Rough Day at the Indy 500 for Meira

Brazil's Vitor Meira competed in yesterday's Indy 500 and while there were many drivers who crashed and had to leave the race, it is safe to say Meira had the longest day of them all.

First on Lap 134 this happens: (around the 1:00 minute mark things heat up!)



Despite being wet and probably a little shaken, Meira continued to race. Then on Lap 173, this encounter with Raphael Matos occurred: (at 1:20 it gets good)



Luckily, neither of these incidents ended anyone's life, however the crash was serious for Meira as he suffered 2 broken vertebrae in his back.

BTW, former Dancing with the Stars Champ Helio Castroneves joined elite company capturing his 3rd victory at Indy over Dan Wheldon and Danica Patrick.

How Good Are the NBA Conference Finals?

I was sitting at home watching the Cavs-Magic Game 2 and as Cleveland's lead slowly dwindled, I began to think about how it might be appropriate to blog about the possibility that Lebron may be great, but he still doesn't have the killer instinct down the stretch that Kobe has. But that all changed in the final second when Lebron stepped back and hit an absurd three to win the game. Call it luck (which it probably was), but he did it and it was amazing.

So my latest idea for a post went from continuing to develop the Lebron-Kobe debate, to instead talking about how great the first 2 games of both the Western Conference and Eastern Conference Finals have been. In case you haven't been tuning in, lets recap the Lakers-Nuggets series first. In game 1, the Lakers started off horribly and Denver opened up a big first half lead. However, the Lakers managed to stay in the game (although Denver still controlled almost all 4 quarters) and then in the final minutes of the game, Kobe Bryant stepped up, Denver missed their free throws and Trevor Ariza came up with a huge steal to help Los Angeles take game 1, 105-103. If you take game 1 and flip it around, you pretty much get game 2. In this one, L.A. jumped out early, looked to be in control for most of the game, but then saw Carmelo Anthony (btw, how impressive has he been in these playoffs?) and Chauncey Billups step up down the stretch. With 18 seconds to go, there was a controversial jump ball that allowed Denver to gain control, hit some free throws and then when the final shot went into Derek Fisher's hands instead of Kobe's, the game ended with Denver taking game 2, 106-103 to get a spilt at Staples.

If the Laker-Nuggets series has been entertaining for you, then watch out for the Cavs-Magic series because you might just have a heart attack. In game 1, the Cavs jumped out in dominating fashion and it looked like this may just be another sweep for the Cavs. But the Magic slowly came back and then down the stretch, Rashard Lewis hit a huge three followed by 2 poor shots from Cavs players not named Lebron and suddenly Orlando found themselves with a one game advantage over the team with the best home record in the NBA. Unlike the L.A.-Denver series, game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals started out very similar to game one, with Cleveland leading by 20+ points in the first half. But just as in game 1, the Cavs couldn't hold onto their lead as Orlando stormed back to go up. When Hedo Turkoglu hit a running jumper to put the Magic up by 2 with 1 second to play, it looked like this series and the magical run that many thought Cleveland was going to have would suddenly come to a hault. I mean, winning the first two games on the road all but assures you of moving onto the next round. But King James wouldn't have it as he received the inbounds pass and immediately managed to drain a fade away three to win the game and even the series.

The 4 games thus far are undoubtedly some of the most entertaining playoff games we have seen in a long time. Lets just hope the competition stays up because we could end up witnessing something legendary!


In case you want to see Lebron's game winner that everyone is and will be talking about...here it is.

Lefty Taking a Break

Phil Mickelson is suspending his involvement in future PGA tournaments after getting news that his wife, Amy, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. This means that Phil will miss this weeks HP Byron Nelson Championship and will also not defend his title at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Mickelson is currently 3rd in the FedEx Cup standings having already won twice this season (Northern Trust Open and WGC-CA Championship).

But as much as Lefty's presence will be missed in the upcoming PGA events, it is nice to see an athlete put aside his job and be with his family when he is needed. So often the poor decisions from athletes are plastered all over the front pages of websites and newspapers, so when you read or hear about an athlete, especially one with the talent and resume of Phil Mickelson, and how they set aside work during a difficult time like this it strikes you as a unique story.

Jason Sobel, a golf blogger for ESPN put it best in his piece on Mickelson when he wrote, "There are more important matters in Phil Mickelson's life right now, more meaningful than his current world ranking or placement on the FedEx Cup list or, yes, even winning major championships."

The fact that Lefty, during a time when his nemesis Tiger Woods continues to look vulnerable, is stepping aside from his sport to attend to family matters, is unfortuante for the golf fan because we will miss out on the potential for a great duel in the weeks and months to come on tour. With that said, so often we read about the mistakes and poor choices made by athletes, but today we get to see a major figure in the sports world set everything aside to be with his family and that serves as a refreshing reminder of what is important in life.

