Bleacher Report - Articles by Taylor Lunemann

The NFL's Biggest Surprises This Season

Taylor Lunemann — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:57:32 -0400

Every season the NFL has many surprising players that really step up or come out of nowhere to produce big time for their teams. This year is no different, as many players have been coming through huge for their teams.

Here are my top surprises and runner-up awards for each offensive skill position player for the first part of the season.

Quarterback – Eli Manning – New York Giants

Okay, so maybe this isn’t too much of a surprise pick, but after seeing his top two wide receivers, Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, leave the team in the off-season, Manning was left with a whole lineup of unproven wideouts.

Despite all of that, he has really stepped up and dominated throughout the first five games of the season, making wide receivers Steve Smith and Mario Manningham look amazing. He is leading arguably the top team in the NFC and faces a tough 5-0 New Orleans Saints squad this weekend.

Runner-up – Kyle Orton – Denver Broncos

Coming into the season, no one was very high on Orton; he had been average throughout his career in Chicago. But in Denver, he was placed into a system with talented receivers in Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, and the sky was the limit for him.

The Broncos now sit at 5-0 and Orton has an impressive 97.4 QB rating so far this season. His seven touchdowns to one interception has kept the Broncos’ conservative game play intact and kept pressure on the other teams.

Not to mention Orton has done all of this without getting second year man Eddie Royal involved. If Royal starts getting a piece of the action, Orton could continue to improve on his stats.

Running back – Cedric Benson – Cincinnati Bengals

Benson is the clear favorite here by leading the NFL in rushing after five weeks, and his team is sitting at a healthy 4-1 on top of the AFC North. Benson's rushing attack with the comeback of quarterback Carson Palmer have been the main reasons for the team’s success.

Runner-up – Ray Rice – Baltimore Ravens

Rice may not be the touchdown fiend for your fantasy team, but he is the do-it-all guy for the Ravens this year. He is averaging 5.8 yards per carry this year while splitting carries with fellow running back Willis McGahee.

What makes Rice so special is his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield; it adds another element of attack for the Ravens that has proven to be very valuable. So Rice gets the award for being a complete question mark at the beginning of the year and emerging as a legitimate running back.

Wide Receiver – Steve Smith – New York Giants

The biggest question mark for the New York Giants before the season was how they were going to replace Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer. Smith has answered that question in a big way.

He leads the league in receptions, receiving yards, and is tied for the lead in touchdown grabs. Smith won’t have to listen to the debate of whether he is better than the Steve Smith from Carolina if he keeps this kind of production up.

Runner-up – Vincent Jackson – San Diego Chargers

After many years of being mediocre, Jackson has really stepped up this season as a big downfield threat for his quarterback Philip Rivers. Even though the Chargers are not doing so well this season, it is clearly not Jackson’s fault as he has really stepped up and is starting to be considered an elite receiver in the NFL.

Tight End – Brent Celek – Philadelphia Eagles

No top-tier wide receiver for Donovan McNabb? No problem.

A combination of DeSean Jackson, rookie Jeremy Maclin, and a healthy dose of Celek has been a recipe for success after four games of the season. He is top five for tight ends in nearly every stat and is looking to improve on his numbers.

Runner-ups – Vernon Davis and Kellen Winslow – San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I just could not leave one of these two off. They have been equally surprising this year, for different reasons.

Vernon Davis had been a huge bust for the 49ers after spending their first round pick on him in 2006, but he has finally put together a solid season for them. He has three touchdown catches and has become Shaun Hill’s favorite target downfield and in the red zone.

Kellen Winslow, on the other hand, has been considered a top tight end in the league throughout his career, but with the trade to the Bucs and a gigantic question mark at quarterback, it was hard to predict he could be as good as he once was.

He has quickly put an end to our doubts with an impressive season as he has been very successful especially in the red zone where he has four touchdowns. Winslow has proven he can still dominate his position despite having bottom-tier quarterbacks throwing to him.

There are, of course, many more players that have been big surprises this year, but these are just a few that have caught my eye and really been stepping up big for their teams. I will go to the other side of the ball and make my defensive picks for these awards next time.

A Great Week for the Minnesota Twins!

Taylor Lunemann — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:51:27 -0400

It has been an amazing week to be a Minnesota sports fan. The Twins come back from three games back with four games left to tie the Detroit Tigers and force a one game playoff. Then the Vikings hosted the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football as Brett Favre took on his former team for the first time since his departure.

The Vikings beat the Packers, then the Twins won in dramatic fashion in extra innings to win the American League Central Division for the fifth year this decade.

I was fortunate enough to attend the Twins game on Sunday and the experience was amazing, so I will go through what I loved and loathed about the experience from Sunday and watching the game on Tuesday.

Loved: The amount of fans that showed up to cheer for their Twins in what could have been their last game at the Metrodome on Sunday. It was amazing to witness such a crowd that showed our Twins so much support throughout the crucial game.

Loathed: The jacked up parking prices for the last game of the season. I realize it is a good opportunity to make some easy cash, but show some love for the fans and keep the price the same as the other regular season games.

Loved: The intensity from the fans throughout the game. Whether it was Carl Pavano striking out a batter to end the inning, or Jason Kubel hitting a three run bomb to put the Twins on top, they were going nuts throughout the entire game.

Loathed: Watching Detroit take an early lead on the White Sox. I wasn’t the only one scoreboard watching throughout the game, everyone in the stadium was hoping for an amazing comeback for the White Sox in the later innings.

Loved: The way the crowd erupted when the Sox scored three on Detroit. Too bad for the Twins hitter who just grounded out, but the crowd obviously wasn’t cheering for that, we were all happy the Sox were making it a game.

Loathed: The Royals making it interesting by scoring three in the sixth and loading the bases to keep everyone on the edge of their seats in a tight race. Luckily Jon Rauch was able to strike out the Royals’ best hitter Billy Butler to end the inning.

Loved: The Twins hitting five home runs in the game. I don’t think the Twins have hit five home runs in the last 10 games I have gone to let alone in a single game. It made for an amazing experience and seeing multiple homer games for two different players was awesome.

Loathed: Watching some fans leave after the Twins had it wrapped up and Detroit had beat the White Sox. It is an amazing game to attend with a big ceremony with many Twins greats after the game. You needed to see it!

Loved: Being able to see many of the great Twins that have played in the Dome. Many of the greats that won our two world champions were in attendance and we were all showed replays of their historic efforts to lead those two Twins teams to the championships. Seeing them and hearing how much the fans love them for it was just amazing.

Loathed: How they kept talking about it being the last game at the Dome. I know the ceremony was put together before the Twins’ amazing comeback, but they kept talking about how this was it for indoor baseball and how much they are looking forward to outdoor baseball in Minnesota.

News flash, the Twins are in the playoffs and have more to play here in Minnesota!

Loved: Seeing many players from this decade, not just the greats. People like Jacque Jones, Corey Koskie, and Brad Radke who were not great players, but they helped lead many Twins teams to division titles and created many memories for the fans. It was good to see they have not been forgotten in Minnesota and fans showed their appreciation for them at the game.

Loathed: Torii Hunter’s short thank you to being voted to the All-Metrodome Team. I know you are busy helping your team make it to the playoffs, but the fans here in Minnesota absolutely love you Torii. It was amazing watching you play for the Twins throughout the years and maybe it’s just me, but I was expecting a much longer and some Torii humor involved.

Loved: Watching the final ten Metrodome’s greatest moments. Many of the moments had former players and managers involved looking back on what happened before, during, or after the moments and it added to the excitement as a fan.

Loathed: Seeing Justin Morneau in uniform. It was actually depressing seeing the 2006 American League Most Valuable Player in uniform again but not being able to play. He has been so crucial to this team for many years and it just felt weird being in the midst of a playoff run without him at first base and at the plate.

Loved: The crowd’s reaction to the announcement of both Joe Mauer, and Kirby Puckett. Minnesota will never forget possibly Minnesota’s favorite athlete of all time and we all appreciate his accomplishments and dedication he had to the Twins organization.

Minnesota has been looking for someone to cherish and love like we all did in Puckett since his career ended and passing away.

Torii was able to provide that to some extent, but no one like the hometown boy Joe Mauer has. People absolutely love him and not one person in the state of Minnesota wants to see him in another uniform. It is amazing to see how fans love both of these men.

I will now move on to Tuesday’s game against the Tigers.

Loved: Seeing Baker bounce back after a rough third inning. It could have been worse than it was for the Twins ace, but he was able to keep his composure with the help of 55,000 fans cheering for him, and pitch six quality innings.

Loathed: Watching Denard Span at the plate. It just looked like he wasn’t playing his game at the plate last night. He was swinging wildly at first pitches, not working the count and keeping the at bat alive.

There is no doubt he will bounce back against the Yankees, but I was expecting good production from him after experiencing so much success against Detroit throughout the season.

Loved: Nick Punto’s on base percentage. Despite his struggles throughout his career hitting the ball, he has never been impatient at the plate, and his .336 OBP and ability to work the count was so valuable in this game.

He was patient in his at-bats and waited for pitches he liked, fought off tough pitches to keep the at bat alive, and was able to get on base. Even though many people don’t like the guy, he was extremely valuable to the team last night.

