Before anyone writes an article that involves a discussion of Lebron James, I feel it is almost necessary to establish where you fall on the Lebron James Like/Dislike scale. That way, you (theoretically) cannot be dismissed automatically as a “hater” or whatever the opposite of a hater is. I’m pretty sure it’s not a “lover”. So in the interests of full disclosure, I fall more on the “lover” side than the “hater” side but am not irrationally blinded by either emotion when analysing him. Mostly, I want to see him succeed, so that people will stop “hating” on him because it really irritates me. Also, I’d like to know that I’m watching one of the best basketball players ever, as living in England, I didn’t get the chance to properly watch and enjoy Michael Jordan at the time. Those pre-Internet, pre-NBA League Pass days were bleak. As a final point before we move on, can people stop using the ‘count the ringz argument’ because it’s lazy.

The Cavaliers route to the final is fairly straightforward, through the easy Eastern Conference. There is only one real challenger in the Chicago Bulls, as the Washington Wizards are a few years away, the Heat are a few injuries away and I’m not a believer in Demar DeRozan and thus the Raptors. Therefore the title of this article is pretty risky, especially as it mostly relies on the health of Derrick Rose and him returning to full strength or at least 85% strength. This is even more risky, when the argument I use will be based on the health of the Cavaliers starting lineup.

When the Love for Wiggins trade rumours were going down, I didn’t think it was such a slam dunk move. In part, this was due to my 76er fan status; I’d spent all year imagining Wiggins on our team. Then, when the draft order came out, we were primed to take him 3rd overall and the dream seemed a reality. You’d argue that Joel Embiid was a nice replacement but its hard to shake off the Wiggins love. Anyway, my preference from a Cavs perspective would have been to trade Kyrie Irving for Kevin Love. Of course, I’m also making that trade up, since I have no idea whether the Wolves would have been interested in such a deal, especially after drafting a PG in Zach Lavine in the 1st round. But you could make the argument that they’d be getting a ‘Star’ in exchange for a ‘Star’, and in that sense, a deal for Irving would be more palatable than an unknown product in Wiggins.

I’d prefer to keep Wiggins over Irving because of defence. A starting lineup of Irving-Waiters-Lebron-Love-Varejao/Thompson isn’t stopping anyone. They can score in droves and at will but with the game on the line, you’re looking at Lebron as being the only reliable defender on that team. They also can’t protect the rim and in Miami, this wasn’t a big problem for Lebron as they made up for it with hyper-aggressive trapping. This Cavs team doesn’t have that same type of athleticism or commitment to defence. The Cavs ranked 19th in Defensive Rating last year, according to Basketball Reference, allowing 107.7 points per 100 possessions. The Bulls and the Spurs were 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Lebron by himself, possibly turns it into a top-15 unit but in Miami they were 4th in 2012 and 9th in 2013…defence wins championsips. In order to take down the Spurs, that needs to be closer to top-5 and unless Coach David Blatt in his 1st NBA year figures out a great system, there is no way the Cavs are beating the Spurs in the Finals.

Keeping Wiggins would have given you a better defensive presence and allowed the Cavs to rest Lebron for a couple of extra minutes per game. The guy has so many miles on his body after 4 straight Finals appearances and the Olympics that he needs to be playing less this year, so that he is fresher for the playoffs. Trading Irving would leave a fairly sizeable hole at the PG position, but PG is the deepest position in the league, with any number of players available. They could even have gone after Eric Bledsoe with a near max offer, which would give them more athleticism, some scoring and strong defence. Failing that, a replacement level PG guy would have been fine…the Heat won back-to-back titles with Mario Chalmers. Bringing Wiggins into a starting role at SG would shunt Dion Waiters to the bench. It seems fairly clear already that Waiters’ destiny is a 6th man off the bench, to provide instant offence and to be a heat-check guy. In a starting lineup behind Irving, Lebron and Love, how many shots is Waiters going to get? And how angry will he get when he isn’t getting those shots? He’ll probably end up grabbing the ball out of Kyrie’s hands and jacking up shots from half-court just to try to get some points. As a 6th man though, he’s free to run the bench unit and toss up shots to his heart’s content.

So the Cavs aren’t winning the Finals but I also don’t see them making the Finals. This is again a function of the Kyrie-Love part of the ‘new Big 3’. First, neither have ever been in a playoff game, let alone won a series. Bosh and Wade were far more qualified to be a ‘Big 3’ four years ago than Kyrie and Love now. When it comes down to a Game 7 against the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, I want Rose and Noah for their toughness and experience, not Kyrie and Love. Second, you might not even get Kyrie and Love because they can’t stay healthy. Neither can Anderson Varejao, who will likely start the season as the 5th starter on the Cavs unit. Since Kyrie entered the league 3 years ago, here are the number of games played and as a percentage of total games (bear in mind 2011-12 was a shortened 66 game season).

