He Finally Did It

LeBron James has reason to be happy. He silenced his doubters by putting in an MVP performance in Game 5. 

Congrats LeBron. You did it. You finally won an NBA championship. People finally have the evidence that you are the best player in the NBA right now. Along with your teammates Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Shane Battier, you lead your team to victory 121-106 in American Airlines Arena last night. LeBron, you put in a great showing. You scored 26 points, had 13 rebounds, and 11 assists, to complete a triple-double.

If anyone deserved a championship it was you. Why? LeBron has been ridiculed ever since he has left Cleveland. He has been chosen as one of the most hated athletes in America in a Forbes poll.  Even though at times he can be arrogant, (see the proclamation of multiple championships when introduced as a member of the Heat), he has still has played solid basketball. He has been made fun of in numerous jokes, from not winning a championship, to not being able to close out games. Everyone just wants to hate LeBron James.

As a result of LeBron's championship win, a serious debate can now be opened. Who was better, LeBron or MJ? People ignored this debate before, but did not realize that LeBron had more MVP's and more championship appearances. So, Congrats LeBron. You earned it, now let's see if you can do it again next year.

NBA Finals Preview

The Durantula has finally reached his first finals. 

Will King James choke again? 

It's the final that the NBA has wanted all along. LeBron James and the Miami Heat getting his revenge, against a young and raw Thunder squad. Will Lebron D-Wade, and a supposedly healthy Chris Bosh win their first title together? Or will the Durantula and Westbrook start a new era? No matter the result, this finals will be one for the ages.

Team Comparisons:

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook (OKC) vs. Mario Chalmers (MIA)
Chalmers is one of those basketball players, who pretty much is in the NBA because of one shot in college. Other examples include Eric Maynor. Chalmers is a solid player, but he doesn't compare at all to Westbrook. Westbrook is the Dwayne Wade to Kevin Durant's LeBron. Chalmers is decent, but Westbrook will outplay him in this series.
Edge: Thunder


Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha (OKC) vs. Dwayne Wade (MIA) 
Another unfair matchup, however this is one is towards the Heat. Wade may be the best shooting guard, with the exception of Kobe Bryant. He has playoff experience, while Thabo and Harden have just this past few seasons. Wade is a complete player, while you would have to add Thabo and Harden together to have a complete player. Sorry OKC, but Miami gets this one.
Edge: Heat


Small Forward: Kevin Durant (OKC) vs. LeBron James (MIA). 
The matchup of the series, maybe even the playoffs. Arguably the two best players in basketball today. The scoring champion against the MVP. If LeBron wins this title, basketball purists will finally respect him. If he doesn't, the general public will not accept him as a premier player. If Durant wins, he may even surpass LeBron as the better player. For now, LeBron is able to squeeze past Durant, but this could change in a couple years.
Edge: Heat 


Power Forward: Serge Ibaka (OKC) vs. Chris Bosh (MIA) 
This matchup, which had Chris Bosh been healthier would have gone towards Miami but now is pretty close. Ibaka is a very solid player who keeps on improving year after year. Bosh, the weakest member of "The Big Three", this season has struggled this season. When he's healthy, he can be great player. We will see what happens, but these two big men will fight it out this series.
Edge: Even 


Center: Kendrick Perkins (OKC) vs. Ronny Turiaf (MIA) 
Kendrick Perkins was a huge, (both literally and figuratively) signing for the Thunder. He has been a great post presence for them, and has allowed them to compete with teams such as the Lakers and the Spurs. Ronny Turiaf has somehow survived in the NBA for seven years without contributing much other than a couple boards and a few lay-ups per game. Kendrick Perkins has been to the championship twice. Perkins easily gets the edge.
Edge: Thunder 


Bench: 
Oklahoma City's bench is anchored by sixth man of the year James Harden. Harden has been a monster off the bench, and with the midseason addition of Derek Fisher, their bench became even stronger. The Heat's bench is not as strong. Mike Miller, Shane Battier, and Udonis Haslem are solid, but it will be very hard to outperform the sixth man of the year and his squad.
Edge: Thunder 


The Pick: 
Both of these teams are very evenly match. . Some people may think LeBron may choke, and he might. But his missed shots might not matter. Durant, Westbrook and Harden could fast break past the heat. Or LeBron and D-Wade could work their magic. In addition,  Chris Bosh must perform, as well as Miami's bench. If they can't perform, the Heat will easily lose. It will be a close series, but the Thunder want it more. And this won't be their only one.
Thunder over Heat in 7 

UEFA 2012 Preview

The leading Premier League scorer will try score some goals in the Group of death. 

