A European Love Story

Part of growing up and becoming an adult is experiencing new things for the first time.  For most people, they do most of their experimenting in High School and College.  For me, I did most of my experimenting never.  I am not the kind of person who creates circles at parties where crowds of people gather around to hear crazy stories.  But now that I am out of College I am having to experience new things all the time related to the business world.  This past week I have had to pack up a suitcase, say goodbye to my wife, and go on one of my first business trips.  Traveling for work has the potential of being fun, but like I already mentioned, I am not one to go out and find the fun.  I am traveling this week with one other person who also left his soon to be fiance at home for the week.  So it is just us, two dudes.  I had only met him once before we were paired up to work on the same team and go out of town together. After our first day of work, we went back to the hotel, checked into our rooms, got all situated, and then met back down in the lobby to go to dinner.  We headed over to a semi-fancy restaurant (I say fancy simply because I would never use my own money to eat at a place like this) to get some food.  As we walked in and the hostess asked me, "How many?" and I responded it would just be the two of us, it dawned on me for the first time, does this girl think us two guys are on a date with each other?  This was a first for me, I had never been at a nice restaurant alone with another guy.  This was my first real man date.  I have spent many nights eating at Taco Bell or McDonalds with another man, but never at a place like this alone with another guy.

I am in no way a homophobe, but I still found myself wondering if the people sitting around us were questioning if the two of us were on a date together.  I mean, if the roles were reversed and I saw two young men sitting together, I think I would assume they were on a date.  

For the first 10 minutes or so I felt a little bit awkward, but it wasn't long before I learned something important about the man sitting across the table from me.  I don't know how it was brought up or who mentioned it first, but we soon realized that we both shared a love and a passion for something I have not shared with too many other men... a love for Soccer, specifically, European Soccer.  We instantly had a connection as we talked about our favorite squads from La Liga and the Premier League.  We told our own personal stories of how we became fans of teams neither of us had ever seen in person.  Being from the United States and not having a personal connection to any city or team in Europe, we each at some point had to pick a favorite team.  My story goes back to when I was a teenager and started learning about the English Premier League (EPL).  I knew about the major teams, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea but I knew very little about the other teams comprising the EPL.  Since I grew up in Arizona and was always a fan of the Arizona sports teams, which are smaller market teams, I always had a hatred for the big market teams, the Lakers, Yankees, Cowboys, etc.  I decided that I would choose one of the lesser known EPL teams.  I had many to choose from but I knew very little about the team's history or their players.  I decided that I would make my decision the only possible way I could; I had to decide which team's jersey I liked the most and which jersey I would be most likely to wear.  I chose a team with a light blue jersey and a crest that included an angry bird and a old fashioned wooden ship.  This team was of course, Manchester City.  I also liked that they were the cross town rivals and little brothers of the biggest name in English football, Manchester United.  It was settled, I was gonna cheer for the underdog.  But for a few years, it was just that, Manchester City was my favorite team in word, but I knew nothing about them and besides checking up on them occasionally online, I was not fulfilling my duty as a fan.  After all, EPL games were not on TV and for the most part, soccer only existed in the United States every 4 years during the World Cup.  

Like many kids, I grew up playing soccer and always enjoyed it, but at some point my interests changed from soccer to the more popular sports, basketball, football, and well, even golf.  But following high school, the next few years would prove to be critical as I fell in love with soccer.  In 2006 was a World Cup which meant a month straight of exciting international soccer.  Then in 2007 I moved down to Argentina for two years.  I have mentioned this many times before in this blog, but Argentina is a very soccer obsessed country.  I never met a single person who liked any other sport more than they liked soccer.  I was introduced for the first time to some of the great players from Argentina including Javier Pastore, Sergio Aguero, Javier Macherano, Pablo Zabaletta, Carlos Tevez, and of course, Lionel Messi.  Lionel Messi was by far the most famous and the most popular.  He was still young and was yet to prove to be as amazing as he has turned out to be, but everyone in Argentina was already touting him as the next Maradona, the God of Argentine soccer.  

I loved to watch Messi.  I did not know as much about soccer as all the people surrounding me, but I knew enough to tell that Messi was special.  But there was one other player that caught my eye, Carlos Tevez.  I can't explain what it was that made me like him so much, maybe it was his neck that looked like it had been sliced open and sewn back together, but mostly, it was his play on the pitch that I loved.  After two years in Argentina, I left having learned and gained so many things, amongst those was a renewed love for soccer.  

About this same time over in England, Manchester City decided that they were sick of being at the bottom of the EPL table, and under new ownership, they began to buy new marquee players. In 2009 they acquired Carlos Tevez from their cross-town rivals, Manchester United.  I was already a Man City "fan", but now, I had reason other than their jersey to actually follow them.  And in the years that followed, City would pick up some of my other favorite Argentine players including defender Pablo Zabaletta and Diego Maradona's son-in-law, Kun Aguero.  Needless to say, I am now, more than ever, an obsessed Manchester City fan.  I wake up early on the weekends in order to watch games that are being played in time zones hours ahead of California.  I dream of the day when I will be able to attend a City game at the Etihad stadium and proudly wear my Manchester City colors.

In my lifetime, my favorite teams have won a combined two championships (1997 Arizona Wildcats basketball and 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks), and none of my teams have won since I became a teenager.  So when Manchester City won the EPL last season in a dramatic fashion that I can only imagine will some day be immortalized in a movie, it brought a joy to me that I had not experienced in over a decade.