The other reason I’d trade Irving is he hasn’t played a full season in the NBA yet. There’s a decent chance that the Cavs will be without one of these players for the Playoff run. There’s not a lot in the way of depth on this roster, which isn’t surprising given its makeup but there are still a lack of serviceable replacements who can play big minutes. James Jones?! Come on! He didn’t get minutes last year, playing in just 20 games. Mike Miller had something of a resurgence last year but I wouldn’t want to rely on his health.

Coming back home was a big part of Lebron’s motivation for his return to Cleveland. Another part was probably a desire to lighten his own workload, share the burden with some younger guys and play less minutes a game. With the Cavs defensive issues, injury concerns and lack of playoff experience, this has all the makings of another heavy minute season for Lebron. Rather than lighten his load, its going to be another hard slog while the Cavs figure out how to play with one another. That’s why I see the Bulls pipping the Cavs to the Finals in the East, where they’ll beat the returning San Antonio Spurs. Bold prediction to end the article! I’m not sure if I truly believe my own prediction at this point but I’ll run with it anyway!

With news that Sepp Blatter intends to run for a 5th straight term as FIFA President, I remember again, why I stopped following football so closely and threw my lot in with American sports. Events over the last few months have made me doubt that decision with racist NBA owners, the Ray Rice saga and other unpleasant incidents marring the landscape of the US sports scene. To confirm whether I made the right decision, I created the World’s Worst Sports Commissioner Championship, in one corner Roger Goodell representing the NFL, in the other Sepp Blatter from FIFA.

Leeeetttssss Get Ready To Ruuummmbbbllleeeee!

DING DING DING

Round 1: Years In Power/Dictatorship Index

Roger Goodell – Commissioner of the NFL since 2006 (8 years – Idi Amin)

Sepp Blatter – President of FIFA since 1998 (16 years – outlasted Hitler, gaining on Kim Jong-Il)

Winner: Sepp Blatter takes this one. Roger Goodell is still in US Presidency levels of ruling. 8 years seems like a lifetime when you have an incompetent leader like Goodell or George W. Bush, but compared to Blatter’s reign of terror, Goodell’s got a long way to catch up.

Round 2: Age/Senility

Roger Goodell – 55 years young

Sepp Blatter – 78 years young

Winner: Sepp Blatter takes this round with a massive 20 years over his opponent. That’s the difference between starting to get worried about old age vs. not being worried about old age because you’re so old that you don’t realise you’re too old.

Round 3: Viewership/Audience/How many people actively hate you

Roger Goodell – SuperBowl (125mn viewers worldwide)

Sepp Blatter – World Cup Final (350mn worldwide)

Winner: SB really cleaning up in this competition, with nearly three times the viewership and around 200mn more people knowing how awful he is at his job.

Round 4: Length Of Time Spent As A Professional Playing The Sport That You Have Ultimate Power To Oversee

Roger Goodell – 0 years

Sepp Blatter – 0 years

Winner: Tie. It’s always worth revisiting this fact, as it makes it clear that neither know what they’re talking about.

Round 5: Attitude Towards Women/Misogynist Rating

Roger Goodell – Probably tried to cover up his knowledge of the videotape that showed Ray Rice knocking his fiancee out cold.

Sepp Blatter – In 2004 Blatter said female footballers should “wear tighter shorts and low cut shirts… to create a more female aesthetic” and attract more male fans.

Winner: Giving this one to RG. While Blatter’s comments are obviously deplorable, the handling of the Ray Rice situation is downright unforgivable.  

Round 6: Blatant Disregard For Your Players’ Safety

Roger Goodell – Thursday night games; concealing medical studies linking concussions to lasting brain damage; allowing the game to be refereed by sub-par replacements during 2012; mismanaged approach to HGH testing until last week; desire for 18 games and playoff expansion.

Sepp Blatter – 2022 World Cup to be held in 50C/122F conditions in Qatar; no concussion protocol whatsoever.

Winner: Roger Goodell. The violence of the NFL trumps anything that happens in FIFA and player safety should be paramount. Ignoring the impact of repeated blows to the head makes me think he’s taken too many himself, before I remember he’s never played the game.

Round 7: Attitude Towards Racism/Old White Man Level

Roger Goodell – Long-time defender of the ‘honour’ behind the Washington Redskins name.

