Jersey sale hints at possible Pistons trade

Posted on June 27, 2011 by MattKuzawa

Are the Detroit Pistons about to blow up the team? According to their online store, it appears so. Fire sales don’t lie.

The Official Palace Locker Room Store is having a massive 60 percent off jersey sale…but only for Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey, and Jonas Jerebko jerseys.

Prince is set to become a free agent and the Pistons have made many attempts to unload Hamilton so those two are not surprising.

But why would the team offer Stuckey and Jerebko jerseys for as little as $12.80? Both players are young and are thought of as building blocks for a roster that is in flux. After all, Greg Monroe jerseys aren’t being marked for “Final Sale”.

With the Pistons adding Kentucky guard Brandon Knight from last week’s draft, Stuckey may be the odd man out with Ben Gordon getting the nod at shooting guard.

Either the Pistons are offering their fans a really sweet deal or they have a deal in place to ship those players out of Detroit. You be the judge.

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Wolverines feasting on Buckeye mess

Posted on June 22, 2011 by MattKuzawa
Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor (2) talks with head coach Jim Tressel during the second quarter of their NCAA football game against Purdue in Columbus, Ohio, October 23, 2010. REUTERS/Matt Sullivan (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

With each passing day, it becomes more and more apparent that Ohio State football has a long journey back to the top.

Not only are they dealing with NCAA sanctions over – what else? – money, cars, and clothes, but the program continues to take shots to the scrotum on the recruiting trail.

It’s bad enough they’re losing four and five star recruits on a bi-weekly basis, but it has to be especially gut wrenching considering the de-commits are headed to Ann Arbor to join the revamped Michigan football program.

I mean, even friends born and raised in Buckeye Nation are buddying up to don the winged helmets. In fact, 7 out of 16 of Michigan’s recruits in the 2012 class are from Ohio.

Michigan’s 2012 class was already ranked No. 6 in the nation and first in the Big Ten a few weeks ago. Since then the Wolverines have added two four-star recruitswith the chance to add Kyle Kalis (five star OL) and Chris Wormley (four star DE) this weekend.

As if that wasn’t enough, former Buckeye Terrelle Pryor will get an opportunity to embarrass….errr I mean prove himself…on Jon Gruden’s QB Camp to be aired on ESPN on Friday.

Michigan fans are flying high right now…except some still manage to complain about their dope looking retro jerseys for their “Under the Lights” game against Notre Dame.

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Who ever said bigger was better anyways?

Posted on June 21, 2011 by MattKuzawa
Fran Vazquez (R) of Spain’s Regal FC Barcelona tries to score past Jonas Valanciunas of Lithuania’s Lietuvos Rytas during their men’s basketball Euroleague group C match in Vilnius December 16, 2010. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins (LITHUANIA – Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

 

From now on the SportsSavior will be writing shorter posts…in hopes that I will be able to keep up instead of letting my followers down (are there any left?).

SOOOO….In these boring summer months without hockey, football, or basketball, God blesses us with the oh-so exciting golf, tennis, and baseball. Yet the others still manage to stay more relevant…

Want my opinion on the NBA Draft?

Derrick Williams is a stud and a half. The Cavs should take him No. 1 and address either point guard or center with the No. 4 pick.

Kyrie Irving will be a really good point guard in the NBA but the T-Wolves don’t need one so they will look to either trade down from No. 2 or trade out for an All-Star caliber vet.

After that it’s a crap-shoot. A few of the players mentioned from 3 to 15 will be very good starters in the NBA, but not one is a gimme. It comes down to the teams’ talent evaluators at the top. Some will miss and some will look like geniuses when it’s more likely they were just lucky.

Wayyyy too many Europeans and international flavor…makes NBA fans nervous despite outrageous comparisons to Ben Wallace (Bismark Biyombo) and Dirk “Allegedly the Best Player in the NBA” Nowitzki (Jonas Valanciunas).

Hope for the best but expect the worst!

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With the first pick in the 2011 NFL Draft…

Posted on April 28, 2011 by MattKuzawa
***UPDATE*** Not even the SportsSavior could have predicted those picks. Anyone win Bud Light’s $10 million perfect first round contest? Not so much.

The SportsSavior Selects:

1. Carolina- Cam Newton, QB

A quarterback who had to have the playbook reduced enough to make a Madden gamer look like a genius. Everything will hinge on the work he puts in to becoming a successful quarterback in the NFL.

2. Denver- Von Miller, LB

100% stud. Nuff said.

3. Buffalo- Marcell Dareus, DT

The Bills fill a major need with a run-stopping big guy. Not flashy but hard to argue.

4. Cincinatti- Blaine Gabbert, QB

Why does everyone seem to automatically slot a WR here? Cincy needs a new direction and taking the best signal caller makes more sense.

5. Arizona- Patrick Peterson, CB

The Cards would be thrilled to see the best cornerback prospect in years fall into their lap.

6. Cleveland- A.J. Green, WR

They would take Julio Jones if Green wasn’t magically still on the board but because of other team’s other needs at 1-5, the Brownies strike gold.