In a much more condensed version, I told my coworker how I came to love Man City.  He then shared with me how he became a fan of Newcastle after he watched the movie Goal.  Our connection that we formed through our love for English soccer made us instant friends.  For the rest of the night and the next night at dinner as well, we talked all about soccer.  I don't often get to talk about soccer with my friends, simply because so few of them know much about it.  But soccer is on the rise in the United States, or so I hear.  Every year there seems to be an article online about how soccer continues to grow in popularity here in the US.  Studies have shown that amongst the young people in America, soccer is the second most popular sport behind football.  But for whatever reason, this love for soccer seems to dwindle as the youth grow older.  Sadly, I believe we are still years away from soccer being on the same level as the other American sports.  I personally cannot watch the MLS without noticing a clear drop off in quality from the EPL and other European leagues.  This past week for the MLS Cup, I decided that I would do my best to watch the game. I even played a few FIFA games that morning as different MLS teams.  But neither FIFA nor the actual game could in the end make me a believer in the MLS.  The game was more entertaining than I had anticipated and the quality of play was not as poor as other games I had watched before, but it was still leaps and bounds behind what I am accustomed to watching.  It was like watching a High School football team play right after watching the Green Bay Packers.
I am rooting for soccer in America.  I have not yet given up hope.  But for the time being, I will have to watch soccer across the pond, in a land I have only dreamed of seeing.  But I will never forget my first man date when our chemistry was at an all time high as we discussed our common love.
This weekend is another edition of the Manchester Derby, Man U vs Man City.  United is only 3 points up on City and even though the EPL is still not even half way through the season, this game could prove to be extremely important.  Last season both teams finished tied for first place in the league with the exact same record.  But it was Manchester City's goal difference that gave them the advantage over United to win the championship.  City beat United 6-1, which meant a +5 goal difference for City and a -5 goal difference for United.  At end of the season, City had a better goal difference of 9 goals.  Had City not beat United by 5 goals, they would have lost the league and United would have triumphed on goal difference. Like the Clippers in basketball who have finally become an actual rival to the Lakers and are no longer just a little team that happens to share the same city, Man City has turned this cross town competition into a real rivalry.  The city of Manchester has belonged to United for the past 50 years, but now Man City is hoping to prove that their championship last season was not just a one year fluke.  

Football vs. Zombies

There are many things in this world that are frequently avoided from discussion in the work place simply because they cause tension or awkwardness amongst co-workers.  Some of these topics include religion, politics and STDs.  For example, most of my co-workers know that I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (a Mormon), and although I do not try and preach to them, most of the time that my religion is brought up in a casual conversation, a strange awkwardness ensues as no one knows what to say next and someone will often change the topic of conversation as soon as possible.  Another example of recent interest was the presidential election.  On Election Day many people proudly wore their election stickers, but I did not dare ask anyone who they voted for knowing that a debate over politics would quickly follow and feelings could easily be hurt.  And clearly, no one at work cares to discuss the crazy party you attended over the weekend which landed you with a case of the crabs.  Most people try and avoid these three and many other topics of discussion as frequently as possible.

But there is one topic that is not often avoided, but probably should be, it is that of fantasy football.  Few things ignite a fire of anger in a man more than a recent loss in a fake football game.  Yet still, Monday morning rolls around and every guy wants to talk about his fantasy football team, but no one wants to listen.  No one cares that if your receiver would have caught one more pass or if your defense wouldn’t have given up that field goal, your team would have had enough fake points to knock off your opponent.  No one cares about anyone else’s team and no one wants to hear the battle stories from your weekend of checking score updates on your computer.   I currently am involved in 3 fantasy football leagues (I was in 4, but I’ll get to that story later) and like most men, I see the appeal of fantasy football.  But no one cares how well my teams did that past week and I don’t care about how anyone else’s team did either.  Yet still, everyone talks about fantasy football and the moment the games have ended, hours of work time are spent planning for the upcoming fake game. 

I have been involved in fantasy football for about 10 years.  I started when I was young co-managing a team with my dad.  But we were never any good and we would both frequently forget to update our lineups.  This lack of attention to our team caused us most seasons to finish in or near last place.  Eventually I started managing my own team in the same league and as I previously had, I forgot about my team and down at the bottom of the table each year were my dad’s team and my team.  As the years have gone on I have been asked by many people if I want to join their leagues and for some odd reason, I can never say no to anyone, and therefore am constantly involved in leagues that I don’t have any interest in being in.  It’s not that I don’t want to do fantasy football, but I simply would rather spend my time doing other things than be wrapped up in something that does not matter and often only leads to frustration and hurt feelings.  This morning as I was thinking about fantasy football, I came to a conclusion about this phenomenon that has impacted the lives of almost every American male.  I finally realized that fantasy football is not fun. 

Ask anyone, ask your friends, neighbors, family, anyone who has a fantasy football team, “When was the last time you played in a fantasy football game and when the game was over you were so happy you couldn’t stop smiling for days?”  Or ask them, “When was the last time that at the end of a fantasy football season you looked back on the year and said to yourself ‘I’m so glad I did that’?”  Let’s face it, no one really enjoys fantasy football and most people end up losing money that they can’t afford to lose.  Fantasy football has led to many disagreements amongst friends and co-workers.  Fantasy football has gone from being a game to being a second job.  And very few people enjoy their first jobs, why would anyone want a second one?

I do not mean to be Mr. Negative and hate on something that is so popular, but just because it is popular does not make it fun.  Just because Justin Beiber is popular does not make me happy to listen to his music.  Popularity should never be linked to fun.  My wife and I are avid viewers of The Walking Dead.  It is our favorite show and we watch it every week.  We started on the show late and had to get caught up by watching the seasons on DVD.  We would get so excited about a new episode that when the music would start and the credits would run, we would turn to each other and smile with joy.  We loved watching that show.  Now season 3 has begun and like many shows, The Walking Dead has started to get darker and darker.  Which to those of you who only saw the first two seasons, you may be wondering how it is possible to get any darker than it used to be?  But the writers have figured out how to do it. 

Last week’s episode that aired on November 4^th hit a new low for darkness as three of the main characters died.  Any joy that my wife and I use to get from watching this show was quickly gone as we starred at each other not with a giddy happiness but instead with a feeling of filthiness.  We both had to ask each other, “What the heck did we just watch?”  I think we both came to the realization that we did not enjoy that episode and neither of us had any desire to watch another episode of The Walking Dead.  But when the new episode aired the following week, what do you think we both did?  Like trained monkeys, we sat and watched it, which to our joy, was nothing as dark as the previous episode. 

I feel that fantasy football is very similar to our experience with The Walking Dead.  Fantasy football used to be fun and enjoyable, it was something to look forward to, but now, as each season passes, it is less and less enjoyable to the point that no one is truly having fun.  But when another season rolls around, without hesitation, we are all signing up our teams for another year and we are pumped to win some fake football games.