Sepp Blatter – Disavows notions that racism exists in his sport. Believes on-field racism can be solved “with a handshake.” Admonishes AC Milan players for walking off the pitch in response to racist chants against players by fans.

Winner: Both show supreme levels of ignorance when it comes to issues of racism in their sport. This is a close one but I’m going to give the edge to Roger Goodell here. Racism in football is mostly a case of a minority of fans, which are summarily banned for life from attending games, of which Blatter has very little control. The Redskins name on the other hand is a stain on the NFL and one which could be changed easily by Goodell with a bit of pressure on the detestable Dan Snyder (his official name). His continued support for the name in spite of multiple campaigns, edges out the occasional ignorant comments of Blatter.

Round 8: Attitudes Towards Homosexuality

Roger Goodell – I couldn’t find any evidence of a faux pas or disparaging remark. How boring.

Sepp Blatter – Allowing the World Cup to be held in Qatar where homosexuality is a crime, “I’d say they [gay fans] should refrain from any sexual activities.” Apparently this was said in a joking manner, so it’s fine.

Winner: Sepp Blatter by default. Either Blatter/Goodell are more accepting towards homosexuals or the homosexual lobby is more powerful than the Women and Non-White Race lobbies. 

Round 9: Transparency Index/If I Gave You This Envelope Of Cash Would You Accept It?

Roger Goodell – If I can pass it on to the owners and then lie about never having seen it, then Yes.

Sepp Blatter – He already spent the money before you walked into the room on buying the next FIFA Presidency election and host for the the World Cup.

Winner: Blatter. The evidence here is overwhelming. I was disappointed to see Vladimir Putin and Sepp Blatter sitting next to each other at the World Cup final. Football should not allow a corrupt dictator who rigs elections to attend such a prestigious event. Even if he is the president of FIFA.

Round 10: Sum Up Their Leadership Style In A Quote

Roger Goodell – “Running the NFL would be so much easier without the players.”

Sepp Blatter – “Where’s my money, bitch?”

Winner: Tie.

Final Verdict: Blatter takes the title of Worst Commissioner In Sports with a 6-4 victory. He’s already announced that he will be running for a 5th term in May 2015, which means he’ll be running the most powerful and global sport in the world at the ripe old age of 83. Completely unrelated fact: In Sepp Blatter’s home country of Switzerland, the average life expectancy for a male is 80.4 years old, which is the 9th highest in the world.

I know Goodell is sad to miss out on this edition, but I’d remind him that time is on his side and he still has plenty of years left as Commissioner of the NFL. I say that knowing full well that he will weather whatever self-inflicted controversies he causes by simply refusing to resign. When you’re accountable to no one apart from the 32 NFL owners who know they can control you like a puppet, then what you do in your job doesn’t really matter.

Nice work if you can get it.

Today Bill Simmons was suspended for 3 weeks by ESPN for calling out Roger Goodell for his “fucking bullshit” on a podcast regarding his handling of the Ray Rice situation. It happens to be a podcast I listen to every week and while Simmons can also drive me crazy with his homerism, I must profess that his suspension is “fucking bullshit”.

Without getting into the whole Ray Rice issue again, I think it’s worth pointing out that First Take presenter/host/troll king/relentless moron Stephen A Smith was also suspended back in August 2014 for comments he made that suggested that women were to blame for domestic violence. He then tried to apologise for it and during the process of apologising, accused women again of inciting violence against themselves. A classic mistake! Its the age old ‘women shouldn’t dress provocatively’ defence. For anyone who’s interested in his apology:

“But what about addressing women on how they can help prevent the obvious wrong being done upon them? In no way was I accusing women of being wrong. I was simply saying what that preventive measures always need to be addressed because there’s only but so much that can be done after the fact … once the damage is already done.”

After these words of wisdom, Smith was suspended for 1 week. So, for those counting at home; 3 weeks for calling the commissioner of the NFL a liar, 1 week for accusing women of domestic violence. I’m sure ESPN would cite the 2-3 times in the past where they’ve suspended Simmons for similar infractions but they must realise the symbolism of what they’ve done. We just went through this with Rice’s 2 game ban vs. Josh Gordon’s season ban for marijuana. Simply put, Simmons’ suspension comes down to the USD15bn ESPN-NFL relationship vs. the promotion of women’s issues.

I hope this is the last time I have to address this saga, it has certainly thrown up a lot of#HotTakes but this is getting out of control. Of course, as I write this and check Twitter at the same time – Jeff Taylor of the Charlotte Hornets has been arrested for…domestic abuse! Good job there Jeff. Watch now as Adam Silver and the rest of the NBA come down on him to make a statement. It helps that he’s not a star, plays for the Charlotte née-Bobcats and people barely know who he is. They could run him out of the league and no one would care.