Loathed: Mauer being impatient at the plate. He swings at the first pitch only once out of every 20 at-bats. And it seemed like he did almost every time last night. It was very frustrating to see, because in big situations like that, the team needs their batting champ and probable Most Valuable Player to step up, and he didn’t seem like himself last night.

He did catch a hell of a game though and kept his pitchers calm through those high pressure situations.

Loved: All of Bill Smith’s midseason acquisitions playing an important and effective role in this one game playoff matchup. Orlando Cabrera hit an extremely clutch home run for the Twins to put them ahead, then turned a double play behind Nathan to keep the Tigers off the board in the ninth inning.

Jon Rauch got two very important outs and Mahay came in and struck out the very dangerous Curtis Granderson.

These performances sent away any doubt fans may have had about Smith’s actions late in the seasons because without these performances, the game could have played out very differently.

Loathed: The announcers blaming Brandon Inge’s lack of production in the second half on bad knees. The man played out of his mind in the first half and even got voted to the All-Star Game, then in the second half, he returned back to his normal self.

It is not because of bad knees and he did not have to “will” his way into the lineup every day. His drop in production was because he is Brandon Inge, not because of injuries. People commonly play through injuries, but people with injuries as bad was what they were talking about, usually don’t still play 160 games in a season.

Loved: Watching Joe Nathan work out of yet another jam with the help of some big defensive plays behind him.

With guys on first and third and no outs, it was not looking good for the All-Star closer but he showed why he is one of the best in the game by getting a big strikeout and then letting his defense take care of things by getting a line out double play behind him.

Loathed: Watching Twins manager Ron Gardenhire use up his best relief pitchers early in the game. Jon Rauch and Jose Mijares have been two of his best relief pitchers in the bullpen and he only used them against three hitters.

This left the game up to a very inconsistent Bobby Keppel making many fans very nervous about the ball game going any farther.

Loved: Seeing at least one more advantage of playing on the Metrodome turf when Ryan Raburn misplayed Cuddyer’s fly ball and the turf allowed the ball to roll all the way to the left field wall. There is no doubt that on grass, the ball would have died and Granderson would have been able to cut it off and reduce the damage to just a double.

Loathed: Watching Cabrera argue a first pitch strike in the 11th inning. The umpire was not calling a consistent plate all night and it was a frustrating situation but getting on his bad side at the beginning of a big at bat is not the way to go about things.

He went down looking on a pitch outside which he called because of Cabrera’s attitude at the beginning of the at-bat.

Loved: The young players coming through in the clutch. The Twins’ veterans had plenty of chances to end the game and they just were not coming through for the team.

So how do they respond, by putting up quality pitching out of the bullpen and Matt Tolbert tying the game back up with an RBI single in inning 11, Gomez leading off the 12th inning with a solid single, and then Alexi Casilla of all people driving him in with a walk off single in the bottom half of the inning off one of the best closers in the American League.

Loved: Watching the entire Twins team celebrate. They put together a historic run in September and came out on top in a one game play off against a division rival. It doesn’t get much better than that. Orlando Cabrera even claimed it was the greatest game he has ever played in.

I don’t believe that being that he has won a World Series, but seeing all the players unite in celebration in front of a crowd of over 55,000 people is unbelievable.

Now the Twins’ reward for winning the division is taking on the team with the best record in baseball, the New York Yankees. They have a tired staff, bullpen and lineup, and are huge underdogs, but lets hope the Twins can keep the magic coming, and bring a World Series to Minnesota in 2009.

Come Back To Reality Vikings Fans

Taylor Lunemann — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:43:58 -0400

During the past week, I have taken a lot of heat for my article on the Vikings not winning the division. Many people have told me I cannot be a Vikings fan or that I was ridiculous for not thinking they would win such an easy division. Personally, I find these accusations outrageous and quite entertaining

Being a fan is not all about blindly following the team and liking every decision they make every step of the way. It is also not about having one hundred percent confidence in them every single year.

The team has made questionable decisions this year that I do not approve of. I do not see how that makes me any less of a fan. People are entitled to their opinions.

My opinion is that Brett Favre is too old and many people are looking at the Favre of the past, the same Favre that has tormented the Vikings throughout all of his years in Green Bay.

Favre is not ageless.

The man is a future hall of fame quarterback and he has one of the best running games in the NFL to work with, so sure, he gives the Vikings a better chance of success than a quarterback (Tarvaris Jackson) that has frequently struggled to keep teams honest, but in my opinion, the Vikings still have a long road ahead of them to the Super Bowl.

The Packers are a very good team this year; you have to tip your hat to Aaron Rodgers, he has become one of the better quarterbacks in the game. Their defense is back from injuries that plagued them last year. It will undoubtedly be a battle for the NFC North this year.

My prediction of the Vikings only making the wild card is not saying I do not like the Vikings. I am taking many different factors into consideration when making the prediction. My personal opinion is that ESPN’s analysts that love Favre have drilled into everyone’s minds that he is god’s gift to the planet, making many people’s views one sided.

Hopefully the Vikings do make it to the playoffs, make it to the Super Bowl, and win it all. I just have not seen it in them for myself, so for all people accusing me of being a Packer fan, or not knowing the game: Get over it.

The fact of the matter is the Vikings have some competition to deal with. It won’t be a cakewalk for them like ESPN and other analysts make you think, the sooner you come back to reality, the better.

10 Reasons the Minnesota Vikings Will Not Win the Division

Taylor Lunemann — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:21:22 -0400

Ten Reasons the Minnesota Vikings Will Not Win the Division

1. Brett Favre.

Everyone is raving about how good Favre will be this year. I really do not see why. The man is basically 60 years old, has played in many games throughout his career, it is not an ideal situation for an old man to be in.

He did not attend any of the camp this year, and has been throwing to high school receivers this summer. That might actually hurt my argument because the high school players and Vikings’ receivers are at about the same level.

2. The wide receivers on the Vikings are sub par.

Favre has enjoyed having many good, reliable receivers on his team through the years. None of the Vikings ones are of their caliber. Bernard Berrian can only catch the long ball, Sidney Rice is a huge underachiever, Bobby Wade is irrelevant, and Percy Harvin is a rookie. Harvin is about the only spot with upside in the core, but I do not see him stepping up and catching big passes on third down to keep drives moving.

3. The Vikings have a tendency to give up, especially when on the road.

How often does this team have big come from behind wins? Never? They rely on their great running game to power through and keep the ball in their hands. If they fall behind, they will be forced to move the ball through the air, which has not been successful in recent years.

4. Penalties.

This team gets a ridiculous amount of penalties, it seems like there is any big play that could change the course of the game, there is a holding call, or stupid pass interference. The team will have to get over that if they expect to be successful.

5. Adrian Peterson thinks he is playing basketball.

He fumbled way too much last season. At times he was basically dribbling the football because he would fumble it and fortunately it would come back to him. I am sure the coaches and AP addressed that in the offseason and it will not be as big of a problem, but it is still an issue.

6. The special teams are vulnerable to big play makers.

Players like Reggie Bush and Devin Hester are simply too much for them. They plan all week to shut them down and they are still able to beat them over and over again. It is disgusting to watch as the players take wrong angles or get juked out.

7. Brad Childress.

I have watched him fail over and over again. Why would I expect anything but failure out of him at this point. The good thing is, Tarvaris Jackson is out of the picture, for now. Childress has kept a team with the potential and talent for greatness mediocre for many years now. The set up is much better now, but my bet is he fails yet again.

8. Their defense can't tackle.

The Vikes enjoy having EJ Henderson back, which will drastically help the squad. However, the Vikings just simply can't seem to take quarterbacks down and end up giving them all the time in the world.

Part of this is the coaches faults, for blitzing in wrong situations, but seeing blitzing linebackers fly at the quarterback just to watch him take one tiny step either way and dodge them is unacceptable. Jared Allen is the only legitimate threat to get sacks.

Kevin Williams will get his, but he is primarily there to clog up the middle. Even immobile quarterbacks are able to evade them and scramble for a first down or find the open receiver. It definitely does not help the defensive backs who take the heat for it.

9. Minnesota franchises go out of their way to disappoint fans.

When is the last time any MN fan was proud of their franchise for the team’s accomplishments? Maybe five years ago when the Twins were relatively successful in the playoffs? It is a reoccurring trend that Minnesota franchises provide false hope to their fans.

Much like this year, everyone is predicting the Vikings to be a Super Bowl contender. I am not buying into the hype, it's just not worth it.

10. They won't get so lucky this year.

The Vikings should have lost to the Lions and the Saints last year but got bailed out by two very questionable calls by the referees. Both calls put them in field goal range and Ryan Longwell nailed both for the wins.

Now after reading this article you must think I am a big Green Bay fan. Well, I am not. I love the Minnesota Vikings, they are my favorite team, but seeing everyone make all these wild predictions about them are just ridiculous. Sometimes I wonder if they have ever watched a Vikings game.

I hope my predictions are wrong, I really do. I am not very optimistic about the Viking’s season, but at least I am staying within the realm of possibility.

NBA Playoffs Are Heating Up

Taylor Lunemann — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:55:13 -0400

The NBA playoffs are into the second round and continuing to heat up as they go.

