Pau Gasol to LA Lakers - Immediate Impact?

Moments ago it was announced that Pau Gasol, longtime Memphis Grizzlie, was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for center Kwame Brown, rookie point guard Jarvaris Crittenton, out of Georgia Tech, and two future number picks.  

Just a few days ago when I was watching the Maverick-Grizzlies game I pondered whether Gasol would be able to get out of the hole that Memphis is this season, or if he would have to wait till 2008-2009.  There is no question that this trade benefits both teams.  Memphis is looking for a more fast-paced kind of game and there is no question that Gasol did not fit the piece of this puzzle.  If you have ever seen the Memphis Grizzlies play defense, okay well I just won't go there; I could go on for pages.  

I applaud the Lakers for doing something to get rid of scrub Center Kwame Brown, but I am  just wondering if the Lakers are doing this for Kobe and only thinking short term.  Andrew Bynum really became an up and coming center for the Lakers this season, but since his injury on January 13 this team has lost five of eight and that won't necessarily change just because of the addition of Gasol.  If I am a Lakers fan I obviously feel great about being a contender again, but also have to hope that Gasol and Bynum are both able to shine later this season and next season.  The Lakers are currently three and a half games out of the Western Conference lead - and this year that is not very much.  Pau Gasol has been plagued by some kind of injury two of the last three seasons and that adds question in my mind whether he can play well into his thirties, but only time can tell.  For now though the Lakers just need to worry about team chemistry and the rest of this season.  

Kobe wanted another star on his team, and he's got that in Gasol; the question is what is he going to do now that he has him?  I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

EA Sports Virtual Playoff Simulation - Tostitos Fiesta Bowl

#1 Ohio State 38 - #9 Florida 13

Even with all the criticism that they have gone through, the Ohio State Buckeyes 
lived up to their number one overall seed in the tournament and are headed to their 
second consecutive BCS Championship game; they are awaiting the result’s of tonight’s 
Orange Bowl game between #2 LSU and #6 USC, which should be a close contest.  The 
Bucks scored the first twenty-four points of the game unanswered and took a 24-3 lead 
into halftime.  The Gators tried to stage a miraculous comeback, but it was not meant 
for.  Todd Boeckman, Ohio State quarterback, playing an amazing game finishing with a 
248.3 QB rating, throwing 11/14 attempts for 165 yards and 3 touchdowns earning him 
the Most Valuable Player award of the 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.  Chris “Beanie” 
Wells also had a great game for the Bucks on the ground with 168 yards on 23 carries 
and 2 touchdowns.  These Bucks won this handily because they played mistake free on 
the offensive side of the ball and took control of their opportunities the entire 
game.

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
UF	0	3	10	0	13
OSU	7	17	7	7	38

	UF	OSU
First Downs	6	15
Total Offense	216	334
Rushes-Yards	12-21	27-(169)
Comp-Att-TD	10-17-1	11-14-3
Passing Yards	195	165
Sacked	2	2
3rd Down Conv	2 – 6 (33%)	6 – 8 (75%)
4th Down Conv	0 – 1 (0%)	0 – 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv	0 – 0 (0%)	0 – 0 (0%)
Redzone – TD – FG	2 – 0 – 2 (100%)	5 – 4 – 1 (100%)
Turnovers	2	0
Fumbles – Lost	2 - 2	0 - 0
Intercepted	0	0
PR Yards	6	2
KR Yards	104	52
Total Yards	326	388
Punts – Average	2 – 26.5	1 – 32.0
Penalties – Yards	2 – 25	1 - 10
T.O.P.	6:57	13:03

Northeastern Riches: Diamond in a Haystack... of All-Stars

While the Northeastern part of the United States claims both NFL teams in Super Bowl XLII, the New York Giants and the undefeated New England Patriots, last year's World Series' Champion Boston Red Sox, and NBA leading 35-8 Boston Celtics, soon the New York Mets may join this elite group of dominant teams.

