Football!

Let's face it. The reason I haven't been blogging is because now that school has started I have plenty of things to write, but this blog is important. The world needs some goodness from the Sports Geek.

Now that the school excuse is out of the way let's focus on the other reason I haven't been blogging: Football has started, and I've been way too busy watching rather than writing.

Quick hits on football season:

1. College football season is awesome, but we were tricked into thinking every matchup was awesome. Oregon/LSU was the only good matchup to watch, and it turned out to be a cruddy matchup.

2. The lockout jacked up the NFL during week one. It was apparent if you watched any offense, except of course for the Saints and Packers.

3. Your favorite team is never as good as you want them to be.

Alright, so we have the quick hits taken care of. Hopefully those of you who had a rough week in your fantasy leagues are looking to make some adjustments. Picking three Kansas City Chiefs players on my fantasy team was a big mistake. To Jamaal Charles, Dwayne Bowe and the Chiefs defense--the Buffalo Bills? Really? I was banking on that fact that you all were playing the Bills. My week one loss is attributed to you.

Actually, my fantasy team was a [expletive] this week--a perfect storm if you will. Phillip Rivers was meh and Steve Smith (of the Carolina variety) was on my bench. Who knew Cam Newton would have a career game in his first game? I don't think I'll get that same kind of production this week when my favorite team--the Carolina Panthers--takes on the Green Bay Packers. But Smith has been moved to the starting rotation, so we'll see what happens.

Look for more awesome Fantasy tidbits as the season goes along. I've been playing fantasy football since I was eight-years old and have only made the playoffs twice. That's right, I'm the Arizona Cardinals of fantasy football.

But I'll continue to give advice as best as I can.

NBA Lockout leaves Sports Geek crying in rain

As I’ve been reading multiple blog posts from one of my roommates I decided to incorporate his idea of having readers listen to different songs while reading my blog posts.

With the NBA Lockout now in full effect I will give you my two cents of sadness. The theme song for the NBA Lockout is Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” That’s what I’m listening to as I’m writing this post, and I feel that it sends the message of what the NBA Lockout is all about.

“Beat It! Beat It! No one wants to be defeated!”

That’s the slogan of the NBA owners with the lockout now in place. They do not want to be defeated by the players any longer. All three sides of this triangle are at fault—and no, the fans are not third side of this pyramid of shame.

The NBA owners created a system 12 years ago that allowed for big contracts to be signed. It also created a system where players would be forced to stay with the teams that drafted them—they could make the most money by staying with those teams. That didn’t matter after last year’s circus called NBA Free Agency highlighted by LeBron James’ “Decision” to kick it in South Beach with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Now the owners find themselves in a situation where they’re paying ridiculous sums of money to the likes of Darko Milicic. That was pillar one to fall.

Pillar two was the sliminess of player agents. The agents knew the system put in place. They’re purpose in life is to sell the players they represent at the highest price. They taught the players to take advantage of the system.

Players are naïve and greedy, so they were the third pillar to fall. They allowed the agents to teach them how to take advantage of the system, and we now have the problem we have.

The fans are the fourth pillar, and without the other three pillars it doesn’t matter that the fourth pillar is strong.

So now the NBA is in lockout mode with the NFL. Unlike the NFL, progress doesn’t seem possible in the NBA. It’s a very clouded future. Obviously the situation will be fixed one day and we’ll have basketball again, but when will that day be?

I love the NBA so I know I’ll be back to support the sport, but I fear that this lockout is going to hurt the popularity. The NBA has been the best it’s been in years. This lockout could set the sport back 10 years.

LeBron doesn't want to be what we want him to be

Charles Barkley's comments about LeBron James were interesting, but we've heard them before. He said it's not LeBron's personality to be "a killer" like Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan.

I don't know what's going on inside LeBron's head nor will I pretend to make logical guesses as to what's going upstairs underneath that black headband. All I know is he has a whole hosts of physical talents that aren't being used the way he should be using them.

When LeBron dunks people in the lost city of Atlantis feel it. He's powerful and I know my jaw drops every time I see him jam it home. Why isn't this happening more often in the NBA Finals? Are the Mavericks really playing such stifling defense that the King himself can't penetrate to the hoop? D-Wade is getting there, so why not LeBron?

The Heat's game plan in Game 3 was awesome at the start of the game mainly because Mario Chalmers was hitting shots. Lebron and Wade were taking the ball to the basket, and it eventually left Chalmers wide open for 3-point shots. This game plan was effective, but it seemed to be abandoned. If the Heat go back to this game plan then I can see LeBron going back to being the King we wanted him to be.

