Your NBA Finals Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors

I cannot express how wild this series is going to be; these two teams have dominated their opposition throughout the playoffs, and now their runs will culminate and a champion will be crowned.  Before the playoffs started, and when both these teams were healthy, I had picked the Cavaliers to face the Warriors in the Finals and that this would be a seven game series.  Even with Kevin Love out for the Cavs, and the injuries to both Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, I still believe LeBron will avenge himself from last year and pull this one out for his third title.  To help you make your own prediction, or see the overall strengths and weaknesses of both teams, I will break down the main aspects of both teams.  Let’s start with the starting lineups and position matchups.

Point Guard: Steph Curry (GSW) vs Kyrie Irving (CLE)

This is the battle to watch as this series unfolds, for whoever gets the upper hand in this matchup, that team should be the favorite on a game by game basis.  Having said that, Curry has been the best overall player this season, won the Most Valuable Player award, and is healthy.  Irving, on the other hand, has been hampered by a knee injury and will not be 100% heading into Game 1 of the Finals.  When both are healthy, their offensive games are rather similar: Both can shoot efficiently (Curry: 49/44/91, Irving: 47/42/86) with Curry having the slight advantage.  In terms of ballhandling, these two could play on the Globetrotters tomorrow and no one could tell the difference.  You simply cannot strip the ball from these two, but I give Irving the advantage because he’s Uncle Drew, and basketball will always be about buckets.  In terms of facilitating, Curry has the distinct edge in that category, he is the best pure point guard in the game today and averaging 8 assists per game.  Lastly, the defense advantage goes to Curry as he averages two steals a game, and provides constant on-ball pressure.  Overall, this will be the best battle in this series, so pay close attention to this matchup.

Shooting Guard: Klay Thompson (GSW) vs. Iman Shumpert (CLE)

Let’s start with Thompson, who was last seen with blood pouring out his earlobe after a knee to the head.  That is not good, but he is being re-evaluated and hopefully he will be eligible to play Game 1 in Golden State.  When healthy, Thompson is the younger, slightly less prolific scorer that Curry is, but Thompson is actually the Warriors best perimeter defender (Draymond Green is a VERY close second).  There is a reason the Warriors did not trade him and David Lee for Kevin Love this past offseason, and the numbers Thompson put up this season (21 PPG, 3 APG, 3 RPG, 21 PER), show that decision has paid dividends.  As for Shumpert, he is the X-factor for the Cavaliers this series for he is the one who can consistently give LeBron a break by covering the best wing player (Thompson), so James can do his work on the offensive end and take a few plays off defensively.  Even though J.R. Smith is most likely to start, and he is stronger offensively than Shumpert, it would be wise for Coach David Blatt to start Shumpert to gain an early defensive edge at the 2 guard.

Small Forward:  Draymond Green (GSW) vs. LeBron James (CLE)

We already know LeBron is up to the challenge, he has been here before.  In fact, it’s his fifth straight appearance in the NBA Finals, something that has not happened since the Celtics dynasty of the late-50s/mid-60s with Russell and Co. at the helm.  So yeah, James is ready, but what about his adversary, Draymond Green.  Green, who should have been Defensive Player of the Year in my opinion, has the tough draw of sticking James for this series.  Now, Green is no slouch on the offensive end as he is capable on offense (he shoots 44% from the field, averages 12 PPG, and 4 APG), but his calling card is defense.  Green can cover positions 1-5 at an elite level, and should cover the best player on the other side of the court (James unless he’s on the bench) anytime he is playing.  Green is the X-factor for the Warriors because his play dictates the Warriors motivation on the defensive side, and if he struggles early, then the Dubs could be in trouble.

