The Greatest Tennis Match Ever Played

Five hours and 53 minutes. In a clash of the ages, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal met in their 3rd consecutive Grand Slam Final at the Australian Open. The final score says it all: 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5. While not the longest tennis match ever played, it was the longest Final match ever played in the Open era and the longest match ever played in the history of the Australian Open.


After the match, the two competitors were so tired that they needed chairs to sit on during the post-game ceremony, barely able to breathe and sweating profusely.


Rafael Nadal crawled his way back into the match in the 4th set and gave Djokovic a run for his money in the 5th set, but "Djoker" was able to finish off Nadal without the need of a tie-breaker. Although this was Nadal's 3rd consecutive defeat to Djokovic, he showed that he could at least be competitive and that he is not out of the running for winning a Grand Slam this year.


This is Djokovic's 3rd Australian Open championship and 5th Grand Slam overall, putting away a lot of doubt as to his #1 ranking over old favorites Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

The Orlando Magic Just Had a REALLY Bad Week

Dwight Howard questions why he is still
playing alongside teammates who clearly
just don't care anymore.

Friday, January 20
By beating the Los Angeles Lakers 92-80, Dwight Howard damages his own draft stock by vastly outperforming his counterpart, Andrew Bynum. Many in Orlando now question why the Magic would give up Howard in exchange for Bynum.


Monday, January 22
The Orlando Magic suffer a crushing defeat to the Boston Celtics, losing 87-56, scoring the fewest total points in franchise history. Dwight Howard scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a standard performance, while the team as a whole shot a franchise worst 24.6% in field goals and only made 16 total field goals.


Tuesday, January 24
Dwight Howard becomes the all-time Orlando Magic scoring leader by scoring a pedestrian 14 points in a bounce back 102-83 victory over the Indiana Pacers, one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference. The game was won without Howard's help, because Ryan Anderson scored 24 points, shooting 5/7 from 3-point land. The team as a whole shot 40.6% from downtown, compared to Indiana's 27.3%.


Thursday, January 26
The Orlando Magic play the Boston Celtics for the 2nd time in a week, this time on their home floor, hoping not to get embarrassed on their home court, but still feeling good from their 19 point victory over the Pacers. During the 1st half, the Magic had a 27 point lead... and they lost the game 91-83; the Celtics performed their greatest 2nd half comeback since 1995. After the game, Celtics PF Kevin Garnett referred to the game as a "bar fight," much to the amusement of the national sports media.


Friday, January 27
Hoping to bounce back from choking the game against the Celtics, the Magic traveled to face the worst team in the Western Conference, the New Orleans Hornets. Dwight Howard scored 28 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, bouncing back to his normal form after several mediocre games. It's too bad no one told his teammates to play well, because the Magic lost to the Hornets, 93-67. Howard was the only Magic player to score in double figures, with the team shooting an embarrassing 39.3% FG and 28.6% 3PT-FG.


During halftime, Dwight Howard said to his teammates, "If you don't want to play, just stay in the locker room, because it don't make sense for a team who we should beat to just demolish us. It hurts to get out there and you play your hardest and you expect everybody to play the same way, and I'm not calling anybody out by no means because we all have to get better ... but if you don't want to be out there, don't dress up. If you don't want to play, stay home. People work too hard. I want to win a championship. I work too hard every night for anybody to not want to go out there and play hard. ... None of the -- whatever, trade stuff -- none of that stuff matters. Play basketball. That's why we all get paid to do this, because we love the game and it's basketball, so why not give it your all?"




The NBA trade deadline is March 15. Dwight Howard has expressed interest in playing for the New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, or Dallas Mavericks, in that order. The Orlando Magic are currently still trying to re-sign Howard to a new contract before he becomes a free agent.

Bruce Bowen's Jersey to be Retired by the San Antonio Spurs

Bruce Bowen, Jr., 3-time NBA champion all with the San Antonio Spurs, will have his #12 jersey officially retired by the San Antonio Spurs on March 21. Bowen is probably the least known member of the "Every Other Year Dynasty", but well deserving of the honor, given his scrappy defense and notoriety for being a player you love to have on your team, but hate going against.


Bruce's incredibly long story from the bottom of the trash heap to Spurs legend after the break.

The Raiders Are Finally Dancing to a New Tune While Also Taunting Their Rivals

The Oakland Raiders have found a new coach in Dennis Allen, the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos. Allen becomes the first defensive-minded head coach of the Raiders since John Madden was promoted from linebackers coach to head coach by Al Davis. Despite the change in culture to the team, this is a classic Raiders move, hiring coaches from rival teams. Allen is well-versed in the AFC West by this point, something that the Raiders will use to their advantage.


Dennis Allen has quickly risen through the coaching ranks. Here is his résumé:

• 1996-1999 Texas A&M University (Graduate Assistant coach)
• 2000-2001 Tulsa University (secondary coach)
• 2002-2005 Atlanta Falcons (defensive assistant/quality control coach)
• 2006-2007 New Orleans Saints (assistant defensive line coach)
• 2008-2010 New Orleans Saints (secondary coach)
• 2011 Denver Broncos (defensive coordinator)

Under Allen, the 2008-2010 Saints passing defense improved from 23rd to 4th in the league, and the 2011 Broncos total defense improved from 32nd to 20th in just one year. The Raiders are obviously hoping that Allen can help improve their defense from near the bottom, ranked 29th, to one of the best in the league. What is especially noteworthy about his defensive style is that the 2009 Saints ranked 3rd in turnovers and the 2011 Broncos ranked 5th in sacks.