As an Eagles fan, I’m hoping for both teams to somehow lose tonight in the NY Giants @ Washington Football Team game. I’ll be interested to see if Giants can get pressure on Kirk Cousins and to see how he plays. Last week he had all the time in the world to throw the ball all over the field, with the Eagles’ cornerbacks playing about 10 yards off the receivers on every play. Washington might be shaping up to be a good team with Cousins, and he seems to fit Jay Gruden’s system better. Too early to tell at the moment but it unfortunately looks positive for Washington in that regard. I’m picking Washington (-3.5), because they’re at home and these Thursday night games usually mean a blowout. It’ll either be NY by 10 or Washington by 10, not anywhere near the spread. My heart is hoping for a tie and for Chris Baker to beaten up all night by the Giants O-line.

In the mean time, let’s get away from this domestic violence nonsense and support Emma Watson’s HeForShe campaign.

http://www.heforshe.org/#take-action

I like Tampa (+7) against Atlanta tonight. I’d feel better about this line if Clayborn and McCoy were playing but still, Tampa could be 2-0 at this point, if not for some terrible QB play of Josh McCown and a dropped pick-6. Bobby Rainey playing RB tonight might actually benefit Tampa as Doug Martin has looked out of sorts.

I don’t necessarily think TB is as bad as its been so far, but they certainly haven’t been as good as my pre-season projections.

There’s not much to add to the out of control Ray Rice story that a million people haven’t said already. It’s one of the few occasions where sports crosses into the mainstream and even rarer than that, everyone shares the same view on the subject. Everyone except Ray Rice and Roger Goodell that is.

There are two things that unsettle me from this series of events and are moral dilemmas that I can’t get my head around.

1. After all the events of the past week or so, I’m still going to tune in on Sunday at 6pm sharp and look forward to an evening of football. Millions of people around the world will do the same thing, despite their aversions to Ray Rice, Roger Goodell and the culture of protecting the integrity of a league which has no integrity. Javon Belcher, Terrell Suggs, Greg Hardy, Donte Stallworth, Josh Brent. That list includes murderers, DUI killers and alleged domestic violence perpetrators. The Belcher story in particular is horrifying and yet the fallout lasted a week and everyone got on with their lives. Josh Brent was found guilty of intoxication manslaughter in Jan 2014, killing his teammate as he crashed a car while driving at 110mph in a 45mph zone. But of course, he’d already been driving under the influence back in 2009. He’s also tested positive TWICE for marijuana while on parole/in jail since the car crash with his teammate in December 2012. Oh and by the way, he was driving with a suspended and expired driving licence. He’s signed to the Dallas Cowboys reserve list and received a suspension for the first 10 games of the 2014. So week 11, he could be back on the field. Either way, I’ll still hate the Cowboys and I’ll still watch football.

2. Second chances. Does everyone deserve a second chance? I don’t honestly know the answer to that. I look at Michael Vick, who is still one of the most hated athletes in US sports today. He was given a second chance and has parlayed that into making a difference. Some people will never forgive him, and I understand that. But he’s also kept entirely on the straight and narrow since he was released from jail and become a model for second chances in the league. Will Ray Rice be given a second chance? I’d be more surprised if Ray Rice never plays football again, than if he does. Obviously it may be a year or so down the line but some team will bring him in to the practice squad and kick the tires on him.

Right now, I’ll tell you that he doesn’t deserve a second chance. I’d like to see some remorse from the guy but he has not shown an ounce of it thus far. Take a look at some of the quotes from his press conference after the event:

“I want to first off apologize to [owner] Steve Bisciotti, [general manager and executive vice president] Ozzie Newsome and [head] coach [John] Harbaugh, and I also want to apologize to my fans, to the kids, to everyone who was affected by this situation that me and my wife were in.” 

I’m sorry Ray, what “situation” is it that you AND your wife are in exactly?! The “situation” where you, a person who spends their entire job getting bigger and stronger, punch a woman in the face and knock her out cold. Is that the “situation”? In the first part of his statement, he actually says that he usually gives conferences off the top of his head but this time, wrote his thoughts down. So his thought out apology is one of the most crass and insincere apologies of all time. It’s an insult to apologies everywhere to call that an apology. But then he takes it one step further with this:

“But I won’t call myself a failure. Failure is not getting knocked down; it’s not getting up.” 