Power Forward:  David Lee (GSW) vs. Tristian Thompson (CLE)

This may not be the best matchup or the most important matchup, refer to the point guard and small forward breakdowns, but this is definitely the most intriguing.  Thompson has been a monster on the boards both offensively and defensively since the playoffs started and has even strengthened his inside game.  Since Love was injured in the 1st Round, no one has been quietly impressive (or has earned millions on his next contract) more than Thompson.  What will be interesting is how Coach Steve Kerr counters Thompson’s rebounding prowess and defensive shortcomings.  He could play small and stick Harrison Barnes or Andre Iguodala on Thompson to gain an offensive edge, but would sacrifice rebounds which are crucial in close games.  The other card Kerr could play is to start David Lee to oppose Thompson.  Lee is a traditional power forward, he is listed at 6’9″ 240, pounds and is capable of averaging a healthy 15 PPG.  Hell, just a season ago, he averaged 18 PPG, which is an all-star caliber number.  Lee has the size, offensive repertoire and rebounding knack to neutralize Thompson’s strengths and broadcast his weaknesses.  We will see how this battle transpires…

Center: Andrew Bogut (GSW) vs Timofey Mozgov (CLE)

This is less of a basketball face-off and more of a heavyweight boxing bout.  These two behemoths are going to knock the crap out of each other in the paint, and I can’t wait to see the carnage these two unleash on their opponents.  Whichever of these two comes out on top will play a giant role in who walks away a winner and a loser in this series.

Coaches: Steve Kerr (GSW) vs David Blatt (CLE)

There is only one comparison with these two coaches: This is both their first seasons as NBA head coaches.  In fact, this is the first occurrence of rookie coaches squaring off in the Finals since the 46-47 NBA season.  After that, the roads they each took to reach this point are the polar opposite of each other.  Kerr is already a five-time NBA champion as a player, has broadcasted for TNT, and was even a general manager for the Phoenix Suns from 2007-2010.  Blatt, on the other hand, has had wild success in international competition with multiple Euro championships and coaching accolades.  Both fell into perfect situations for their first coaching gigs: Kerr inherited a 51-win team from Mark Jackson this past season and improved the team overall. Meanwhile, Blatt had LeBron James, and later Kevin Love, fall right into his lap.  In terms of match-ups, this is probably the most 50-50 of all of them, so keep an eye on this coaching duel.

Benches: Barnes, Iguodala, Maresse Speights, and Shaun Livingston (GSW) vs Smith, Matthew Dellavedova, Shawn Marion, and James Jones (CLE)

The Warriors have one of the best-rated benches in the league, and if they want to put a stranglehold on this series, then their bench has to play to expectation.  With the injuries to Love and Anderson Varejao, the Cavs bench is a little thinner than Blatt and James would like, so it is imperative for the Dubs bench to play exceptionally well to counter LeBron and Co.

Prediction: Cavs in 7

-Anthony

Sepp Blatter resigns as FIFA President, so what does it mean?

NBC News- Just last week, as he was rolling to re-election to a fifth term as president of world soccer’s governing body, Sepp Blatter said: “Why would I step down? That would mean I recognize that I did wrong.”

Tuesday, Blatter stepped down, leaving FIFA in a crisis of leadership and purpose at a critical moment in its history.

After U.S. authorities announced a sweeping indictment last week alleging corruption at the highest levels of FIFA House in Zurich, Attorney General Loretta Lynch pointedly refused to comment when asked about Blatter. She and other federal prosecutors said the investigation was still in its early stages.

A source familiar with the investigation confirmed to NBC News that the FBI is looking into possible wrongdoing specifically by Blatter. While he isn’t named in the indictment, it makes it clear that the Justice Department holds the president of FIFA “responsible for the implementation of [its] decisions.”

Under that cloud, Blatter will remain in charge of FIFA for as long as 10 more months while it organizes a new presidential election, which it said could be held as late as March 2016.

In the meantime, FIFA faces a mountain of challenges with a lame-duck president whose own credibility is deeply doubted and a roster of replacement leaders who must learn quickly on the job.

Because of the delay, the job of rebuilding and rehabilitating FIFA will be enormously complicated. As many as a half-dozen serious contenders to succeed Blatter could emerge in the next months, and important decisions will have to be made with an eye toward what the next president might want to do or change.