There are eight teams left that are playing to compete in their conference’s championship.

I break down each series to see what it will take for each team to be successful and move on to the next round.

Atlanta Hawks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Although the Hawks have improved from last year, no one is really giving them a chance against the Assosciation's newly declared Most Valuable Player LeBron James.

The Cavs possess the best regular season record and are the heavy favorites to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Championship game.

Obviously the Hawks’ number one problem is stopping King James from doing what he does best, everything.

They do not have anyone who can really match up against him one on one so they must rely on double teaming him when he gets the ball to prevent him from beating them. This causes problems though because James has so many talented scorers around him that he gets them open shots and they will capitalize on those opportunities.

On the offensive side, the Hawks will need Joe Johnson to show up in this series, as he was absent for most of the first round production-wise. He is their best scoring option and he needs to step up.

As long as James does not go down with an injury, the Cavs take the series in five.

Boston Celtics vs. Orlando Magic

This could potentially be a very good series between two very talented teams.

However, the Celtics are not even close to the same ball club without Kevin Garnett, who is sidelined for the entire playoffs. Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen are all very good players and need to show up each night for this team to be successful.

Dwight “Superman” Howard is too much of a beast for anyone to stop him and he dominates the boards every game. Slowing him down will be a huge task for the Celtics.

Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu have been huge for the team all year and continue to do so in the playoffs. They are both good in size and are hard for the much smaller Celtics to handle on defense.

Ray Allen is a big liability on the defensive side of the ball and that will ultimately hurt them more than one may think.

Since the Magic tend to live and die by the three ball in some games, it will take six games to take down the defending champions.

Dallas Mavericks vs. Denver Nuggets

I would normally never give Dallas a shot against the high-powered Nuggets squad, but they have demonstrated they can compete with them.

Dallas’ biggest weakness is that they are limited to basically two scorers on their team. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry are their only reliable scorers with Josh Howard being sidelined with an injury.

It really showed the other night when Dirk and Terry while both getting some rest to start the fourth quarter. There was no one who could consistently step up and score consistently and it really end up killing them as the Nuggets came out on a run and pushed their lead to double digits.

When Dirk finally checked in, he was approached by constant double teams and could not work effectively on the court.

The Nuggets are way too much to handle, especially with the emergence of Nene Hilario and J.R. Smith in the playoffs.

Nuggets take the series in five games.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets

The Rockets took the first game in this series and the Lakers responded by taking the second.

Kobe Bryant was sick with the flu in the first game of the series and it showed. He did not look like he was in top form as the Rockets were able to stay with the Lakers the entire game.

The Lakers have way too many weapons on their squad for the Rockets to handle. The Rockets also shot the lights out in the first game of the series and I do not expect the Lakers to allow them to get such good looks at the basket.

The key players in this series are Ron Artest and Lamar Odom.

Artest is a huge small forward, it is really hard to match up against because of his size, he has a mismatch almost every time because he is too strong for the small forwards and too quick for bigger players to guard him.

Lamar tends to show up every other game, but when he does, he really shows up. He can light a fire under the Lakers at times because of his ability to get to the basket and rebound.

Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum both do a good job when they are in there, but Lamar will be in there expected to do his thing at the end of the game.

Lakers in six.

NBA Playoffs Studs and Duds

Taylor Lunemann — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:11:40 -0400

The first round of the NBA Playoffs has turned out to be a very exciting one. Many players are having huge games every time they take the court, while others are choking horribly.

Each player on the team is expected to contribute to the team in some way, but some are stepping up to the challenge of the postseason while others are backing down. I am going to tell you which ones have been "studs" and which ones have been "duds."

I will start out with the most obvious pick for the "stud" category: It is obviously Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics.

This kid has been unstoppable in Boston's first-round matchup against the Chicago Bulls. Watching him play has just been amazing, as he has done nearly everything the team needs from him and more. Dude's averaging a triple-double in the series, and that has been on a bum ankle.

It doesn’t look like anyone can stop him, especially not rookie Derrick Rose. I had previously thought of Rondo as just being a solid contributor to this C's squad, but after watching him in these Playoffs, it is obvious that there isn’t only a “Big Three” in Boston.

The next stud in these Playoffs has had to watch Rondo dominate his team each game of that same series. I am talking about Ben Gordon of the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls are currently down 3-2, but Gordon has shown up to play in every game. If not for him, the Bulls would probably be out, as it seems that no one else is willing to step up in the big moments to take the big shot for this Windy City club.

All but one of the games in this series has been decided by three points or less, and the one game that wasn’t occurred the same night that Gordon struggled a bit. If his injury worsens, I really question the Bulls' chances of taking the C’s to a Game Seven.

Another obvious stud is definitely Chauncey Billups of the Denver Nuggets. Denver is currently winning their series against the New Orleans Hornets 3-1, and Billups is a big reason why.

He had two monster games to start the series, which allowed the Nuggets to glide to an easy 2-0 lead. Then, after posting modest numbers in a tight loss in Game Three, he helped his Nuggets get a huge lead in Game Four and got some much-needed rest.

Denver went on to tie a Playoff record for biggest margin of victory by beating the Hornets 121-63 in the fourth contest of the series, which resumes tonight in the Rockies.

The Portland Trail Blazers are down two games to three in their matchup with the Houston Rockets, but that is certainly not Brandon Roy’s fault. He has really stepped up for his team in these Playoffs by averaging a full five points per game more than his season average.

Another reason he has been a stud is because he knows the ball should be in his hands at the end of the game, and he's really stepped up and pulled through for his group down the stretch.

But enough complements; onto the duds list. And the first one that comes to mind here is Derrick Rose.

Now, I know he is a rookie, it's his first postseason, and he is facing the defending champions. But none of that means you can lay an egg every other game.

In both of Chicago’s wins, he has had solid games, but in their defeats he has been less than impressive. This leads to more pressure on Ben Gordon, who consequently doesn’t get as many good looks.

If Rose does not step up in the next game of the series, he and his Bulls will be making an early exit in this year’s Playoffs.

The next dud on the list is the other top-two pick from last year’s draft, Michael Beasley.

I know that D-Wade is good, but that doesn't mean that Beasley and the rest of the team should provide no help for him. Jermaine O’Neal has been the second-best player for the Heat in this series, which is saying something.

Beasley is shooting a hideous 28 percent from the field and is averaging three points per in the last two games.

I just have to go ahead and throw the entire New Orleans Hornets roster on this list. They have all been pathetic to see.

Despite winning 49 games in the regular season, they've been a disappointment in my eyes; CP3 has not been in true form this series, and when he has problems, the team has problems. They have been unable to stop the Nuggets and now face elimination.

The last player I chose has not showed up for the postseason yet. Where is Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks?

The Hawks are a well-rounded team, but they are undoubtedly led by Johnson, and he has really let them down so far. I honestly didn’t think this Heat-Hawks series would even be a contested matchup, as the Hawks are a much better team all around, but with the absence of Johnson and the fact that they are facing D-Wade, things are different.

Hawks fans can only hope he shows up sometime to save them from making an early exit.

These picks are just based on the players that have caught my attention thus far.

Despite the duds, this year’s Playoffs are looking to be pretty exciting, as many good matchups are coming up and players getting are suspended left and right.

As TNT says in their NBA playoffs commercials, “Where will amazing happen this year?”

No Need to Sweat Twins' Early Struggles

Taylor Lunemann — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:23:33 -0400

The Major League Baseball season has been underway for a few weeks now and it looks to be another exciting race in the AL Central. All the teams are relatively close but none have shown that they want to take the lead.

Many people are getting worried about the Minnesota Twins. I am here to try to convince those who are starting to doubt the Twins so far this season.

As of right now, the Twins are in fourth place, but only a half game back for the lead. So I am asking: why is everyone is starting to hit the panic button on this club already?

They have been without their most consistent batter Joe Mauer for the entire season. Mauer has stated that he is aiming to come back on May 1against the Kansas City Royals. Getting him back in the lineup will give a huge boost to the struggling lineup.

Watching the Twins bat this season has been a little frustrating, it seems as though every batter (with the exception of Span) has no plate discipline and swing at nearly everything.

The starting rotation has been pathetic so far this season. Glen Perkins has been the lone bright spot out of the starters, and I will admit and say I never saw that coming. Besides Perkins, every starter has an ERA of over five. That cannot happen if they expect to win their division.

I have faith that they will bounce back. I just can’t see Liriano, Slowey, and Baker struggling like this all year. They are way too talented and well coached for that to happen. Expect them to bounce back and have more success in the coming months.

If there is anything to worry about, it would definitely be the bullpen. With the starters struggling so far this season, the bullpen has been called quite a bit, and they have not exactly shown they have the capability of keeping the lead, or even keep the team in the game.

It is a very ugly road until Joe Nathan has got into the game with the Twins bullpen having one of the worst ERAs in the league. Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain were supposed to be the ones to keep the team in the games.

While Crain was doing a good job, until he got roughed up in his last outing, then went on the disabled list. Guerrier has really been struggling again this year. It is not looking very pretty for this bullpen. After Crain went on the DL, the Twins brought up Jose Mijares. Mijares dominated last September when he was called up by keeping his ERA below one and gave up three hits and no walks in 10 innings.