This is Reportedly the New Xbox's Graphics Card

The Radeon HD 6670 GPU

According to IGN, the new Xbox (currently nicknamed the Xbox 720) will use a modified version of the Radeon HD 6670, making it 6 times as powerful as the Xbox 360 and 20% more powerful than the Wii U. Based on further reporting from IGN, the Xbox "720" will launch in October/November 2013, more than a year after the Wii U is expected to launch. The Radeon HD 6670 supports DirectX11 (which the 360 does not), 1080p HD, multi-displays, and 3D, although it is doubtful that the new Xbox will support multi-display.


If the new Xbox is really going to use this graphics card, it will bring new definition to the joke "Xbox Huge". This could potentially be the largest video game console ever created, just to house its graphics card and processor which will reportedly also support built-in Kinect.

DC Comics Unveils Its New Logo

I understand the concept, but holy hell what an ugly logo. In case you don't get the concept, a "D" with the space filled in acts like a comic book cover having the front cover flipped to reveal a "C". DC will use multiple variations of the new logo, different for each super hero.


It's still an ugly logo, give me back the "old" one, it wasn't dated yet.

THE TIGERS? Also, That Lincecum Deal was Blown Out of Proportion

Prince Fielder has just signed a 9-year, $214 million contract. Fielder, who is 27, has played for the Milwaukee Brewers since 2005. I really don't know what the hell is going on with baseball anymore. Why are these clubs so stupid as to sign players who are obese to lengthy contracts when they will be expected to play a position that involves little to no physical activity?


In other news, Tim Lincecum and the Giants have agreed to a 2-year, $40.5 million deal, securing the Giants pitching rotation for at least 2 years while GM Brian Sabean tries to salvage their hitters with both Carlos Beltran bailing after less than a season and World Series hero Cody Ross departing for the Boston Red Sox.

The Washington Wizards Don't Get It

Flip Saunders has been fired as head coach of the Washington Wizards after beginning the season 2-15, despite a marquee win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Saunders began his coaching career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, leading them to their first playoff berth in his first year as coach. Later, Saunders led the team to the Western Conference Finals in 2004, before being fired the next year as a scapegoat for the team's troubles that were player-caused.


Saunders was then hired as the next coach of the Detroit Pistons to replace Larry Brown, now coach of the Charlotte Bobcats. Under Saunders, the Pistons set a new franchise record for wins in a single season in the 2005-06 season at 64, then led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2008, but was fired after the Pistons lost to the eventual champion Boston Celtics.


Saunders joined the Wizards after a one year hiatus from coaching, but has not produced similar results in Washington. Once again, Saunders is being made into a scapegoat for the Wizards' problems which are mostly player-caused. Until the Wizards can completely overhaul their roster to one built around John Wall, as planned by new owner Ted Leonsis, the Wizards will be at the bottom tier of the NBA for years to come.


Speaking as a fan who has no opinion positive or negative of the Wizards, this is one of the most bullshit firings I have ever seen in my lifetime. I'm actually shocked that a successful coach like Saunders has been fired for problems beyond his control and terrible coaches like Mike D'Antoni and Lawrence Frank are allowed to continue working, despite their total inability to prove they can coach at all.

84th Academy Awards Nominees Announced - Hollywood Honors the Mediocre, Full of Major Snubs

Don't bother watching this year.

This morning, the nominees for the 84th Academy Awards were announced. Man, what a stinker 2011 was for movies... or so the Academy would like you to believe. The nominees in every category after the break, followed by Moviefone's list of biggest snubs.

Tim Lincecum Refuses an Offer Most People Would Drool At

San Francisco Giants ace pitcher Tim Lincecum has reportedly rejected a 5 year, $100 million contract. Fellow starting pitcher Matt Cain (viewed as the #2 pitcher) will reportedly re-sign with the team for $20 million per year or less. The Lincecum deal is supposedly not about money, but about contract length, with some sources saying that Lincecum wants a 7or 8 year contract. Because of Lincecum's unique pitching style that has baffled opponents for years, many regard Lincecum as someone who could hold the position of ace pitcher well into his 30s.


Timmy, please re-sign. Without you, the team has nothing to look forward to. Matt Cain is great and all, but we won the World Series based on not allowing runs and great hitters against supposedly "unbeatable" pitchers Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee.

Chip Kelly Bucks the Bucs, Jim Tressel Considered for Colts

(L) Oregon head coach Chip Kelly, (R) Former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel

After a week of speculating and hints that Chip Kelly would join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, especially after Kelly stated that there was great appeal in going to the NFL (not having to deal with recruitment restrictions for example), Kelly decided to instead stay at the University of Oregon. Kelly cites having "unfinished business" at Oregon, obviously referring to failing to win the BCS National Championship last year. Kelly returns to Oregon amid a low level scandal of recruiting violations.