Barkley said it isn't LeBron's personality to be "the killer." Well if that was the case then we wouldn't have seen "The Decision" take place on ESPN. You want the publicity, LeBron, but you shrink during the moment that counts? Again, I have no idea what's going on inside his head, but something is not adding up.

I wanted the Heat experiment to fail. I hated them when LeBron joined forces with Wade and Bosh. But I'm intrigued to see what happens. If the Heat win the NBA Finals this year then the experiment will have worked, and you'll see other teams perform the same kind of unions, assuming the inevitable lockout doesn't ruin the current model.

But in order for the Heat experiment to succeed then LeBron needs to stop being an introverted eighth grader. It's time for him to be the guy. I'm not a fan of the team, but the NBA is better right now than it's been in MY lifetime. People in '80s will say their era was the best, but I wasn't born until 1987, so today's NBA is the best it's been in my lifetime. Today's NBA needs the Heat to win the title--RIGHT NOW.

Only LeBron knows what he really wants, but actions speak louder than words. He clearly wanted a championship so bad he was willing to let the state of Ohio turn against him. Now, he needs to prove that he wanted that championship. Wade and Bosh need him in order to win two of the next three games.

Goodbye, Shaquille

Shaquille O'Neal's retirement has a special place in my heart.

He was more than just a center who won three championships with my favorite team. He was the person who helped me become interested in basketball. I was a seven-year-old kid who had just started getting into the NFL, and it was time to take my talents to the NBA.

The first time I saw Shaq on TV was the one of the coolest moments of my childhood. He immediately became my favorite basketball player. My first jersey I ever had was a Shaquille O'Neal Orlando Magic jersey during the '94-'95 NBA season. I even remember feeling sad when I watched SportsCenter one night, and the reporter on screen talked about the Chicago Bulls' game plan to doubleteam Shaq was the key to beating the Magic.

When Shaq moved to Los Angeles to join the Lakers I joined the Lakers with him. His fan-friendly personaliy and powerful dunks always made Shaq easy for me to love.

Even when he was traded to the Miami Heat and I was supposed to hate him, I couldn't do it. I kept my fandom for Shaq at bay until it was OK for Lakers fans to start loving him again. Even when Shaq went to play for the Boston Celtics this season I still had a soft spot for the big guy.

Shaq represents my entire childhood of being a basketball fan. With him gone I can honestly say it's the end of a huge era of my life. I have his basketball cards. I still have his Orlando Magic poster framed with the caption, "RIM SHAKER." Yes, I even liked "Kazaam."

I'll miss you, Shaquille O'Neal. The era had to end someday.

My Top 5 Shaq Moments:
5. 1997-Shaq returns from injury to hit a buzzer-beater fadeaway from about 10 feet to beat the No. 1 seed Utah Jazz.

4. 2009-Shaq wins co-MVP of the All-Star Game with Kobe Bryant. The under-Dwight-Howard's-legs pass to himself was amazing. Oh and don't forget his pre-game intro with the Jabbawockeez.

3. 2000-Shaq helps bring home the first title of a three-peat against the Indiana Pacers.

2. 1998-Shaq chooses not to shoot a 3-pointer in a blow-out win against the Milwaukee Bucks. They left you open, Shaq! Take the shot!

1. 1992-2011-Shaq's whole career is my top moment. Even during his twilight years as his skills and power deteriorated he still had the personality to make people happy.

NBA Finals: Whoever wins I lose

Now that the Miami Heat officially eliminated the Chicago Bulls with their Dallas Mavericks-like comeback in Game Five, we can now look toward the NBA Finals I didn't want to see.

The Finals have an "Alien vs. Predator" feel to them seeing as how whoever wins I lose.

I was a part of the group of people that immediately hated the Heat for forming the dream team with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. I refuse to jump on the bandwagon now. And as much as I should root for the Mavericks so I can say my Los Angeles Lakers were defeated by the champs, I can't do it.

I wanted to see the Bulls back in the Finals. It would have been very NBA-on-NBC-esque. Plus, how cool would it have been to hear the Bulls intro music during their starting lineups for the Finals. I have goosebumps thinking about it, but it wasn't meant to be this year.

Instead, the team we all wanted to fail is in the Finals against this year's "America's Sweetheart." (*GAG*)

I'm pretty much over my Lakers hangover, but not having Oklahoma City vs. Chicago is a bummer to me. I'll watch the Finals this year because I love basketball and even though I hate the Heat they are fun to watch, but I still feel like a Finals loser this year.