There was one experience that I had this year that really turned me off from the entire fantasy football experience; I was kicked out of a league.  I am one of 4 siblings, but I am the only boy. So when I got married and suddenly had brothers-in-laws, I was stoked to do dude stuff with my new brothers.  This included an invitation from them to join their fantasy football league.  I was truly excited, and although I would now belong to 4 different fantasy leagues, I decided that this league would be my top priority since I wanted to get along with my new brothers and feel like I was a part of their family.  My wife’s family is all from Seattle and therefore are huge Seahawks fans.  In the spirit of competitiveness, I decided to name my team in this league “Pete the Cheat” making fun of the Seahawks head coach who deserted his former team USC right before the team got put on probation by the NCAA.  I was looking forward to this fantasy football season for the first time in years.

But all my excitement quickly went away on the day of the draft when I saw the makeup of this league.  In every previous league I have been involved it, we usually have to manage a QB, 3 WR, 2 RB, 1 TE, a kicker and a defense.  Some of the leagues maybe have one or two additional spots, but usually no more than a dozen total starting positions.  But in this league, each team had 3 QB, 6 WR, 6 RB, 4 TE, 3 kickers, 3 defenses, and 6 defensive players! About 30 total positions that needed to be maintained on a weekly basis.  It was just too much for me.  I sat through the first 5 rounds of the draft and then had to put my team on auto-draft simply because I could not handle so many rounds.  Needless to say, I never checked on that team again and 5 weeks into the season had not made any changes to my roster.  Still, I had two wins and was not in last place in the league.  One of my brother-in-laws then had to relay a message to me through my wife that my other brother-in-law, who was the commissioner of the league, was kicking me out of the league for not updating my team.  I honestly did not care, and within a couple of days, I could no longer access that league.  I did not think much of it until a few days later I made a comment about being kicked out of the league on a message one of them had posted to Facebook, which then blew up into a huge ordeal and inevitably, feelings were hurt.  It all culminated with my peace offering: an invitation to each of them to join my upcoming WNBA fantasy league which I plan to start next year (first pick: Brittney Griner!).

I was not upset to be kicked out of a fantasy league in which I had yet to update my team even a single time.  Being a part of the league or not made no difference to me.  But it did sadden me to see that a fake sport could cause a rift between me and members of my new family.  How sad it was that something that did not matter at all, a fake football team, could be more important than family.  

So when next August rolls around and it is time to join another fantasy football league, of course I will join.  Just like when next week rolls around, of course I will continue to watch The Walking Dead.  But I don’t do fantasy football because it brings me any joy or fun, I do it because, well… I guess I have absolutely no idea why I do it, and I am positive I’m not alone in that.

NBA Season Preview 2012 - 2013

What a off season we have had.  So many big name players have new homes for the upcoming season.  I too have found a new home.  I may currently reside in San Francisco, but no worries, I am still, even without Steve Nash, a complete 100% Suns fan.  Now lets be honest about it, I know I will be attending a few Warriors games, and I know they will be the Suns biggest rivals for third place in the Pacific division, but I finally have a chance to go to a game and wear a Jersey with my last name on it.  I am currently in a bidding war on ebay for a David Lee Golden State Warriors jersey.  And by bidding war, I actually mean to say, I am the only person interested in purchasing it.  But no worries, I will be in Oakland on February 2 cheering for the Suns, wearing my Goran Dragic jersey.  What a horrible idea it was for the Suns to ever trade Dragic.  After a season and a half without him, he now returns to the Suns to take over for Steve Nash. But the real downside to the entire situation is that he use to wear number 2 and in his return to the Suns will now be wearing number 1.  This means that my old Dragic jersey is no longer up to date, which is a travesty for me and well, probably only me.  I don't think too many other people jumped on the Dragic bandwagon and bought his jersey, just me.  Unlike the Orlando fans who burnt their Dwight Howard jerseys when he ditched them for the Lakers, I have no desire to burn my Steve Nash jersey as he is possibly the greatest Suns player of all time.  What he was able to do in Phoenix, making it to two Western Conference Finals, and over the past few seasons, carrying a team of sub-par players, was an incredible accomplishment and he will forever be in my heart a Phoenix Sun. It just sucks to see him wearing a Lakers jersey.  After so many epic playoff battles with the Lakers, he joins the enemy.  But still, I can't help but hope he has success.  I wanted him to play for a championship contending team, I just wish it was any other team.

So lets proceed with my 2012 season preview.  My buddy Ed and I made our over/under predictions based on the original Vegas lines that came out about two weeks ago.  Lets take a look at Ed's picks:

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1   Oklahoma City Thunder     60.5  -  Under
2   Los Angeles Lakers           59.5  -  Over
3   San Antonio Spurs             55.5  -  Under
4   Denver Nuggets                 49.5  -  Over
5   Los Angeles Clippers         48.5  -  Over
6   Memphis Grizzlies              48.5  -  Under
7   Dallas Mavericks               45.5  -  Under
8   Utah Jazz                           42.5  -  Over
9   Minnesota Timberwolves    39.5  -  Over
10 Portland Trail Blazers         35.5  -  Under
11 Golden State Warriors       34.5  -  Over
12 Phoenix Suns                     34.5  -  Over
13 Houston Rockets               30.5  -  Under
14 Sacramento Kings             29.5  -  Under
15 New Orleans Hornets        25.5  - Over

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1   Miami Heat                       60.5  - Over
2   Boston Celtics                   51.5  -  Under
3   Indiana Pacers                   51.5  -  Over
4   Chicago Bulls                    47.5  -  Under
5   Philadelphia 76ers             47.5  -  Over
6   New York Kincks             45.5  - Over
7   Atlanta Hawks                  43.5  -  Over
8   Brooklyn Nets                  43.5  -  Over
9   Milwaukee Bucks             36.5  -  Under
10 Cleveland Cavaliers          32.5  -  Under
11 Detroit Pistons                  32.5  -  Under
12 Toronto Raptors               31.5  -  Under
13 Washington Wizards         31.5  -  Over
14 Orlando Magic                 24.5  -  Under
15 Charlotte Bobcats             21.5  -  Over

NBA FINALS PREDICTION - LAKERS vs. HEAT

In Ed's own words, " As much as I hate to say it, I think it will be Heat and Lakers in the finals with the Heat winning it."

