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 

2011 in Sports

Aaron Rodgers led the Packers to the Lombardi trophy in 2011.

2011. The year that “The Big Three” was beaten. The year the Packers brought the Lombardi trophy back home The year Albert Pujols won another world series with the Cardinals… then went to the Angels. The year that Cam Newton won the Heisman. The year that the U.S women’s team lost in the World Cup Finals.

2011. The year that Jerry Sandusky, Bernie Fine, and countless others were convicted of sexual abuse. The year that Ohio State University was given a bowl ban, and the loss of numerous scholarships.  The year that fans of the Vancouver Canucks rioted It was also the year of multiple lockouts. The NFL missed training camp, while the NBA is starting its season on Christmas. 

It was  a year of guaranteed titles during the preseason. These such guarantees came from LeBron James, of the Miami Heat, and Vince Young from the Philadelphia Eagles. The Heat lost in the NBA finals, 4-2 to the Dallas Mavericks. Though the NFL is still going on, the Eagles have an extremely slim chance of making the playoffs. 

It was also a year of unexpected championships. The Green Bay Packers became the first number six seed in the NFC to make it to the Superbowl, and then proceeded to beat the Steelers. The aging Dallas Mavericks, led by fiery owner Mark Cuban, managed to beat the Miami Heat. The St. Louis Cardinals surprised everyone to win yet another World Series. 

Abby Wambach led the U.S women to a second place finish in the World Cup. 

Then there was the Women’s Soccer World Cup. Led by Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, and Hope Solo, the U.S reached the World Cup Finals against Japan. It was the first time the U.S women reached the World Cup Finals since 1999. That 1999 team was led by Mia Hamm and Michelle Akers. After 90 minutes of play, the score was tied 1-1. The game went into extra time. 30 minutes later, each side had scored another goal. The game then extended to penalties, in which the Japanese side scored three penalties, to the United States’ one. 

This past year in sports was a peculiar year. There were sex abuse scandals, there were the NBA and NFL lockouts. Through all of this however, Aaron Rodgers finally broke free of Brett Farve’s shadow. Dirk Nowitzki won his first title, and demonstrated that super teams don’t always win titles. The Texas Rangers were present in the World Series again. And lost. Again. Kemba Walker and his UConn team marched through March Madness, and beat Butler 53-47. Butler, like the Texas Rangers reached the National Championship once more. Also like Texas, Butler lost twice on the big stage.

Lockouts and sex abuse. Both the NFL and the NBA closed their doors to  players for an extended period of time in 2011. Jerry Sandusky, Bernie Fine, and (Chicago area basketball coach) Robert Mueller were all convicted of sexually abusing children this past year. Their actions sets a standard for  relationships between players and coaches. Anything a coach does will be watched.

Despite all of the horrible actions that occurred, good things happened in sports too! The U.S. Women put Women’s soccer on the map, David Beckham, Landon Donavan, and the Galaxy won the MLS title, the team’s first since the arrival of David Beckham. The Boston Bruins won their first championship since 1972. 

After 2011, who knows what to expect in 2012? Will LeBron finally win a title? Will “The Great Pujols” lead the Angels to a championship? Will USC, after their bowl ban is over, win the BCS championship? Will Peyton Manning come back from a neck injury? Will there be anymore scandals in college sports? No one knows. No one can tell what will happen.

Top Athletes of 2011: 

Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks

Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers 

Abby Wambach, U.S.A Women’s Soccer Team

Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins

David Freese, St. Louis Cardinals