Swimming Olympic Trials Preview

Starting tonight and running a week, swimming returns to the national spotlight for the Olympic Trials.  For those unfamiliar with the process, the top two swimmers from each event make the Olympic team.  Get third by a hundredth of a second and you’re waiting four years for another shot.  While the Trials are just a precursor to the games themselves, they should be action packed and full of drama nonetheless, as the Olympic team is formed.  Here are some storylines to watch throughout the week:

The Tale of Kerry Wood

               Earlier this week, and about a quietly as possible, a legend hung up his spikes for good.  If you’re unsure of who I’m talking about, I urge direct your attention to this video.   In only his fifth Major League start, Kerry Wood struck out 20 batters, equaling his age, giving up only one infield hit in a complete game shutout.  He is the 2^nd pitcher in MLB history to strike out his age, after Bob Feller at the age of 17, and third pitcher to strike out 20 in a game after Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson.  According to the Bill James model of pitching performance, Wood’s gem was the greatest game ever pitched, and it’s not even close.  Keep in mind that this was against the Astros, who, at the time, were one of the best hitting teams in the league, led by Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, and Moises Alou.  The Astros lineup was absolutely overpowered by Wood’s mix of heat and whiffle-ball like off speed pitches. Unfortunately for Cubs nation and baseball fans everywhere, Wood’s career began to unravel not long after this dominating performance.

Kentucky and the False End of College Basketball

                Monday night, the University of Kentucky won its 8^th national championship, and first since 1998.  Coach John Calipari finally won his first national championship, with a team basically consisting of three freshman, two sophomores, and a senior.  Somehow, this spells the end of college basketball as we know it, at least according to many bloggers, talking heads, and analysts.  People are quick to jump on the bandwagon of some event being the most important thing ever, and this is no different.  For a number of reasons, Kentucky’s championship will go down as history as just that, a championship won by a perennial powerhouse (or another vacated Calipari Final Four appearance), not the day college basketball changed forever.

The Saints Get What They Deserve

No offense to Mr. Tim Tebow, but the most significant NFL news of the day is the harsh punishment handed to the New Orleans Saints for their bounty program under defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.  Saints Head Coach Sean Payton, one of the most respect coaches in the league, was given a yearlong suspension of his duties, and Williams, now with the St. Louis Rams, was indefinitely banned from the league.  The Saints were also fined 500,000 dollars, as well as losing 2^nd round picks in the next two drafts.  NFL Commissioner and friend of the blog Roger Goodell came down on the Saints with an iron fist, as was expected based on his harsh history of penalties for player and team conduct issues.

March Madness at its best

"By George, the dream is alive!"

March Madness is a wonderful thing.  Every year produces some amount of madness and resulting ecstasy.  However because awesome upsets are a common occurrence, sometimes we overlook and forget about the great games.  To help you out with this problem, members of the LBS staff will be writing about some of their favorite March Madness games.  Enjoy.

Austin Rivers and Duke-UNC Provide a Gem

                                                                          Getty Images

“That’s why I watch sports.”

Those were the words I heard at Buffalo Wild Wings after the dust had settled on Duke’s come from behind victory over archrival North Carolina.  It’s hard to place events in the context of history less than an hour after they occurred, but I don’t think you could find a noticeably better college basketball game if you tried.  And I mean ever.  This game simply had it all.  From start to finish, the game could be equated to the fine art of basketball; just beautiful play from two extremely talented, extremely well coached teams.  The two teams combine for what could be up to eight first round picks, and the talent and passion on display on the floor of the Dean Dome was a treat for all to see.

Suck 5 1/13

The Friday Suck 5 takes a look at which 5 NBA teams had the worst past week.

5. Miami Heat- While the Heat really doesn’t deserve a spot on any bottom of the NBA rankings, they are put here simply because of 2 overtime losses this week.  The only real knock against the Heat, and LeBron James, is that they lack the clutch gene.  Against the Warriors, it was D-Wade going 2-8 down the stretch and a series of bonehead plays by Udonis Haslem that cost them the game, and against the Thunder it was missed free throws by LeBron that doomed the Heat.  The Heat will need to prove they can close out games if they want to win not six, not five, but one championship.

Friday Suck 5

Start your weekend off early with a look at the 5 NBA teams that had the roughest week!  New to Love Boat Sports, the Friday Suck 5 will be a power ranking of the worst NBA teams of the week.  There will surely be some perennial inclusions, although there will also be teams that just had a rough week or a major injury.  Here’s this week’s suck 5!

Note: Since this is the first edition, the entire season will be included in the rankings.

The Enigma of Fantasy Basketball

Week 16 of the NFL marked the end of our league’s fantasy football season, and in most years, this would be the end of my fantasy sports activity until next September.  This year; however, I agreed to join a fantasy basketball league.  I was swept up in the excitement of the return of the NBA, and fantasy basketball seemed like a great idea at the time.  It was not until later that I realized the league was actually for money, but after negotiating the commissioner from twenty dollars down to ten, I was ready to go.  A few days before the draft I began to research players, and it did not take long to realize that I had no idea what I was doing.  Does anyone really understand how you’re supposed to manipulate the categories in order to field the best team?  Does it make sense that blocked shots are equally as important as points scored? Why is Quadruple Doubles a category?  These are just a few of the many questions fantasy basketball provided me with.