Jim Tressel, former head coach of (THE) Ohio State has been working with the Indianapolis Colts this season as a "special adviser." Now, Tressel has had 2 interviews for the position of head coach after the firing of Jim Caldwell. Caldwell's predecessor and current NBC football analyst Tony Dungy has publicly said that he would approve of a Tressel hiring. Dungy coached the Colts to their last Super Bowl victory over the Chicago Bears, becoming the first black head coach to win a Super Bowl and the 3rd person to win 2 Super Bowls as a player (XIII) and then as coach (XLI).

Super Bowl XLVI Will Be a Rematch of Super Bowl XLII

The summation of Championship Weekend.

The AFC and NFC Championship Games ended on whimpers, not bangs. The Ravens missed on a game-winning TD, so they attempted a field goal to take the AFC Championship to overtime. PK Billy Cundiff missed the kick by the widest of margins that it was difficult for even the Patriots to believe what they had just seen. The Patriots had just successfully gotten to the Super Bowl with the 31st ranked defense and after one of Tom Brady's worst games ever.


The NFC Championship also ended on a field goal, but that one was made by the Giants after 49ers backup KR Kyle Williams fumbled the ball, giving the Giants automatic field position for a field goal. The game was closely played in the hard rain, resulting in near-even play for the game, although the 49ers had problems all game converting 3rd downs.


A preview of the Super Bowl and my thoughts as a 49ers fan after the break.

Only 15 Games out of 66 NBA Played, But the Playoffs are Already (Mostly) Set

1. Chicago Bulls
2. Philadelphia 76ers
3. Orlando Magic
4. Miami Heat
5. Indiana Pacers
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Cleveland Cavaliers
8. New York Knicks

1. Oklahoma City Thunder
2. Denver Nuggets
3. San Antonio Spurs
4. Los Angeles Clippers
5. Utah Jazz
6. Portland Trail Blazers
7. Los Angeles Lakers
8. Memphis Grizzlies

It's pretty wild to see some of those teams even making the playoffs, especially seeing the miraculous turnaround by the Cavaliers, 76ers, and Clippers. More analysis and teams that have some shot of making the playoffs after the break.

The Miami Dolphins Finally Hire a New Head Coach and It's Not Who You Expect

Going into the offseason, the big debate was whether Jeff Fisher, ex-coach of the Titans, would join the Rams or the Dolphins. In the end, Fisher made the "easy decision" to join the Rams, the team that defeated his Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV. Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, Fisher said the team would be removing the photo of "One Yard Short" from the team's facilities. The Dolphins claimed that Fisher was never a serious candidate, but that can only be taken at face value. After Fisher's hiring by the Rams, it seemed that the race would be between interim head coach Todd Bowles and Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy.

Boy, were we fooled. The identity of the Dolphin's new head coach after the break.

Resident Evil Revelations Demo - Review

Jill Valentine, before transforming into Nina Williams/Samus Aran. Yes, the buckle is deliberately placed there.

Jill Valentine is hotter as a brunette. That being said, Resident Evil Revelations takes place between Resident Evil 4 and 5, detailing the origin story of the founding of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) by former STARS operatives Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. The game returns the series to its survival horror roots, rather than the action packed game that Resident Evil 5 was.


More after the break.

Wesker is Dead, Resident Evil Lives On

Get More: GameTrailers.com, Resident Evil 6 - Debut Trailer HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

After Resident Evil 5, the word was that the Resident Evil series was going in a new direction, possibly in the direction of a full reboot. Apparently, that's not the case as Resident Evil 6 was just confirmed (with video that you can see above!) for a release date of 11/20/2012. The story, according to Capcom, after the break:

An Offer Yu Can't Refuse

$60,000,000. Six years.

The Playstation Vita is Doing Poorly in Japan

After selling 325,000 units on the first 2 days of its launch (Dec. 17 & 18), the Vita has since sold half of that. Through December 19th to January 15th, Sony sold just 176,000 units. Last week (9th to 15th), the Vita sold an amazingly paltry 42,915 units, despite the Vita having a very impressive launch lineup. In that same 7 day period, the Nintendo 3DS outsold the Vita by a 5:1 ratio and the original PSP sold 4,000 units. No Vita games were in the top 20 games sold in Japan since the Vita's launch, but numbers currently only track retail copies and not digital downloads.


It's still early in this portable cycle, but it looks Nintendo may have already won. When Sony announced the price of the Vita it was going to be the same price as the 3DS, but before the Vita could launch, Nintendo lowered the price by nearly $100. Sony did not make a similar decision and they also made the very unwise decision to announce that the PS Vita would use a proprietary external saving device that would only be used by the Vita, similar to the memory cards of consoles of olde, sold at double the price of SD cards with the same amount of memory. The 3DS uses traditional SD cards and comes packaged with one.


Lowering the price of the handheld won't be enough for Sony. They're going to need to lower the price of their memory cards as well, because if you really expect people to download all their games, they won't pay $150 just so they don't have to purchase physical copies. Sony has seriously set back digital distribution by their idiotic decision to price their memory cards as such, and the consumers are letting Sony know.

The Rangers Have Until 5 PM EST to Sign Yu Darvish, Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated Makes an Excellent Case For Why Darvish Might Not Deal

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/michael_rosenberg/01/17/yu.darvish/index.html?xid=cnnbin


Read it. As Rosenberg says in the article, there is 1 sentence that could potentially stop the 3rd hottest free agent in baseball from joining the Texas Rangers. The reason Darvish will probably not join the Rangers is similar to why David Beckham decided to re-sign with the Los Angeles Galaxy


Disregard that, YU WANTS MONEY.

