1. The Thunder and Wizards both blew big fourth quarter leads in game four against the Clippers and Pacers respectively, do you see it as choking by Oklahoma City and Washington, or as a historic comeback by Los Angeles and Indiana?
Spencer-
I think it was more of Oklahoma City choking than a great comeback by the Los Angeles. Look I'm not discrediting the Clippers late rally, but obviously they weren't going to roll over and quit in a playoff game. The Thunder just looked lost in the final six minutes of the game. They couldn't run an offense to save their lives, there was no ball movement and guys weren't working to get open, on top of that no one was working to get rebounds and got boxed out on both ends. It just looked like the OKC thought they were coasting to a win. For the Pacers and Wizards I think that was an unreal comeback by Indiana. Anytime one player takes it upon himself to will his team back into it like Paul George did, it has to be a comeback. He was knocking down everything yesterday and down the stretch he came up with two huge threes in a row to cut it to 85-82 Wizards. Then he made the free throws to put Indiana up and then snatched the game clinching steal at end of the game. Regardless both of these games were terrific after the first few games in all the series had kinda been lopsided for the most part.
Ty-
I think that in both cases it was a lil bit of both. I do think that the Clippers came back because Doc Rivers made adjustments that Scott Brooks didn't counter but I also think that the Thunder relaxed on the Clippers. The Clippers needed this game and yet the Thunder was roasting them for most of the game. The Thunder look like the better team but they just took their foot off the gas to much. The Same thing happened to the Wizards. Except that they don't know how to close out teams. Even in the first round there were a couple games that the Wizards should have won easily but they let the Bulls stick around. They did the same thing yesterday. But you have to give the Pacers some credit, especially Paul George who went off from 3 point range.
2. Roy Hibbert broke out of his slump over the weekend, which saw him put up a 0 in the points column in three of four games in a row, to post double digit points and add a combined 23 rebounds in three straight games. Is Hibbert back, and if so what are the Pacers chances of winning it all with his contributions?
Ty-
Hibbert is back.... I guess. I think his impact has been more on defense. John Wall loves getting into the pant and now Roy Hibbert is playing great inside. The Scoring helps because Indiana struggles but that's not his main contribution. The Pacers have been playing great defense over the last two games and if they do that then they can be the team that can compete with the Heat. But honestly they still did not look very good or at the level they did earlier in the season.
Spencer- Yes, based on the last three games Hibbert is back. Honestly I don't know where he went to begin with but his play has been great over the last three games and has been a huge part of the Pacers 3-1 series lead over Washington. As far as his impact on their championship chances, it's HUGE. If Hibbert continues to contribute offensively and get blocks and rebounds for his team the Pacers are the scary team they were in the beginning of the year. It has taken some time for them to come around but it looks like, at least of of now, and will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. If they meet the Heat there we will all get the match-up we wanted since Miami won that series last year.
3. The NFL Draft has come and gone. Which team had the best draft and which team had the worst?
Spencer- For me its got to be the St. Louis Rams who had the best draft this year, and no I'm not just saying that because of the emotional and historic pick of Michael Sam in the seventh-round. Although it was a cool moment. Still the Rams targeted their needs and stuck to their board in this years draft and they could be a much improved team in the future. They had two top 13 picks, because they held the number two pick from the Redskins trade two years ago, and used them to select offensive tackle Greg Robinson and defensive tackle Aaron Donald. I think Robinson was key because the best way to get a gauge on Sam Bradford's chances of being their franchise quarterback is to get him protection and keep him healthy for the grind of a full season. Donald obviously will add even more pressure to an already aggressive defensive line. I expect defensive coordinator Greg Williams to have some fun with those guys. Then they added cornerback LaMarcus Joyner who was possibly a reach in the second round but adds some depth and potential in the secondary. Later on they got runningback Tre Mason and another corner in E.J. Gaines who can both become difference makers in their positions. Then obviously the Sam pick helps potentially bolster the defensive line a little more as well. I think all in all the Rams won this draft and I expect a turn around from them, if not this year down the road.
The worst draft in my mind goes to the Philadelphia Eagles. I think the one pick that made perfect sense and will benefit the Eagles immediately is the pick of Vanderbilt Wide receiver Jordan Mathews in the second round. Otherwise some of the other picks are question marks. The Eagles must of known something we didn't about Marcus Smith to feel he was worth the first round pick. He definitely could pan out but only time will tell. Josh Huff and Taylor Hart are similar in that regard, that I don't know what the Eagles will get from them. Jaylen Watkins in the third round made sense there and was probably the one bright spot of Florida's secondary this year so that wasn't a terrible pick either. Mostly I just felt they reached in a lot of places they didn't have to and also traded away Bryce Brown who added some quickness and depth at running back behind LeSean McCoy. I think the draft could potentially benefit Philadelphia in the long run but right now it didn't impress me and left some questions on how these guys will turn out.
Ty-
It is hard to say which teams had the worst and which teams had the best draft because the players haven't played. but....
It looks as though the Rams had a great draft. They added two great players on the offensive and defensive sides of the lines in the first round. They also added Joyner who could help in the secondary after some time. I really like them adding Tre Mason, he went later in the draft but that has more to do with the NFL right now and I think he could absolutely contribute to the Rams right away.
The worst draft to me was the Saints. They got the WR that they needed with Brandin Cooks but they could have gotten another WR later as well. I think that they also didn't draft a bunch of guys that can fill their needs. The Browns are also in this category if they knew they didn't have a receiver and they passed on Sammy Watkins and any other WR in this packed class.