Those decisions must satisfy a number of FIFA’s stakeholders, who frequently don’t see eye to eye.

The soccer world is divided very broadly into two camps: One comprises the traditional soccer powers of Europe and South America, most of whom have demanded Blatter’s ouster for years. The other encompasses the smaller soccer nations in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean, which flourished under Blatter and voted heavily to keep him as president last week.

The next president faces the conundrum of figuring out how to balance the demands of the smaller nations, which share equally in voting power and revenue sharing, with the yearning of most of the traditional European and South American powers — which have won all 20 World Cups — to take back some of the power they lost under Blatter’s presidency.

Then there are the corporate sponsors, which FIFA’s financial reports show were responsible for almost 30 percent of the organization’s $5.7 billion in revenue during the four-year cycle leading up to the 2014 World Cup.

Visa said last week that unless FIFA imposes “a culture with strong ethical practices,” it will take its money and go home. Coca-Cola said the scandal “has tarnished the mission and ideals of the FIFA World Cup,” adding that it has “repeatedly expressed our concerns about these serious allegations.”

Amid all that, the games must still go on.

A separate Swiss investigation is challenging the legitimacy of FIFA’s selections of Russia and Qatar to host the next two World Cups. Preparations for both championships are steaming ahead — the preliminary draw for the 2018 World Cup in Russia is next month — but FIFA will also have to have contingency plans should one or both events have to be moved.

Meanwhile, the men’s Under-20 World Cup is already under way in New Zealand, and the Women’s World Cup opens Saturday in Canada. The Club World Cup begins in Japan in December. And planning for next year’s Olympic soccer tournaments in Brazil are well into the advanced stages.

It’s too soon for anyone to have decided whether to run, but as many as a dozen people are considered likely to say they’re eager to take on those challenges.

A lot of noteworthy items to go over since this is a long excerpt of what has been transpiring within FIFA the past couple of days (even though these activities have been going on for years).

First off, this fucking guy.  I have to give him props, four (excluding the one he will resign from) terms as a corrupt dictator who has made personal millions off of bribes, has pissed off millions of people, and STILL almost walked away clean (at least he left on his own terms) is impressive.  Respect.  Now, go kick rocks and never come back because you almost single handedly ruined the United States chances at a World Cup bid.  As of yesterday, I thought there was no way that the 2022 Cup bid (currently set to take Qutar) would be reopened for voting, but now there is no choice but to revote on the location.  THEY ONLY GOT IT BECAUSE OF BRIBES!!  People are literally dying from the labor work of constructing the stadiums in Qatar (because the country is literally a desert with extreme heat temperatures.)   For those who are even casual soccer fans like myself, get excited, because world-class Fut bol could be coming to us in the distant future.

Second, Blatter still has the presidency for the next ten months as a lame-duck until the new elections are held…which makes no goddamn sense.  Why not just give it to the runner-up (look it up Bieler) from the previous election, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein?  Saves you the time, the stress, and the ensuing clusterfuck the next ten months are going to be.

Which leads to my last point, the countries and the sponsors associated/a part of FIFA.  I actually think no one has been cuckolded more than these guys (entities) the way Blatter has.  He literally had their balls in his hands for YEARS, and will still have them for at least the next ten months.  But, at least Blatter will be gone, so there is that.

-Anthony

PS- America should just host everything.  The World Cup, the Olympics, etc.  #USAfor2016-22

Johnson, M. Alex.  (June 2, 2015).  Sepp Blatter resigns: what, and who, is next for FIFA?  Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/fifa-corruption-scandal/sepp-blatter-resigns-what-who-are-next-fifa-n368756

People are upset Caitlyn Jenner will receive Arthur Ashe Award…well no shit.

Washington Post- On Monday, ESPN announced that it would honor Caitlyn Jenner at the 2015 ESPYs with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. That July ceremony is set to be the stage for Jenner’s first major public appearance since unveiling her new identity, which is likely to result in record ratings for the telecast.

