0. The Bengals took advantage of this and scored 16 straight points in the fourth quarter, taking the lead with a touchdown pass with just under 2 minutes left in the game. That's when things started to get weird.

At that point Ben Roethlisberger was still out with the shoulder injury and the Steelers turned to backup Landry Jones to win the game. I don't think it was more than two plays in when Jones threw an interception to the Bengals. Luckily for the Steelers the Bengals gave it right back with about 90 seconds left. Which meant the Steelers had the ball on their own 20 yard line with 3 timeouts, only needing 3 points to win the game. Pittsburgh then put Ben Roethlisberger back in the game, although it was apparent that he didn't really have much power in his arm. The Steelers got into Cincinnati territory with 22 seconds left after converting a fourth down, but they were out of timeouts. Then after a Steelers incomplete pass over the middle Bengals player Vontaze Burfict lowered his shoulder and appeared to intentionally hit Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown in the head. Now I would be acting very biased if I didn't point out that Steelers linebacker had an equally dangerous hit on Cincinnati running back Giovanni Bernard earlier in the game. Burfict was flagged for his hit while Ryan Shazier was not, the reason is because Burfict hit a "defenseless" player, Brown is defenseless because he didn't have the ball. While it was ruled that Bernard wasn't defenseless because he had the ball. I dislike both hits, but my opinion is that Shazier was just trying to make a play, while Burfict intentionally trying to hurt Brown. If you don't agree with me, try typing in "Vontaze Burfict dirty plays" and you can just for yourself, because that's certainly not the only one.

NFL Wild Card

Today is the start of the NFL Postseason, which means it's wildcard time. There are two games today, in the AFC my favorite team the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) travel to Cincinnati (12-4), the Kansas City Chiefs (11-5) take on the Houston Texans (9-7). On Sunday the Seattle Seahawks (10-6) play the Minnesota Vikings (11-5) and finally the Green Bay Packers (10-6) play the Washington Redskins (9-7).

First I will look at the Steelers-Bengals match-up, where both teams are dealing with significant injuries. The Steelers were already without their starting running back after a severe knee injury, but now their second string running back,who was doing very well, is out after rolling his ankle. The Bengals also are without a major piece, Andy Dalton is still out after fracturing his throwing hand against the Steelers late in the season. So what this means is this game will likely be very similar to the Steelers-Broncos game earlier in the season. I think that this game will be decided by what the Steelers defense does to stop the Bengals offense, if they can limit them to under 20 points I think the Steelers will win this game. Prediction: Steelers 23 Bengals 17.

The other game today is between the Chiefs and the Texans, and not many people are giving the Texans a shot to win this game. Those people are probably right, Texans just don't have enough offensive firepower to challenge the Chiefs great defense. Prediction: Chiefs 27 Texans 13.

One NFC Wildcard game is between two pretty average teams, and the other could feature the eventual Super Bowl winner. The former would be Green Bay versus Washington. Green Bay is not what it used to be, it could just be for this season, but they haven't looked good for the majority of the season. And Washington was a team that nobody really expected to be in the playoffs. However right now Kirk Cousins has the Redskins on a four game win streak, while the Packers have lost two in a row. Momentum is important, prediction: Redskins 31 Packers 30.

The Seahawks however are probably the best team in the NFL right now, and have been to the Super Bowl two years in a row. Personally I don't think the Vikings stand a chance, which is unfortunate because I think they are the second best wildcard team in the NFC. Prediction: Seattle 34 Minnesota 21.

Iowa on the Rise

Only January 1st I wasn't very happy after the Iowa football team lost to Stanford 45-16 in the Rose Bowl, but luckily that didn't last very long. Because two days later on January 3rd, the Iowa basketball team came back from 19 down to beat then #14 Purdue 70-63 on the road. Also before the Rose Bowl, Iowa basketball beat #1 Michigan State 83-70. Although some have said that win doesn't mean that much because Michigan State was without their star player Denzel Valentine, but I don't buy that.

Because of all of this Iowa is suddenly one of the hotter teams in college basketball right now, they've started 3-0 in Big Ten play and are 12-3 overall. The next game up for the Hawkeyes is a rematch against Michigan State, but this time it's on the road, and MSU will probably have Denzel Valentine back. So I doubt many people are expecting Iowa to win, but if they do they could vault all the way into the top 5. After all Iowa has played an extremely tough schedule, and still has some tough ones left. Iowa has already played #13 Iowa State(lost 83-82), #5 Michigan State, and #20 Purdue. They still have to play rematches against MSU, Purdue, and have a really tough game at #3 Maryland. But other than that Iowa will be expected to win at least 9 of the other 12 games remaining on their schedule. Some people would say that they should win all of those games but I see Iowa going around 9-3 or 10-2 outside of their really tough games. At this point Iowa would have to have a colossal meltdown to miss the tournament. I think a 20 win Iowa team would make it in to the tournament, and there are certainly eight winnable games left on Iowa's schedule.

For me it's tough to really buy into the fact that Iowa could be an elite team especially after the meltdown in the 2013-14 season when Iowa had Devyn Marble, who is now a reserve for the Orlando Magic. In that season Iowa made it all the way into the top 10 and at one point they were 19-6. Iowa ended up finishing the season 20-13, they finished the regular season 20-11 and promptly lost in the Big Ten tournament and the NCAA tournament. However this years team could be special, as long as they stay together and stay focused.