Sports Illustrated released its list of the top 25 franchises of the decade. The only local teams on the list? My New York Yankees and my New Jersey Devils.
The Devs ranked 19th, and were one of only two NHL teams to crack the top 25 (the Red Wings grabbed the number six spot). Considering they won two Cups, made it to one other final, and made the playoffs every year, the honor is certainly deserved.
The Yanks ranked fifth, and the top baseball team, that's right, ahead of the Red Sox. Fact is, the Yankees were the best baseball team of the decade, posting the most wins and tying the aforementioned Sox for most titles, also appearing in two other finals. They also missed the playoffs just once (the Red Sox missed it four times) and won eight division titles (just one for Boston). So although my boy Kige Ramsey thinks the Red Sox were the team of the decade, SI got it right: 'twas the Yankees indeed.
The bulk of the teams were college teams, for the record.
Although the Las Vegas Bowl is not the game BYU had hoped to be in this year, it is once again, for the fifth straight year in fact, their Bowl to win.
After starting the season with BCS hopes and with a stunning win over #3 Oklahoma, the Cougars expectations for themselves were defiantly much higher than a repeat trip to the strip.
But after an embarrassing loss to Florida St. and a good butt kicking by BCS bound TCU, BYU finds themselves back in Sin City where they will face off against #18 Oregon St. of the Pac 10.
After watching BYU play all season long I present to you their five keys to victory in tonight's match-up.
1. Time possession.
If one thing was evident in the two BYU losses this year it was their inability to handle the speed of FSU and TCU.
With the speed of the Oregon St. offense and the Rodgers brothers playmaking ability, it is safe to assume that Oregon St. is going to put up some points tonight. That being said it is imperative that Max Hall keep his offense on the field.
If BYU can control time possession and keep that OSU speed on the sideline it will go a long way toward a Cougar victory.
2. No turnovers.
If there was one thing that saved the Cougs' in their final regular season win over rival Utah, it was that they committed zero turnovers.
BYU can't afford to give the Beavers freebies, especially in their half of the field.
3. Establish Harvey Unga early.
If the Beavers can't contain Unga, they can't beat BYU. That is of course if BYU doesn't turn the ball over.
If the Cougars have the luxury of establishing Unga, the tight ends and receivers will begin to have a lot of open space.
4. Don't be afraid to blitz.
The Oregon St. running game is excellent, but BYU needs to be willing to come at Sean Canfield just as they did Sam Bradford. Keep the Beavers guessing.
5. Don't play passive.
If there was one criticism I had of BYU Coach Bronco Mendenhall after the Utah game, it was his passiveness in the 4th quarter. BYU is at their best when they open it up, throwing over the middle.
BYU cannot play conservative tonight as the did the second half against Utah. The only time they didn't play conservative in that second half is when Max Hall found Andrew George over the middle for the game winning TD in overtime.
If BYU can do just three out of these five keys they should win tonight's game.
Now it's time to quit talking, sit back, and start watching.
After a 7-1 start, the Rangers took a nose-dive through November, and with a little over a week left in 2009, find themselves just one game over .500 (17-16-3) and out of a playoff spot.
The blame-game has to start at the top. Glen Sather has worn out his welcome for years now, and must be relieved of his GM position. Many are looking to Mark Messier to right the ship, but don't hold your breath. Messier is a Sather guy. They won five cups together in Edmonton. To see him take over and be given total control of the team from Sather, who would remain team President, just isn't going to happen. They have to look out of house. I'm not really sure who that person is.
Next up is Coach John Tortorella. After starting so hot, it seems he has lost the team. His philosophy has always been play the top guy, and only the top guys. It's all well-and-good in theory, but doesn't build team unity. As an ex-player throughout my childhood and high school, getting your minutes cut takes a toll on you. It's hard for a player like Enver Lisin to reach his full potential getting six minutes a game, playing on a line with Donald Brashear and Brian Boyle.
The coach has to give guys like Lisin and Artem Anisimov more minutes. They're guys who can put pucks in the net, but aren't being given the chance.
Tortorella was also known for making the players on his team accountable. Only after a humiliating, lifeless 2-1 defeat against the rival New York Islanders did he get his point across. The benching of Wade Redden and Ales Kotalik seems to have lit a fire under his 'underachieving veterans.'
Speaking of underachievers, that is the final thing that must change with the calender. Sather and company have to find a way to move either Redden, Michael Rozsival, or Chris Drury. Although Rozsival and Drury have been playing better as of late, there still has to be more talent drained from the wells. If not, something must be done to free cap space for the upcoming offseason.