4. Ole Miss shooting guard Marshall Henderson posted this tweet today in response to the emotional video of Michael Sam getting drafted:
He is now claiming it was just a psychology experiment for his gay friend. Do you buy Henderson's story and what is it going to take for athletes at all levels with this kind of notoriety to realize how quickly social media can get them into trouble?
Ty-
I don't know id Henderson is telling the truth or not but although I could see him saying something like that and meaning it just based off of his usual demeanor. But I also think that Henderson tends to speak his mind so I don't think he would cover his tracks like that or do it that instantly so I'm slightly inclined to believe him. But I will say that the NCAA and other sports leagues need to employ a social media literacy program. I think fining people after the fact doesn't always work. But if they learn certain things that they probably should not say on social media it can help.
Spencer- I don't think anyone is falling for Henderson's excuse. He's just doing damage control at this point. It really is crazy how many athletes fall victim to this and in some cases it's not even the punishment they receive from their respective organization, but the fact that the comments they make can hurt their image and character more than anything. Now with Henderson I don't know if he cares about his image much given his rebellious past, but he obviously cares enough to try to cover it up after the fact. I think the bottom line is that these athletes need to be educated on social media and it's impacts as well as proper use of their accounts. For student athletes I would understand a high level of inspection of their accounts by the school or team because obviously that reflects badly on the athlete as well as the school. For professional athletes I think if they speak their mind it is more on them, I mean they are grown adults and can make their own choices knowing what repercussions there could be, but I still think again, educating them about the impacts could be helpful. Sometimes I think athletes let the spotlight get too big for them and don't think publicizing their opinions like that won't cause any harm when they are so high profile, but it's quite the opposite. I believe in freedom of speech but the world is always ready to give their input on things too and when it's a controversial issue like this it's obviously going to cause a stir and leave room for response.
5. What We Leaned:
Ty- The Sterling Family Just Don't Get it
In life we are able to make mistakes and be forgiven for those mistakes if we apologize and ask for it. But usually when a person continues to make the same mistake, forgiveness becomes less of an option. Now Donald Sterling is finally apologizing about the comments he made that was leaked over 2 weeks ago. But why didn't he come out and apologize as soon as the tape was leaked? Oh it's because he didn't know if he had to and didn't want to because he is not sorry. But instead he wants to retain ownership of the Clippers team. There is nothing that he can say that would change his history of not only saying racist things but also discriminations in his business practices. I honestly don't care what he has to say.
Sherly Sterling also does not seem to get it. Yes she was cheated on, but you would have to be naive to think that she didn't know about her husbands actions. I get that it would not seem fair for her to be stripped of ownership for something her husband said but there is more to this. First she has an alleged history of discriminatory actions as well. Also she does not seem to understand that she is in an entertainment business where the general public is your customer.
It is just like the episode of the Newsroom where they had to retract their story about abuse in the war because the evidence fell apart. Then Charlie Skinner tells Will McAvoy that they have lost the public's trust an that they should quit. Sure it worked out int the end on the Newsroom but this is real life. The Sterling name is tarnashed and players will not want to play for the teams. It will hurt sponsorships and ticket sales. Sterling is too toxic of a name to be able to own the team.
If the Sterling family weren't a stubborn bunch of billionnaires that are used to getting their way. If they were decent people they would have already sold the team because they didn't want to distract the team.
But why should I expect better out of people that don't lnow who to dhis law
Spencer- It's Johnny Manziel's World and we're just living in it
Assuming many of you watched the draft or at least the first round live on ESPN, I'm sure you noticed the networks love affair with Johnny Football. Now I'm not here to say it wasn't for good reason, because obviously he was a tremendous talent in college and an electrifying player to watch that could turn around a franchise in Cleveland, and I love Manziel as much as the next guy and want to see him succeed. But I couldn't believe how after every pick the discussion went right back to Manziel. Before he was drafted it was all about where he could get taken, after it was all about his play and how excited people were to see him play and give Cleveland a chance.
As much as I understand the media attention, I think we missed the fact that other talented players were getting drafted this past weekend as well. When he finally was picked it seemed like everyone at the discussion table was on a Johnny Football high talking about him and how they think he's going to succeed until Mel Kiper brought them back down to earth and said "look I think he is going to have a chance to be a good player in Cleveland but..." and he went into talking about some of the other impact players who were drafted and how they will help their respective team as well. As much as Manziel deserves the attention and popularity it is important to remember that all of these guys reached the ultimate football goal this weekend and that they earned it as much as him. Look at Blake Bortles for example. Dude was the first quarterback taken and the third overall pick but all people had to say was "oh ya he'll be the future for this Jaguars team down the line, How bout this Johnny Manziel!?" Bortles in my opinion was a reach but there was barely any talk about it or his impact on the Jaguars organization.
When the Cowboys were on the clock with Manziel still on the board the TV rating for the draft went up an entire point as America waited to see if Jerry Jones would pick the highly coveted QB who he raved about earlier that week. That is statistical evidence that this draft was the "Johnny Football Show." As a celebrity Manziel will put butts in seats, he'll sell jersey's and grow in popularity if he succeeds. The draft was just the tip of the iceberg for this Johnny Football fanfare, the NFL's got a new main attraction. So in a year or two when you're sick of every Sportscenter topic being a headline with Manziel's name, remember we saw this coming.
.JPG)
1. Raptors