The Architect of the Greatest Show on Turf Retires

Mike Martz, the former offensive coordinator and head coach of the St. Louis Rams during their "Greatest Show on Turf" era, has retired. Martz had been with several college teams in his long and storied career before finally being accepted in the NFL by the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams. That's a serious understatement, so I'm just going to list his full resumé after the break because it is LONG.

Rudy Gets a Shot, Curry Snubbed by Coach K

The 19-man preliminary roster for the 2012 Olympics has expanded to 20, featuring the addition of Rudy Gay of the Memphis Grizzlies and member of the 2010 FIBA World Championship team. Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors was snubbed in favor of Gay, having the exact same credentials.


Curry has expressed surprise of Gay being picked over him and I'm on his side. The 19-man roster that was previously released featured 8 guards, 9 forwards, and 2 centers. Curry would have been the 9th guard, but instead Gay becomes the 10th forward. 


The full 20-man roster after the break and my predictions for who Coach K will pick on the final 12-man roster based on who he's considering.

Offense Sells Tickets, DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Green Bay Packers WR Jermichael Finley
reacts to his team's awful performance.

In a season marked by video game-esque offensive numbers, most people had all the teams with huge offensive numbers as being the Big Three teams to make it to the Conference Championships and Super Bowl, most predicting the Super Bowl to be between the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots, willfully ignoring that the Packers and Patriots had the 2 worst defenses in the NFL.


Some team statistics from the Divisional Round that prove defense is better than offense and my Super Bowl teams pick after the break.

The End of Tebowmania, The Catch III, Battle: Los Angeles

49ers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh embraces TE Vernon Davis after
his game-winning touchdown catch with 9 seconds left in the game.

On Sunday, Tim Tebow was finally exposed for the shitty quarterback that he is. His Denver Broncos lost to the New England Patriots in an outright beating, losing 45-10, thanks to Tom Brady tying a record 6 TD passes in a postseason game, including a new-record 5 in the first half. Tebow was absolutely atrocious, passing 9/26 for 136 yards, rushing 5 times for 13 yards. Brady was magnificent, passing 26/34 for 363 yards, scoring 6 TD with 1 INT as a minor blemish. Brady also compiled a really unusual statistic, he punted for 48 yards on 3rd down, with 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter. The Patriots advance to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 2007, where they went on to lose in the Super Bowl.


Before that game was easily the best game of the postseason thus far. The New Orleans Saints and their top-ranked offense with record breaking passer Drew Brees were looking to roll into San Francisco and collect the Saints' first ever road win after being favored to win by 3.5 points. It seemed written in destiny from the beginning when Alex Smith threw a 49 yard TD Pass to TE Vernon Davis. Both players had been benched during Mike Singletary's tenure as head coach, having criticized both Smith and Davis as "not being winners."


The final 4 minutes of the game proved to be a straight up shootout, featuring 4 touchdowns, 2 from the 49ers and 2 from the Saints. The Saints' TDs were typical Drew Brees fare, but the 49ers touchdowns were something else. The first was to take the go-ahead points, from a 28 yard rushing TD by Alex Smith. The 28 yard rush TD from Smith is the longest such play by any 49ers QB, beating the legendary Steve Young. With 14 seconds left, Alex Smith pulled off the improbable Joe Montana impression and connected on a 14 yard TD pass to who else, Vernon Davis, making the catch with 9 seconds left on the clock. Only 4 game-winning TD passes have ever been made with less than 10 seconds left on the clock and the 49ers have made 2 of them.


The 49ers advance to their first appearance in the NFC Championship Game since 1997.


Lakers vs Clippers 2012 Edition Part I after the break, as well as my personal feelings as a 49ers fan.

Yu Darvish and Texas Rangers are Close to Signing a Deal

Yu Darvish playing for the Hokkaido
Nippon-Ham Fighters

Yu Darvish wants a 5-year contract. The Rangers want a 6-year contract. Money is not the issue here, both sides have already agreed to a contract that will be comparable to the one Daisuke Matsuzaka received from the Boston Red Sox, which was about $52 million for 6 years ($8.67 m per year). At this point, the deal between the Rangers and Darvish is inevitable, they just need to agree on the length.


Darvish reportedly wants a 5 year contract to pursue free agency faster, as he will both make more money once he is a free agent and the possibility of wanting to join a new team if his tenure with the Rangers doesn't work out.


The Rangers probably want the 6 year contract because they don't want to commit long-term to the Japanese pitcher, but still want to offer him a similar deal to Matsuzaka.


Knowing how quickly deals get done in MLB, expect to hear an official announcement of Darvish joining the Rangers within the week.

Miami Heat Lose 3 Games in a Row, Kobe Scores 40+ 3 Games in a Row, Harmony Returns to the NBA Universe

WHY CAN'T I HOLD ALL THESE TROPHIES?

Peace and harmony has returned to the NBA. The Lakers are in 1st place of the Pacific Division. The Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors are awful. The New York Knicks and Boston Celtics are irrelevant. The Chicago Bulls are off to their best start since Michael Jordan's final year as a Bull. The Dallas Mavericks are the laughingstock of the NBA. The San Antonio Spurs are quietly racking up wins despite missing their best player.