Since then, a controversy has erupted on social media about whether Jenner should be getting the award, at least as compared to other candidates that some deem more worthy. Prominent among those candidates is Noah Galloway, who lost most of his left arm and leg as a soldier in Iraq, then went on to become a distance runner, personal trainer, motivational speaker and, recently, a third-place finisher on “Dancing With the Stars.”

On Tuesday, many people took to Twitter to express disappointment, if not outrage, that ESPN picked Jenner over Galloway. The problem is that there is no indication that ESPN was ever weighing the merits of Galloway, or anyone else, against those of the former Bruce Jenner.

The sports network’s press release announcing that Jenner would receive the Courage award makes no mention of any other nominees. The myth-busting Web site Snopes.com traced the misconception that Galloway was passed over to a tweet posted by Gerry Callahan, a Boston Herald columnist and co-host of the “Dennis and Callahan” radio show.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with taking issue with ESPN’s choice of Jenner, as compared to other potential honorees. Tuesday also saw many tweets claiming that would-be college basketball player Lauren Hill, who raised money to fight cancer before dying from her own rare condition this year, would have been a better choice.

And a case can certainly be made, as well, for Galloway, on his own inspiring merits. But it’s simply not correct to criticize ESPN for relegating the veteran to “runner up” status to Jenner.

Let me ask you a question.  Who benefitted from Caitlyn (Bruce) Jenner’s sex change?

A) Caitlyn (Bruce) Jenner

B) Vanity Fair

C) Transgenders

D) Both A and B

If you picked the correct answer (it was D), then that should automatically disqualify Caitlyn (Bruce) Jenner from the Arthur Ashe award.  Don’t agree, well let us look at two points to counter Jenner’s reception.

I have watched the ESPYs every year for as long as I can remember and do you know who won the Arthur Ashe award last year? I will give you a hint, he died from cancer after having a positive impact on every person he came in contact with ON TOP OF raising funds and awareness for cancer (even after knowing he would not make it).  Boys and girls, that would be Stuart Scott.  Now, you tell me the type of person who deserves this type of award, an award that recognizes those who were “brave and courageous” not just for their own benefit *cough Caitlyn (Bruce) Jenner cough* but to give others a chance that they never had.  Do you want to know who comes to mind?  People like Noah Galloway, who fought for his country and suffered severe injuries during combat and still pushes on with his life with the goal of pushing others, taking nothing for granted.  People like Lauren Hill, who also passed away from cancer but not before creating charitable causes and events to help people gain funds for their own bout with cancer.  Saying Caitlyn (Bruce) Jenner deserves this award is like saying Galloway and Hill should not be labeled as “runner-ups” (as shitty as that sounds) to her in an awards race…oh wait:

But it’s simply not correct to criticize ESPN for relegating the veteran to “runner up” status to Jenner. – Des Bieler

-Anthony

PS- Definition of runner-up:

Runner-up (noun)- a competitor finishing behind the winner in the specified position.

Double PS- How is this award not eligible for voting, but the other 100 or so (exaggerating) awards at the ESPYs are? Doesn’t make sense at all.

Bieler, D.  (June 2, 2015).  No, Caitlyn Jenner was not picked ahead of Noah Galloway for the        ESPY award for courage.  Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2015/06/02/no-caitlyn-jenner-was-not-picked-ahead-of-noah-galloway-for-the-espy-award-for-courage

Shaq would take Kobe over LeBron due to “killer instinct”, and so would I.

CBS Sports- “The Dan Patrick Show” seems to be where everybody goes to weigh in on who’s the best ever and where players rank. Last week, Bill Laimbeer made an appearance and said that he thought LeBron James could do more than Michael Jordan, which caused a bit of a stir. Shaquille O’Neal was a guest on Monday, and he disagreed with Laimbeer, saying he’d take Jordan over James. Then he was asked about where James fits in compared to Kobe Bryant.