So we will have to keep our eye on Ed's picks.  I have more confidence in Ed than I do in nearly any person.  If he were a gambler, he would be a millionaire by now.  Sadly, he has missed his calling.

Lets move on to my 2012 preseason NBA predictions.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics      51.5  -  Over

I like the changes the Celtics made in the off season.  I like the additions of Jason Terry and Courtney Lee.  I think Jared Sullinger if he can stay healthy will be great coming in off the bench to help the aging Kevin Garnett.
Prediction:  54-28

Brooklyn Nets    43.5  -  Over

I like the Nets, but I don't love them.  They made a lot of changes this year singing Joe Johnson and Gerald Wallace, and they were able to keep Deron Williams.  But Deron Williams has not been good for two seasons and no one on the Nets plays great defense.  I think they'll be good, but not amazing.
Prediction:  45-37

New York Knicks   45.5  -  Under

I do not like this team at all going into the season.  I don't think they have meshed together well ever since Carmelo joined Amare.  Jason Kidd is old and well, the entire team is old.  They may possibly be the oldest team in NBA history.
Prediction:   42-40

Philadelphia 76ers   47.5  -  Over

The Sixers picked up their franchise player, Andrew Bynum, in a trade from the Lakers.  Two big questions will determine their season: Can Bynum stay healthy? and Is he ready to lead a team?  I'm assuming he will stay mostly healthy and will adjust well to his role as a leader now that he is not in Kobe's spotlight.
Prediction:   50-32

Toronto Raptors   31.5  -  Over

I like the addition of Kyle Lowry and the draft pick of Terrance Ross.  I think this season will be a big step in the right direction for the Raptors.
Prediction:   34-48

Central Division

Chicago Bulls   47.5  -  Under

The big question is how long will the Bulls be without Derrick Rose? I think this season is almost a throw away season for the Bulls and they have to set their hopes on next season.  But they do have one of the best coaches in the league and a group of talented players.  They'll still be competative, but without Rose, they simply aren't the same team.
Prediction: 43-39

Cleveland Cavaliers   32.5  -  Under

Kyrie Irving should continue to improve as he has already established himself as one of the better young guards in the league.  But I still think they are a few pieces shorts of being a great team.  They did not seem to help themselves by drafting Tristan Thompson so early. 
Prediction:   29-53

Detroit Pistons    32.5  -  Over

I really like their draft pick of Andre Drummond and I believe Brandon Knight will have a big second season.  They should improve, but still aren't great.
Prediction:   35-47

Indiana Pacers   51.5  -  Under

The Pacers were surprisingly really good last year and even gave the Heat a scare in the playoffs.  But I don't think they did much this off season to get any better.
Prediction:  48-34

Milwaukee Bucks   36.5  -  Under

As I have mentioned in this blog before, I love to watch Monta Ellis play.  I think he is a very exciting offensive player.  But he can't play defense.  In Golden State he was paired with an equally exciting player, Steph Curry.  But that backcourt combination, although very exciting, did not have great success.  I think the result will be the same this year with Ellis being joined by Brandon Jennings in the backcourt.
Prediction:   33-49

Southeast Division

Atlanta Hawks   43.5  -  Over

The Hawks do not have a single player that really jumps out at you when you look at their roster.  They will again be led by Al Horford and Josh Smith, but with the absence of Joe Johnson.  For some reason I get the feeling that this will be a team that plays together well and sneaks up on other teams who over look their talents.
Prediction:  47-35

Charlotte Bobcats   21.5  -  Over

I am not convinced that the Bobcats can win 10 games this year.  They are awful.  But I am betting on Kemba Walker getting better, and of all the players in the 2012 draft, I liked Michael Kidd-Gilchrist better than anyone else.  I hear he has an incredible work ethic and I think his presence will help this team a lot.
Prediction: 22-60

Miami Heat  60.5  -  Over

As Jalen Rose always says, Lebron James is like a dog that has been eating dry dog food for years and finally got to taste scraps from the kitchen table.  Now he knows what real food tastes like and does not want to return to the dry dog food.  Lebron now knows what winning a title tastes like and he wants another, and another, and another.  Ray Allen will help spread out the court and Dwayne Wade is healthy.  I think the Heat will have an historic season.  Almost 1996 Bulls historic, but not quite.
Prediction:   66-16

Orlando Magic  24.5  -  Under

No Dwight Howard.  Remember what happened to the Cavs when Lebron left? They were awful.  They lost 24 straight games. Do I think the Magic have it in them to lost 24 straight? Well, lets just say, I don't think that would be impossible.  They are going to be a really bad team.
Prediction:   21-61

Washington Wizards   31.5  -  Under

I don't know what to think about the Wizards.  John Wall will miss about the first month of the season with a knee injury.  I know it's only one month. But that is not a good way to start out a season.  Hopefully Bradly Beal is as good as expected, but there are too many unknowns with this team.
Prediction:   27-55

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Southwest Division

Dallas Mavericks   45.5  -  Under

The Mavericks wanted Dwight Howard, they wanted Deron Williams, and they got nothing.  They lost Jason Terry and Jason Kidd.  Dirk Nowitzki is hurt and will miss the start of the season.  I just can't see this team being any good this year.  Too many changes and very few of them are positive and they have just too much to overcome.
Prediction:  41-41

Houston Rockets   30.5  -  Under

Like the Mavs, the Rockets tried to get Dwight Howard and failed.  So they went out and got Jeremy Lin and paid him so much that in essence they made him their franchise player.  I think Lin is good, but his sample size of games, although incredible, is just too small.  I simply don't believe the Rockets will be very good, although, I do love their draft pick Royce White.  I hope he has a great NBA career.
Prediction:   29-53

Memphis Grizzlies   48.5  -  Over

I think the Grizzlies last year had a team capable of making a long run into the playoffs, but they got knocked out in the first round by the Clippers.  They gave up a 27 point lead in one game.  They Lost O.J. Mayo to the Mavericks and besides that, pretty much stayed the same.  Their success this season will depend on the health of Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay.  If they're healthy, they'll be good.
Prediction:   50-32

