NBA Finals

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Orlando Magic

The Los Angeles Lakers lead the series 2-0 and will fly to Orlando to face the Magic in Game three of the best of seven series. At Home the Lakers have shown dominance controlling both ends of the floor. In Game 2, trigger man Rashard Lewis single handly kept Orlando in the game. In the first half he poured in 20 of Orlando's 35 points. The half time score was 40-35. In the beginning of the third quarter, Magic Center Dwight Howard had his first dunk of the finals. The game was relatively close towards the stretch. The Magic had a 0.6 second chance to end the game when the ball was inbounded to Courtney Lee, but his alley-oop attempt was missed.

Orlando definitely needs to pull off some Magic when they play at home on Tuesday.

In High School, getting ready for next fall?

This blog goes out especially to High School students looking forward to the summer and next season. I played four years of high school basketball in the Bay Area in California. Competition is everything. Just like pro athletes, it is what you do in the off season that is going to make you better. First things first, make sure your grades are in order. If you have the talent to make the team you want to make sure you are eligible academically. Study! Study! Study! Second, if this is your first year at a new school or trying out, get involved with the open gyms available in the spring time. Open gym is a time for players and coaches to get acquainted with each other and with the program that the coaches have in place. Summer league and off season training is used to help get players into the system that the school has in place. When I was in high school we were fortunate to go on trips to the University of Oregon, Cuesta College (San Luis Obispo), Los Angeles, and Reno Nevada for summer team camps. As a high school player it is important to get INVOLVED.

Another tip, get fit and have a positive attitude. You don't have to be the most talented player on the court. You can do everything that is told of you and practice to the best of your ability every time you hit the court. There are numerous websites including my favorite www.breakthroughbasketball.com , where you can learn drills for whatever position you are trying out for or whatever position your coach wants you to be.

Last fall I coached a Jr. High basketball team to a 9-1 record (8th grade) and 8-2 record (7th grade) and it was probably the greatest experience in my life. One thing to remember is do not give up. You are in control of your own destiny when it comes to high school sports. Best of luck to all of you.

7'9'' Sensation

Sun Mingming a Chinese basketball player just finished his best season of his pro career, helped the Hamamatsu Phoenix to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference of Japan's professional basketball league. (7.7 ppg, a total of 280 Rebounds) His season highs came against Niigata Albirex BB, with 19 points and 13 rebounds in 33 minutes played.

In 2005, The china native went to the U.S. to train for a possible career in the NBA. He was not selected in the draft.

The story on Sun was that he lacked stamina and aggressiveness. Later in the 2005 summer little did he know that he had a benign brain tumor pressing against his pituitary gland. The tumor caused over production of growth hormones resulting in a condition known as "acromegaly" that causes various parts of the body to sustain abnormal and unstoppable growth. Sun grew an extra four inches. Thankfully the tumor was removed in September 2005.

Sun's career is stamped all over the world map. He has played with several minor league basketball teams including the Maryland Nighthawks of the ABA, (American Basketball Association) the Grand rapids Flight of the IBL (International Basketball League), and the Dodge City Legends of the USBL (United States Basketball A journeyman that he is in 2007 he played for the Mexican professional team Fuerza Regia before playing in Japan.

As for now the 7'9" sensation wants to be able to play for atleast 10 more years. Being compared to the Houston Rockets Center Yao Ming, 7'6" and current NBA's tallest player. Sun needs to improve his speed and overall agility as the NBA requires a lot of speed. But can you just imagine if Sun can give your team a solid 15-25 minutes off the bench how much it would improve your defense in the paint.

To read more about this Sun Mingming, you can go to his personal website: www.sevenfootnine.com

Oakland Raiders Off Season 2009

Do the Oakland Raiders have talent? Yes they do. But why can't they just get it together, better yet JUST WIN.

The Oakland Raiders have many fans wondering when will they get back to the dominating franchise they once used to be. They finished the 2008 season strong with two straight victories over Houston and Tampa Bay giving them an overall record of 5-14. The leading wide receiver was Johnnie Lee Higgins with 22 receptions. Tight End Zach Miller (59 Rec.) and Rookie running back Darren McFadden (29 Rec.) topped the list for catches. The real issue does not begin just the wide receivers. Last off season the Oakland Raiders signed mega deals to mega busts one being Javon Walker, a wide receiver. Although he has been plagued with injuries, he did not meet up to the standards of a wide out with the type of contract he is received. This year in the draft with the 7th Pick overall the Raiders selected Darrius Heyward-bey. A big question mark about why they did not chose number one rated wide receiver Micheal Crabtree from Texas Tech (San Francisco) or even Jeremy Maclin from Missouri (Philadelphia Eagles). In recent drafts, the Raiders or may I say Mr. Al Davis has had a trend with picking pure speed over talent. From looking at the highlight videos, Heyward-Bey does have the break away speed that the Raiders need. But the question that remains is if he really is a number one wide out that the Raiders need.

Hopeful, second round draft pick (47 Overall) Michael Mitchell can provide some electrifying hits that can put the mean back into the Oakland Raiders defense. On the other side of the ball, the raiders have added veterans Lorenzo Neal and San Jose State Native and one time ex 49ers QB Jeff Garcia. The Raiders added a lot of depth to both the offense and defense but did not gain a lot of talent in perspective areas. Key losses for the raiders were: Justin Griffith (FB), Kalimba Edwards (LB), Ronald Curry (WR), and Gibril Wilson (S). The re-signing of lock down corner Nnamdi Asomugha and Pro bowl kicker Shane Lechler were smart moves.