Lebron vs. Kobe...The Debate Might Be Over

The hottest debate in all of sports right now may just be what NBA Superstar is better, Lebron James or Kobe Bryant. But as the 2008-2009 Playoffs continue to unfold, one of these two players might be ending this debate and establishing himself as the superior.

INTRO
Kobe just finished his 13th NBA season while Lebron finished his 6th. Keep that in mind as we discuss various numbers because that does create a bit of an unlevel playing field for both Lebron and Kobe (depending on what we are comparing).

NBA RINGS
The first thing many people look at when discussing the best players of all-time are NBA rings. Kobe has 3, Lebron has 0. Kobe won his first ring in his 5th season and Lebron is in his 6th. However Kobe won all 3 of his championships with a man named Shaquille O'Neal on his team, arguably one of the Top 10 most dominant players ever. Lebron has never had, and probably will never have a player of that caliber on his team. So to give Kobe a huge nod over Lebron because of rings isn't really fair. Since Shaq left L.A., Kobe has made it back to the Finals once losing to the Celtics in 2008. Lebron also has made the NBA Finals in his 4th season losing to the Spurs in 2006. If NBA rings determines greatness, than Robert Horry needs to be in this argument. In my opinion, NBA championships doesn't determine greatness, it merely solidifies it.

GAME ON THE LINE
Another factor that people often look at is closing games and most people would agree (including myself) that right now, if you had one shot to win a game, you would want Kobe taking it. He has hit so many game winners and it seems that in one on one, he can always get a decent shot off. But once again this argument is weak as far as who is better for two reasons. One, Kobe is 31 years old and a 13 year NBA veteran. In his first 6 years, Kobe would not have been chosen as they one people wanted to take the final shot. In fact, I don't even know if he would have been chosen on his own team to take the final shot. Shaq would have probably been the first option and if he wasn't it was simply because he couldn't shoot free throws. Kobe hit game winners early in his career, but when a teammate draws two defenders and opens up a jumper, any NBA player should be expected to knock the shot down (i.e. Steve Kerr and Big Baby Davis).

CAREER NUMBERS
So after two topics that really are opinion and can't be measured (being a Champion and hitting the game winner), we get to the numbers game. What have these two players averaged in their careers?

Kobe: In his career Kobe averages 25.1 points, 4.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. He shoots 45.5% from the field, has 134 career double-doubles, and has played in 948 career games (starting in 799).

Lebron: In his career, Lebron averages 27.5 points, 6.7 assists and 7.0 rebounds per game. He shoots 47.1% from the field, has 134 career double-doubles and has played in 472 career games (starting in 471).

Comparing the above numbers, Lebron has better numbers in every category than Kobe except number of games played (although he has started a higher percentage of the games he has played in). One statistic not mentioned which is significant is free throw percentage and Kobe (at 84%) far and away outshines Lebron (73.8%). only one time in his 13 seasons has Kobe shot less than 80% from the charity stripe whereas Lebron has never shot above 80%.

CLOSING ARGUMENT
Kobe is a great player. In fact, he is one of the best guards to ever play the game. But as we are seeing this postseason and have seen previously in his career, Kobe turns his game on and off and in my opinion, the best of the best need to come out every night and shine. Kobe has been blessed in his career to play with perhaps the best center ever (resulting in 3 NBA championships) and now has a team with savvy veterans (Gasol, Odom, Fisher). The supporting cast that have surrounded Lebron and Kobe throughout their careers can't be compared because Kobe's have been much better. So then, maybe this is why Kobe averages less points, assists and rebounds than Lebron. But if we ignore career averages for a second, and look at specific games, how many times have Kobe's teammates not shown up for a game (think NBA finals last year, Rockets game 4 yesterday etc.). In those games, the burden should fall on one of the best players ever to step up and win, yet Kobe didn't do that. Once again, every player, even Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain has games where their shot wasn't falling and they had a low scoring output. This point right here is where Lebron in my eyes leaps over Kobe. I agree players, no matter how dominant they are, have bad games scoring, but Lebron is able to score 10 points and still put up 6 assists and 10 rebounds. Kobe on the other hand, just doesn't do that. If Kobe's shot isn't falling, he keeps shooting instead of adjusting his game to get others involved.

In this years playoffs, Lebron is averaging 33.7 points, 6.6 assists and 10 rebounds per game (plus as of today his team is undefeated). Kobe has played 9 playoff games this season and only twice has had over 6 assists and never had over 10 rebounds. So take away the points and you still have one player that is clearly for valuable and dominant than the other.

Championships are not won by single players, so this post is not me saying the Cavs are better than the Lakers. That would be stupid considering the Lakers swept the Cavs this season, so if the Lakers win the championship it is a plus for Kobe because he did it without Shaq, but it is not a knock on Lebron necessarily. The argument here and today is simply whether Lebron or Kobe is a better player and being only 24 years old and already with numbers that equal if not surpass Kobe's, I would have to take King James.


