Lakers are champs

The L.A. Lakers embarrassed the Boston Celtics in one of the ugliest basketball games I've ever seen. I'm glad the Lakers won, but it was just terrible basketball. I'm not even sure I want to continue this...just glad L.A. won and Kobe is MVP.

USA vs. Slovenia

By Todd Kalmanson

Just so you guys know, I had a buddy of mine (TK) write this article because he is a huge soccer fan and is closely following the World Cup. I thought some of you might enjoy reading some soccer news from someone who knows the game. The following was written by him, and I thank him for it.

Hello… you play to TIE the game. Ok so they did not beat England, but as a USA fan, you should be happy walking away from the game with at least one point. England deserved to win outplaying the Americans especially in the second half. The game was a tale of two goal keepers. One was remarkable, making his World Cup debut, (and just happens to be from the same great state as Tony Soprano and Bruce Springsteen) while the other was as dreadful as watching Celebrity Rehab. Tim Howard led the Red White and Blue with six crucial saves while playing with injured ribs. The Brits Robert Green on the other hand as I am sure you have seen, will most likely receive a lifetime V.I.P. pass into Sports Center’s “Not Top Ten” segment. The goal he allowed to Clint Dempsey was pathetic. England is a world class team yet their goalie proved otherwise. Better to be lucky than good sure explains the USA game against England.

Slovenia and Algeria are the next two opponents on tap for USA with both being winnable games. No disrespect to either club, but results of a tie or loss would be considered a vast disappointment. Look for the 20 year old striker Jozy Altidore to get his name in the scoring column with Landon Donovan continuing to impress providing speed out of the midfield. There is no reason why the USA should not be able to get out of their group. After that, it is anybody’s guess as to how far they will go, but I am expecting a trip to the quarterfinals. The one thing that remains a question mark for this team though is their defense. A positive you can take out of their last game is that after giving up a quick goal, the U.S. was able to shutout 3^rd ranked England for the remaining 85 minutes of action. If the Americans are to advance in the World Cup, it will be on the shoulders or rather ribs of Tim Howard who without a doubt is one of the best goalies in the world.

Nothing greater than a game seven

By Dan Rodgers

So, I was wrong about the end of the Lakers game on Tuesday night. I said L.A. would win by 9-14 points...they won by 22 points. Haha...nothing really to say about that.

I am 100 percent convinced that the Lakers will once again dominate on their home court; probably not to the extent of a 22 point victory though. I see the Lakers flirting with a double digit victory and depending if Boston decides to hit a couple last second three-pointers.

Kobe is almost a lock to win MVP, and a Lakers win will obviously cement that. He will also be only one championship away from MJ which would further the talk about who is the greatest of all time. However, that talk is for after the Lakers win tonight.

L.A. X-factor: Lamar Odom - Odom either shows up and adds to the Lakers success, or he doesn't show up and he is a primary factor for the Lakers struggles. He is a big player that can shoot from the outside, so any contribution he can make will be a big help to Kobe and the Lakers.
Boston X-factor: Big Baby (Glen) Davis/Rasheed Wallace - This combo is filling in for the injured Kendrick Perkins. Perkins was a big reason for Boston's rebounding success, and struggled in game six without him. Look for this duo to split time and play a deciding factor in the outcome of the game.

Predictions:

Rodgers - Lakers 91 Celtics 82

Leatherworld - Lakers 88 Celtics 80

Rodgers That

Ultimate Fighting Championship 115

By Scott Antoszewski

Chuck Liddell vs Rich Franklin

“The Beginning and End of an Era"

Five months ago history was made at General Motors Place in Vancouver as Team Canada won the Olympic gold medal. Saturday night history may have been made again in the same building as just over 20,000 fans saw UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) hall of famer Chuck Liddell fight for what might be the final time. Liddell was knocked out by Rich Franklin with about 10 seconds left in the first round, a round that Liddell most likely would have won. Liddell, in typical form was throwing a huge right hand trying to knock Franklin out and left his head wide open. Franklin did not miss, as his response split Liddell’s lip open all the way to his chin and knocked him out cold. Liddell was responding to growing criticism that his “out of the octagon” lifestyle was keeping him from fighting effectively. He showed up in great shape and was well on his way to proving a lot of people wrong when disaster in the form of Rich Franklin’s fist struck. Liddell had even added leg kicks back into his arsenal, as Franklin found out the hard way. Liddell broke Franklins arm with a kick very early in the fight.

I think its wrong for so may people to speculate that Liddell is done, it’s his decision and he’ll do what’s best for him. I will say that as a novice fan of MMA (mixed martial arts), I wish I could have seen him fight more.

Earlier in the same evening, the same group of fight crazed Canucks may have seen the birth of a new star in MMA. Rory MacDonald took on Carlos Condit in the second fight on the pay per view card. Condit is an experienced MMA fighter, a legitimate bad ass, with a 24-5 record. MacDonald is a 20 year old kid was fighting on his first pay per view card in front of his home crowd, a nearby city in British Columbia. Condit won the fight, on a technical knockout with seven seconds left in the third round, but that was hardly the story of the fight.

It was the opinion of most of us who gathered to watch the fight, that MacDonald won both of the first two rounds before running out of gas and succumbing to Condit. The energy from the crowd was like nothing I had ever seen on UFC pay per view. Multiple times during the fight the partisan Canadian crowd chanted “Rory, Rory!” urging their countryman on.

MacDonald served notice that he will be a force to be reckoned with in his division. He even got kudos from UFC President Dana White on his twitter feed during the fight. Condit fought a great fight, and took all the punishment MacDonald could dole out. He took advantage of a worn out MacDonald in the third round and thoroughly dominated the round. Most of us expected Condit to win, but we were cheering on MacDonald to get the upset. This fight was the fight of the night in my opinion.