But best of all...


The Miami Heat lost 3 games in a row and it had nothing to do with Lebron James being unclutch in the 4th quarter. In their losses on back-to-back nights against the Warriors and Clippers, much blame was placed on Lebron James pulling disappearing acts in the 4th quarters and overtimes of those games. James made absolutely sure not to disappear at any moment of their game tonight against the Nuggets though, making absolute sure to prove that if the Heat lost, it wasn't his fault. He successfully proved his critics wrong, playing excellently in the 4th quarter, yet the Heat still lost anyway to the Denver Nuggets in a game that was never really close.

Preliminary 19-Man USA Men's Olympic Basketball Roster Announced

The 2008 USA Men's Olympic Basketball Team after defeating Spain 118-107 in the Gold Medal Match.

Hard to believe that photo is from 4 years ago. Lebron James is notably crying behind Jason Kidd, emotional over winning a gold medal at the Olympics after winning bronze way back in 2004. The Olympics are a funny thing in basketball. FIBA is slowly gaining more traction and weight, but until it becomes as huge an organization as FIFA, the Olympic Gold Medal is still the highest honor any basketball player or team can hope to achieve.


USA Men's Basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski has unveiled the preliminary 19-man roster for the 2012 London Olympics, which must eventually be cut to 12.


The 19-man roster after the break:

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Demo Review

Serah Farron, wielding the Starseeker.

When a demo hits just 20 days before release and already has a complete Japanese version, that's a sign that the demo will not feature any changes from the final version.


The demo of Final Fantasy XIII-2 is surprisingly long and in-depth, allowing you full access to the battle system early in the game, although the demo will cause anyone who doesn't know any of the backstory to be incredibly confused. The game is also clearly not for people who did not play Final Fantasy XIII, picking up battle-wise right after the former; 4 l'cie roles are unlocked right from the start and you have the option to unlock a 5th role halfway through the demo.


Although the Paradigm Shift system is largely unchanged, the Paradigms themselves can be more finely tuned between the default FFXIII setting, a setting with more focus on a single target labeled "cross" or "X", and a setting with more focus on multiple targets labeled "wide" or "W." This allows the Synergist, Saboteur, and Medic roles to be more varied in ability, potentially causing a Deck to be filled with 2 or all 3 variants of the same Paradigm. There's also a new menu option, allowing you to change the party leader before entering commands, which makes the difficulty much easier since you don't get a Game Over for the party leader dying.

Can We Stop the BCS Now?

Alabama just defeated LSU in the BCS National Championship Game, 21-0... by scoring 5 field goals and a rushing touchdown, while missing the extra point. Despite that, the quarterback won the offensive MVP. Defensive MVP honors went to some guy who record 1 sack and 7 tackles. Wait, what? Sports media will attempt to sell you that Alabama's defense was incredibly dominant by becoming the first team to record a shutout in the BCS NCG, but in reality LSU's offense was absolutely atrocious. QB Jordan Jefferson will never take another snap and will have to rely on whatever BS major he has. Head coach Les Miles decided not to bench him in favor of Jarrett Lee because of his past struggles against Alabama and his opinion that Jefferson is a better QB (total bullshit). This game was a snoozefest from beginning to end, only highlighted by LSU finally crossing the 50 yard line and Alabama scoring their first touchdown to run up the score.

A Tale of Two Blowouts, Rookies, and HOLY CRAP TEBOW IS MAGIC

Denver Broncos QB Tim Tebow in his trademark pose after scoring
the game-winning TD pass in OT versus the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Now, before I get into the BIG story of the weekend, I'm going to cover the other 3 playoff games.


Bengals vs Texans
Going into this game, it was mostly viewed as a toss-up in a match-up between rookie quarterbacks Andy Dalton and T.J. Yates. At halftime, the game certainly still looked like a toss-up, with the score at 10-7 with the Texans leading. The 2nd half was a very different game, with Andy Dalton throwing interceptions like crazy and the Bengals defense completely giving up, with the most notorious of which being Adam "Pacman" Jones. The Texans capitalized on the Bengals' mistakes en route to a 31-10 victory, the first playoff victory ever for the Houston Texans. With their loss, the Bengals become the only team in NFL history to lose 4 consecutive playoff games. The Bengals also continue their struggles on the road, going 0-5 lifetime on the road in the playoffs, not including their 2 losses in the Super Bowl.

John Wall is the Worst Shooter in the NBA

32.9%. That's John Wall's shooting percentage this season. He also hasn't taken a single 3-point attempt this season and is shooting an incredibly average 70.5% of his free throws. John Wall was also the #1 overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, which makes those numbers very worrisome for the Washington Wizards.


Actually, the entire 2010 NBA Draft is really worrisome. Five players from the University of Kentucky were drafted in the 1st Round and none of them have lived up their potential yet. Wall, as stated before, is the worst shooter in the NBA. DeMarcus Cousins has become known as the biggest diva in Sacramento. Patrick Patterson was assigned to the D-League in his first season. Eric Bledsoe has found a role as a backup guard, but will probably never mature beyond that with Chris Paul as the new PG of the Clippers. Daniel Orton was also sent to the D-League in his first season, not recording his first NBA points until a preseason game against the Miami Heat in December 2011.


