Archive for April, 2008
The 2008 Kentucky Derby is On!
Monday, April 28th, 2008
It’s that time of the year when everybody starts talking about the Triple Crown series.
The 2008 Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, to be run on May 3, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival.
The Kentucky Derby is a one and a quarter mile (2 km) race held at Churchill Downs to kick off the 2008 Triple Crown series. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds and fillies 121 pounds.
It is known in the United States as ‘’the most exciting two minutes in sports’’ for its approximate duration. The first leg of the Triple Crown (to be followed by the 2008 Preakness Stakes and then the Belmont Stakes..) typically draws around 155,000 fans.
The Kentucky Derby is frequently referred to as ‘’The Run for the Roses,’’ because a lush blanket of 554 red roses is awarded to the Kentucky Derby winner each year. The tradition is as a result of New York socialite E. Berry Wall presenting roses to ladies at a post-Derby party in 1883 that was attended by Churchill Downs founder and president, Col. M. Lewis Clark.
This gesture is believed to have eventually led Clark to the idea of making the rose the race’s official flower. The Governor of Kentucky awards the garland and the trophy.
Here is a quick run down of the 2008 Kentucky Derby contenders…
NBA 6th Man Award belongs to Manu Ginobili
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
Manu Ginobili was awarded with the NBA Sixth Man award.
The San Antonio Spurs guard led his team in scoring, averaging a career-high 19.5 points to go with 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
That is something considering you’re on the same team with the likes of Tony Parker, Jerry Stackhouse and of course, Tim Duncan.
In the 74 games Manu Ginobili played in the 2007-08 NBA basketball season, he came off the bench 51 times.
”I really don’t care about coming from the bench if that helps the team to win a championship,” Manu Ginobili said.
”That is what I’m going to remember when I retire, the rings I have. Not the fact I played 28 minutes or 33 or my name being called in the starting lineup. That’s not going to make thedifference in 10 to 15 years.”
”He’s one of the better players in the NBA, who just happens to come off the bench,” San Antonio Spurs starting guard Michael Finley said.
”Any other team in the league, he’d probably be starting, but for him to come off the bench and put his ego aside it just shows what kind of team we have, and more importantly what kind of player and All-Star he…”
Can the Pistons even series with the 76ers 1-1 in Game 2 of the 2008 NBA Playoffs?
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
Who would’ve thought that the Pistons will come in Game 2 against the 76ers down 0-1?
Yes people, the Pistons lost homecourt advantage in their first round series of the 2008 NBA playoffs after Andre Miller and Willie Green came up with a great performance for Philly.
Andre Miller scored 20 points while Willie Green had a career playoff-high 17 to help the Philadelphia 76ers steal homecourt advantage from the Detroit Pistons, winning Game 1 of their best-of-seven first round playoff series in the Eastern Conference.
Perhaps the Detroit Pistons are the ones to blame for this mess. You see, they treated the very first game of the 2008 NBA playoffs as a preseason game, joking around with a former teammate in the front row as if the rest of the 76ers would just roll over for them.
The Philadelphia 76ers made them pay for it as they shocked the no.2 seed Pistons, stealing homecourt from Detroit after winning Game 1, 90-86, last Sunday.
Pistons star Rasheed Wallace took most of the blame, probably because they blew a huge lead after he spent most of the game talking to former teammate Flip Murray while the rest of the 76ers continued to do what they came there to do.
Rasheed Wallace had a game-high 24 points, 9 rebounds and…
It’s a wild wild West in the 2008 NBA Playoffs
Monday, April 21st, 2008
Yes, the wild wild West is where it’s at in the postseason.
With the regular season finally over, the seedings in the West were finally finalized for the 2008 NBA playoffs. And in case you’ve been living under a rock, Tinseltown is back on top after the Lakers won the Western Conference title for the first time since the 2000 playoffs.
That means, the Los Angeles Lakers will enter the playoffs as the no.1 seed. They will face the no.8 seed Denver Nuggets in a best-of-seven, first round series to kick-off their playoff campaign and with Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony killing some of the momentum his team gained after he was charged with DUI, the Lakers are definitely looking quite good to have their way in this playoff match-up.
Of course, Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson will still be focused as he prepares himself for a match-up with Lakers star Kobe Bryant. But then again, let’s not kid ourselves with the idea that Denver will actually shock L.A. in the first round.
No.2 seed New Orleans Hornets will face the no.7 seed Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks had a statement game against New Orleans for the final game of the regular season, winning 111-98 when J-Kidd had a massive triple-double of 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Of course, the New Orleans Hornets are hoping for a different tune especially after winning Game 1. But I STILL won’t be surprised to see the Dallas Mavericks knock off the no.2 seed in the first round.
No.3 seed San Antonio Spurs renew their playoff rivalry with no.6 seed Phoenix Suns once they meet again in the first round. The last time they played a series in the playoffs, Suns star Steve Nash was on the receiving end of a shoulder block from Spurs vet Robert Horry. That ended with the Spurs moving on and the Suns taking an abrupt exit from the playoffs.
This time though, the Phoenix Suns will have…
Mavericks beat Hornets in preview of First Round of 2008 NBA Playoffs
Thursday, April 17th, 2008
The Dallas Mavericks just showed the New Orleans Hornets who’s boss.
With merely days before their first round match-up with the Hornets begins in the first round of the 2008 NBA playoffs, the Mavericks sent a message to New Orleans after beating the Hornets by double-digits, 111-98, last Wednesday night.
The win guaranteed the Dallas Mavericks of the 7th seed in the Western conference, letting them avoid a first round encounter with the red-hot Los Angeles Lakers, who are seeded no.1 for the first time since the 2000 playoffs. That also means they’ll face this Hornets team again to kick-off what is shaping up to be a wild second season in the wild wild West.
And if last Wednesday’s win over the New Orleans Hornets was a preview of their best-of-seven, first round playoff series, it looks like the Dallas Mavericks just might have an easier task this time compared to the one they had last year against then no.8 seed, Golden State Warriors.
‘’This was definitely a win we wanted to get,’’ Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki said. ‘’The Lakers are probably the hottest team in the West. We definitely didn’t want to face them in the first round. [New Orleans] had a great year, but I think we match up pretty well.’’
New Orleans came in locked into the no.2 seed in the Western Conference. To avoid the Mavericks, New Orleans had to win and have the Denver Nuggets win later that Wednesday night.
Well, the Nuggets did their part, winning 120-111 over the Memphis Grizzlies behind the 21 points Allen Iverson had. Unfortunately for the Hornets, Jason Kidd had his best game of the regular season as a member of the Dallas Mavericks against them…
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