If he can come up and really become a reliable setup man, the Twins would be in business. I am not expecting him to dominate that much because he is still a rookie, and he was brought in last September with big leads, but the Twins really need a good arm in the pen.

I have no doubt the Twins will make this AL Central race exciting. All of the teams have the potential to win the division with many rosters filled with talented players. The Twins need to start dominating at the Dome like they have in past seasons because it is their last season there.

It should be a fun year of baseball and I am looking forward to seeing the Twins in the postseason.

Lakers and Cavs Are Finals Bound!

Taylor Lunemann — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:49:35 -0400

The 2009 NBA Playoffs are upon us and it’s looking like it will be an exciting one this year.

Each team will be looking to make a push at the championships, as lower seeds attempt to take down the favorites to win. The top two teams this year are the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East and the Los Angeles Lakers in the West.

The Lakers are the clear favorites to win the Western Conference Championship again, as they have had another amazing season, owning the second-best record in the NBA.

They are led by Kobe Bryant yet again and have made few changes from their roster this year. The biggest differences from their team last year is the semi-healthy presence of center Andrew Bynum and the development of forward Trevor Ariza.

Bynum has taken massive steps forward as he develops into one of the best centers in the league. His presence is really shown as the Lakers can dominate the inside game when he is healthy. Ariza originally started out as the sixth man for this team this year but has developed into such a versatile player that he has earned a starting spot throughout the season.

The Lakers also own arguably the best bench in the NBA. It features players like Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, and Jordan Farmar. This bench has allowed the Lakers’ starters extra rest all throughout the season which will really help out this team in these playoffs. Look for them to represent the West in the NBA Finals.

The East has a lot more competition and makes the argument a bit more exciting. The Cavs own the best record in the NBA led by King LeBron James. The acquisition of Mo Williams has been huge for this club and every player has really stepped up this year.

Of course, LeBron has put up MVP numbers for the team and is the best player in the NBA in my eyes. He alone will make the Eastern conference playoffs exciting. Another thing going for them is that they play amazing on their home court as they have only lost one game at “The Q” all season.

And who could forget the reigning champions, the Boston Celtics?

The Celtics had another great year and are looking to defend their title. Many people have lost some faith in this team as they did not dominate as much as they did last year. There is one simple reason for this. Kevin Garnett has been absent 25 games this year. KG makes a good team turn into a great one. His production on both ends of the floor is amazing and the Celtics really missed it for many games. If he was healthy all year, I am certain the team would have the best record in the NBA.

Their success in the playoffs relies on whether or not KG is healthy. If he is not ready to go, Glen “Big Baby” Davis gets more minutes and the Celtics suffer greatly because he is so pathetic, it is disgusting to watch. Hopefully he doesn’t get a hold of this article or he will cry his eyes out because I picked on him.

The only other legitimate contender in the East is the Orlando Magic. Dwight Howard, aka “Superman,” has developed into arguably the best big man in the league. Superman is incredibly fun to watch because he is so dominant inside with his strength and athleticism. Throw a bunch of solid players like Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Rafer Alston around him and it forms a pretty solid team capable of doing some damage in the playoffs.

The Chicago Bulls could potentially be an upset pick because of they are currently on a hot streak and could be dangerous if they keep that momentum going into the playoffs.

The Portland Trail Blazers are my pick to compete with the Lakers in the West. I really love how good Brandon Roy is, he is turning into one of the best players in the league and I think this year he will do some damage in the playoffs this year.

My prediction is that the Lakers’ will be too dominant in these playoffs and carry home the title over the Cavs.

Fantasy Sports Can Get Frustrating!

Taylor Lunemann — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:43:14 -0400

Fantasy sports are becoming a very popular way to enjoy the professional sports you are already watching. It is a game where fantasy owners build a team that competes against other fantasy owners based on the statistics generated by individual players or teams of a professional sport. Playing these can be very enjoyable especially when you are in a competitive league with people you know.

However, it can also have occasions where it is very frustrating. I will be talking about competitive or buy in leagues because public leagues have two or three people who actually check it and you have a 90 percent chance of winning just by looking at your team once a week.

This game does take some skill such as researching progress of how the players are doing in the offseason, keeping up to date with injury reports, doing well in the draft, and also finding the biggest suckers in the league to trade with. Now if you are one of those players who do not take big risks and make risky trades, you definitely need to be doing your research to find the sleepers or the players ready for breakout years.

On the other hand, if you are super trade happy, get ready for some disappointments, because amazing trades do not happen every time, but they can have huge rewards. This is when you need to find the biggest suckers in the league. Maybe these people like a certain team, they would probably be more willing to trade one of their better players for a player they like. This leads other owners in the league to sit in front of their computer dumbfounded about how stupid certain owners can be sometimes.

Personally, I think fantasy baseball is the most frustrating of all due to the long season. It was so fun waking up in the morning last year just to see your team has a batting average of .200 every day, and an earned run average of over nine. Of course this doesn’t happen every day, but more often than football.

Knowing when players do good during each part of the season will help out a whole lot, so you can trade Dan Uggla coming off a 12 HR May and AJ Burnett for Ichiro, Vlad, and Chone Figgins in early July. As many of you may know, Uggla would drop off after that and have a pathetic rest of the season.

I feel the need to talk about fantasy basketball. Does anyone even play this seriously? I do not know one legitimate league where they are really competitive and check it. You just do not hear trash talking about this game. It is pathetic in my opinion, you may get an invite or two to play it, but it is certainly not going to be competitive, and it definitely will not be buy in.

No one is willing to do this because it is so pointless. A perfect example would be me joining a league like this year. I had a pretty good draft, and basically went through then entire season in one sitting just making sure my players were in on game days. Now I am in the championship with one day left of the season. I did not even know I was in the championship until a few days ago. It is just dreadful.

Fantasy football is by the most dominant and popular of all fantasy sports. There are less games played so each move you make is extremely vital to winning the league. There are long weeks full of dramatic injuries, analysts going back and forth saying he will play, he won’t play, game time decisions.

You need to be close to a computer on Sunday because many times decisions will be need to be made five minutes before the game. The game is also extremely frustrating. It is really fun seeing your stud running back who is not on a playoff contender sit the second half against the Rams. How pointless is that?

Fantasy playoffs are lost like that and it’s hard to predict what the coach will do, will the player pout and bench himself? How about when you’re running back moves the ball all the way down the field just so a goal line back can steal your six points, or when your wide receiver gets tackled at the one-yard line?

Watching these games can be pretty rough on a die hard fantasy owner. This is especially true when the reward of winning in buy in leagues can be a pretty nice chunk of dough.

Many people get mad at fantasy owners for often times wanting their fantasy team to do better than their favorite professional teams. To some extent, it does take the fan’s pride of their team away, but they need to walk in our shoes before they judge us.

Until they have to make attempts to cheer for Tarvaris Jackson or Ryan Gomes, they do not know the feeling of joy when their defensive player gets a sack scoring you two points, or gets a monster block on a jump shot to put you ahead head to head. It eases the pain of watching your franchises struggle.

Overpaid MLB Players Acquired in 2008-09 Offseason

Taylor Lunemann — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:04:41 -0400

The Major League Baseball season is officially underway. There were many acquisitions and big contracts signed in the off season. Many people believe that a lot of the players in the league are overpaid and do not understand why these teams pay for these players. There are many players that I just do not believe are “earning” their salaries.

I might as well start out with the two starting pitchers the New York Yankees signed, starting with AJ Burnett. He is basically only good at striking people out, his ERA is always around four, and his injuries are ridiculous.

Burnett has only pitched one full season which was last season in his contract year, no surprise there, but it was enough for the Yankees to get suckered in and purchase him for a ridiculous amount of money.

Next is the CC Sabathia. The 2007 Cy Young winner is by no means bad, but is he really worth 161 million over seven years? Sabathia was a fairly dominant pitcher in the AL Central, then tore up the National League, but I believe he will not do as well in a incredibly competitive and tough AL East.

On a side note, as his salary has gone up over the years, so has his weight, so expect him to top 500 lbs in a few years from now.

I will now move on to Milton Bradley where the Chicago Cubs welcomed in the guy with seven million a year to play outfield for them. I see many problems with this, the first one would be it is the Cubs which play in the National League.

This means he will have to play in the field. This means he will be getting injured twice as much. So his usual 60 games a season will be cut down to 30. Now you have to account for all the times he goes on the disabled list for mental breakdowns and you are now down to 15 games.

Factor in that 2/3 of the time he is playing injured leaves you with five productive games. So nice work Cubs, you are paying the man over $7 million a year for five productive games a season.

Did you think I was harsh on the Cubs for signing Bradley? Well that is not even close to as bad as the Detroit Tigers for signing Adam Everett. Go ahead and say he is only getting 1 million for a year of baseball.

Really though, I am fairly certain that they could find any shortstop in their farm system and throw him into the big leagues and they could bat over .200. I am giving the Tigers the benefit of the doubt by assuming they forgot to read the contract well enough and thought that Everett was going to pay them to play shortstop for them this year.

