The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is ON
Monday, August 11th, 2008
It’s time for Beijing to heat up the sports world.
The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games have finally arrived on the eight day of the eight month of the eight year. August 8, 2008, that date was probably marked all around the globe as people from all walks of life marked that date on their calendar for their personal reasons; be it weddings, opening businesses, birth dates, etc., hoping that the date that comes only once in every hundred years, will bring them good luck.
It was only fitting that the Chinese scheduled the Games of the XXIX Olympiad on the said date as well. But will the date bring good luck to the athletes competing for their country too?
They, after all, need all the luck they can get. The Olympics is the biggest event any sports athlete will have in his sporting career and it is understandable if these athletes feel pressured.
U.S. Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps, is one dude who’ll feel the most pressure for sure. He has the opportunity to become the Olympian to win the most gold medals in history both for a single Games and for a career. He has to win eight more gold medals, giving him 14 for his career.
U.S. basketball team head coach Mike Krzyzewski and Kobe Bryant should also feel the same pressure. For Krzyzewski, he’s probably the best coach in basketball not working in the NBA, despite that, he still has no gold medal to show for since taking over the U.S. Olympic basketball team.
For Kobe Bryant, he’s arguably the best player in basketball today but, he still has to prove something and that’s win something without Shaquille O’Neal. He was two wins away from achieving that against the…
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…
2008 NBA Betting Tips for Feb.21 Games
Thursday, February 21st, 2008
The 2007-08 NBA basketball season resumes on Thursday, a day after both Shaquille O’Neal and Jason Kidd made their respective debuts, losing to the Lakers and Hornets respectively.
And while watching Shaquille O’Neal play surprisingly well only to be spoiled by his STILL poor free throws not to mention losing to one of his former teams from Los Angeles, ENTERTAINING to say the least, Shaq’s ex-teammates from Miami are playing on Thursday and watching those guys lose again should be a treat.
Yes people, the Miami Heat will be visiting Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and the rest of the Houston Rockets in Texas.
The Houston Rockets, one of the hottest teams in the NBA this year, have won their last nine games to improve to 18-3 since January 4. NBA oddsmakers put the spread against the surging Rockets –11 against the hapless Miami Heat who have lost their last five games.
Expect the Houston Rockets to cover with Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming leading the way.
Meanwhile, the defending NBA champions, San Antonio Spurs will also be visiting another struggling team, the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Spurs recently added defensive specialist Kurt Thomas from the Seattle Supersonics in exchange for Brent Barry and Francisco Elson. Spurs guard Toy Parker will not play due to a heel injury, while the Timberwolves will…
Can the Portland Trail Blazers defuse the Rockets in Houston?
Monday, February 11th, 2008
The Portland Trail Blazers need to be at the top of their game against Houston.
The Rockets have a six-game winning streak at this stage of the 2007-08 NBA basketball season, and coming to their game against the Portland Trail Blazers this Monday, they should be the heavy favorites to win BIG.
Aside from that six-game winning streak, the Houston Rockets won nine of their last ten games. They are still sitting next to last in the very competitive Southwest division but I’m betting these guys will soon find their way back on top if they keep on playing like the way they did the last few games.
Against the Atlanta Hawks last weekend, the Rockets showed the Atlanta Hawks just how hot they really are heading to the All-Star break. Yao Ming came up with a game-high 28 points in bashing the Hawks down to score their longest winning streak since the 2004-05 season.
Tracy McGrady, on the other hand, dropped 15 points and 8 assists to help his team get back on their feet. You see, Houston was 13-15 in December. How are they doing this 2008? They’ve won 15 of 19 contests.
‘’We’ve put ourselves in a great position to keep on moving up,’’ Tracy McGrady said. ‘’We’re playing extremely well and we didn’t want to take them lightly. It’s all about business and taking care of home court.’’
‘’We understand the task at hand. There’s no reason for us to go out there and blow these games.’’
THAT, if you’re in the Western Conference, could very well be an understatement considering the fact that almost every single team in the West can beat anybody. Not to mention the return of…
NBA Betting Results: Houston Rockets Demolish Cleveland Cavaliers 92-77
Saturday, February 9th, 2008
NBA Betting Line: Cleveland Cavaliers at Houston Rockets -5
The Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers started the year with impressive games and had hoped to continue with their great game and winning streak. The two teams met at the Toyota Center in Houston Thursday night. However, the Houston Rockets had a better luck than the Cleveland Cavaliers, outscoring the Cavaliers 92-77, and ending their 11th winning streak. The Cavaliers had a poor night without three of their valuable players. All-Star Tracy McGrady, who was not in good health, had a poor performance scoring only 8 points even missing all of his five shots in the first half. The Cavaliers missed the play-making ability of Drew Gooden, their 2nd best rebounder, due to groin injury and forward Anderson Varejao, who is out with a sprained ankle.. The Houston Rockets led the first quarter, then dominated most of the board in the second half. The Cavaliers missed 11 of their first 16 shots and got out rebounded by the Rockets at halftime. The Rockets took the lead at the final seconds of the third quarter. All-Star LeBron James, who was playing great basketball that night, managed to pull off the Cavaliers. However, Rockets’ small-forward Shane Battier, Houston’s best one-on-one defender, did his best to limit the James’ points. The Houston Rockets out rebounded rebounded the Cleveland Cavaliers 55-35 and Cleveland grabbed only seven offensive boards.