1. Super Bowl week is upon us! Who's winning the Superbowl? Why? and what is the score going to be?
Spencer-
Crazy that its Super Bowl week, what a great season its been...As for my pick, it's obviously an intriguing match up with the number one offense going against the number one defense and I'm taking the defense. Seahawks are going to win it. I think if there is any defense that can stop the offensive machine the Broncos have with Manning at the controls, it's Seattle. Also the Broncos defense will focus on stopping Marshawn Lynch and the run game, basically begging second year quarterback Russell Wilson to beat them with his arm. That is where I see Wilson stepping up in the moment. He may only be in his second year but he plays with the poise and smarts of a 10 year vet. He's done it all playoffs, making the big throws when they need him to and I see him doing it again in the biggest game of his career. Should be a great match-up overall and a memorable Super Bowl...31-24 Seahawks.
Ty-
There is only one more football game left until August, which is terrible news and great news! Super Bowl week is a great to see how these two teams go here. I for one, am glad that the two best teams in most people's eyes will be facing off for the championship. This outdoor Super Bowl has set up everything to be in the Seahawks favor. A colder game should benefit a Seahawks offense, built on the run and slow down a pass offense that the Broncos rely on. Also usually when High Power offenses meet high power defenses the defense tends to win right? My head is telling me to pick the Seahawks but there is something else that is telling me I have to go with the Broncos! Yes it's an outdoor Super Bowl, but Peyton Manning won his one ring outdoors in a rain monsoon. Although the Broncos have an offense predicated on the pass, they still play in an outdoor stadium and have a very good running game with Knowshon Moreno and Monte Ball. I'm really not too worried about the weather as long as it isn't windy. I think sometimes in Super Bowl games you need a quarterback to put the team on his back like Aaron Rodgers or Eli Manning. The Denver defense is actually good against the run so I think it's going to come down to Peyton and Russell Wilson. So I'm going with 28-24 Broncos
2. What has been more impressing? Kevin Durants absurd month of January or Carmelo Anthony's epic 62 point game at MSG?Spencer-
Got to be Durant's aka the Slim Reaper's month of January. Obviously dropping 62 in a game is great for Carmelo but Melo is a great player because that's what does best shoot, and score. It should be no surprise to anyone that he was able to get so hot against a dismal defense like Charlotte and score 62. Some guys just have those nights where they can't miss. For Durant that night has been every game in the month of January. That's why it's more impressive. That team is missing one of its top players and Durant has single-handedly stepped up into his role as a super star player and carried that team to an impressive 12-5 record since, beating some great teams from the West along the way. Since January 7th he hasn't had under 30 points in any game he has played in. He has crossed the 50 point margin once, and come within four points or less of it twice for all of January. Those kind of numbers take a different level of play every single night and he has done just that. The man is just on an MVP caliber tear right now and I don't see him slowing down until Westbrook comes back and he is forced to share the ball a little more.
Ty-
Kevin Durant by a mile! I'm not "poopooing" Carmelo's 62 points because regardless of who you play, it takes something special to score 62 points. The other team knows your hot and they usually don't want to be the team to give up a record. But the Durantula has been absolutely poisonous to the opposing defenses this month. In January Durant is averaging 36.5 points per game, not to mention his own 54 point game. He is also averaging 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Although the Thunder team has begun to learn how to play with out Westbrook, the only reason they lead the West is because Kevin Durant is playing out of his mind right now. Also in Carmelo's 62 point game, not only were they up most of the game but he also had 0 assists. In Kevin Durant's 54 point game he recorded 6 assist. So even though he had the hot hand, he still worked to get his team good looks.
Spencer-
I know they have had some close calls here the last few weeks but honestly with the talent of that team and the conference they play in I wouldn't be surprised if they went into the Pac-12 conference tournament with an unblemished record. As of now they have no ranked teams on their schedule and they have obviously shown separation from the their conference as the next closest team has four losses. You could see them maybe tripping up with a team like Cal or maybe Oregon who can score a lot of points and other than a recent losing slump has a great season, but its still not a for sure. Arizona is a solid team so I could definitely see them pulling out an undefeated season.