Next up is UFC 116 on July 3. The main event is the return of heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. He will take on interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin. Lesnar is returning from a serious illness and hasn’t fought in over a year. He has dominated the heavyweight division thus far, so it will be interesting to see how Carwin fares. UFC will be held at the Garden Arena at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Kobe politely declines a game six loss

By Dan Rodgers

I wish I would have gotten this post out before the game started, so you could have heard me say that I would bet my house on the Lakers to cover the 6.5 spread... if I were a betting man that is.

If it's any consolation I talked to my friends about it?

Regardless, I'm pretty sure the whole world knew the Lakers wouldn't lay down in game six at home. Kobe put on a very impressive first half performance, but he got a ton of help from his teammates.

Kobe - 6/12 FG 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals

Artest - 4/8 FG 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block

Gasol - 3/6 FG 7 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks

My favorite Uncle Ray is the only Celtic to do anything impressive in the first half (13 points). Unfortunately for the Celtics, Kendrick Perkins injured his knee in the beginning of the first quarter and will not return.

Look for Boston to have a better second half (couldn't be any worse I guess), but don't expect the Lakers to give in. However, one thing that might be a problem for L.A. is the fact that Derek Fisher just picked up his fourth foul at the start of the third quarter.

Watch for the Lakers to win from 9-14 points, and for Gasol and Kobe to each put up double digit points and rebounds. Also, the Celtics will probably have a poor 3pt shooting percentage because they will force them and Uncle Ray has been struggling.

Can't wait for game seven, go Lakers!

Rodgers That

(Not so) rapid reactions

By Dr. Jekyll

Apologies for the hiatus, but when life gives you Stanley cup and NBA finals and a world cup, sometimes forget to share opinions. With that being said, here are some (not so) rapid reactions to the past few weeks in sports:

The Los Angeles Lakers remind me that every sport constantly needs a bad guy. I’m not an NBA fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I tune in to watch them lose… Andrew Bynum makes me feel like a failure at life for doing what he does at my age. Originally, I ate cake while watching the game for enjoyment, now it’s eating feelings…

Strasmus came early this year in DC, as the resurrection of the franchise is in the hands of ohmygodthiskidcanpitch… For how awful it is that Baltimore has more opponent fans in the stadium than O’s fans, it really makes me more likely to make the trip up to “Fenway South” a few times each year… MASN2 had coverage of the Strasburg start, MASN covered the O’s vs. Yankees. That’s like having the Super Bowl on ESPN2 and the “Puppy Bowl” on ESPN…

I really hate Chris Pronger, and Duncan Keith was robbed of a playoff MVP trophy in the only sport where the playoff MVP trophy is just about pointless…

I watch soccer games on mute, thank you vuvuzela. Also, ESPN should have Spanish announcers do the World Cup as well; they’re much more active…

Speaking of active, Rajon Rondo is the reason the Celtics will win this NBA finals, as opposed to ’08 where they won in spite of him…Kobe Bryant is still “the next Michael Jordan”. No knock on LeBron, but when Kobe takes over, it’s a beautiful thing to watch…

Everyone throwing no-hitters every week is getting annoying. Want to make an anniversary less special? Have one every other day. See what I mean…?

Soccer won’t make it big in the states for one reason: that all of our best athletes play football or basketball. And the moment they’re good enough to play at an international level for soccer, they’re shipped to England (not that I particularly care)…

The realignment of the conferences will be the death of age old rivalries, but will eventually lead to the playoff system over the BCS that we all desperately want…USC is doomed, Lane Kiffin will miss Oakland, if such a thing is possible…

Tied at two, the pressure builds

By Dan Rodgers

Today I worked outside, in the 90+ degree heat...and the NBA Finals are on tonight? It has never made sense to me why basketball is still being played in the summer, but I don't make the rules.

The Lakers and Celtics have alternated wins so far this series, L.A. winning games one and three and Boston taking two and four. The series stays in Boston for game five (currently in progress: L.A. - 22 Boston - 30 Q2), and then heads back to Los Angeles for the final two games.

This has been a fairly heated series between the NBA's two most historic franchises; however, the smallest margin of victory for either team has been seven. That is definitely surprising if you ask me. Many people thought the series was definitely in Boston's favor once they took a game in L.A., but the Lakers answered right back winning the first game in Boston.

I think game five is a must win for Boston because even though they already won one game in L.A. I don't think they can.

*Ron Artest just kind of hard foul on KG. Rondo nudged Artest who then flopped onto the ground to draw a technical foul. Smart play by Artest even though he looked stupid flopping. The announcers said it best, "That's a 112-pound guy (Rondo) putting his hand on a 280-pound guy (Artest)...he couldn't even pick him up if he tried!"

You've got to love that. L.A. battled back to take a one point lead, but then Pierce hit a three followed by a tip in by Gasol (he was fighting for a board and tipped it in for Boston) to give the Celtics a 41-37 lead with 2:42 left in the second.

This is just a quick shoutout to my boys from the U.S.A. who are fighting in South Africa in the FIFA World Cup. I'm not a soccer fan by any means, but I will always root for the the U.S. no matter the "sport".

World Cup: U.S.A. vs. Slovenia Friday 9:30 am

NBA Finals: Boston @ L.A. Tuesday 9:00 pm

**Game seven: Boston @ L.A. Thursday Thursday 9:00 pm

**If necessary

Game five update: Celtics 45 Lakers 39 HALF

Rodgers That