Note: This is an old post from my Multiply site last January 10, 2009.
First blog of the New Year. No, this is not about my New Year’s Resolutions. I have given up thinking of such. I seldom fulfil them and I usually change my bad habits some time during the year. It is a process that should never be forced and with New Year’s Resolutions, it feels forced every time I try to prevent old habits and starting new ones. Besides, it is difficult to break old ones simultaneously as compared to breaking them one at a time. I am just realistic.
Thus, I will start the year by discussing sports. I have written about sports the most often last year and I am going to begin this year by talking of it.
Cleveland Cavaliers Own the Boston Celtics
Some hours ago, I finished watching LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers overwhelm last year’s defending champions – the Boston Celtics. LBJ made it look easy to make the C’s his bitches. He swatted a sure layup from Ray Allen. He shot the lights out by a long trey which made the crowd erupt. The King was even able to go to the rim despite of three players defending at him. Man, these are the Celtics defending him. If they were the Suns or the Knicks, it would just be forgivable. The Celts are the second best team in defense and they just could not do anything against LeBron James. That is expected though – superstars rise against adversity.
After years of being ‘just another playoff contender in the lowly East’, Cleveland is getting some love from the media which it should have after reaching the Finals. It is just the first time that the Cavaliers have become a noteworthy team in the eliminations. What’s deadlier is, they become a whole lot better in the playoffs – historically speaking. Will LeBron and company still have the power come playoff time to peak more? It is a possibility. LeBron has fewer minutes per game and his team is blowing out games. This means that they do not exhaust much of their effort winning energy-draining close games. Plus, LeBron is hungrier after coming up short the past few years. He has a strong supporting cast that would help him bring his home state to the Promise Land. Big Z, Big Ben and Varejao clog the paint making it hard for high percentage scorers to shoot. LeBron intercepts the passes while Delonte West and Mo Williams defend the perimeter shooters. Defense wins games.
However, this win does not show that Cleveland will win it all the way. The Celtics’ brotherhood is a strong wall to break into. The Lake Show of Bryant, Gasol and Bynum has arguably the deepest lineup in all positions. The Spurs are always legitimate contenders despite the age factor. We also have other strong contenders in Utah, New Orleans, Orlando and Houston. But the win was a statement game for me to declare that this team is indeed a powerhouse. I am convinced that the Cavs are for real. Just like how celebrities state, “I am convinced” in Clear commercials.
Actually, whichever team that has a LeBron James is entitled to be called a powerhouse team. He is still young but he has that team play aura with him that makes his team better than it was on paper. That is why he should be the Most Valuable Player (as most are claiming) and why he deserves to win at least a crown in Cleveland. Nothing is sweeter than winning an NBA crown when you are playing for your hometown team.
No predictions but I believe this is the time for LeBron to shine and be part of the greatest.
Farewell to the Best Pitcher of the 90s
This is late news as this occurred last year but it was just a few days ago when I learned of it. When I was reading the farewell column of ESPN for 2008, I learned that Greg Maddux has decided to retire after years of being a dominant pitcher. I was not able to follow Maddux’s career ever since he left the Atlanta Braves but he still stands to be my favorite baseball player of all time (with Chipper Jones as close second). Yes, it was quite unfair to not follow his career but I root more for the team – Atlanta Braves – than the player that was why I was unable to.
Greg Maddux was part of the pitcher powerhouse lineup of the Atlanta Braves of the 90s with Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Denny Neagle joining him in the rotation. I can still remember their lone championship win in 2005 against the Cleveland Indians. The fans with their axes were awesome as they sung Queen’s We Will Rock You. Greg Maddux, of course, was the best pitcher in that time. He won four straight Cy Young Awards and has the record for most Golden Glove award for any player (18). But just like what was stated in the ESPN article I read, Greg Maddux accomplished this feat by being a normal guy. He was not tall, muscular or physically gifted like the pitchers who can throw 90 miles per hour fastballs. I can still remember his pitching styles in Triple Play ’98 – fastball, slider, curve ball and changeup. Greg Maddux was known for his fielding. He throws pitches at the strike zone (he seldom walks batters just like his colleagues in the best pitching rotation then) and turns it into an easy groundout. Not flashy but he gets the job well done. He even averaged less than 2 ERA in some seasons in the ‘90s. He was the only pitcher to win at least 15 games in 17 consecutive seasons.
Enough of the statistics. Maddux was remarkable to me because he was influential in making me like baseball despite watching hours of scoreless innings due to terrific defense. I try to imitate his pitching style whenever my brother and I played baseball when we were younger. I even liked pitching more than batting (even if I do not have the talent for both). I will never be a good baseball pitcher or player but I will always love baseball. So to the pitcher in eyeglasses who just retired recently, thank you for the memories. Unfortunately, I still do not have an Atlanta Brave jersey with the name ‘MADDUX’ stitched in the back.
Along with Maddux, I say farewell to the legendary pitching squad of Atlanta in the 90s. The last man of it – John Smoltz – is probably heading to the Boston Red Sox (now this is updated news!) To the Braves team of ’95: Greg Maddux, Chipper Jones, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Denny Neagle, David Justice, Javy Lopez and of course, Bobby Cox. Thank you very much for the memories.