Tonight it was announced that Johan Santana, previously a member of the Minnesota Twins, was traded to the New York Mets for four minor prospects.  More than just the immediate impact of helping the New York Mets in real life, which can be assumed is pretty big because one New Yorker reportedly exclaimed, "I just proposed to my wife again" (whatever that means), Johan Santana should shoot up the fantasy baseball drafting boards to a definite top 5 pick.  This is because of the sheer run support that he will receive from the New York Mets who ranked 10th in the MLB and 4th in the National league in runs with 804 in the 2007 season.  His previous team, the Minnesota Twins, were ranked 25th with only 718 runs last season and also ranked dead last post all-star break. Assuming that Santana's numbers stay roughly the same, and they will, he should turn many of those previously recorded losses with the Twins into wins with the Mets.

Enjoy all of your all-star teams Northeast, while the rest of America just sits on the sidelines watching teams we don't care about.  Hey, at least we still have the NHL!

EA Sports Virtual Playoff Simulation - Gator Bowl and Semifinals

#6 USC 37 - #4 Georgia 7

Despite the score, for at least the first half of this game we had a very close game 
on our hands.  USC held a slim 10-7 lead at halftime, but in the second half they 
pulled away for a 37-7 victory in the Gator Bowl over Georgia.  Unfortunately for the 
Georgia Bulldogs the entire course of this game turned on a 37-yard punt return by 
USC wide receiver Ronald Johnson, which was this game’s nomination for the national 
Pontiac game-changing performance and the play that Johnson the MVP of the game.  
After that the story of the game was turnovers and for Georgia there were a lot of 
them.  In the 4th quarter the USC defense forced two turnovers including a 53-yard 
interception for a touchdown by Carry Harris, a junior USC cornerback.  Senior USC 
quarterback, John David Booty, did a great job of managing the game and extending his 
career at least one more game.  The Trojan defense ended up with 7 sacks, 2 
interceptions, and 2 fumble recoveries and will be sure to prove a difficult test for 
the USC Trojan offense, who they face next week.

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
USC	3	7	17	10	37
UGA	7	0	0	0	7

	USC	UGA
First Downs	14	7
Total Offense	227	176
Rushes-Yards	9-14	14-(-33)
Comp-Att-TD	19-31-2	11-28-1
Passing Yards	213	209
Sacked	1	7
3rd Down Conv	3 – 8 (37%)	3 – 10 (30%)
4th Down Conv	0 – 0 (0%)	1 – 2 (50%)
2-Point Conv	0 – 0 (0%)	0 – 0 (0%)
Redzone – TD – FG	4 – 1 – 3 (100%)	1 – 0 – 0 (0%)
Turnovers	0	3
Fumbles – Lost	0 - 0	2 - 1
Intercepted	0	2
PR Yards	50	2
KR Yards	37	121
Total Yards	314	299
Punts – Average	2 – 26.5	3 – 28.3
Penalties – Yards	5 – 50	2 - 20
T.O.P.	10:28	9:32

8 games down and only 3 games left leave us in the semifinals of the EA Sports Virtual Simulation Playoff.  Here are the Final Four match-ups:

#1 Ohio State vs. #9 Florida - Tostitos Fiesta Bowl - Saturday December 29, 2007 

#2 LSU vs. #6 USC - FedEx Orange Bowl - Saturday December 29, 2007

EA Sports Virtual Playoff Simulation - Sugar Bowl

#9 Florida 41 - #3 Oklahoma 14

2008 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators are at it again after 
routing the Oklahoma Sooners in the All-State Sugar Bowl, 41-14.  The sophmore Gator 
quarterback carried his team with 250 yards and 4 touchdowns in the air and was named 
MVP of the game.  The Gator defense also played a pivotal role in the game causing 
three interceptions, including two on Oklahoma’s first two possessions.  Florida took 
a 17-0 into the half and was out to 31-0 lead before the Sooners finally got onto the 
scoreboard in the 4th quarter.  The stifling Florida defense also held the Sooners to 
only 128 yards of total offense, most of which were in the 4th quarter when the game 
was already out of consideration.