In draft order, the first person selected in the 2010 Draft who has lived up to expectations is Gordon Hayward, the #9 overall pick. After that pick there's a whole lot of nothing, marked by small bright spots like Greivis Vasquez, Landry Jones, and Devin Ebanks.


So what are the Wizards to do? Owner Ted Leonsis claims that he wants to clean house, keeping only Wall and the guards, rebuilding the team around Wall while removing people who contributed to the thug culture created by Gilbert Arenas and Andray Blatche.


Maybe the NBA will give every team a mulligan in a future draft because of how little talent there was in the 2009 and 2010 Drafts.

MORE Drama in Sac Town

Well, Demarcus Cousins will not be traded by the Sacramento Kings. Instead, they fired head coach Paul Westphal and replaced him with assistant coach Keith Smart, previously the head coach of the Golden State Warriors.


Wait, what?


Yes, apparently the sophomore Cousins has enough pull within the Kings organization to get PAUL WESTPHAL fired. This move made absolutely no sense, despite the Kings being an atrocious team since the departure of Rick Adelman. No coach could possibly lead the Kings to the playoffs in the shape they're in, what with how stupidly young the team is and how undisciplined the entire team is. Jimmer Fredette might be a bright point for the team behaviorally, but Tyreke Evans and Demarcus Cousins seem to be totally incapable of controlling their emotions on the court.


Cousins has also been infamous for being a volatile player dating back to high school. He came out of college after his rookie season, and now many of his former teammates are saying they're glad Cousins is gone because he disrupted their team's dynamic.


Why does Demarcus Cousins have this kind of pull with the Kings? It's not like he's an elite young player; he isn't Blake Griffin or Derrick Rose. Cousins has the potential to be a starter on any team in the NBA, but he will probably never reach elite status. Do the Kings really think they can move forward with Keith Smart as their head coach? He couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag when he was with Oakland, so what's the deal?


It's not like there are any coaches out there who are "free agents" either, other than assistant coaches. Phil Jackson and Jerry Sloan are the biggest name coaches not affiliated with any team right now, but both have avowed they are done with coaching. John Calipari's name is frequently thrown around for being a potential college coach to make the jump to the NBA in the future, but he swears he will be retiring from coaching in 2014.


You can see how little Chris Webber even cares, admitting on air on Inside the NBA that he has no idea what the King's record is, just that their team is awful. For the record, no team has played more than 7 games as of this writing, so it's not that hard to even just guess their record. Webber, probably the most well-known King of all-time, doesn't care about how awful his former team is now. He's just as puzzled to why Westphal was fired, despite the losing record.


The Kings are being run to the ground by the Maloof family, who are trying to pressure the city of Sacramento in building a new arena for the Kings using taxpayer money, because that's exactly what the state of California needs right now: a taxpayer funded arena for a team that has never won a championship while located in Sacramento. Los Angeles is getting a new football stadium only because AEG is self-funding the construction. If the Maloofs can't get their stadium, they're threatening to move to... Anaheim? The Lakers and Clippers have both already said they will veto a move by the Kings to Anaheim, due to the Kings taking away TV time from the Lakers and Clippers and TV money.


So what are the Kings to do? There's been rumors they could move to Las Vegas, but David Stern has said on multiple occasions that he will never allow legalized gambling on NBA games. There's also been the idea of straight up contracting the Kings. No one on the team is older than 33, so if the team were to split up, 18 teams could use all that young talent.


The internet could also use a lot less Kings fans, noted for being the most annoying NBA fans on the interwebs. It's been 10 years since the Kings lost in the Western Conference Finals and they still can't get over it. Really? Ten years? Ten years ago the Yankees had just lost a 7 game series to the Arizona Diamondbacks. No one in New York is complaining about it. Ten years ago, the New England Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams with a last second field goal in the Super Bowl. The Rams have fallen into similar obscurity, but I don't see any Rams fans complaining about it.


Please, just take the Kings away from the NBA, everything will be much better if they do. I can't stand the Kings constantly getting a top 5 draft pick every year and then proceeding to utterly squander them.

Why the New England Patriots Will Fail HARD in the Playoffs

Unlike my modest picks only choosing which teams would win in the Wild Card round, some websites have already decided to make public their picks to go to the Super Bowl. Most of them favor 4 teams, 2 from each conference: the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots, and Baltimore Ravens. Of those 4 teams, the Packers and Saints are favored to win the Super Bowl the most over either the Patriots or Ravens. The Patriots are favored to win by a few analysts over the Packers or Saints, while the Ravens are not favored by anyone (that I've seen) to win the Super Bowl.


Unsurprisingly, there is little love for the San Francisco 49ers, despite having a statistical similar team to the Ravens. The Steelers are also written off, despite being overwhelmingly favored to defeat the Broncos in the Wild Card round and having defeated the Patriots in the regular season.