Those are my 3-4 steps that I believe can turn the Blueshirts around. With a great group of young defensemen, a healthy Marian Gaborik, and arguably the best goaltender in the NHL, this team has the blueprints to be a contender in the coming seasons.
During the UFC 108 conference call today, both Rashad Evans and Thiago Silva shared one point and made it very clear—learn from your mistakes.
The pending bout between the two light heavyweights is building momentum, despite fan and media dislike of a UFC 108 card that has fell victim to injuries and fight shuffling.
Regardless of the hype, Rashad Evans is out to put on a good show. Feeling that fans will appreciate the performances he and his opponent will put on, Evans is always out to fight the good fight and is positive there will be no disappointment after the winner’s hand is raised.
An eagerness to compete is apparent in Rashad’s voice, as he talks about being away from a UFC card since his loss to Machida; a loss that he says, “humbles” him. A chance to finally get in the octagon will be long overdue, especially since his “verbal intercourse” exchanges with Rampage Jackson on the heavyweight season of The Ultimate Fighter.
Now, a sense of focus remains in the mind of the former UFC light heavyweight champion. No longer will he let the overwhelming feeling of pressure stray him away from a pending victory.
Though he listens to some, Rashad Evans now attempts to fend away people trying to get in his ear about what he should do and how he should approach a fight. He feels that once you get to the top, everyone has an opinion on how to maintain the position. Rashad feels that he has successfully blocked these voices and can now continue on his fight path.
Distractions are no longer an issue for Evans. This has been one of the biggest changes in his camp and it has allowed him to focus on his next opponent. Evans is so focused, that not even the obvious return of Rampage Jackson is letting him look past Thiago Silva.
Through a Portuguese interpreter, Thiago Silva was short and to the point.
Finishing in the first round is looked at as a bonus for the 205-pound Brazilian. He comes out the same in every fight and explains he is, “prepared for whatever happens.” Anywhere the fight goes, Silva is confident that he can mold to the situation and defeat whoever is put in front of him.
The speculation is that he is prepared for Rashad Evans in all aspects of the fight game.
Like his UFC 108 opponent, Silva is committed to preventing the mistakes he made in 2009 happen again in 2010. The patience to let a fight develop is now a characteristic of Silva’s strategy. The best example, according to Evans, is Silva’s fight with Jackson's teammate, Keith Jardine .
Instead of a headhunter’s approach, Silva lets the fight develop through waiting for the right moment to strike. Obviously, this was the best game plan for Silva as he ended up knocking out Jardine in the first round of their contest.
Revenge does not seem to be on the mind of Rashad Evans. Although, watching his teammate lose to Silva in such horrific fashion was difficult, Evans is approaching this fight much like he does all his others.
This time around, Evans will “tighten up” and “not be so sloppy.” This thought process will hopefully ensure a victory.
For Silva, he says it is “a dream” to beat the top two fighters out of the Jackson camp. If he can get past Evans, Thiago Silva expressed that he would welcome an another offer from the UFC to fight Lyoto Machida .
As do most fighters, Silva wants to fight the best in the sport and become a champion. Although, a fight with Machida stays on the mind of the American Top Team fighter, Silva’s focus remains squarely on Rashad Evans and their pending fight on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010.
There is no bad blood between these two top light heavyweights.
The bout is looked at as a job that has to be done and both of them are driven to perform to their best abilities. They will get their chance to prove who sits higher on the UFC’s light heavyweight food chain at UFC 108.
On a lighter note, Thiago Silva wishes you all a “happy holiday!”
The Cleveland Cavaliers not only have The King, they are the kings when it comes to television ratings in Ohio.
The Akron Beacon Journalreported Tuesday that Fox Sports Ohio’s television ratings for Cavaliers games are up 27 percent overall from last year. Particularly encouraging are the numbers in the central and southern parts of the state.
Ratings are up 47 percent in Columbus. Apart from the NHL's Blue Jackets, fans there are frequently divided between Cleveland and Cincinnati when it comes to following pro sports—Browns vs. Bengals, Reds vs. Indians. But there’s no competition when it comes to the NBA. LeBron and the Cavaliers are the only game in town.
Now the Cavs' popularity is increasing in Cincinnati, too. Ratings there have jumped a whopping 93 percent this year, as the addition of Shaquille O’Neal has apparently improved the Cavaliers marquee value in the southernmost part of the state. That's no small feat, considering that Cincinnati is actually closer geographically to Indianapolis, home of the Indiana Pacers.