New Orleans Hornets   25.5  -  Over

I have said many times before that I love Eric Gordon.  I think he is an All Star player waiting to happen.  He just needs the right team and the right opportunity.  I was hoping that team and opportunity came in Phoenix but he will be staying in New Orleans.  They made some good additions in the off season, but nothing bigger than their drafting of the Uni-brow, Anthony Davis.  Many people believe Davis alone will make this team a dark horse for the 8th spot in the west, but I think it is a season premature.
Prediction:   33-49

San Antonio Spurs   55.5  -  Over
They're the same team that had the best record in the West last season, just another year older.  Every year I think they are going to start to show their age, but they never do.  They'll again be contending for the top spot out West.
Prediction: 58-24

Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets   49.5  -  Over

Everyone involved in the Dwight Howard trade won big, except for the Magic.  The addition of Andre Iguodala should help them to defend Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durrant, Kobe Bryant, and the other high scorers out West.  I like Ty Lawson as their Point Guard and I think Andre Miller brings good veteran leadership as the backup.  Overall, I love their starting lineup.  I think JaVale McGee will be much better now that he isn't in Washington, Kenneth Faried is a monster on the boards and Danilo Gallinari is gonna score.  This is a good looking Nuggets team.
Prediction: 54-28

Minnesota Timberwolves   39.5  -  Under

With Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio starting the season on the injured reserve it would be very difficult for this team to get to 40 wins.  The T-Wolves have the talent for the first time in years, but the injuries will put them another year out of the playoffs.
Prediction:   32-50

Oklahoma City Thunder   60.5  -  Under

I just get the feeling that something bad will happen to the Thunder this season.  Their big 3 has yet to suffer a serious injury or any sort of set back.  It happens to every team at some point, I think this year the Thunder will have some adversity to overcome.  But they are still the best team in the West in the regular season.  A big question is if the Thunder will trade James Harden before the trade deadline.  If they do, such a trade could have a huge impact on the chemistry this team has built.   It's just a gut feeling, but the Thunder will have some obstacles to overcome this season.
Prediction: 59-23

Portland Trail Blazers   35.5  -  Over

My biggest concern for the Blazers is that they will turn into a two-man team with LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum.  I think they will challenge for the final playoff spot in the West, but there are 4 possible playoff teams in their division, and I think they are the fourth best.  I hear Damian Lillard looks great and if he has a good season, he could give the Blazers a big boost.  But if he has a typical rookie season, they don't have a good backup Point Guard to come in and lift them up.
Prediction: 37-45

Utah Jazz   42.5  -  Over
Anyone who knows me knows that I hate the Utah Jazz.  Having said that, I love what the Jazz have done to get back to the level they were at with Deron Williams.  The additions of Marvin Williams, Randy Foye, and Mo Williams make them sneaky good.  No team is going to have Utah circleed on their calendar as a game they need to prepare for, and for that reason, I see the Jazz pulling off some big wins this year.
Prediction:   48-34

Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors   34.5  -  Under

My new home town team.  I like the addition of Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes could be an exciting Rookie, but I am not sold on Klay Thompson as a starting Shooting Guard and I worry about Steph Curry's injury problems.  I hope they are good and an exciting team to watch, but I am not going to get my hopes up too much.
Prediction:  32-50

Los Angeles Clippers   48.5  -  Under

On paper their starting lineup looks great and their bench looks great too.  But they made so many additions to the team this off season that I worry about their ability to mesh well together.  They added Lamar Odom, Ronny Turiaf, Grant Hill, Matt Barnes, and Jamal Crawford just to name a few.  There is bound to be a few of those big name players who will be left on the bench and will not get the playing time they think they deserve.  The team chemistry will be off and Vinny Del Negro is not a good enough coach to be able to fix it.
Prediction: 45-37

Los Angeles Lakers   59.5  -  Under

Nash, Kobe, Gasol, and Howard.  Should be a championship team.  I would not be shocked if at the end of the season it is a championship caliber team.  But they each have such a different style of play that it may take the team a few months to figure out an offensive system that works.  Kobe is going to want shots, but Nash runs his teams with the ball in his hands and works off the pick and roll.  That may mean Gasol and Howard get plenty of touches at the rim, but where does that leave Kobe?  There is too much talent on this team to not be successful, but it may take some time.  We also don't know yet how healed Dwight Howard truly is from his back surgery.
Prediction: 55-27

Phoenix Suns   34.5  -  Under

I have always said the worst possible team in the NBA is the team that is no good and also old.  That's what the Suns have been for the past two seasons.  Besides Steve Nash they have not been any good and they have been old with two members of the starting lineup nearing the age of medicare.  It was time for the Suns to part ways with Nash, in fact, I think it was one season too late.  The Suns put together a decent group of players this off season and should be competitive, but I still don't believe they'll be very good.  The group of players they assembled are all mostly second level players, the rejects from other teams.  It's a painful feeling knowing that my favorite team is no good, so I guess this will be a season of  little individual victories.  Like if they can at least split the season series with the Jazz, or if they can get a road victory over a title contending team, or if they have an awful season and finish in last place and win the lottery.  Any of those scenarios would make me happy.
Prediction:   31-51

Sacramento Kings   29.5  -  Under

The Kings have so much talent that they should be good, but they are not a real team.  To me they look like a group of players that have been thrown together because they are talented.  They are like the team that already has 4 Point Guards and uses a second round pick to draft another Point Guard.  They will be a team similar to Golden State over the past few seasons; a lot of fun to watch, but no defense and very little hope of winning.  And I think with the announcement of a new arena being build in downtown Seattle, the Kings may be playing one of their final seasons in Sacramento.
Prediction: 26-56

Playoff Predictions
(Winners in Bold)

Eastern Conference
1. Miami Heat
2. Boston Celtics
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Indiana Pacers
5. Atlanta Hawks
6. Brooklyn Nets
7. Chicago Bulls
8. New York Knicks