The Brewers are up next for signing the all time saves leader Trevor Hoffman. Although Hoffman is actually taking a pay cut from last year, he is incredibly washed up. His so called “wicked” change up is a whopping two mph slower than his fast ball, which tops out at 72.

He will be getting dominated this year for sure which will leave Brewers fans wondering why they didn’t keep their pride and joy Brian Shouse. Ugh.

The Washington Nationals made a big move and acquired Adam Dunn. They also got him for a relatively good deal as well. So why is he on this list then? Well this reason is simple, because the Nationals are dreadful.

Why are they possibly going out and getting a big hitter when the rest of their team will still be horrible and not even come close to making the playoffs?

Dunn could hit a home run every game but when you have pitchers like Daniel Cabrera beaning every other batter and walking the ones in between the beans, your team is not likely to go anywhere anytime soon.

So I will give props to the Nationals for landing Adam Dunn and going nowhere with him.

There are plenty of other players out there that are getting paid way too much, but these are just a few of the bigger name ones that are worth noting.

All it takes in today’s sports is one semi good year of playing and a player will most likely have teams throwing money at them left and right, hoping to get them to sign and have them play like that the rest of their career.

This is rarely the case, but in a year from now, it will be the GMs taking the heat, and I would not want to be in their seat when it happens.

Minnesota Franchises are Turning the Corner!

Taylor Lunemann — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:20:11 -0400

Exciting news is coming out of Minnesota lately. There has been a buzz about the professional franchises in the state preparing to turn some corners and actually try to win a championship for their fans. It has been quite a long drought of championships for the state but those days look to be long gone.

Starting out with the Vikings, they are planning to make some changes to their program to assure them a chance to win a Super Bowl for the first time in the history of the franchise. The front office has reported that they have finally realized that the quarterback position is the most important spot on the roster.

They have made an announcement that they will be releasing every quarterback on their roster because they are garbage, and will be looking to make a trade for a legitimate and proven quarterback.

The team has also announced that they will be getting rid of coach Brad Childress. Their reasoning behind it is that he refuses to win games and has done everything in his power to make sure the team fails at everything they do.

Another position they will be cutting players on is at wide receiver. The team has announced that they will be putting the names of all the free agents on paper and closing their eyes and drawing out the first three they get.

This will undoubtedly help their position because any free agent receivers are better than Bobby Wade and all the receivers below him on the depth chart.

They are also reporting that changes in their offense will help the problem of having to hand off to AP every single play despite there being eleven guys in the box every time. This will help so the running back gets more effective years in the NFL and he does not have to retire in two years.

With all these changes coming into effect, the Vikings will have a legitimate contender in the playoffs.

Moving onto Minnesota’s baseball franchise, the Twins, they will be looking to make a few changes of their own. The team has announced that they will actually spending money to get proven players that can step in and dominate right away.

The team has been working on hitting the long ball a lot more this season and have claimed they will not be in the bottom tier in the category for the first time ever. Delmon Young has also promised that he will be worth something this year and predicted that he will get at least 30 home runs this year.

Finally, the Timberwolves have promised to make huge changes that will get them out of the gutter once and for all. After this season, they will be looking around to sign a big named player or two. This will give them a chance to make it to the playoffs for the first time in years.

The team has also announced that they will be cutting ties with Kevin McHale forever and has continually reminded him how worthless he is and how he has run the team into the ground for the last time.

When the NBA draft comes around, they have also assured the fans they will not be going out of their way to trade gold for garbage as they have done in the past (Roy for Foye, Mayo for Love). This will help them get some good young players to develop and make the team’s future much more promising.

When all of these things come into effect, it will help the fans enjoy the games more, instead of relying on Crunch’s dunks off the trampoline for their only entertainment at the games.

There is a lot of talk about how Minnesota will be the champions of the sports world for years to come because of all of these moves that will take place. Fans of these teams cannot wait to cheer and love their teams for years to come.

It is going to be great year for sports fans of this state, as the franchises get away from believing they are good for not getting dead last in the sport, to actually improving the team and doing something to reward the fans.

Timberwolves Are Difficult To Watch

Taylor Lunemann — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:45:57 -0500

As many of you have realized, the Minnesota Timberwolves are an all around dreadful team to watch. The best thing about them is the fact that we can actually make fun of how bad they are. There are plenty of reasons why they have become such a terrible team, with the biggest one being Kevin McHale.

That is where I will start. McHale has been worthless in every aspect of his job since he first started with the T-wolves. He put together a somewhat respectable team by surrounding Kevin Garnett with Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell, but let’s face it, that would have never lasted. And it didn’t. He had two good moves in all of his years as the general manager. The first is the most obvious one, drafting Garnett. One of the only reasons why he was able to keep his job as long as he did was because Garnett kept the club respectable throughout the years to make McHale look good. The second one is less hyped but do not underestimate the greatness of the move.

By some act of God, he was able to trade Dean Garrett for Marc Jackson, straight up. Jackson was by no means good but if you ever witnessed Dean Garrett play, you would know how brilliant McHale was for making that trade happen. On a side note, that is the first and last time the word “brilliant” will ever be used to describe Kevin McHale.

I am sure you know about all of McHale’s moves throughout the years as it has been spread in the news many times, so I will spare you the agony of reading my views about him trading Ray Allen, signing Joe Smith under the table, drafting Ndudi Ebi, and firing Flip Saunders.

I will instead move onto one other decision that is more recent and was pure stupidity. So how is Brandon Roy doing these days? I don’t tend to watch a ton of college basketball, but I did pay attention and watch a few of Roy’s games at Washington. He looked impressive. Even I could tell that he was ready to make an immediate impact in the NBA. But McHale destroyed the hopes and dreams of all fans by trading him for Randy Foye. Now Foye is not exactly terrible, but let’s face it, he will never be as good as Roy. It’s a simple fact.

Just to make things clear, I am not one of those people who is mad at McHale a year after that swap because Roy won Rookie of the Year. When I first saw the draft results and they said the Wolves had selected Roy, just to learn later he was traded, I was extremely ticked off.

Another thing I really don’t understand is why McHale insists on only making trades with bottom tier clubs. Here are two of his most recent ones: he trades Garnett for the entire Boston Celtics’ B squad, then trades a promising OJ Mayo to a dreadful Memphis Grizzlies team for Mike Miller and Kevin Love. Is it just me or is that a little too much to take in?

Enough of McHale, I will shift over to what I think of the current Wolves squad. Their starting five is just ridiculously bad. Now that Al Jefferson is done for the year, it is just that much worse. Foye is overrated and will never amount to much of anything in the NBA. I would rather not talk about Sebastian Telfair. Kevin Love is okay, but definitely nothing to get hyped up about. Mike Miller just takes pride in having long hair and wearing double knee braces. Somehow the best player out of the starting five is Ryan Gomes.

Even though Gomes is really bad, he has really stepped it up in the last year. One category he has improved on is his three point attempts. Now usually attempts are not the stat people look at. It is usually percentage, but allow me to explain. Gomes is actually shooting threes now. In the last few years of watching, he would go out of his way to either step on the three point line and shoot, or instead pass up a wide open three, take one step in and shoot.

When he was with the Boston Celtics, I even heard one sports analysis call him “Mr. Double-Double.” Normally, I would think nothing of this, but being that I had little clue as to who Ryan Gomes was, I decided to check his game log. This analyst must have been out of his mind because Gomes has done nothing to justify why his nickname should be that by getting nine double-doubles in two seasons.

The Wolves seem to be a team where players go when they want to stay in the league and make money, but they don’t feel like trying. It is a dreadful sight to watch this team play, and we have little to look forward to in the years to come. Unless of course you like watching a bunch of misfits dropped onto one team trying to upset each and every team they play.

Preview: Twins Win AL Central

Taylor Lunemann — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:18:40 -0500

With the Major League Baseball season right around the corner, it is looking like it could be another exciting race in the American League Central. After last season, when the White Sox and Twins ended the regular season in a tie, they needed a one game play-in game to see who would be representing the AL Central in the playoffs, and the Sox pulled through. This year however, I believe the outcome will be somewhat different. Here is where I believe the teams will be ranked at the end of the season.

1. Minnesota Twins

Although the Twins have not made any huge offseason moves, they find a way to be in the playoff race every year. The biggest question mark in my opinion will be how well the young starting pitchers will be able to improve off of last season’s success. If the experience they got last year really helped, then they will be exciting to watch. But we must remember that even Boof Bonser had a good year in his first year of starting, so as a Twins fan I have reason to be nervous.

I think the lineup of the Twins is very well rounded. Every player has shown they can get the job done. Barring any injuries, I expect Carlos Gomez to see the field less and have a reduced role because I don’t see his bat improving as well as it should when competing with Delmon Young, Denard Span, and Michael Cuddyer. A drop in production from Nick Punto is expected because he is Nick Punto. Alexi Casilla won’t have as much success at the plate as he did last year, but will still hold his own at second base. As fans we know what we expect from Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer and don’t expect anything less.

As for the bullpen, I think Gardy won’t be overworking Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain as much as they fell off at the end last season. With them still rested and healthy in the second half of the season, the call to the pen shouldn’t be as depressing to fans as it ended up being last year.