Knicks to get crushed in playoffs

Carmelo Anthony scores 39 points against the New Jersey Nets, and I'm supposed to get excited like the announcers? Granted, ESPN needs its announcers to pump up whatever game the network is covering, but take a look at what happened to the Knicks tonight. They gave up 68 points in the first half to the Nets. The NYETS! The New York Knicks play no defense whatsoever. A'mare Stoudemire has been atrocious since Anthony showed up in New York. Melo is legit. There's no doubt about that, but the fact they give up 116 points to the Nets is absurd. Deron Williams isn't doing anything for the Nets, so there is no excuse as to why this happened. If the Knicks expect to compete with either the Boston Celtics or Miami Heat in the playoffs there are many things that need to change. However, I don't see how he Knicks are going to learn how to play defense in two weeks. The boys in blue and orange are staring at a first-round sweep. They'll run and gun and make things exciting, but there is too much power in those other two teams. The Celtics will force the Knicks into a grind-it-out series that the Knicks have no chance of winning. The Heat's Big 2 1/2 will just be too dominant if that's the series that ends up getting matched up. LeBron James actually plays defense, so you can expect Anthony's production to go down. If it's the Celtics you can expect Paul Pierce to be all over Anthony much like Pierce was all over Kobe Bryant in the 2008 NBA Finals. The Knicks will be fun to watch in the playoffs because of the storylines, but let's not kid ourselves: A sweep is in their "Magic Eight Ball."

A farewell to Jimmer

I'm not going to try and quote Ernest Hemingway in my blog, but the title is appropriate for what's about to happen in the life of Jimmer Fredette.

His five-month run as a celebrity came to a close Thursday night in the Sweet 16. Florida was the better team, and Jimmer took some pretty bad shots in the game.

For me it was strange. I've always been a huge NBA fan first and then a college hoops fan like fifth. But the Jimmer brought the college hoops game to the forefront in my mind. It's been weird.

Now Fredette will enter the NBA Draft and try to make it with the big boys. If Thursday's game was any indication of how he will play under pressure then I don't expect him to be very good as a pro. As Colin Cowherd said, "He's coming to an NBA bench near you."

Even though Jimmer will make more money as a lottery pick, he will be more productive as a later pick. If he really cares about basketball and not the money, then waiting for the Celtics, Lakers or Heat to draft him is what he should be hoping.

Right now the Lakers have Steve Blake coming off the bench to run the point. He gets like 8-10 minutes a game and is supposed to be knocking down 3-pointers. Blake doesn't always knock down 3-pointers. If the Lakers let Blake go then they can pick up Jimmer. He will come in and do what Blake is doing right now, but he will do it better.

If the Utah Jazz do the irresponsible thing of drafting Jimmer, then he will be thrown into the starting lineup. I don't think he will fair well.

Do the right thing, Jazz. Don't draft Jimmer. As for the Lakers: dump the dead weight of Blake. Jimmer can do his job better.

All-Star Weekend Bonanza

I love the All-Star Game every year, but I think I've been blinded because the Lakers are usually in first place in the Western Conference when the game rolls around.

That wasn't the case this year: the Lakers are struggling, and they're being accused of not caring again. Kobe Bryant didn't look very good down the stretch, playing while he was sick and other things.

Then he goes and scores 37 points in the All-Star Game. Call me crazy, but you go and stink up the court against the worst team in the NBA, but then you go and win MVP in a game featuring the best players in the league?

I'm beginning to think Kobe might be part of the Lakers' problems as the second half of the season gets under way tomorrow night.

Why can't Kobe go out and score 37 every night? Granted, nobody plays defense in the All-Star Game, but those are still the best players in the league. I think Kobe might be the one with a lack of motivation, and it carried over into his Laker teammates.

I'm worried with the playoffs arriving in a couple of months. I really don't want to see the Lakers bounced out in the first round by like Portland or Utah or somebody like that. With the way LA has been playing I've got no reason to believe they'll win a championship this season.

Something needs to happen, and seeing Kobe shine in the All-Star Game has got me worried about the rest of the regular season. No more flipping switches. I want to see results now, starting with tomorrow night's game against Atlanta. Kobe, go be the All-Star Game MVP against the Hawks tomorrow night.

NBA 2K11 rocks the house

NBA 2K11 already garnered "greatest sports video game ever" honors from me when I first started playing it due to the Michael Jordan theme, and getting to play as his royal airness.

But the game solidified itself when I won the NBA Finals with the Lakers: your first off-season task as the World Champs is to visit Obama at the White House. So there you are in the White House with video-game Obama. Unbelievable.

It was one of the cooler things I've seen in a video game. Obama is the only president that could pull this off. 2K Sports did a fun thing by taking advantage of having a "cool" president. Kudos to Obama for agreeing to this as well.

Lakers beat Rockets; still look awful

I've decided it's very difficult for me t effectively blog about the Lakers because of how emotionally invested I am in them. They're my team, so I'm clouded in a lot of ways, but one thing I'm not clouded on is how atrocious the Lakers are on defense.