Xavi and his Barca and Madrid all-star team will try to win this tournament again. 

It is here. The tournament that features all of the top European players in the world. Well most of them anyway. Frank Lampard of England, David Villa of Spain, and Yoann Gourcuff of France will be absent because of various injuries.

Though Lampard, Villa, and Gourcuff will not be there. Many will be. Including newly named English captain Steven Gerrard, Premier League top goal scorer Robin Van Persie, and the Real Madrid and Barcelona all-star team. Some call this team Spain.

Can Spain pull a Euro-World Cup-Euro trifecta? Or will the Netherlands led by Van Persie and Robben win the tournament? Or, will there be an upset similar to the one in 2004 when the Greeks won?

Group Previews: Teams listed in order of predicted finish

Group A: 
Russia- The Russians are the best team in a weak group. Led by Arsenal striker Andrey Arshavin and Yuriy Zhirkov, the Russians should cruise to the next round.
Czech Republic- Usually the teams with the best players in the best leagues end up winning. With Tomas Rosicky, on Arsenal, and all-star keeper Petr Cech with Chelsea, the Czechs only major problem will be the game against Russia.
Greece- These guys made a surprise run in '04, but didn't do well in '08, and didn't qualify for the World Cup in 2010. Don't expect them to advance.
Poland- Poland is hosting which got them automatically in the tournament. That will probably be all they get.

Group B: 
Netherlands- In the so called "Group of Death", the Dutch lead the pack with a fantastic roster. Netherlands should reach at least the Semis and maybe even the final.
Germany- The Germans reached the final of Euro '08 before losing to eventual champion Spain. Led by a selection of players from Bayern Munich, which lost to Chelsea in the Champs League final, these German players are fighting for a championship.
Portugal- Group A is filled with mediocre, even bad teams, while Group B is filled with All-Star teams. Because only 2 can advance Portugal is the odd man out. Unless Christiano Ronaldo can play like the Christiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid.
Denmark- They have a couple decent Premier League players, but it will be extremely difficult for them to advance to the Knockout stage.

Group C: 
Spain: When about half your players are from two of the best teams in the world, how can you not advance?
Italy- They are not as good as they were in '06, but Gigi Buffon is still a great keeper. If they will be able to beat Croatia, they are pretty much a lock to advance.
Croatia- Luka Modric is a very,very good player. Unfortunately, he doesn't have much help, and Croatia will be stuck in third.
Ireland- Robbie Keane last played in the Premier league with Tottenham from 2009-2011. He has since struggled to be in-form with the Galaxy. He leads an aging core that will struggle to get a point, much less a win.

Group D:
France: Though they have struggled at tournaments since the '06 World Cup Final, "Les Bleus" have an unbeaten streak of 18. If Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery play well, a team that plays "Champagne Football", could reach the semis, or even the finals.
England: Joe Hart led the Premier league in clean sheets. If he can keep England in the game against France, they should be able to advance. Hopefully when Rooney comes back, the British will have already qualified for the next round.
Sweden: Led by Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden will try to advance to the Knockout Round. It will be a bit difficult, but if they can beat the Rooney-less Brits, they could sneak into the next round. '
Ukraine- How many players named Andriy does it take to get to the Knockout stage? More than four apparently.

Quarterfinals:                                                                                                          Quarterfinals: 
Russia vs. Germany                                                                                           Netherlands vs. Czech
Germany                                                                                                              Netherlands 


Spain vs. England                                                                                              France vs. Italy
Spain                                                                                                                   France

Semifinals 

Germany vs. Spain                         

Spain 

France vs. Netherlands 

Netherlands 

Finals: 

Spain vs. Netherlands 

Spain