Ty-
The Arizona Wildcats have been winning every which way possible. This probably bodes well for them because now they just know how to win under any circumstance. It could come in handy in the tournament game. That being said, if they keep having close calls in games, then they will eventually fall to a team. They don't play anymore ranked teams this year so there is a great possibility for them to run the table and win all their games this season. Their biggest threat is Stanford, who have been playing fairly well.
4. After seeing the NBA All-Star game starting 5, who was the biggest snub?
Spencer-
Easy answer here, James Harden. With Dwight joining him this year he hasn't been forced into having these forty point games anymore like he had last year but that's not his fault. He is still in my opinion the center piece of that Houston Rockets team and he has proven in two years since being the sixth man in OKC that he is a talented player who can hold his own. He deserved to be there, particularly over Kobe who has played in just five games this year. I know he is Kobe, and one of the greatest to ever play the game, but for the 2013-14 season he isn't even an All-Star. Just shows why sometimes the fans voting keeps out worthy guys. Either way Harden definitely got snubbed, almost as bad as Kendrick Lamar did at the
Ty-
LeMarcus Aldridge. Although I think Kobe should not have gotten the nod on the west squad, I think that Kevin Love should have been replaced with LaMarcus Aldridge. Love's numbers are awesome but they are still very similar to Aldridge. The only difference between the 2 is that the Blazers have one of the top 5 records in the league and Aldridge is an MVP candidate. I think that Aldridge would have been a starter if people remembered who he was. If he had commercials or if the Blazers had more TV games then he would be a starter. Although it is worth noting that he will in all likelihood be a reserve but he has played at an all-star starter level. Kevin Love has also been great but his team is only 21 and 22 and his team has underachieved all year. Yes it isn't all Love's fault but being an All-Star isn't always about numbers.
What We Learned This Week:
Spencer- The PAT is BOOOOOOOOORING!With all the talk of changes in the NFL the biggest news maker was the leagues move to potentially eliminate the PAT. While I think it is kind of a tradition of the game, I also have come to realize I understand the rational.
Think about it, we love football because its exciting, full of big hits, and most importantly....UNPREDICTABLE. Nothing about the PAT screams unpredictable anymore when you have kickers nailing field goals from nearly half the length of the field. The fact that broadcasters call a 20 yard field goal a chip shot, must make a PAT child's play. Time for some change. Time to switch it up a bit. Time to add some intrigue into a team going for the conversion in the first quarter or not. I love the idea of generating some more strategy into the game. It is a genius idea for the NFL to keep all eyes on the game a little longer, instead of having the PAT like an invitation to take a bathroom break.
That being said I don't think they should get rid of it necessarily completely. I think the best solution I have heard so far is moving the extra point back so it's a 30 yarder or so, and if you go for the two you get the ball on the one. Just something to make a coach think twice about potentially kicking the extra point or not.
I think that would be the best solution but I want to hear your ideas for fixing or eliminating the PAT so please post them in the comments or tweet them at me (@Spencito6)
Regardless of what the NFL decides to do though, may the odds be ever in your teams favor!
The Miami Heat have had less of a buzz this year, mainly because they are the known commodity. Now this isn't something that we learned last week but this passing week has made it clear that the Miami Heat future could be up in the air.
This past week we have seen LeBron talk a lot about how he is jealous of Kevin Durant's shot attempts. Then when Carmelo dropped 62, he chimed in again about wanting to have a 60-plus point game. It seems as if LeBron wants to be able to get some of these accolades because he feels like he is in his physical prime.
But he can't do this because he has too many Superstars on his team, or so that must be his mindset. I do feel like he could shoot as many shots as he wanted to but I think he knows that it would be at a cost of looking selfish.
On top of that, Dwayne Wade has been playing very scarcely this season. He has been sitting out games this season for maintenance of his many injuries. This is troublesome because his health has steadily declined over the last few seasons. The Heat might be doing this now so that they have him in May and June but it should still cause some concern. It's easy to question whether LeBron James or Chris Bosh will stay with the heat if they are unsure about D-Wade's future. Specially with LeBron apparently wanting to shoot more.
Although I doubt LeBron would give up the rings or is really that jealous, if he wanted to shoot a lot, why didn't he just stay in Cleveland?
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