I have a ton of confidence in this Twins team heading into the season and its very fun to watch a legitimate Minnesota franchise instead of having to watch teams that disgrace our state (Twolves, Vikings).

2. Chicago White Sox

Of course the Sox will be there trying to crush Twins fan’s dreams all year; we have come to expect that from this team. Although they are a slightly different team from last year, there is no reason to believe they won’t be competing for the division title this year. With players like Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin in their lineup, you can never count them out. However, they also have positions where they will literally get no help from. I am of course talking about third base and Josh Fields, he could not be anymore worthless to any team.

Their first three starters in the rotation are solid and all dominate the Twins at will, so they will at least get wins there. The last two spots in the rotation are questionable. They were desperate enough to sign Bartolo Colon, but I don’t think the White Sox think he will be doing anything this year.

One player to look at this year to be an “X” factor on the team will be Alexei Ramirez. He came into the league with a bang last year and made an immediate impact for the Sox. Although I am the same height and weight as this young player, he can probably hit the ball three times farther than I ever could. He has amazing power for his size and I think pitchers often underestimate the kid.

3. Detroit Tigers

Although the Tigers had a pathetic season last year, I think they will bounce back and be a legitimate team in the division despite signing Adam Everett.

In my opinion, take out Everett and Inge from their lineup, and they still have one of the best in the league. With Curtis Granderson being patient at the plate, healthy, and with the newly acquired ability to bat over .200 against lefties, I think he might have one of his best seasons offensively. Miguel Cabrera is an absolute stud at the plate and posted career highs in home runs and RBIs last season, so there is no reason to worry about that part of the team.

The thing Tigers fans should be nervous about is their starting rotation, especially Justin Verlander. He had a miserable season last year after posting amazing numbers in his first two years in the league. Armando Galarraga will have to improve on his numbers last year to help this rotation if they expect to keep up with the Sox or Twins.

4. Cleveland Indians

The Tribe basically gets this position by default as the Royals are expected to be last every year. Unlike the Tigers, the Tribe can have a little more faith in their rotation as it is held down by Cy Young winner Cliff Lee, followed by Fausto Carmona. I will make a bold prediction and say Carl Pavano will actually have moderate success with the Tribe this season; he is away from the Yankees after stealing all their money and has no reason not to actually play now.

The lineup of the Tribe will be held down by Grady Sizemore and Victor Martinez. After that, it gets pretty questionable; no other hitters are too promising. Although Travis Hafner won’t bat under .200 this year, he will still be terrible because running to first base is much too difficult for him these days.

5. Kansas City Royals

Even though the Royals impressed me by making a nice little run of their own in September, they still didn’t impress me enough to move up on this list.

Their “big” signings were Coco Crisp and Mike Jacobs. I put big in quotes because Crisp is a solid player, but nothing special, and Jacobs can hit home runs and absolutely nothing else.

Their rotation isn’t terrible, but it certainly isn’t anything to be afraid of. Zach Greinke and Gil Meche are their only legitimate threats in their rotation and Joakim Soria holds it down as closer. We have no reason to expect anything but another typical Royals season.

I have high hopes for this year’s playoff race in the AL Central because it has been exciting for many years now. I know it is the job of Minnesota franchises to let down their fans, but let’s just hope this year our baseball team slacks at that part of their job.

My Least Favorite NBA Players

Taylor Lunemann — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:34:33 -0500

All fans of professional sports have their favorite players. We watch and cheer for them every time they take the field, court, or whatever they may be playing on.

There are also many people in the world that are haters on the athletes. I am one of them. This week, I will be stating some of my least favorite players in the NBA. There are many out there, so I will just be saying a few that “grind my gears.”

I will come right out the gates by saying I hate Luis Scola. Whenever I watch the Rockets play, I just get frustrated at how much Houston loves him. On a team with Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, and even Ron Artest, the Rockets take the most pride in having Scola on their team.

It really makes me ask the question, why? He isn’t especially good in any element of the game. His shooting is average at best, his defense is questionable, and he doesn’t have great athleticism. So it must be his hustle? Whatever it is, it is terrible to root for him, and I don’t see why he even has fans.

Next I will move on to Eddie House. I have hated this guy ever since he came into the league. First of all, he is under 6’0” tall. Second, he thinks he is one of the best guards in the league even though he doesn’t start, and third, he thinks his fired-up attitude is one of the reasons why Boston has had success.

Over half of the time, when he is fired up, the C’s are blowing the other team out, so there is no real point in spazzing. Throw in the fact that he wears knee high socks, double arm sleeves, and a headband, and this guy is officially frustrating to watch.

Why would the Knicks pay the big money to a player like Jared Jefferies? He was one of the worst acquisitions ever, on a team full of them. He is 6’11’’ but only 180 pounds. How would that ever be effective?

Now I hear rumblings of how he should be the defensive player of the year, I don’t know if I could get much more frustrated. They talk about how he is so versatile that he can defend all positions, but it’s not like he is doing so effectively. The fact that he went to Indiana really doesn’t help his cause, and he is a lost cause in the NBA.

Moving on, I will move out west to where the Los Angeles Lakers have a player by the name of Sasha Vujacic. The guy has been playing in the NBA for four years now and it wasn’t until a year ago that he moved out of his parent’s house.

This guy is one cool kid.

His combination of first and last name is absolutely terrible, and his hair is past his shoulders. I wouldn’t even need to explain why I am a hater on this guy if you could just see a picture of him.

On to my last one for the day; the entire San Antonio Spurs team minus Roger Mason Jr.

This team’s average age is in the mid 30’s, and they definitely play like it too. This team is hands down, the most boring team to watch in the entire NBA, and that is including the Timberwolves. At least when you watch the T' Wolves, the other team will have their own highlight reels so the game will be fun to watch.

Who is cool on this team? Manu Ginobili? No. Tony Parker? No. Tim Duncan? No.

I would say the best part of watching Spurs games would be that Eva Longoria is in the crowd at many of them and they love showing her on camera. Can you blame them? After watching three quarters of basketball that is about as exciting as a junior high girls’ game, who wouldn’t find themselves turning the camera towards her?

That does it for this week’s most hated NBA players.

Disclaimer: Some of the statements above are not 100 percent factual and are slightly exaggerated.

My Apologies to Mo Williams

Taylor Lunemann — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:59:52 -0500

We are halfway into the NBA season and the Cleveland Cavaliers have really come around and shattered my preseason doubts.

A few months ago, I stated in a Bleacher Report piece that LeBron James would come up short again this season because of his lack of help from teammates. One of those teammates is point guard Mo Williams.

When Williams arrived in Cleveland, he was an accomplished scorer for a subpar team—the Milwaukee Bucks It gave me a good reason to doubt him.

In Cleveland, he would be playing in games that were not blowouts and his 17 points per game that he averaged his final year in Milwaukee would not be coming from garbage minutes in those types of games.

Thus I made a prediction that he would not be able to put the Cavaliers over the top. Now the Cavs sit on top of the Eastern Conference one week before the All-Star break. One of the biggest reasons has been the addition of Williams.

After seeing his 43-point, 11 assist and 8 rebound performance against the Sacramento Kings on January 27, I was left feeling extremely foolish.

So I apologize Mo Williams for being a doubter, and barring some catastrophic injury to LeBron this season, the Cavs with the help of Williams are looking set to win the Central Division and go deep into the playoffs.

Although many of Williams’ stats have actually dropped since making the move to Cleveland, his impact on the team has been extremely noticeable. He has taken a lot of the attention off of LeBron as they have to respect Williams, who is roughly a 40 percent three-point shooter.

That type of player is something James and the Cavs didn’t have last season, which made the team more one-dimensional. Now with an accomplished scorer, James is able to shoot and play less, which will keep him more rested come playoff time.

The Cavs have had a few injuries lately but still have managed to stay on top of the Eastern Conference.

As much as I hate to say it, the Cavs are benefiting from Delonte West being on the team, and his presence has been missed during his injury. That shows that the Cavs have improved their bench to be able to step in and not miss a beat.

With all that being said, I am becoming more convinced that this might be LeBron’s year to win an NBA championship. Again, barring some serious injury to King James, I am picking the Cavs to represent the Eastern Conference in this year’s NBA Finals.

Help Wanted! Power 3B and Relief Pitching, Call Minnesota Twins

Taylor Lunemann — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 03:13:54 -0500

With the Major League Baseball season around the corner, the Minnesota Twins are still staying very quiet in this year’s off season. They went into the offseason with a few places that needed upgrading. One of them is an upgrade at third base, and the other is in the bullpen.

I will start out by addressing the troubles at third base. Last year, the position was played primarily by Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris. Although these two did an adequate job at the position, there is always room for improvement, and with many of the other positions set, the Twins could afford to make an upgrade.

The Twins are loaded with outfielders at the moment with Delmon Young, Denard Span, Carlos Gomez, Michael Cuddyer, and sometimes Jason Kubel.

They originally contemplated trading either Young or Cuddyer to help out at third base, but they never pulled the trigger on either one. Delmon Young is a young player with a good bat and mediocre defense.

His arm doesn’t strike fear in the eyes of base runners by any means, and his defensive play could definitely step up. The Twins also expected him to bring some power to the club which he didn’t supply as expected.

