Look Alive
As a guy, whenever you watch an action move no matter how cheesy or awesome the movie is you always leave the theater a little giddy. It’s a sort of giddy that you can’t show other people because they’ll know you’re a loser, but I promise you every guy feels it. We get some sort of high off of watching the most awesome scenes in a movie and we always think “I could do that.” The best part of it is when the girl/friends/city/civilians are held in peril because the hero was late/off training/recovering/fighting his own demons — so he comes in late. And as you watch the villain tear the city apart and the hero pops up, in all his glory, all you can think is… “yeah…”
This is exactly like that, except you couldn’t do it. Because no one is paying you $150,000 A WEEK to kick a ball. And if you are getting paid that much, I’m really excited that you read our blog. The English Premier League is the big one that starts this weekend. As I stated here, this season should be pretty entertaining. Nevertheless, starting off on the right foot is where everyone wants to be. No one wants to worry about chemistry, injuries, or rowdy fans to start the season, but the clubs and cities in England are experiencing all of those with a couple of major stars sitting as want-a-ways that could potentially wreck some seasons or be just the thing some clubs are looking for to clear the air. A breath of fresh air is needed for some clubs, and other clubs are shoving their best jewelry deep within their closets.
Manchester United will win the EPL this season. Manchester City is the only real contender to that in my book.
Luis Suarez will win player of the year. Barring major injury to himself, with the way he flourished last season with almost a week to week change at forward and most of the midfield, he was still nearly unstoppable.
The worst summer transfer (so far — 20 days left) is not giving Alberto Aquilani even the mindset that he could play for Liverpool. He has been the hottest player this summer and he and Suarez opposite each other on the pitch would give Liverpool more confidence and flair than their 34 center midfielders.
The EPL is going to start off with flying colors and with enough games to bounce back from a few heartaches it’ll be great to see how excited I am when Arsenal blows it. But for now, I’m giddy as ever because I have hope.
Playoff Finals
I’m a little late with my update, I know. It’s been a long two weeks. While the Heat and Mavericks tied things up last night, the Canucks took a 1-0 series lead with a 1-0 game one where goalies dominated the game. Lebron and Wade showed their abilities in game, while Wade’s point total was masked by Dirk’s late heroics.
This is why the season means something, though with 82 games, not much. Play good enough to get into the playoffs, and wreck things in the playoffs. Hockey can ride out two great players, like the Sedin brothers, or great goalie play like Tim Thomas (or Roberto Luongo) The NBA is best told while four guys step back and let one guy turn the tides. This year, the biggest story is probably Dirk. Though, hockey has little-to-no market in the South East, and the lack of ESPN coverage doesn’t help anything. Hockey’s big story is netminder play. Luongo and Thomas have had ups and downs this post season, but neither team has gone long without a great game from their goalies. In addition to that, though the defense of Bruin’s isn’t as stacked as the Canucks, they still have 3 players with 9 or higher +/-. This is impressive for a team that has gone as long as they have. That means that the Bruins have one line that is stellar, and if they can utilize David Krejci, Nathan Horton, Zdeno Chara, and the biter of game 1, Patrice Bergeron they may be able to turn around that game 1 lose into a meaningful post season end. After all, with the Celtics, Red Sox, and Patriots, being the Bruins doesn’t mean much with all those other trophies in Boston. Though, I’m not sure that Luongo, the Sedins, nor Ryan Kesler will allow that to happen. Lord Stanley’s Cup will be back in Canada for the first time since 1992-93.
In the NBA, the Mavericks will have to do it the way they did game 2, on Dirk’s coat tails. Dirk is Dallas, and Dallas probably wouldn’t make the playoffs without this guy. In addition to that, he’s performed insanely well through these playoffs. If you can get this guy to drop 35-50 a night while everyone else just stands around and watches, do it. His performance is going to make or break this series. For the Heat, if Wade is off, Lebron will pick it up, if those two are off, Bosh has been seen with a couple of 30 point performances this post season. Yes, some defense runs into that mix, but with sub 40% shooting averages for both teams, it’s not about who will step up defensively, it’s about who will step up offensively and take a game over with 6 minutes to play down by 12? So far, through two games in Miami, I’m more impressed with Dallas and I think they’ll take the title this year. But don’t worry, Heat fans, you can buy championships, and you’ll have probably the next four…
Black and Blue Sports 