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
UF	10	7	7	17	41
OU	0	0	0	14	14

	UF	OU
First Downs	14	4
Total Offense	332	128
Rushes-Yards	16-52	23-62
Comp-Att-TD	19-28-5	2-11-1
Passing Yards	280	66
Sacked	1	2
3rd Down Conv	3 – 9 (33%)	1 – 9 (11%)
4th Down Conv	0 – 0 (0%)	0 – 1 (0%)
2-Point Conv	0 – 0 (0%)	0 – 0 (0%)
Redzone – TD – FG	2 – 1 – 1 (100%)	0 – 0 – 0 (0%)
Turnovers	2	4
Fumbles – Lost	1 - 1	3 - 1
Intercepted	1	3
PR Yards	13	3
KR Yards	12	106
Total Yards	357	236
Punts – Average	3 – 30.7	4 – 31.5
Penalties – Yards	2 – 15	4 - 26
T.O.P.	10:45	9:15

Boston Celtics: Looking Into The Crystal Ball

The Boston Celtics went 24-58 last season and 33-49 two years ago, this coming after four straight playoff appearances.  There is no doubt that the Boston Celtic's luck turned around on May 22, 2007 and July 31, 2007 - the days that Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were acquired, respectively.  No one should be surprised that these guys are good, but maybe just how good and how well this team has meshed together so quickly.

The Boston Celtics have glided out to a 34-8 start and virtually insured themselves the Atlantic Division championship with a 10.5 game lead over the Toronto Raptors.  This team has the best trio in the NBA in previously fore-mentioned Allen and Garnett, along with long time Celtic, Paul Pierce.  I applaud general manager, Danny Ainge, for the job he has done getting a solid core of veterans on this team, but with only 13 active players on the Celtic roster it definitely wouldn't hurt to get another solid veteran before the trade deadline for playoff time.

Outlook & Predictions: If this team can stay healthy, especially the Big Three, I think they will go 64-18 and make The NBA Finals.

Grading Texas Tech's Men Basketball vs. Missouri

Texas Tech 92 - Missouri 84

January 23, 2008 

7:00 PM

United Spirit Arena - Lubbock, Texas

"901! 901! 901!" - this is what the Tech student crowd screamed as the game clock expired; okay, not really, but with his Red Raider victory over the Missouri Tigers Bobby Knight won his 901st career game and his team improved to 11-7(2-2), tied for 5th in Big 12 play.

With that here is your review and breakdown of the Red Raider's each aspect of the game.

Offense:A

In their second highest scoring effort of the season the Red Raiders had to deal with Missouri's pesky press all but one possession with about three minutes left in the game.  Though the press did cause a few Tech turnovers, for the most part after Texas Tech got to the front-court they scored quickly and made most of their open shots shooting 26-46 (56.5%).  The Red Raiders also did a good job of playing aggressively and driving towards the basket in route to drawing thirty-one Mizzou fouls and an even fifty trips to the charity stripe.  Tech has finally learned how to play offense-the only problem is they can only do it in Lubbock; the Red Raiders need to get it going offensively on the road too.  Another thing that concerned me was that Texas Tech's bench was held scoreless and all five starters stayed in almost the entire game.  The bench play only consisted of five D'Walyn Robert minutes, two Trevor Cook minutes, and six Mike Singletary minutes; if this continues to happen than I believe stamina will start to become an issue.

Defense:C+

It may sound simple, but the Texas Tech men's basketball team needs to learn how to rebound the basketball.  The Red Raiders were out-rebounded twenty-three to thirty-six and allowed a ridiculous fifteen offensive rebounds to the Missouri Tigers.  Against the best teams in the nation the Red Raiders would not even have a fighting chance of being in the game if they rebounded like they have in their last three games.  The last game that the Red Raiders have led their opponent in rebounding was January 12 against Oklahoma State.  Since then, in the last three games the Red Raiders have been out-rebounded 100-69 by their opponents and surrendered 39 offensive rebounds.

Overall:B

The Texas Tech Red Raiders head to Austin this weekend to face #12 Texas on Saturday night.  The Red Raiders need to get some Big 12 wins on the road and this would be a very big win if they can beat the University of Texas; the team needs to stay confident and aggressive whether or not their crowd is there or not.