Those picks are all idiotic. Here is how every team finished their season, starting with those 4 favorites:


Packers' Schedule

• 6 games vs over .500 teams
• 5 games vs .500 teams
• 5 games vs under .500 teams (1 loss, away)

Patriots' Schedule

• 2 games vs over .500 teams (2 losses, 1 home & 1 away)
• 7 games vs .500 teams
• 7 games vs under .500 teams (1 loss, away)

Saints' Schedule

• 7 games vs over .500 teams (1 loss, away)
• 1 game vs .500 team
• 8 games vs under .500 teams (2 losses, both away)

Ravens' Schedule

• 7 games vs over .500 teams (1 loss, away)
• 4 games vs .500 teams (2 losses, both away)
• 5 games vs under .500 teams (1 loss, away)

Wait, what? The Packers lost their only game to a team with a losing record? The Patriots only faced TWO teams with a winning record and they lost both of them? The Saints lost to 2 teams with losing records and all their losses were on the road? The Ravens lost half of their road games? These are all pretenders. Here's how the other playoff teams performed, for comparison.

Listed in order of remaining playoff seeding, NFC then AFC.

49ers' Schedule

• 5 games vs over .500 teams (1 loss, away)
• 6 games vs .500 teams (2 losses, 1 home & 1 away)
• 5 games vs under .500 teams

Giants' Schedule

• 4 games vs over .500 teams (3 losses, 1 home, 2 away)
• 7 games vs .500 teams (2 losses, both home)
• 5 games vs under .500 teams (2 losses, 1 home & 1 away)

Falcons' Schedule

• 6 games vs over .500 teams (4 losses, 2 home & 2 away)
• 3 games vs .500 teams (1 loss, away)
• 7 games vs under .500 teams (1 loss, away)

Lions' Schedule

• 5 games vs over .500 teams (5 losses, 3 home, 2 away)
• 6 games vs .500 teams (1 loss, away)
• 5 games vs under .500 teams

Wait, what? The Lions lost every single one of their games against teams with winning records? The Falcons only won 2 games against teams with winning records? The Giants only won 1 game against a team with a winning record (Patriots)? Well shit, based on team's strength of schedule and winning percentage, the 49ers look like the best team since they're the only one who did not lose to a team with a losing record in the NFC and won at least ONE game against a team with a winning record. Here's the AFC:

Texans' Schedule

• 6 games vs over .500 teams (3 losses, 1 home & 2 away)
• 1 game vs .500 team (1 loss, home)
• 9 games vs under .500 teams (2 losses, 1 home & 1 away)

Broncos' Schedule

• 5 games vs over .500 teams (4 losses, 2 home & 2 away)
• 6 games vs .500 teams (2 losses, 2 home)
• 5 games vs under .500 teams (2 losses, 1 home & 1 away)

Steelers' Schedule

• 8 games vs over .500 teams (4 losses, 1 home & 3 away)
• 2 games vs .500 teams
• 6 games vs under .500 teams

Bengals' Schedule

• 7 games vs over .500 teams (6 losses, 4 home & 2 away)
• 3 games vs .500 teams (1 loss, away)
• 7 games vs under .500 teams

Wow, that's um... The Broncos and Bengals were absolutely terrible. The Texans and Steelers actually finished strong, not losing any games to teams with losing records and both winning half their games against teams with winning records.

Based on winning percentages and strengths of schedule, the real favorites should be the 49ers and Steelers. The Steelers unquestionably had the hardest schedule of all the playoff teams, but won every game they were supposed to win, as did the 49ers.

I don't want to reveal my Super Bowl picks until the NFC and AFC Championship Games come, but just consider these facts until then.

Saints Row the Third

With a third iteration of the Saints Row series, Volition has stepped things up even more to the point that they've created one of the most ridiculous and hilarious games I've ever played. It's also one of the least re-playable games I've ever played because of one crucial mistake. While Grand Theft Auto IV had 2 endings and several people you could choose to kill or keep alive, Saints Row the Third allows you to repeat the final mission whenever you want to get the alternate ending. This cheapens the replay value of the game tremendously and lessens the incentive to start the game all over again.


You can change your sex whenever you want. You can change your character's voice/personality whenever you want. There is literally no reason to play the game more than once other than picking the "other" option when given a choice through various points of the game, most of which have no effect on the plot.


Despite that, the game is a lot of fun and is rarely unenjoyable. There are maybe 2 or 3 story missions that are incredibly difficult if you don't upgrade your health and damage taking abilities,  but few of them are difficult enough to make you throw your controller at the TV. When their ad campaign talks about "Out GTAs GTA," they're referring to how absolutely ridiculous Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was, rather than how realistic Grand Theft Auto IV was. Just by progressing through the story, you get to permanently store a VTOL in your heliports.


Story: 7/10
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Presentation: 8/10
Replay Value: 5/10


Average Score: 7.1/10


Just because I gave it a 7/10 doesn't make it a bad game, per se. The story is incredibly predictable (save for one weapon used against you late in the game), the gameplay is nothing special, the graphics are really bad, and the game is impossible to play through twice. But besides those flaws, the game is FUN. Too many games are concerned with revolutionizing the video game industry; why can't we just enjoy a game that is nothing new and does that well? Saints Row the Third is easily one of the best GTA clones out there, for reasons of how much fun one can have playing it. It'd be nice if they fixed the replay value though.


I can't emphasize enough how much fun I had playing this game despite the flaws. Just don't buy it. It's a game you can finish in under a week, so it's a great rental.