How do you let Kevin Martin torch you for 30 points? It's unreal. The Rockets also had numerous easy layups, especially down the stretch.

Tonight's game would not have gone to overtime if the Lakers would've just played good defense. The curses of the Celtics game carried over into this game, but at least Kobe was looking for his teammates tonight. He had 11 assists on the game.

There are many things for the Lakers to still fix as we approach All-Star Weekend. The San Antonio Spurs are coming to Staples Center, so this is the Lakers' chance to get off the snide against the elite teams in the NBA. They haven't beaten one yet.

Looking ahead will never stop being a curse

Both the Lakers and Celtics lost Friday, which kind of takes some wind of sails for Sunday's NBA Finals rematch.

Occasionally teams will have let downs like the one the Celtics had against the Suns, but the Lakers seem to keep having let downs the whole season. Sometimes I really wonder how much they care. It was the Kings for crying out loud.

I think the main problem I have is that if the Celtics come out and beat the Lakers Sunday I do not want to hear any excuses. I don't want to hear, "The teams we play against care more about these games than we do."

That's not good enough. The Lakers should start caring about those games. Kobe and Gasol should think back to Christmas Day 2008 when it was their turn for a revenge game: a rematch of the Finals. The Celtics were on a hefty winning streak, but it ended on that day.

The Lakers still on the team from 2008 need to look to that game to realize what the Celtics are going through right now. That should be enough to motivate the Lakers to start playing good basketball--and maybe if the team could start knocking down some shots.

Ji-Ji-Ji-Jimmer

Just a few thoughts on Jimmer Fredette:
1. The guy will score on anybody. San Diego State was the best defensive team BYU has faced this season and Jimmer went off for 43. I'm a BYU fan so my thoughts are going to be biased, but I now believe Jimmer can compete in the NBA. He will be a solid sixth man to come in and get some big shots for whatever team he plays for. Can you imagine him with Gordon, Davis, and Griffin in L.A.? The Clippers would continue to be the most fun bad team to watch. Of course, I think Jimmer would only help the Clippers and make them competitive.

2. San Diego State is still legit. That game was close until the final five minutes when BYU suddenly pulled away. The Aztecs went through a stretch of like eight minutes with only two field goals but still managed to keep BYU close. The Aztecs play great and they'll probably beat BYU in San Diego next month.

3. As far as player of the year goes for Fredette, I can see it. He's a stud, and he's doing some amazing things. The race this year has a very Reddick/Morrison feel to it when those two went at it a few years ago.

I can see both of these teams playing each other a third time in the Mountain West Tournament. This is going to be a great finish to the season.

Beating the weak still important

The one thing I can take out of the Lakers/Jazz game on Tuesday is that it's important for the Lakers to pound on the weak teams.

The Jazz are not playing good basketball right now, and the Lakers took advantage of their lack of play. The Lakers have been winning lately, but they haven't looked great doing it. The game against the Jazz last night was the first time the Lakers have looked good winning in a while, at least since they played Cleveland.

I had a feeling Derrick Fisher would step up early on and hit a couple of shots. He really helped get the ball rolling for the Lakers dominate early. Lamar Odom was also a key factor during the game. He's continually been a player the Jazz have not been able to deal with the last three years. Phil Jackson also deserves a lot of credit for getting Kobe out of the game early on and letting the bench take over.

As for disappointments, I hand the sombrero to Pau Gasol. He did some good things only because the Jazz struggle against him. Other than that I think he was kind of lackadasical throughout the game. Also, Shannon Brown was almost removed from being my desktop picture for missing that wide-open dunk, but I forgive him. Brown is still my favorite Laker right now.

Lakers getting it

I'd like to personally thank Carmelo Anthony for creating such chaos in Denver. This allowed the Lakers to beat a playoff team, and finally learn some patience on the offensive end.

Kobe is aging nicely into this "crafty veteran" role of his. The three pump fakes on J.R. Smith leading to a fould was testament to that. I think the Lakers finally calmed down a little bit and just played basketball.

When they played the Mavericks on Wednesday there was no patience on offense, mainly because the team had to play keep-up since Jason Kidd decided to knock down like 54 3-pointers or something like that.

The tide changed against the Nuggets. When the Lakers got down in the first half and Kobe was playing distributor they didn't panic. It was just a matter of playing basketball, and eventually Kobe was able to take over in the third quarter with 14 points.

Also to be noted from Friday's game, Kobe got extensive rest in the second quarter and the Laker bench kept the game close and even had the lead for a little bit.

It was a great overall performance, and I hope the Lakers continue to implement a similar strategy every game. If a third championship is what the Lakers want then this is how they're going to have to get it.