First blog of the New Year. No, this is not about my New Year’s Resolutions. I have given up thinking of such. I seldom fulfil them and I usually change my bad habits some time during the year. It is a process that should never be forced and with New Year’s Resolutions, it feels forced every time I try to prevent old habits and starting new ones. Besides, it is difficult to break old ones simultaneously as compared to breaking them one at a time. I am just realistic.
Thus, I will start the year by discussing sports. I have written about sports the most often last year and I am going to begin this year by talking of it.
Cleveland Cavaliers Own the Boston Celtics
Some hours ago, I finished watching LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers overwhelm last year’s defending champions – the Boston Celtics. LBJ made it look easy to make the C’s his bitches. He swatted a sure layup from Ray Allen. He shot the lights out by a long trey which made the crowd erupt. The King was even able to go to the rim despite of three players defending at him. Man, these are the Celtics defending him. If they were the Suns or the Knicks, it would just be forgivable. The Celts are the second best team in defense and they just could not do anything against LeBron James. That is expected though – superstars rise against adversity.
After years of being ‘just another playoff contender in the lowly East’, Cleveland is getting some love from the media which it should have after reaching the Finals. It is just the first time that the Cavaliers have become a noteworthy team in the eliminations. What’s deadlier is, they become a whole lot better in the playoffs – historically speaking. Will LeBron and company still have the power come playoff time to peak more? It is a possibility. LeBron has fewer minutes per game and his team is blowing out games. This means that they do not exhaust much of their effort winning energy-draining close games. Plus, LeBron is hungrier after coming up short the past few years. He has a strong supporting cast that would help him bring his home state to the Promise Land. Big Z, Big Ben and Varejao clog the paint making it hard for high percentage scorers to shoot. LeBron intercepts the passes while Delonte West and Mo Williams defend the perimeter shooters. Defense wins games.
However, this win does not show that Cleveland will win it all the way. The Celtics’ brotherhood is a strong wall to break into. The Lake Show of Bryant, Gasol and Bynum has arguably the deepest lineup in all positions. The Spurs are always legitimate contenders despite the age factor. We also have other strong contenders in Utah, New Orleans, Orlando and Houston. But the win was a statement game for me to declare that this team is indeed a powerhouse. I am convinced that the Cavs are for real. Just like how celebrities state, “I am convinced” in Clear commercials.
Actually, whichever team that has a LeBron James is entitled to be called a powerhouse team. He is still young but he has that team play aura with him that makes his team better than it was on paper. That is why he should be the Most Valuable Player (as most are claiming) and why he deserves to win at least a crown in Cleveland. Nothing is sweeter than winning an NBA crown when you are playing for your hometown team.
No predictions but I believe this is the time for LeBron to shine and be part of the greatest.
Farewell to the Best Pitcher of the 90s
This is late news as this occurred last year but it was just a few days ago when I learned of it. When I was reading the farewell column of ESPN for 2008, I learned that Greg Maddux has decided to retire after years of being a dominant pitcher. I was not able to follow Maddux’s career ever since he left the Atlanta Braves but he still stands to be my favorite baseball player of all time (with Chipper Jones as close second). Yes, it was quite unfair to not follow his career but I root more for the team – Atlanta Braves – than the player that was why I was unable to.
Greg Maddux was part of the pitcher powerhouse lineup of the Atlanta Braves of the 90s with Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Denny Neagle joining him in the rotation. I can still remember their lone championship win in 2005 against the Cleveland Indians. The fans with their axes were awesome as they sung Queen’s We Will Rock You. Greg Maddux, of course, was the best pitcher in that time. He won four straight Cy Young Awards and has the record for most Golden Glove award for any player (18). But just like what was stated in the ESPN article I read, Greg Maddux accomplished this feat by being a normal guy. He was not tall, muscular or physically gifted like the pitchers who can throw 90 miles per hour fastballs. I can still remember his pitching styles in Triple Play ’98 – fastball, slider, curve ball and changeup. Greg Maddux was known for his fielding. He throws pitches at the strike zone (he seldom walks batters just like his colleagues in the best pitching rotation then) and turns it into an easy groundout. Not flashy but he gets the job well done. He even averaged less than 2 ERA in some seasons in the ‘90s. He was the only pitcher to win at least 15 games in 17 consecutive seasons.
Enough of the statistics. Maddux was remarkable to me because he was influential in making me like baseball despite watching hours of scoreless innings due to terrific defense. I try to imitate his pitching style whenever my brother and I played baseball when we were younger. I even liked pitching more than batting (even if I do not have the talent for both). I will never be a good baseball pitcher or player but I will always love baseball. So to the pitcher in eyeglasses who just retired recently, thank you for the memories. Unfortunately, I still do not have an Atlanta Brave jersey with the name ‘MADDUX’ stitched in the back.
Along with Maddux, I say farewell to the legendary pitching squad of Atlanta in the 90s. The last man of it – John Smoltz – is probably heading to the Boston Red Sox (now this is updated news!) To the Braves team of ’95: Greg Maddux, Chipper Jones, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Denny Neagle, David Justice, Javy Lopez and of course, Bobby Cox. Thank you very much for the memories.
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