Round One
1. Miami Heat
8. New York Knicks

4. Indiana Pacers
5. Atlanta Hawks

2. Boston Celtics
7. Chicago Bulls

3. Philadelphia 76ers
6. Brooklyn Nets

Round Two
1. Miami Heat
5. Atlanta Hawks

2. Boston Celtics
3. Philadelphia 76ers

Conference Finals
1. Miami Heat
2. Boston Celtics

Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Los Angeles Lakers
4. Denver Nuggets
5. Memphis Grizzlies
6. Utah Jazz
7. Los Angeles Clippers
8. Dallas Mavericks

Round One
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
8. Dallas Mavericks

4. Denver Nuggets
5. Memphis Grizzlies

2. San Antonio Spurs
7. Los Angeles Clippers

3. Los Angeles Lakers
6. Utah Jazz

Round Two
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
4. Denver Nuggets

3. Los Angeles Lakers
7. Los Angeles Clippers

Conference Finals
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
3. Los Angeles Clippers


NBA FINALS
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Miami Heat

CHAMPIONS:  MIAMI HEAT

2012 Postseason Preview

The other day at work, when I went to use the bathroom, I noticed something interesting. It was something that I had seen for years but had never taken time to stop and think about it. After all, not too many people have deep insights in a bathroom. For the men, I am sure you too have all seen what I am about to describe and many have even experienced it for yourselves. For you ladies, let me paint the picture of what a men’s bathroom looks like.

In a men’s bathroom there are usually at least two urinals and almost without fail, one of those two urinals is shorter than the other. So one is for taller people and one is for shorter people. If you are short, you pee at the short urinal, and if you are tall, you pee at the tall urinal. It is the same with most drinking fountains, there is almost always one that is higher up than the other. But one thing about men is that they are too prideful to ever use to lower of the two urinals. They may be shorter than 5’2” but in their minds, they are tall enough for the big boy’s urinal. I on the other hand and 6’2” and it can be quite annoying having to use the short man’s toilet. But for some reason, no matter how short you are, if both urinals are open, you will use the tall man’s urinal. I guess it is a matter of pride and for those 30 seconds of peeing, you fill as tall as LeBron or Jordan. Too often a man much shorter than me will walk into the bathroom and will take the taller of the two toilets, forcing me to bend my knees to ensure I get my pee where it belongs.

So when I saw what I saw the other day, I was shocked. A man, maybe about 5’6”, a man who society would consider “short” or “below average” actually walked straight to the shorter urinal and did so without hesitation. It was as if he said to himself and everyone else, “I accept who I am and I am going to pee where I feel most comfortable.” I waited until he was done with his bathroom duties and carried him out on my shoulders for being such a hero and a symbol of confidence. Actually, I instead got to thinking about sports. How many times do we see players or teams trying to be something they are not? They are peeing at the tall man’s toilet when in reality, they need to be peeing in a toilet more appropriate for their height. For example, Tim Tebow. I do not have anything against him, I think he is a good football player and a great person, but we are kidding ourselves if we think he can actually be a successful starting quarterback in the NFL. Maybe his true calling is to be a tight end or full back, but a quarterback? I think time will prove that he is just trying to pee at a urinal too tall for him. But I could be wrong.

But I am not going to write an entire article about why Tim Tebow will not succeed; instead, I’d like to focus on the positive. There have been two teams who most people thought belonged at the shorter urinal and instead proudly peed from the adult toilet. Yesterday, the final day of the baseball season, I decided it would be a good time to look back on various preseason predictions made by some of the brightest minds in baseball. Almost every baseball writer had both the Orioles and A’s in last place in the AL East and West respectively. I could not find a single writer who picked either of them to be in the playoffs. No one even mentioned them as a possible “surprise” or “dark horse” team. Nope, instead they were chosen to be in last or second to last by nearly every single writer. Everyone said in essence, “you’re too short to use the adult toilet and at no point will be tall enough.” As the season went on and those two teams started to become a part of the possible playoff picture, everyone said that it was only a matter of time before they hit a wall and fell back to reality. Sadly, that is what happened with the Pittsburgh Pirates. They too were in the playoff picture as recently as a month ago, but as the calendar turned to September, they could not buy a win and soon went into free fall from their playoff dreams.

So now that both Baltimore and Oakland have made the playoffs, will either of them keep the run going? It is possible that the Orioles first playoff trip in 15 years is over in one game and although they made the playoffs, they may not get a chance to play an entire series. But Oakland, who at one point was 13 games behind Texas and was 5 games back with 9 games to go, miraculously swept the Rangers to win the AL West. I think most people would still say that the Orioles will be out of the playoffs after one game and the A’s will lose in the first round to the Tigers. With so many strange things happening this season, predicting what will happen this postseason will not be easy but I’ll give it a shot.

WILD CARD GAMES

National League: Cardinals vs. Braves

It all comes down to one person, Kris Medlen. The Braves have won his last 13 starts and in the month of August he had an ERA of .050 and in September an ERA of 1.26. He has been the best pitcher in the National League since July and will be the reason the Braves beat the Cardinals at home.

American League: Orioles vs. Rangers

Texas has only won 3 of their last 10 games including losing their last 3. The Orioles are one of the biggest surprises of the season. Texas looked to be on the right path to their third straight World Series before running into the A’s. I would not be surprised if either of these teams were to win tomorrow. But the Rangers have Darvish pitching and are at home, which leads me to believe that they will make it to the divisional series and knock off the Cinderella Orioles before they have had a chance to play a full series. The O’s are back in the playoffs, but not for long.

DIVSIONAL SERIES

National League

Giants vs. Reds

I don’t know how much this has been talked about this year, but for whatever reason, the lower seed in the divisional series will play the first two games at home and the higher seed will play the final three at their home. What the? I have no idea who came up with this brilliant plan, but I think in this series it will hurt the Reds. AT&T is not an easy ballpark to play in and to have to go on the road against both Cain and Bumgarner, I think the Reds are in trouble. The Giants will win those first two games and put the Reds into an elimination situation. I think the Reds will get one win at home, but the Giants will finish them off in 4 games.

Braves vs. Nationals

No Strasburg, No Problem. That’s all that needs to be said. Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmerman will pitch well enough in Atlanta and having to use Kris Medlen in the Wild Card game will put the Braves at a disadvantage. The Nationals will be tested, but will knock off their divisional rivals.