He would still be an upgrade on many teams so he could be shopped to other teams for a reliever of some sort. Cuddyer, on the other hand, has a great arm in the field and could even possibly move to third base to help out.

His biggest problems would be his speed, his obsession with grounding out to third every at-bat, and injuries.

The third baseman that were on the market this offseason were less than impressive, some of which were Casey Blake, Adrian Beltre, Garrett Atkins, and Joe Crede. The Twins' organization got some criticism for not being able to get the first three before they signed with other teams.

To me, I believe it was a wise choice, none of them are big impact players and they would have cost the club too much money. Crede is the only one remaining and signing him would be a huge mistake, he is 30 years old and plays like a 40 year old with all the back injuries. I really hope they stay away from him.

I think if the Twins are serious about having a third baseman with better power, they should just move Cuddyer to third, and leave Young in the outfield. Keeping Cuddyer over Young would be a big mistake in my eyes.

The biggest reason for that would be age. Cuddyer will be 30 by the beginning of the season and Young is still very young at 23 and has much maturity to go through. I think if they stay patient with Young, his power will come.

If the Twins do move Cuddyer to third, and he struggles, they always have Harris or Buscher to step in. As long as they don’t try to turn garbage to gold like they attempted with Tony Batista and Mike Lamb, the Twins will be fine at that position.

Now we’ll move onto the bigger issue, the bullpen. Anyone who watched any Twins baseball knows what happened when the Twins made a call to the bullpen in a tight game.

First, you would suddenly have a bad feeling in your stomach, and then you would move to the end of your seat, next you would watch them allow the tying run to score, and then you would watch them lose the lead.

It was a very painful set of events, especially in the last two months of the season when the starters needed them the most. The Twins’ starting rotation really struggled in September as they limped towards the end of the season.

Many of those games were blown by the bullpen, and it was extremely frustrating to watch. No matter whom they called, no Twin fan felt confident about it.

The bullpen will also be without Pat Neshek for the entire 2009 season after he had Tommy John Surgery. The Twins will have to strongly consider signing or trading for a proven set up man to help out this struggling bullpen.

The majority of the offseason has been talk about upgrading at third base, the bullpen is much more important than a position that produced 91 RBI last season. Although I do not believe the starting rotation will be as good as they were the first time around as players get more at bats against the young pitchers, they should still be solid.

A healthy Francisco Liriano and Scott Baker is a very pleasant sight to see and should be a good 1-2 punch.

So assuming the stars on this team, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Joe Nathan all play up to their usual All-Star caliber form, and up and coming stars, Denard Span, Carlos Gomez, and Alexi Casilla fill in the gaps, the Minnesota Twins are looking to have a solid year of baseball.

The Twins continuing to play small ball and have many exciting games is a sure thing year in and year out, so I, along with many other fans out there, are looking forward to another exciting year of Twins baseball.

Preview: NBA All-Star Game 2009

Taylor Lunemann — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:29:59 -0500

The 2009 NBA All-Star Game will be played in a few weeks at the US Airways Center in Phoenix. The All-Star Game has the potential to be an extremely exciting and fun game to watch as it showcases the best players in the NBA.

Many of these players have been regulars in this game throughout their careers and it is fun to see how the young and old play this game. Neither Kevin Garnett or Kobe Bryant are strangers to this game as KG will be making his 12th appearance and Kobe his 11th, while up and coming stars Danny Granger and Devin Harris each got selected for their first this year.

The game is commonly sloppy throughout the first two quarters as players do not take it too seriously and there are a plethora of dunks to be seen. As the game goes on however, the players start to step up their game and this is when it often times comes down to two players that really strut their stuff and make their case for game’s Most Valuable Player award. So how does this year’s teams match up and whom do I believe will come out victorious?

This game is extremely hard to make a prediction based on much of anything as it could go either way, so for the sake of argument, I will first compare the starting rosters.

The East has the newly acquired Allen Iverson starting at point guard for them versus Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets. This is not much of an argument as Paul is clearly the better player right now.

AI was a stud back in the day but I do not believe the game means much to him anymore and will probably give up his minutes to the new comer Devin Harris. Paul is the best point guard in the NBA in my eyes and it is only his second All-Star game, so I would not be surprised if he gets a high amount of assists like he did last year and helps his team win this.

Next we have Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant. Both of these guys are out of this world on the basketball court so it is no easy task to decide whom I would rather have on my roster. Possibly the best argument against Wade is that he has case of injuries, but Kobe still has performed at an unimaginable level for many years so he would definitely be my pick of the two.

However in this game, playing at a high level is not always the case and I expect Kobe to improve on his zero-point performance of last year’s game, but still give his minutes to the younger players.

Next at small forward, we have LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire. Despite Amare being a very good player, there is a reason why they call LeBron, King James. Count it.

Next we have two of the most highly respected players at this game, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. These two have been at this game forever and continue to play at a high level on the court. If I had to pick one I would definitely pick KG as he is more exciting to watch and has a respectable and normal looking shot form. Not to mention Duncan plays for the most boring team in the NBA packed with a roster that has an average age of 42.

Finally at center we have Dwight Howard and Yao Ming. Dwight Howard is an absolute force on the court. He is arguably the most ripped player in the NBA and is very entertaining to watch on and off the court.

I also do not see Yao playing in the game as he is very prone to injury, and if he does, he will be used sparingly which I am hoping for as I made the mistake of drafting the two centers most prone to season ending injuries in Yao and Emeka Okafor. So Yao hopefully gets a well needed rest. Expect Superman to shine in this game as he has a few throw downs with an unnecessary amount of power.

It was not the best thing that I wrote about the starters in this All-Star Game as it is commonly the players on the bench that decide the game and see the most action to win the game in the deciding quarters, but it was still fun to state who I think are the better players at the position.

If I had to pick the better bench of the two teams, I would choose the East, as they have Danny Granger and Chris Bosh, who are both pimps.

I might as well make some predictions, I will pick the West to win despite good performances by LeBron, Granger and Bosh, and CP3 will shine alongside Brandon Roy. Also, Nate Robinson misses 16 dunks again in the dunk contest and Superman brings home another trophy. Bold predictions? Anything can happen, it's All-Star Weekend.

NFC South Captures Most Exciting Division Award!

Taylor Lunemann — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:12:57 -0500

It is nearing the end of the National Football League regular season, and there are many teams trying to make a final push into the playoffs. This often leads to very exciting games and finishes in the coming weeks.

However, with exciting pushes for division titles come dull and boring games with no implications in the division. So, which division race has been the

most exciting and which has been the most boring to pay attention to? Stay tuned.

There are many division races that are very close and have been very entertaining to watch this year. So which one do I believe is the top one? Is it the AFC East, where Jets fans have endured quite the roller-coaster ride throughout the season?

Or the Tom Brady-less Patriots have fallen considerably from last year, or the most surprising team, the Miami Dolphins, coming back from a horrendous season last season to be right in the midst of taking a playoff spot?

How about the NFC East, where the every team is above .500 and still fighting for a wild-card spot?

No, I am going with the very impressive NFC South, which contains four very good teams, all capable of making a statement come playoff time. What makes this divisional race so exciting is that no team has taken both games from their division rivals this year, as every team has split their series.

Another thing is that every single one of these teams knows what home-field advantage means, as they boast the best home record out of all divisions with an impressive 24-2.

When the season began, this division was not projected to be one the divisions that would have such a good playoff race, as the Atlanta Falcons had a rookie quarterback, Matt Ryan, taking over, and a first-year starter, Michael Turner, at running back. The New Orleans Saints have had a solid season, despite losing a considerable amount of time from their top wide receiver and running back.

I believe the most impressive thing in the division is the Carolina Panthers’ running tandem of DeAngelo Williams and rookie Jonathan Stewart. Both of these backs have really turned it up midseason to help their team win six of their last seven games. These are just a few of the things that have made this division the most exciting this season.

Now, let’s take a step backwards and pick out the dullest and most boring division in the league. This is a little bit easier of a choice, as it is really between two divisions, the AFC West and the NFC West.

Both the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals have not exactly had rough roads to the division titles this year. Arizona has already clinched with three games remaining and the Broncos are ahead of San Diego by three games.

So, if I had to choose one division to be less exciting, I would have to go with the AFC West. This is due to them having the dreadful Oakland Raider’s offense and pitiful Kansas City defense. It really amazes me that those teams have five wins combined.

One team that has been a big disappointment in this division is the San Diego Chargers. Five of their eight losses have been by a combined 13 points. I would imagine that would be very demoralizing to a team with such promise, but the loss of Shawne Merriman, the disappearance of their pass defense from last year, and the downgraded play of their star running back LaDainian Tomlinson have made this team into a great disappointment.

Overall, this division is not one that has had much attention paid to throughout the season as it is a one-team race.

These two divisions are basically opposites in every way. The NFC South is full of exciting teams with many good offenses and defenses, and the AFC West has limited offensive production and poor defenses.

So, over the next few weeks, I would suggest that the television should be locked on the NFC South games as there will no doubt be many good ones to view with actual implications as opposed to the AFC West that is basically wrapped up and the bottom three will be looking towards next season.

Detroit Lions Lead the Five Worst NFL Teams!