Skip Bayless Gets Owned

In case you missed it on ESPN First Take yesterday, everyone's least favorite sports personality Skip Bayless got completely destroyed by Stephen A Smith after saying that Derrick Rose wasn't very good.  Take a look if you hate Skip, the ownage starts around 3:15.

Early Season Stock Watch

In honor of Dick Vitale and college basketball being superior to the NBA, here is my early season stock up and stock down.

Stock up:

Missouri- Missouri has rolled through early season competition with an athletic team featuring an extremely up-tempo offense.  Marcus Denmon and Kim English make up one of the most dynamic backcourts in the country, combining for 40 a game.  The Tigers rank 6^th nationally in points scored, 14^th in assists, and 7^th in field goal percentage.  Missouri and Baylor, another team off to a hot start, have made perennial powerhouse Kansas look like the third best team in a conference it historically dominates.

The Prodigal Son Returns

Sidney Crosby, hockey’s chosen one, returned to NHL action last night after missing almost a full year with a concussion, and immediately reminded us what we were missing without him.  As a Capitals fan, it pains me to admit this, but Crosby is the best hockey player on the planet.  Crosby netted two goals on eight shots on goal, also adding two assists, in his return to the ice.  Despite my hate of the Penguins and Crosby in particular, even I have to admit the NHL has been far less interesting with Crosby off the ice.  The absence of an NBA season looks more and more likely with each passing day, and the NHL needs Crosby to be back in full force to capitalize on the opportunity to be the premier winter sport and expand their fan base.

A Much Needed Classic

Tonight’s Carrier Classic served as a representation of everything that’s still good in sports.  In the midst of an unthinkable scandal defaming one of our most beloved figures and the prolonged NBA lockout, we needed an event like the Carrier Classic to remind us why we love sports.  With the game played outdoors on an aircraft carrier, both teams wearing camo jerseys, and frequent interviews with military personnel, including the Commander in Chief himself, the game was a great celebration of Veterans Day.  Although there were questions about whether or not having the game outdoors would affect playing conditions, both teams’ players and coaches did not even consider moving the game to the lower deck of the ship.  While there were a few slips here and there, the outdoor conditions did not cause any real problems.  The game itself was not particularly exciting, we were treated to our first look at UNC, the pre-season number one.  In the midst of one of the most depressing sports periods in recent memory, it was a refreshing change to see two teams of amateurs putting it on the line to make history, playing the first outdoor game in college basketball history, and more importantly, to put on a display for the troops.  While most of us will probably sleep in tomorrow morning and have a relaxing weekend, the sailors on the USS Carl Vinson will be up before six performing their regular duties, and soon enough, will be deployed.  They will carry the memory of tonight’s game with them through long days and nights overseas, and if that isn’t enough, at least for one night, for any sports fans out there, I’m not sure what is.

Why Jose Reyes to the Nats Makes Sense

The Washington Nationals showed a commitment to spending money towards building a contender when they signed Jayson Werth for seven years and 126 million dollars, making him the 14^th highest paid player in baseball history. Although nearly everyone, including Nationals fans themselves, realized that Werth was being severely overpaid, it was important for the Lerner family to show the Washington faithful that they were devoted to making the Nats a contender after six disappointing seasons in Washington. Although Werth had a down year, drawing boos from Nats fans and mockery from the national media, Wilson Ramos, Jordan Zimermann, Danny Espinosa, and of course, Stephen Strasburg gave the Nationals reason to believe that the future is bright. There has been a lot of talk about the Nats going after one of this summer’s big name free agents, and while most people are advocating a run at Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder, the hot stove’s top two sluggers, the Nationals should look in a different direction: shortstop and lead-off hitter Jose Reyes.

MLB Free Agency Roundtable--2012

It's that time of the year again, folks--that's right, I'm talking about MLB free agency. The Winter months always provide tons of entertainment in the form of athletes receiving gazillions of dollars from various MLB teams, and this Winter should prove to be no different.  Now that the dust has settled and Brian Bixler has landed in Houston, we can finally take a look at the top of this year's class.  This free agency class boasts some of the biggest names in baseball, and there should surely be quite a bit of cash thrown around the league.

A few of the authors here at Love Boat Sports have decided to discuss the possible landing spots for 5 of the biggest names in this year's free agency class: Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, C.J. Wilson, Jose Reyes, and Jimmy Rollins.

So without further ado, here are the predictions:

The Beauty of the Dogpile

No matter the participants, the situation, or the stakes, I will tune into any final inning of a baseball championship game to see the holiest celebration in all of sports, the dogpile. The dogpile is a sacred celebration, an explosion of joy and celebration of a shared accomplishment that only one team is lucky enough to partake in. The dogpile is such a transcendent part of baseball that the dogpile after my little league championship still ranks in the top moments of my life, and easily the happiest and most vivid memory I have of that team.