With all that said, he still isn't the best #23 ever!

How Good Are The Playoffs?

When you read the title of this post, I bet you were thinking about the NBA finals...but that is not what I was referring to. We have all probably watched at least one NBA game this playoff season, but how many have set aside some time to watch the NHL playoffs? If you haven't you should, because this years playoffs have had everything we could ask for.

This is tough because the NHL is the NHL and this is the U.S.A. and no matter how entertaining and how exciting hockey is, it will never supplant the top 3 sports. But that doesn't mean some good hockey should go unnoticed and in this years 2009 NHL playoffs, there has been some phenomenal hockey being played.

We have the 8 seeded Anaheim Ducks taking down the top seeded San Jose Sharks which as we know, is a Cinderella story that would be enough to hook viewers. Add to that countless games heading into overtime (10 thus far), including a 4 OT thriller between the Ducks and Redwings in the second round. There was also a HUGE controversial call in game 3 of the Ducks-Redwings series that potentially changed the entire playoff picture. Put it this way, the goal that was disallowed in game 3 was such a bad call that if it was in an NFL or NBA or MLB playoff game, the web and sports shows would be inundated with uproar. But its hockey, so the shows mentioned it and now lets move on! Believe it or not, there is even more awesomeness in this years NHL playoff picture because the two best and most popular players Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby (who btw appear to strongly dislike each other) have their teams going at it in the Eastern Conference semi-finals and both players have lived up to their respective hype culminating in each of them netting hat tricks in a wild game 2.

These are just a few of the memorable moments that we have already witnessed in the 2009 NHL playoffs and we are only half-way through the 2nd round. So if your NBA or MLB team isn't playing, search your cable for Versus (which may be more difficult than you think) and tune in to a hockey game because chances are it will be more entertaining than NBA playoff game will be (now that the Bulls-Celtics series is over).

Am I daydreaming?

Early reports this morning by the LA Times (and now confirmed by Major League Baseball) say that Dodgers left fielder Manny Ramirez tested positive for steroids and will be suspended for 50 games beginning tonight. Re my post late last night, the Dodgers have a ton of momentum and this could wipe all that out. Manny is not only the biggest, scariest bat in the order (thus allowing batters around him to see better pitches), but he is the life of the clubhouse, a veteran player who shows the younger guys how to mix having fun while continuing to get the job down on the field.

The Dodgers need to circle that July 3rd game against San Diego (that is when Manny will be able to return) and then hope that over their next 50 games, they can go .500 and be sitting at 46-33 with 83 games to go when Man-Ram enters the lineup again.

What To Make Of The Blue Streak?

The Dodgers beat the Nationals at home tonight 10-3. It was a great win that saw all sorts of good things come from the Dodgers. The lead-off batter for L.A. reached base in 6 of the 8 innings that the Dodgers batted in. Additionally, the Dodgers had 8 batters step up with the bases loaded (and no one hit a grandslam!).

But the headline from tonight was not the 10-3 win over Washington, instead it was the fact that the Dodgers captured their 13th straight home victory to start the season moving past the 1911 Detroit Tigers for the best home start ever. The Dodgers currently hold the best record in baseball at 21-8 and already have a 6.5 game advantage in the NL West and are 1.5 games better than every other team in MLB. But I don't know if its fair to start crowning Los Angeles the best team in baseball.

As we see right now, with Manny and the boys driving in runs and the starting pitching going at least 6 innings, the Dodgers appear to be one of the favorites out of the NL to reach the World Series. But the knock on them and their 21-8 record and their 13-0 home start is this: the six teams the Dodgers have faced SF, San Diego, Colorado, Arizona, Houston, and Washington have a combined record of 66-94 and none of the 6 teams are over .500. So the Dodgers clearly haven't faced the toughest teams in baseball, however, they have dominated their division and as weak as the NL West may be, this isn't college football and so strength of schedule doesn't matter...what matters is winning games. If you want proof of this, just talk to the 2008 Cubs who were considered the best team from the NL last year yet were swept by the Dodgers in the playoffs.

Sure the teams that the Dodgers have beat up on don't have the flashiest resume, but what we can't overlook is that the Dodgers are doing exactly what they should be doing...beating up the teams. So many other ball clubs drop games here and there to teams they should dominate, but the Dodgers simply haven't done that. They have been in almost every game they have played (4 losses have been by 1 run and their worst was a 10-4 loss to the Rockies) and they have held down the fort at Chavez Ravine. Sure this 13 game home winning streak and 21-8 record doesn't mean the Dodgers will finish 122-40 (81-0 at home), that is obviously illogical.

But there is one stat that sums up why the Dodgers are where they are. Don't forget that the Dodgers have scored in the first inning of 14 out of their 21 wins which is unbelievable and means most of the time you instantly put an opponent on their heels and make them play catch up. That is an extremely valuable thing to have going for you and if they keep doing it, who knows how many wins the Blue Crew could reach.