“I played with both of them,” O’Neal said. “You know, Kobe has that killer instinct. And I’d probably have to go with Kobe. That’s not a knock against LeBron. It’s just that I know Kobe and I played with him longer. I’ve seen what he can do.”

Patrick then asked if James had a killer instinct.

“Yes he does,” O’Neal said. “But a lot of people try to compare him to Mike, when he’s more like Magic [Johnson]. But, you know, when he needs to take over a game, he will. But he’s really, really smart. He’s very intelligent. He lets the game come to him. And he relies on others. Magic relied on others and it worked out well for him. LeBron has relied on others these past five years, it’s working out for him. Hopefully it works out for him in the Finals.”

The question invariably puts someone like O’Neal in a tough position because he played with both of them. In this situation, you’ll usually see ex-players side with the guy who has won more championships.

O’Neal said nothing but positive things about James, though. He even, sort of strangely, said that James does have a killer instinct after citing Bryant’s killer instinct as the reason why his former Lakers teammate was better. Personally, if I was making an argument, I’d use what O’Neal said about James — the fact that he’s one of the smartest players we’ve ever seen, and the fact that he makes his teammates better like Johnson did — as evidence that he was superior to Bryant in their respective primes. But that’s just me. This debate isn’t ending anytime soon.

Before I briefly dive into this, let these two points settle in your brain.

1) LeBron James has always played like Magic Johnson, and thus, should be compared to him.

2) Kobe Bryant has always played like Michael Jordan, and thus, should be compared to him.

Now, both Kobe and LeBron fall short when being compared head-to-head with their respective legends (anyone who thinks otherwise does not watch basketball). But, if I had to choose a player to represent me in a one-on-one pick-up game, and money was on the line, there is no way in hell I’m not picking Kobe.  Jordan is the obvious first, but if that was Kobe and I’s money, Kobe might legitimately kill the opponents before he lost his money, never mind the fact my money is involved as well.  See, when I look at LeBron, he seems to always want to be everyone’s friend/role model/father, and that annoys the crap out of me.  LeBron cannot step on anyone’s throats when the occasion arises (2011 finals, 2013 finals that should have been six games or lower).  LeBron is one of the most frustrating players because he could so easy take over, and end, a basketball game, but chooses not to.  Jordan and Kobe, however, both do not give a shit when dealing with the media, being everyone’s friend or beating their opponents.  They enjoy kicking people’s teeth in while dominating the game while LeBron is buddy-buddy with every player it seems, which is so boring.

-Anthony

PS- I know LeBron is an all-time great, but is prime LeBron really better than prime Kobe?  Kobe literally won games on his own (the 81 points game), and did not need/have “Big 3s” or quality benches that LeBron had.  Prime Kobe>Prime LeBron.

Herbert, J.  (June 1, 2015).  Shaquille O’Neal says he’d take Kobe Bryant in his prime over LeBron.  Retrieved from http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25201972/shaquille-oneal-says-hed-take-kobe-bryant-in-his-prime-over-lebron-james

Welcome to Day In Day Out News!

For those of you who explore the Internet in your free time, I am glad to tell you that you that you found my new blog (that or I told you to come here).  Regardless, welcome, make yourself at home because this site is going to deliver the news you may hear about or may not hear about in a different perspective.  That perspective coming from yours truly, or any other writer I invite to post their views on a certain story or topic.  I want to make this the “people’s blog”, your stories and your news.  If you would like certain topics, news, or trends to be discussed and posted, then send me a tip and I will get on that.  Since I will soon be starting a new career path in journalism and mass communications, I figured I get a head start on my writing library on top of meeting new people through this blog.  Now a forewarning, some of the opinions you may read on here could get a little heated or cross a personal line.  You may agree or disagree with some of the things that are posted, and that is okay.  I value everyone’s opinion and I would be glad to learn about them via comments left on the post.  However, the overall goal here is to the deliver the news to you, Day In and Day Out!

-Anthony