Taylor Lunemann — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:58:13 -0500

From year to year, there are many teams that have very disappointing seasons in professional sports. This year has been no exception for many proud franchises throughout the National Football League.

Many teams are looking forward to the season being over, so which teams want to put the season behind them as quickly as possible? You will soon find out.

There are not many good things to say about the Detroit Lions. They have struggled more than any other team in the entire league, as it shows by them having no wins, which would make history for a team playing the entire sixteen game schedule.

They have only had a few bright spots this year, with players like Calvin Johnson, rookie Kevin Smith, and to some extent, cornerback Leigh Bodden. Johnson is set to represent his team in the Pro Bowl as he has molded himself into a top wide receiver in this league despite playing with many different quarterbacks this year.

Kevin Smith also appears to have quite a bit of potential and will look to improve next year, but this team as a whole is just terrible. As if the offense was not bad, the defense has been much worse, ranking second to last in the NFL in total defense and dead last in rushing.

With only Green Bay left on their remaining schedule with a losing record, this season is looking to be very disappointing. However, I believe they will play tough against the Vikings this Sunday as Minnesota loves to play down to their competition.

The next two is a close battle between the Cincinnati Bengals and the St. Louis Rams. I believe the Rams are the worse team, as they cannot seem to score points, and they give up the second most points in the NFL.

This team might even be more of a mess than the Lions. They have question marks all over their offense and defense, and when their star running back only plays in half the games, it is extremely hard to win games.

They really only had one good offensive game, other than that, they have been pathetic, only scoring garbage touchdowns late in the game. Then again, when your best offseason acquisition is a kicker, you should not expect anything other than two wins.

The Bengals' are a step ahead of the Rams, which isn’t saying much. The last few seasons, this team has relied on the play of Carson Palmer to outscore teams, with him on the shelf, and “Ocho Stinko” having the worst year of his life, watching this team is very hard to do.

The team that has been in the media for having a players suspended left and right now has no character, which might even be worse. Ocho Cinco has been quiet all year, in the media and on the field.

So maybe the personnel shouldn’t have been complaining about the team these last few years, because now they have a nice dose of how bad it can really be.

The next team will have to be the Kansas City Chiefs. This team has definitely improved throughout the course of this season, but that is no excuse for being 2-10. Their defense ranks last in the entire NFL, which never bodes well for a team in this league.

Teams can run at will against them as their run defense ranks second to last. Larry Johnson’s semi-revival has been a pleasant surprise, but the once proud offensive line has diminished these last few years, and L.J. should take what he can get this year, as there most likely will not be much improvement next year.

The emergence of Tyler Thigpen as an average quarterback in the league has helped them score points and even stay in a few games this year. His chemistry with the receivers on this team has been very beneficial as he clicked with them almost instantly.

Still, if they do not find a defense soon, Herm Edwards will find himself out of a job sooner than expected.

As much as I would love to put the Raiders on this list, for having a pathetic offense and quarterback, their defense has improved quite a bit. So this spot is reserved for a very disappointing Seattle Seahawks team.

After Week 13, they actually took the spot for last place pass defense. I will admit, this team is, hands down, the most injury-plagued team this season, but there are no sympathy points in this league. It is a good thing their stadium is known as the 12th man, because they have already been playing short all year.

Unlike Detroit, this team has even less to look forward to next year. There is no Calvin Johnson or Kevin Smith that can be exciting to watch or look forward to, instead, there is an aging quarterback in Matt Hasselbeck, washed up wide receivers Bobby Engram and Deion Branch and an offensive line that has lost a step.

There has not really been any emergence out of any players on this team. Their rookie tight end John Carlson is probably their lone bright spot, a very dim one, but I am sure they will take anything.

So Mike Holmgren should consider getting off his McDonalds diet and start watching tapes to see if his team can pick up a few wins in these last few weeks.

With the season winding down, many of these teams can look forward to an offseason of resting and preparing for next season. But with records like these, many of the coaches and players should also be looking for more work, as many will likely be sent off as seasons like these are not acceptable.

They can only hope to perform well enough to keep their jobs and pick up a few wins as playoff teams rest their players in these last few weeks.

NBA's Top Franchise Players

Taylor Lunemann — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:14:02 -0500

There are many players in the National Basketball Association that teams would love to have on their roster to lead their team to victory. These players are not always the best scorers, passers, or rebounders, but they are players that can work with the team to make everyone around them better.

Many of them lead their team to the playoffs nearly every year without much support around them. Here are my picks for this elite group of players.

I will start off with one of the most obvious picks, LeBron James.

He has led a Cavaliers team to the playoffs the last three years without much support. The team has brought in many players to support LeBron as he tries to win a championship for Cleveland, but none of them have been much help to him as teams continue to focus almost all of the attention on him.

I pick him as he has continued to show he can dominate the league as a scorer, and also can contribute to rebounding. His ability to pass and create open shots for his teammates is one of the biggest reasons I chose him.

He is a small forward that averages over seven assists a game. That is very impressive for a man that scores as much as he does, as he has to put the load on his back the majority of the time. The Cavs do not have enough talent to help James this year and have not improved much from last season whereas other teams have upgraded their rosters, so it looks like it will be another disappointing season for King James.

The second player I will pick is Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets.

He has really stepped up his game the last couple of years and is one of the most valuable players in the NBA. He is arguably the best point guard out there right now as he is one of the league’s best passers and can also score when he needs to.

When he first entered the league, his jump shot was one of his biggest question marks, but since he entered the league in 2005, his field goal percentage has improved a considerable amount and it has put him amongst some of the best scorers. He has made many of his teammates much better than they were before he arrived in New Orleans.

One of the players who has reaped the benefits of having Paul as a teammate is Tyson Chandler.

He has always been a good rebounder and a solid defender, but when Paul was drafted, he was able to turn him into a better offensive threat by creating easier shots for the big man.

Another teammate that has benefitted a great amount from Paul’s presence is David West. West averaged seven points per game before Paul came in, and now he has progressively gotten better throughout the last few years and has been one of the best scorers on his team. I believe that if Paul and the rest of the Hornets can upgrade off of their success from last year, they will be the team representing the Western Conference in the NBA finals.

The final player I will discuss is the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade.

He already has one championship under his belt, and if he can stay healthy, he is amongst the NBA’s elite players. He is one of the league’s best scorers, and his ability to drive to the basket creates many open looks for his teammates.

Although injuries have plagued him since his championship year, I believe he will bounce back and contend for another many times in his career.

The Heat have two young players, Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley, that can really benefit from Wade’s presence on the court. Adding in an experienced player in Shawn Marion can only benefit Wade. With Wade and Marion both on the court, the Heat have two of the top players in the league that can create offense off of superb defense.

So when general managers are looking for players to build their team around, they can only be jealous that the Cavs, Hornets, and Heat have players of that caliber.

Cleveland Browns Face Ongoing Staph Infections

Taylor Lunemann — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:10:16 -0500

Staphylococcus aureus, more commonly known as staph infections, are starting to become more common in sports today.

Staph infections are sometimes caused in athletes after surgical complications which can sometimes cause infection. Although the skin bacteria, in most cases, tend to be very minor, they can be potentially life threatening.

The Cleveland Browns have been plagued by staph infections in the last four years with six reported cases. Two of the bigger named players have been Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow.

Despite the Browns taking preventative measures by having infection control officials visit facilities in the past to provide basic prevention processes, the players continue to have problems.

The organization needs to do something about this as it is no coincidence that it has plagued their team six times in four years.

When Winslow was hospitalized, it was not released that he was there because of a staph infection in his surgically repair knee. This led to a bit of drama between Browns officials and Winslow, as he did not think they handled it properly.

The confrontation led to a one-game suspension for the Browns tight end, and even though the Browns topped the NFC East-leading New York Giants that week, it is hard to maintain a good chemistry on a team when one of your pro bowl players is having troubles with management and gets suspended.

This does not make Winslow the victim at all. He was probably looking for trouble after being frustrated with yet another injury and looked to take out his frustration in the wrong way.

The Browns cannot continue to have these problems. Fans and experts had high expectations for this team before the season started and they have been a disappointment for the most part.

I am not implying that staph infections are the main reason for their struggles, but it is one of those things that can be avoided and not added to the list of problems.

The more serious infections can prevent a player from playing an entire year, as is the case with Joe Jurevicious. He recently stated that he has had six procedures on his knee since January, and there are more to come.

One of the worst case scenarios for a professional athlete is having to face consistent operations that push comebacks further away. He is not going to the Cleveland Clinic anymore to have his operations done—many players have lost faith in it, which is completely understandable.

Instead, the Ohio native travels to Colorado for his procedures. He vows to return in 2009, which would be great for the Browns—they'll be getting back their third string, old, slow, and injury-prone wide receiver.

The Browns need to clean the dog pound soon, because their injuries could be prevented if they managed to take some precaution when dealing with their players.

It is safe to say that most Browns players will not be using their team’s facilities for their procedures in the future.

So as fans begin to make fun of the Browns, saying they should change their mascot to big fuzzy staphylococcus aureus bacteria named Staphie, management should consider taking this a bit more seriously. They cannot afford more losses to their team in one of the tougher and more competitive divisions in the NFL.