With over a month of the NBA season complete, the top of the league is a crowded. The usual Western Conference powerhouses, San Antonio, Phoenix, and Dallas, are all up there, but the Eastern Conference is finally making some noise. Detroit is good as always, but Boston and Orlando have burst on to the scene as title contenders. Orlando cente
r Dwight Howard has become one of, if not the best, big man in the NBA. He averages 23 points and 15 rebounds per game, and his supporting players have picked up their play as well. Rashard Lewis is averaging 18 points per game and Jameer Nelson is averaging 12 points and 6 assists. After a 40-42 season last year, Orlando has jumped out to a 18-10 record this year and is poised to make a run at an Eastern Conference title. Continue reading “At The Top of the NBA”
Author Danny Vinik
Remember the NHL?
Remember that game with ice and pucks? With power plays and goals? Yes that game. The NHL season actually began over a month and a half ago, but how many people actually know that. ESPN pays no attention to the dying sport. The NHL’s decision to use Versus to broadcast national games was terrible. Few people know what channel Versus is and those that do hate the station. Had the NHL chosen ESPN over Versus, the sport would have gained much more publicity and increased its fan base. Though its fan base is small, I consider myself one of the lucky ones who watch the sport. The games have been exciting this year with young players such as Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin taking over the sport. Let’s take a look at the beginning of the season:
1. Best Team
This choice was pretty simple, but it was not 100% clear either. The Ottawa Senators started the year on a roll, winning fifteen of their first 17 games. All of a sudden, they lost seven in a row, came back to earth, but they have won their last five in a row. The Detroit R
ed Wings, on the other hand, have played consistently excellent hockey all year giving them a league-leading 49 points. With Ottawa being too inconsistent and having only 45 points, the Red Wings have been the best team so far this season. Left Winger Henrik Zetterberg is having a great season, second in the league in both points and goals (43 and 23 respectively). Goalie Chris Osgood has been phenomenal, leading the league with a 1.76 GAA. Of the 20 players who have played at least 20 games for the Red Wings this season, only two have a negative +/-. The most telling statistic may be average goal differential in which the Red Wings average margin of victory is 1.22 goals per game. The second-place Ottawa Senators average margin of victory is .97 goals per game, a quarter goal less than Detroit. Continue reading “Remember the NHL?”
The Mitchell Report
It’s been a couple months since my last post, but I am back and plan to post consistently from here on forward. On to the topic of the day: The Mitchell Report
After completing his twenty-month investigation, former Senator George Mitchell published his much-anticipated report today, naming 77 players, 29 of whom were active in 2007. Mitchell’s proof heavily relies upon the testimony of former Mets’ clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski and Brian McNamee, a former Major League Baseball strength and conditioning coach. For most of the players named, the evidence consisted solely upon the here-say of one of those two men. Before even looking at the names in the report, the question must be asked: Are Radomski and McNamee reliable sources? If the answer is no, then there is no point at even looking at the names. However, both of these sources were confronted by law enforcement and threatened with possible jail time if they did not say names. These men did not come forward on their own to tattle on players. Facing possible jail-time if they lied, we can conclude that neither Radomski no McNamee was willing to risk going to prison and therefore told the truth. Continue reading “The Mitchell Report”
Danny Vinik 