American League

A’s vs. Tigers

Miguel Cabrera has won the first triple crown in 45 years and will likely win this season’s MVP. The combination of Cabrera, last season’s MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander and Prince Fielder who is having a great season himself, makes the Tigers an easy pick to move past the A’s. But just like I cannot explain how the A’s won their division, I cannot explain how they will beat Detroit, but I’ve got a feeling that they will.

Rangers vs. Yankees

What an exciting divisional series this will be. I would be shocked if it did not go 5 games. The Yanks have at times looked unbeatable and at other times, they’ve looked average. They gave up a 10 game lead in their division and were for the last few weeks of the season tied off and on with the Orioles for first. But wait, isn’t that almost exactly what happened to the Rangers. They gave up a 13 game lead to the A’s, but unlike the Yankees, they could not hold off them off and eventually lost their division. To me, this series is a tossup, so I will look at their most recent season series, which is not good logic, but who cares. The Yankees beat the Rangers in 3 of the 4 games they played, so to follow suit, I’ve got to pick the Yanks.

CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
National League

Giants vs. Nationals

First time a baseball team from DC has been to the post season since 1933. It has been a special season for the Nationals. Both of these teams have had such great seasons because of the pitching staff. The Giants struggle to put runs on the board, and I think this will hurt them. The Nationals have solid hitting and should be able to score quickly, putting the Giants in a hole, which they will struggle to recover from. I saw these teams play this season in San Francisco, and maybe I chose a bad game to attend, but the Nationals won 14-2. One game cannot predict a payoff series, but still, Nats to the World Series.

American League

A’s vs. Yankees

Again, I have no rhyme or reason for my pick here, but again, I am picking the A’s. Call me an idiot because I probably am, but I just have to pick Oakland. The last two seasons the winner of the World Series came into the playoffs hotter than anyone else and I think the A’s are this seasons Giants or Cardinals. They’re on their way to a World Series. Someone better call Brad Pitt and see if he is available for another movie.

WORLD SERIES

A’s vs. Nationals

The A’s last won a World Series in 1989 and the Nationals have never been to the postseason as the Nationals. If these two teams make it to the World Series, it would be as unpredictable of a World Series as I can remember. Honestly, I would be shocked myself if this actually was the World Series, but stranger things have happened… or have they? Nothing comes to my mind right now. Maybe the Rockies vs. Red Sox in 2007 or the Rays vs. Phillies in 2008, but I think this would top either of those. Although it would be quite the story to have the A’s bring a title back to Oakland, I just do see it happening. The Nationals will win the 2012 World Series. But I still think the A’s have earned their spot at the tall urinal.

Arizona Sports Update (With Ed Rothlisberger)

Last night, September 25, 2012, was my final chance of seeing the Diamondbacks in person this year.  Although they are currently 5.5 games back in the wildcard race and have no hope of climbing over 3 other teams to grab the final wildcar slot, I was still excited to see the D-Backs take on the home town Giants.  What most excited me was the opportinity to see who I believe will be the Diamondbacks future ace, Tyler Skaggs.  Sadly, at the last minute, they replaced Skaggs for Josh Collmenter.  I have no problem with Collmenter, overall he is a decent pitcher, but I was looking forward to seeing the 21 year old throw in only his 7th major league start.  Sadly, those first 6 starts have not been what most people would consider "impressive."  He has infact gone 1-3 with a 5.83 ERA.  But like I said, he is 21 and although the D-Backs have lost 5 of his 6 starts, I think he has shown a lot of pottential and could infact become a great starter for Arizona.  Hopefully next year he is able to have a season similar to Rookie of the Year candidate Wade Miley.  This article I am writing was going to be my in-person review of Tyler Skaggs and the future of Arziona, but since I did not get to see him pitch, I had to shake things up.  Yet still, the season may be all but over for the Diamondbacks, but I think they are showing signs of a promising future.

As I was waiting for my friend Eddie, a huge Giants fan, to get off the train last night so we could head over to the game, I started texting one of my best friends, Ed Rothlisberger, with whom I grew up with in Tucson.  For any of my readers who do not know Ed, he knows more about sports than anyone I have ever met.  He can pull facts and stats out of the his brain as if he were a computer.  He knows the names of the most obscure players and can referce games as if he were a participant in the game itself.  Ed is the real Arizona Sports Guy and I will be the first to say it, he needs to have a job in sports.  He needs to be working as a scout, analyst, reporter, ticket taker, Corn Dog vendor, or a team's General Manager, it doesn't matter, he belongs in sports.

As Ed and I began our conversation last night, after discussing for a few minutes the best show on TV, The Walking Dead (Season 3 begins October 14), we soon began to discuss the Diamondbacks' future and a few of our other Arizona sports teams.  Below is the transcript of our conversation:

Me: Well man, off to another dbacks game. Too bad I gave up hope on them 3 weeks ago.

Ed: Yeah, their chances are pretty much slim to none now

Me: I was so stoked to see Tyler Skaggs pitch tonight, I think he'll be their future ace, but last minute they replaced him for Collmeter. He throws like a tomahawk.

Ed: Yeah Collmenter has a weird throwing motion. I wish Stephen Drew would have been healthy

Me: The whole reason I wanted to go was to see Skaggs. I was gonna write about him in my article. Trading Drew may not have been good. He's not bad for the A's and he's much better than John McDonald or whoever else their putting out at short.

Ed: Yeah McDonald and Bloomquist weren't that good. Getting Johnson from the Astros was a good deal but yeah trading Drew wasn't

Me: Yeah I like Johnson. I think The dbacks are one good acquisition away from winning the NL West next year. The Dodgers are gonna implode just like the Red Sox.

Ed: Yeah they are, that trade hasn't really worked out for them

Me: I like the Diamondbacls 40 man roster. I love Adam eaton. They have lots of guys that'll be good next year, including Skaggs.

Ed: Yeah Eaton has been a good surprise, as was Miley and Skaggs...and to an extent Hill was too. I just think they need to get a good shortstop and better pitching and they are World Series bound

Me: I agree 100%. Well at least playoff bound. I don't know if I wanna keep Upton or not, he's been good lately, but he's not playing up to his contract. He'll be making like 10 mil next year and 15 mil in 2 years. I feel like all he ever does is pop out to the infield.

