Tebowmania

In the midst of the Packers so far dominating season, another major story has popped up. Unless you've been under a rock or had ESPN removed from tv service, you know what Tim Tebow has or hasn't done with the Broncos this season. The Broncos are leading their division and i would be a moron to say that Tebow has nothing to do with it. i just believe he is getting more credit than he deserves for the Broncos winning ways lately.

Don't get me wrong, its great to see a guy like Tebow win, it shows that sometimes the good guys do win. Tebow is an excellent role model, hard working, and keeps himself clean of a negative image by staying clean from scandals. It is also great to see someone of great faith able to be put in a position to influence people and he has a great opportunity to share his faith.

I just don't think he deserves all the credit for winning the games on the field. If you look at his stats for the first 3 quarters of a game, they are atrocious, his completion percentage is awful, and his main job is to hand off the ball to his running back, which he did so 51 times in a game earlier this season. His numbers in the fourth quarter are pretty good i'll say. But without the help of his defense, which has been spectacular, and special teams, these games could be well over before Timmy has a chance to shine it was is now being called 'Tebowtime.'

Don't get me wrong, Tebow is a great guy, who looks to be a great leader as well, he did after all help lead Florida to at least one national title, whether or not the guys on his team are inspired by him i don't know, i just think most of the credit for Tebow's wins this season belong more to the defense and the coaching. (One thing from Tebowmania i have got caught up in is 'Tebowing' as shown in the picture. haha)
GO PACK GO!!!

Raise the Banner!

Although i wouldn't consider myself a big fan of the NBA. i will say that i am rather excited for the 2011-2012 NBA season to begin one week from today on Christmas day. I am excited for the start of the season because the first game of the year will feature a rematch of last year's NBA finals between my favorite team the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat in which the heat will have to watch the Mavericks raise the championship banner won this past June. For my blog this week i would like to give a brief season preview for the upcoming NBA season for the Mavs.

The Mavericks have a few key departures that may cause some issues in title defense this season. The first big hole the mavs have to fill is at the center position where last year's starter and defensive stopper Tyson Chandler has left the team to play in New York for the Knicks. Chandler's departure leaves the Mavs looking for a defensive presence in the middle where they hope last year's backup, Brenden Haywood, who was signed to a good deal before last year can step up and fill the void. Another key departure for the Mavs was explosive guard off the bench, JJ Barea. Barea's departure means the loss of a solid contributor on the offensive end where he is a good passer and can penetrate into the paint for easy baskets. The Mavs are better prepared for this loss as they have depth at the guard position, depth that will more than likely be tested this season.

Where the Mavs lost some key talent they also went out and were active in making some deals to bring in players that will be helpful in the quest for title defense. Lamar Odom was picked up to add some explosiveness to the small forward position where Sean Marion is aging and not quite the factor as early in his career. Another key addition to the champs is shooting guard Vince Carter, although not what he once was, Carter will be an able addition to the team and add depth to the guard position.

With most of last year's championship group intact the Mavs looked poised for another successful regular season led by Dirk Nowitzki and Jason JET Terry, hopefully the group can make another deep playoff run and challenge for another championship. With all the key pieces intact things look like they will be good in Dallas once again.
LETS GO MAVS!!!

Another Case of the media Blowing things out of proportion?

Unless you've been living under a rock the last 24 hours I'm sure you've heard the news that left many Brewers fans begging for answers and utterly devastated. Is it true? Did Ryan Braun the newly crowned NL MVP use performance enhancing substances? As we all await the results of Braun's appeal to the test the answers simply aren't coming fast enough for those of us around Brew City.

Since the news came out on ESPN yesterday many rumors have also arisen regarding what substance Braun tested positive for and what the repercussions of this test are. If found guilty Braun will have to serve a suspension for the first 50 games of next season. In which it is hard to say if the Brewers could recover from losing the superstar amidst a free agency season in which it appears the Brewers other superstar Prince Fielder is destined to shine in another city.

Among stories i've heard regarding the fiasco are that MLB tries to keep stories like this out of the knowledge of the public and media until known for sure the results of the test, it is said Braun and MLB knew about the positive test as early as late October and Braun immediately appealed the test and suspension and had another drug test taken for which he tested as clean from PED's. MLB procedure in this case is to keep things quiet until Braun is found guilty or innocent and that has not happened yet and the story was leaked. As of yet we have heard from a representative for Ryan, but heard nothing official from MLB regarding the subject, leaving everyone in the baseball world waiting the results.

When i first heard the story my immediate thought was that it was not a steroid type substance to build strength but rather probably something to help the body in rehab from injuries as Braun played through a few ailments this year. At this point i can only hope that the accusations against Braun are false and he is cleared from the ominous 50 game suspension and he can be back to help the Brewers defend the NL Central crown and take it one step farther and get to the World Series.

Just what professional bowling needed...?

Red Sox vs Yankees, Packers vs Bears, and Badgers vs Minnesota, all well known rivals in their respective sports leagues, well it may soon be time to add Sean Rash (pictured above) vs Jason Belmonte of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) to that list of heated rivals.

Not known as a sport where intensity shines such as in football. Under the pressure of the bright ESPN tv lights, total focus is a must and even the slightest distraction can throw a player off and cause them to make a bad shot which cost them the title, a load of cash, and maybe even player of the year. Enter Belmonte and Rash in the 2011 Geico Team Shootout, the following video link is what started the entire rivalry between these two, two of the best bowlers on the planet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p4-ypFE72c What Rash is complaining about in this video is that he says Belmonte made crinkling noises with his water bottle during his approach and release, althought Rash threw a good shot and struck, this was not the first time that Belmonte had been called out by a competitor for such aquatic actions. In a tournament a year earlier PBA pro Brad Angelo also called out Belmonte for his bottle crunchin antics, although he did not go to the extent Rash did, it was again brought up after this incident.

To further escalate the budding rivalry, the two were clearly the two most dominant players at the 2011 World Series of bowling qualifying for a majority of the TV shows to be tape delayed on ESPN. Because of their success on the lanes at the WSOB, they were often paired together during match play where they were made to behave. Common courtesy in bowling tournements is that the player who finishes the game first marks both players' scores on the scorecard if no PBA scorer has been assigned. During match play of a WSOB event, Belmonte was finishing first of the two of them on their pair but refused to mark Rash's scores. This breaking of an unwritten rule frustrated Rash who alerted a PBA official and the matter was taken care of.

It should be interesting over the WSOB telecasts to see how the two interact with each other as they have at least 4 tv matchups. In a sport that doesn't get much national attention in telecasts or show much interest in the professional sports world, this rivalry may be able to put professional bowling on the map, something I as an avid fan and bowling would like to see, it is also big for those already involved in watching the PBA because these two routinely make the cuts at tournements and will have matches and pairings in the future and it will be interesting to see how both players move on and feel toward each other on the lanes.