Unforgivable and thoroughly insensitive choice of words. Would you call your wife a failure because she was unable to stand after you knocked her unconscious and had to drag her lifeless body out of the elevator to your hotel room? Show some remorse and accept responsibility for your actions, you spineless coward.

Roger Goodell likes to use the phrase “protect the shield” in reference to how he protects the “integrity” of the NFL. Why exactly does one need to protect a shield, isn’t a shield a protective device in itself? No one brings a shield into battle and then uses another shield to protect the original one. He’s bungled so many decisions now, he’s out of control. From 18 game schedules, to Thursday night games, to expanded playoffs, the handling of player punishment. This might be the only time ‘protect the shield’ is relevant, because he’s going to require a shield protecting another shield to save himself from the disgrace he’s caused himself.

And yet, they’ll both continue on as if nothing has happened. Will Goodell step down? Earning $44mn a year and bringing millions/billions to the owners he represents, presents a strong case that nothing will change and he’ll continue to squeeze every cent out of the players and fans that he can. Will Ray Rice be given a second chance by a team? I’m sure he will once his suspension is lifted.

Nothing changes in the NFL in spite of the disgrace Goodell, Rice, Brent, Suggs, Hardy, Stallworth, etc have brought to the league.

And on Sunday at 6pm, I’ll still be watching and I can’t tell you why.

Pittsburgh (+3) tonight over Baltimore.

Time to make relatively unfounded predictions for the year. I printed off the entire schedule for the year and went through to project every result, finishing with eventual divisional winners, playoffs and a Super Bowl champion, which I already mentioned in the previous post. What I believed would be a 30 minute job, turned into roughly 3 hours of work – 512 games, picking 256 winners. While I started off thinking about each game in detail, by the end I was over it and guessing wildly. Particularly the AFC North division which I have no feel for whatsoever. 

Here we go:

I ended up with the following playoff teams and seeds. I feel unconfident about most, if not all, of these picks. 

Seattle to win it all again. 

BOOM

7 months ago the NFL season ended, talking points erupted over a number of issues and I had a lot of thoughts on this.

6 months ago I created this blog, paid £20 to register the website and wrote a post entitled ‘Test’…nothing else.

5 months ago I had a fantasy baseball draft and the season started.

4 months ago nothing much happened, to be fair.

3 months ago the NBA Finals.

2 months ago dead quiet.

1 month ago….meh.

In just over 2 hours, the NFL season kicks off and despite all the time elucidated above, I have left my opening post to the last possible minute. My intention had been to write a dedicated season preview but it looks like I’ll have to pass in favour of a roughshod post at 11pm to give my prediction for tonight’s opening game.

Quite simply, I’m taking Seattle (-6) over Green Bay. I can’t look past a Seattle Super Bowl repeat, and anytime Seattle are at home, I’m favouring them whatever the points spread. Unlike the past few years where we’ve had ‘hot’ teams make a surprising run to a championship, Seattle and Denver were expected to meet in the Super Bowl back in August 2013. The Giants and Ravens were never dominant teams and they lost a bunch of key guys to age, free agency, injuries in the aftermath of their victory. Seattle returns just as a strong, with Russell Wilson still on his rookie contract and the core gang back together. Specifically to this game, that 12th man crowd is going to be ready after 7 months and the Packers D won’t hold up.

Poor baseball. About to become irrelevant as the NFL kicks into gear. They’re not even trying to compete tonight and have about 5 games on the schedule. Fortunately, I’m still rooting for my fantasy baseball teams, so lets go Scherzer tonight @ Cleveland!

Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following blog, are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favour; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defence of custom. But tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason.

If Thomas Paine were alive today, he’d be a Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia 76ers fan and he’d be sad that his city had never won a Super Bowl. In 1776, he published Common Sense, a strong defence of American Independence from England. The Common Sense pamphlet was so popular that as a percentage of the population, it was read by or read to more people than today watch the Super Bowl. That it was written by an Englishman brought a unique perspective to American thought at the time and ushered in centuries of growth and prosperity (for some at least and ignoring centuries of slavery, terrible race relations and proxy wars in far off countries).

More importantly for my purposes, Common Sense eventually brought about the creation of new sports, which much like the ignoble creations of McDonalds, KFC and Wal-Mart, have permeated markets outside of its borders, landing on the shores of the UK. As an Englishman who has emigrated his sporting interests to the NFL, the NBA and the MLB, I will provide my own uniquely English perspective on typically American sporting issues and events, although without the blessing of wonderfully written prose and/or any semblance of an audience, likely until such time when I get bored and give up.

Test