7. San Francisco- Jake Locker, QB

I’m not sure if the 49ers stay here or if they trade with Minnesota or Washington, but I think Locker will be picked in the top 10.

8. Tennessee- Nick Fairley, DT

This is the popular pick and it’s hard to argue with a replacement for Albert Haynesworth. Let’s just hope he gets his head right or we may have the same result.

9. Dallas- Robert Quinn, DE

You could see Tyron Smith here too but I think Dallas would be well off adding the premier pass rusher in the draft…and that’s saying something considering how strong this DE class is.

10. Washington- Julio Jones, WR

Though they don’t have a quarterback who can get him the ball yet, if the Skins stay put instead of trading up to take Locker, they add a playmaker on offense.

That’s my top ten folks. I’m not even going to try and predict the whole first round. But for all of my Detroit Lions fans, I think they will take the best DE on the board and my guess is it will be JJ Watt.

Ndamukong Suh is not going to be happy…actually he probably still will be, but he doesn’t get to play with his former Cornhusker teammate Prince Amukamara.

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Jim Tressel’s deception has Ohio State seeing stars

Posted on April 26, 2011 by MattKuzawa

Source: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (via http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/File:Jabbathehutt94.JPG). This is a screenshot of a copyrighted movie. It is believed that screenshots may be exhibited on SportsSavior under the fair use provision of United States copyright law.

A long time ago, in a galaxy named Ann Arbor, a head coach was in hot water.

Oh, how things can change in one year.

Last spring the Michigan football program was a mess. Rich Rodriquez was under heavy scrutiny from the NCAA and found guilty of five “major” violations, in relation to holding too many mandatory practices and workouts.

Michigan fans and alumni were like a galaxy divided. Rich Rod had little support from the athletic department or from former players, making his job a million times more difficult.

The team lacked senior leadership, talent on defense, and a coach with a clear head.

But that was 2010 and this is 2011.

The tables have now turned; there is new order in the universe.

“That team in Ohio” is in some real trouble. A year ago, they would have built a statue of their coach, Jim Tressel.

Now they would rather freeze him in Carbonite and ship him to Jabba the Hutt. And believe me, like the bounty hunter Boba Fett, the NCAA will deliver.

Without their head coach, running back, wide receiver, and running back for the first five games of 2011, Tressel and the Buckeyes have more problems than just trying to beat Michigan  for an eighth consecutive year.

Michigan on the other hand (an un-tattooed hand nonetheless) hires Brady Hoke and the planets seemed to have aligned.

Alumni and former players begin roaming Schembechler Hall again. All but a couple of current and future players show their support for the hire by re-committing to Michigan. Then the Wolverines add a few four star recruits and NFL defensive coordinator Greg Mattison.

All seems right in the world again. The Wolverines go back to their roots and the Buckeyes were just looking to make some loot. If Ohio State wants to right the ship, then they need to stop recruiting players like Terrelle Pryor and Maurice Clarett.

It’s only been a year, but it’s pretty apparent that the Michigan football program is trending upward, while the Buckeyes are in a bit of a tailspin.

Just like Han Solo, Jim Tressel is in trouble because of slimy business.

To be fair, that isn’t the only thing Tressel and Solo have in common: They both wear vests.

But unfortunately for the Buckeyes there is little hope that Luke Skywalker will be showing up in Columbus anytime soon to save him.

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Hall of Fame coaches play pivotal role in NBA playoffs

Posted on April 15, 2011 by MattKuzawa
Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant battles the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade (R) during the second quarter of NBA basketball action in Miami, Florida March 10, 2011. REUTERS/Hans Deryk (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

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Finally, some meaningful NBA basketball games. Hey Boston and LA, it’s time to go drink your go-go juice, eat your can of spinach, or do whatever else you normally do to get amped up for the playoffs.

As I stated in my previous post, I think there are five teams that have a legit shot at the NBA Championship. If the OKC Thunder had a Hall of Fame coach, I would probably throw them into the mix. But with both an inexperienced coach and players, Kevin Durant and the boys have a sliver of a chance.

Honestly, if you look at the head coaches who have won an NBA Championship in the last 20 years it’s astonishing and unlike any other sport:

Phil Jackson- 11 times

Greg Popovich- 4 times

Larry Brown- 2004

Pat Riley- 2006

Doc Rivers- 2008

I mean, with the exception of Rivers, every one of those coaches are already in the Hall of Fame or are shoo-ins. Go back even further into the 80s and almost every team had a Hall of Fame coach at the helm.

For that reason I don’t think the Bulls or Thunder have as good of a shot as the Lakers, Celtics or Spurs. Not necessarily because they’ve been there before, but because they have coaches who can out-coach the less experienced ones.

That’s not to say that all that matter is coaching in the playoffs. But the eventual champion will most likely be led by the better coach in the Finals.

I’m not going to bore you with a breakdown of each first round series but this is how I see it ending:

East Finals: Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat

West Finals: LA Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs

NBA Finals: Lakers vs Heat

2011 NBA Champion: Lakers

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