It's ironic because there was a time when Cincinnati was Ohio’s only pro basketball home, and the eyes of Cleveland turned there for a hoops fix. From 1957 to 1972, the Cincinnati Royals represented much of the Midwest as they matured along with the growing, but struggling National Basketball Association.
The Royals arrived in Cincinnati after nine seasons in Rochester, N.Y., where they won an NBA championship and reached the playoffs seven times. They would make the playoffs on seven more occasions during their 14-year run on the shores of the Ohio River, and during that time feature a few of the game’s most legendary names on their roster.
As a boy growing up in Northern Ohio, I was loyal to the Browns and Indians. But I quickly realized that, when it came to the NBA, the Royals were the team I would love. In the '60s they had the coolest uniforms, with the name “Royals” appearing vertically down the side of their jerseys. And they had one of the game’s greatest players, Oscar Robertson.
Robertson dominated the guard position from the time he arrived as a rookie out of the University of Cincinnati. The transition to the pro game was child’s play for the Big O, who averaged 30.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 9.7 assists a game his first year.
The following season, 1961-62, he established a statistical standard that remains unmatched, averaging a triple-double by tallying 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 points a game. It was an astonishing feat, second only to Wilt Chamberlain’s dizzying statistics during the same era.
Robertson would win an MVP award in 1964, after he was teamed with former Ohio State standout Jerry Lucas (both pictured above) to make the Royals a formidable championship contender. However, the franchise suffered from dubious ownership throughout their stay in Cincinnati making it difficult for the team to fulfill its budding potential.
I was a tad young to appreciate the Royals’ earliest years in the city when stars such as Jack Twyman, Maurice Stokes, and Wayne Embry patrolled the hardwood. As my childhood interest peaked, my loyalties were with players such Tom Van Arsdale, Norm Van Lier, Johnny Green, and Connie Dierking.
By the late 1960s, the Royals played occasional "home" games in other Midwestern cities, including about 10 a year in Cleveland. This practice, intended to build a broader fan base, also drew attention to Cleveland as a desirable location for an NBA franchise.
The Cavaliers entered the league in 1970 and gradually won the hearts of fans in Northern Ohio. Despite the hiring of the legendary Bob Cousy as coach in 1969, the Royals could not maintain enough fan support over the next three seasons. They moved in 1972 and became the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.
The pro basketball landscape was changing. When the Royals first set up shop in Cincinnati, the NBA was an eight-team operation. Like other pro leagues at the time, it was based in the eastern United States. Minneapolis and St. Louis were the farthest points west.
It was a simpler time, before multimillion-dollar player contracts and mega-deals for television rights. There was no ESPN or TNT, and there were no regional cable networks beaming every game, home and away, into our living rooms as they do today.
One "game of the week" appeared on network television. (See vintage footage here and elsewhere on YouTube.) I would sit eagerly in front of our Zenith black-and-white set, watching Robertson, Russell, Chamberlain, West, and the other stars of that era as they literally built the foundation for the NBA we know today.
As a Royals fan in the '60s, I was lucky to catch a scratchy broadcast on the AM radio in our kitchen. Most often, I had to wait until I arrived home from school the next day to find the box score in the newspaper and learn whether the Royals had won or lost.
Game after game, Robertson's stat line would jump out at you, with 30 even 40 points to his credit. I could just imagine the Big O posting up smaller players, zipping pinpoint passes to open teammates, or launching his trademark one-handed shot to the basket.
Stars burned just as brightly in young boy's imaginations back then as they do now, on the big stage of nightly television broadcasts and multimillion-dollar commercials.
Things are drastically different today. Money, marketing, and marquee names drive the NBA. Perennial playoff teams like the Cavaliers are not only fixtures in their local market, they're frequently featured on national broadcasts, as well.
The addition of O'Neal to Cleveland's roster has caused even more Cavaliers merchandise to fly off the shelves. Home games routinely sell out at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Royals/Kings have long since moved to Sacramento, where they’ve toiled in an odd sort of West Coast obscurity for most of their 25 seasons, despite a run of eight straight playoff appearances and a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2002.
But there was a time when the kings of Ohio basketball operated out of the Queen City. The Royals of Cincinnati were my first NBA love and still hold a special place in the hearts of die-hard hoops fans throughout the Midwest.