Ed: True...with Young coming back along with Kubel, Eaton and Parra, Upton can be traded to get us a quality player.

Me: I agree. Dude, if we could just get the Suns good, then the AZ future would be looking bright. What do you think of the Cards so far? 3-0!

Ed: I knew the Cardinals defense was good, I just didn't know it was this good. Having a great defense plus having an offense just putting enough points on the board to win...I'd say look out!

Me: I feel like they're the type of team that will not lose if they get a lead, but I worry about them having to come back after falling behind early.

Ed: Yeah I'd agree with you on that too!

Me: But I think they'll win almost every turnover battle. Any chance the Cats beat Oregon State? You gonna be at that game?

Ed: I don't have plans but I do have work off so I think I'll look in to going. I think it's going to be a defensive shoot out really. I think it's going to be close.


3 Hours later after the Diamondbacks beat the Giants 7-2

Me: Well, nice win, but just too far out to make a run now. I got to see the dbacks 3 times this year and they won all 3, so at least I can take that away from this season.

Ed: That's awesome! Yeah they need lots of stuff to happen in order to get the wild card. I want them to have a winning record at least to end the season

Me: Not that it really matters, but I think they could easily overtake the dodgers for second place. They should have a winning record they finish with 6 games at home against the Cubs and Rockies.

Ed: True but they are 6 games back in the wild card

Me:Yeah, they have no shot at the playoffs.

Ed: Yeah :-/

Me: I'm still hoping for 7 U of A wins and a bowl in Rich Rod's first year.

Ed: I am hoping it happens man!! I think it will

Me: Looking at their schedule from here out, no games are a for sure win except Colorado. They could lose all of them or win all of them, except USC.

Ed: True. I think they'll win at least half

Me: I hope so, I just wanna see progress this year. Same thing I hope to see from the Suns. Not expecting too much.

Then I went to bed.

As mentioned above in the conversation, I am truly excited for the future of Arziona sports.  I did not mention all sports teams, so I wanted to touch up quickly on a few of the teams I did not go into depth on wtih Ed.

Arizona Wildcat Football:
The Cats have started out 3-1 beating then #18 Oklahoma State in an exciting shootout with a total of 97 points being scored and then 2 weeks later, losing to #3 Oregon 49-0.  It is hard to know what to expect from Arizona this year. In the first half of that Oregon game they could have easily been leading 14-13 at the half, but instead they were down 13-0 and then got dismantled in the second half.  As I look through their remaining schedule, as I mentioned above, Arizona could win all or none of them.  But here are my picks for the rest of their season.

Sept 29 vs Oregon State: Loss
Oct 6 at Stanford: Loss
Oct 20 vs Washington: Win
Oct 27 vs USC: Loss
Nov 3: at UCLA: Loss
Nov 12: vs Colorado: Win Big
Nov 17: at Utah: Win
Nov 23: vs ASU: Win!!!

Final Record: 7-5 heading to the  Maaco Bowl Las Vegas.

I personally think a 7 win season by the Cats would be impressive in Rich Rodriguez's first season as the head coach.  Last season after firing Mike Stoops, Arziona finished with 4 wins, but I believe they are on the way up, they are making progress.  I do not expect them to be contending for the Pac 12 title any time soon, but hopefully year after year they keep moving forward.  If Rich Rod can have a few good seasons and build a decent reputation, recruits will start to come to Tucson.  But it will either take a miracle season or another USC suspension to get U of A in the Rose Bowl. 

Arizona Wildcat Basketball:
Last season was nothing short of a disappointment.  In Tucson, anything short of the tournament is a disappointment.  After making it to the elite 8 in 2011, the NIT in 2012 just didn't cut it.  But with the return of Soloman Hill for his senior year, an exciting group of Sophomores who now have experience, and 4 ESPN top 100 recruits, Arizona should be the class of the Pac 12 and should without a doubt improve upon last season's lackluster performance.  Under the direction of Sean Miller in his 4th season, the Cats are prepped and ready for a Pac 12 title.  UCLA may have the #1 recruiting class in the nation, but I trust Sean Miller to coach his #4 recruiting class better than Ben Howland. 

Phoenix Suns:

Who will even be their starting 5 this season? I am guessing that Alvin Gentry will put out a dozen or more starting line ups this year before he finally figures out which 5 players make up the best B level team the Suns can possibly become.  Phoenix has one of the worst front office's in the league and I fear they will soon fall below the Warriors and the Kings in the Pacific division.  The Suns have lost their only good player and were unable to sign a future All Star, Eric Gordon.  Last season the Suns put on the floor Steve Nash and 4 other players that would be back ups on most other teams in the league.  I personally love Goran Dragic, who returns to Phoenix after 1.5 years with the Rockets.  It was dumb that the Suns ever traded him, but I am glad that they have repented of their mistake and that Dragic was humble enough to return to the team that traded him.

I am not coach Gentry, but just looking at their roster, I am thinking the Suns day one starting lineup will look something like this:

PG: Goran Dragic

SG: Jared Dudley (But maybe Wesley Johnson)

SF: Michael Beasley

PF: Luis Scola

C: Marcin Gortat

Looks to me like a team that will be 5 to10 games under .500 and finish 3rd in their division behind the obvious division leaders, the LA Lakers and Clippers.

Arizona Cardinals:

I have no idea.  They are 3-0 and I thought they would be 0-3 at this point.  They are playing in a division that may be the best in the league this year.  I have no idea if the Cardinals will continue to play this way or if they will begin to look more like everyone predicted they would look. 

Phoenix Mercury:
They won the WNBA lottery and will de drafting Brittney Griner!!! Oh wait, I still don't care about the WNBA, never mind. 

Truth be told, I am excited about the future of Arizona sports.  I am fearful of the Suns future and wish that Ed and I could go in and fix this mess, but since we can't, we will be forced to watch a team of B level players try and compete in a division with Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Besides the Suns, all other teams show promise and hope.  Now lets just cross our fingers that the NHL lockout will end and give the Coyotes a chance to defend the division title and run to the western confernce finals.