NFL Playoffs Set, NBA Season Continues to be Insane (in the Membrane)

The NFL Playoffs have officially begun! And the teams that are entering the playoffs are exactly the same ones that would have qualified like 3 weeks ago!

• NFC

1. Green Bay Packers
2. San Francisco 49ers
3. New Orleans Saints
4. New York Giants
5. Atlanta Falcons
6. Detroit Lions

• AFC

1. New England Patriots
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Houston Texans
4. Denver Broncos
5. Pittsburgh Steelers
6. Cincinnati Bengals

These playoffs mark the notable return to the playoffs of the 49ers and Lions and the first ever appearance of the Texans, a team that has consistently been marked by 8-8 seasons since they first began play less than 10 years ago. At this point, no team is considered a lock to the Super Bowl since every team has glaring weaknesses: The Packers have incredibly poor defense, the 49ers have an exploitable quarterback, the Saints have lost questionable games to some very bad teams, the Giants are incredibly bipolar, the Patriots also have terrible defense, the Ravens have an exploitable quarterback, the Texans aren't sure if their QB will be back, the Broncos have one of the worst QBs in the league, the Steelers have mounting injuries, and the Bengals are one of the youngest teams in the league.

Despite those weaknesses, I'd like to officially make my picks for the Wild Card round of the playoffs:

• Saints over Lions
• Falcons over Giants
• Texans over Bengals
• Steelers over Broncos

I actually have my opinions already about what teams will meet in the Super Bowl, but I'd rather just make picks for the immediate future for now.

In the NBA, a wild beginning to the season continues. The Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls both beat the Charlotte Bobcats and Memphis Grizzlies respectively by 40 points. The Dallas Mavericks continue to look like the worst team in the NBA, losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kobe Bryant had the worst shooting night of his career, although he did become the fastest player to 28,000 points in the same game. The Clippers knocked off the Trail Blazers, who have been looking excellent even without Greg Oden and the retired Brandon Roy.

I don't know what the result of this season will be, but at this point it looks clear that youthful teams will benefit the most from this insane schedule. Is anyone ready for a Clippers-Heat Finals? LeBron James has already proven that people aren't interested in watching him play in the Finals, being a part of two of the lowest rated Finals ever.

DeMarcus Cousins Begins 2012 By Asking for a Trade Demand

DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings has asked for a trade demand, citing that he has no idea what direction the Kings want to go in. The Kings are notably one of the youngest teams in the NBA, having an average age of 25.5; the oldest member of their team is the 32 year old John Salmons.


After asking for a trade demand, Cousins has been asked to avoid contact with the team and will be unlikely to play for the Kings while trades are being looked into.


Cousins was the 5th overall pick of the 2010 Draft in a draft that is becoming notable for being one of the worst drafts in NBA history, featuring John Wall and nobody else. Even so, the Kings should fetch a large haul in exchange for Cousins since he is a top 5 draft pick and plays very physically.


Divas, everyone!


Update: Cousins is now claiming that he never asked for a trade demand, despite head coach Paul Westphal confirming as such to the media. Cousins may simply be trying to save face and get himself on a good team, because he has become synonymous with diva in both high school and college basketball.

Cee Lo Green Begins the Year by Bastardizing a John Lennon Song

Cee Lo Green, the former lead singer of Gnarls Barkley, now solo act famous for his song "Fuck You," decided to sing a John Lennon song during New York Ciy's New Year's Eve party at Times Square. When one decides to sing a John Lennon song, generally singers know what they're in for since Lennon's solo career was marked by songs that were done for protest or to send a message. The song Cee Lo Green sung was "Imagine," a song that is infamous for it's anti-religious message.


And then Cee Lo Green decided to be cute and change the lyrics. Instead of the lyrics "Nothing to kill for or die for, And no religion too" Green changed the lyrics to "Nothing to kill for or die for, And all religion's true." The change was very insulting to fans of Lennon, who know that the song is meant to be about imagining a perfect world, which includes one with no religion. Green was blasted on Twitter where he explained that he "meant no disrespect" but he disagreed with Lennon's anti-religious views and wants a world where people believe what they want to believe.


The problem with that statement is that-that is exactly what John Lennon was protesting against. Lennon had seen how much conflict religion had caused between countries and even within countries over his lifetime and over human history. Lennon (and many people with anti-religious views) felt that if the world had no religions and if everyone was agnostic or atheist, there would be no conflict in the world. I happen to disagree with Lennon's view, knowing that even if there were no religion, people would fight over political and nationalistic issues.


Nevertheless, I am offended when singers change other singer's lyrics because they disagree with the song. If you disagree with the song, DON'T SING IT. Pick a song that is pro-religion. Pick one that doesn't have a religious message. When a singer changes the lyrics to a song because they don't like the message, it is exactly like misquoting someone or changing the plot of a book or movie; It's insulting that singer's writing as well as their personal views.


In somewhat related news, Kelly Clarkson lost a lot of fans in an instant because she declared herself a Ron Paul supporter. Ron Paul was previously a dark horse candidate only supported by young Independents and Libertarians, but is now getting mainstream attention because of his controversially racist views seen in writings he approved of 20 years ago.


What is it with singers with no talent suddenly having political views? Next thing you know, Katy Perry is going to announce she's an anarchist or something.