Now, the question is...will the Raiders be the same three and out offense that we have been use to since reaching the super bowl in 2002 or will there be a resurgence in the up and coming stars in Jamarcus Russel, Darren Mcfadden, Zach Miller, and Darrius Heyward-Bey. If the Oakland Raiders can put good use to what they do in the off season and work extremely hard they will having nothing but successs and confidence for the new upcoming season.

Or...will the woes continue???

Has Tiger fully recovered? Or is it his swing?

If you can recall the U.S. Open in 2008 where Tiger Woods was in one of the most anticipated golfing groupings in history between him, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott. Tiger ended the first round four shots off the lead +1 (71). On the second day he shot -3 (68), managing 5 birdeies, 1 eagle and 4 bogeys. On the third day he started off with a double bogey once again and was trailing by 5 shots with six holes to play. Although the Tiger he is, he managed to finish the round strong and take a one shot lead at the end of the day. He began the final round with another double bogey, and trailed Rocco Mediate by one stroke after 71 holes. I remember watching the final round and could see that Tiger was in pain. Limping and desperately trying to keep weight off of his left foot. Woods left with a 12-foot putt for birdie on the final hole, sunk it in to force a playoff hole match up with Mediate on Monday. At the end in the sudden death hole, Mediate miss his par putt, giving Woods his14th Major Championship.

Two days later, Tiger announced that he would need to have reconstructive anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery on his left knee and would miss the remainder of the 2008 golf season including the final two major championships.


Eight months later in 2009 which considered to be one of the most anticipated returns in sports history, Woods returned to the PGA Tour at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. He lost in the second round to Tim Clark. In his first stroke play even at Doral in the WGC-CA golf championship he finished in ninth place. He did get back on track by winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard with a purse of just a little over a $100,000,000.00. But since then he has struggled, not being able to capitalize on great opportunities. Although his comeback campaign does show that he has four top-10 finishes, Woods does seem a little out of tune.


Do you believe it is because of his surgerically repaired knee or is it just Tiger?


Tiger believes that it is not his knee but it is his swing that has been holding him back. "The knee feels great, no issues at all. That's a great sign," said Woods. (ESPN) How long will it be before we see the Tiger we have been waiting for to see again?

Carlos Zambrano's Tantrum?

In the midst of going for his 100th career win, Carlos Zambrano was ejected from the game before getting that win. The Chicago Cubs ace pitcher went wild, throwing a ball into the outfield, tossing his glove, and grabbing a bat and hitting a gatorade machine in the dugout. An arguably close call at the plate when Zambrano threw a wild pitch, the speedy Nyjer Morgan from the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates took off for home plate. Morgan slid as Zambrano who was in a good position blocking the plate noticed home plate umpire Mark Carlson called him safe. Zambrano jumped up in disbelief and argued with Carlson and as it appeared made contact with him, prompting Carlson to eject Zambrano. Zambrano then pointed in Carlson's face and mimicked him trying to eject him out of the game.



After the game Zambrano did apologize and did admit he was wrong for his actions. In a situation like this, just head for the clubhouse and finish watching your team play on. Zambrano will most likely face a suspension or a fine.



In pro sports, when players lose their composure like in this instance where Zambrano did. What do the media think about this kind of act? I personally find it exciting. Pro athletes are making big time money, give the fans something more to cheer about. Sometimes it might even put a little fire into your teams attitude.

Kobe Bryant vs Lebron James

Who would you want handling the basketball with the seconds clicking down at the end of the game. Statiscally proven Kobe has had the poise, concentration, and determination to get the job done. Although Lebron hit a big game winner with just seconds left in game 3 vs the Orlando Magic in the East Finals this year. There has been a big bubble around this question. Who is a better player? Who would you want on your team? Who is more of a leader. Both players came straight out of high school to enter the NBA draft. These two NBA Superstars are well known world wide. But which one is better than the other?


At Age 30, Kobe Bryant is still perfoming at a level where he contends for the MVP every single season. His profile is among the elite. In 1996 he was Drafted 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets. Soon after the Los Angeles Lakers had been working on a deal that would move C Vlade Divac to the Hornets for the the Drafting rights of Kobe Bryant. During his first few seasons he began coming off the bench behind guards Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. Kobe did manage to make the NBA All-Rookie Second team. With his high flying skills he respectedly won the 1997 Slam Dunk competetion. In 1999, Phil Jackson came into the city of Angels trying to turn the Lakers back into the franchise they are well known for. A Winning franchise. Kobe led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA Championships from 2000-2002 along side then teammate Shaquille O'Neal. Kobe Bryant has started in 11 All-Star games, which he was named the All-Star MVP three times. (2002, 2007, 2009). In 2006, Kobe poured down 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second all time on that list only to the great Wilt Chamberlain (100 points).



Lebron James 24, NBA Rookie of the year in 2003, and current NBA MVP has been a man of success. At age 18 he was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Listed as a small forward King James has a big build at six foot eight inches and 250 pounds. In 2006, Lebron helped lead the Cavaliers to the conference finals for the first time since 1992 and to the NBA finals for the first time in franchise history. On February 27, 2008, Lebron became the youngest player to reach 10,000 points. It was not until this year that Lebron hit his first buzzer beater. ( Against the Goldenstate Warriors @ the Oracle Arena) Lebron has seen significant improvements in his game as time has gone by. Recently this year he has been known for his coming from behind blocks which he had 23, (93 total blocks, career high).

Whether you like Kobe Bryant or Lebron James...

The buzz around town is that Lebron is a better leader. Kobe dishes off his center (Shaquille O'neal). What is great about this debate is that these are two great players and it is a debate about who is currently the best. Not cheating the league, the fans, their teammates, let a lone theirselves.

Who do you think is the best?