This week on the show, we look at the tragic death of former NFL star Junior Seau and the latest bounty suspensions from that league, as well as news from the NHL that Raffi Torres is appealing his lengthy suspension. We also look at the situation in the Nashville Predators camp, along with speculation that the NY Islanders might soon have a new home.
In the GABBYs: Leo Messi, Jose Mourinho, Jered Weaver, the NY Knicks, the Montreal Canadiens and Jeremy Affeldt. The Punchline this week is, once again, the Charlotte Bobcats!
The sports world is currently buzzing about New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin.
The second year undrafted player out of Harvard, who after playing 29 games with the lowly Golden State Warriors a year ago, and was almost cut a couple of weeks ago by the Knicks, has turned into an overnight sensation.
Everybody is talking Lin. Knick fans are chanting “All you got to do is Lin”. You could call it Linmania or Lincanity. Right now Jeremy Lin is huge.
Andy why not? In the last four games, Lin has made four starts and led the Knicks to impressive victories over the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves. Over that time, he has been averaging an amazing 27.3 points per game, headlined by a 38 point performance Thursday in a 92-85 win over the Lakers on Thursday.
So how did Lin get his chance in New York? Well, basically due to a groin injury to Carmelo Anthony and the absence of Amare Stoudemire who needed to deal with some personal issues because of the recent death of his brother Hazell, who passed away last week in a car accident in Florida.
Tomorrow night, Linmannia will enter Toronto for the first time as the Knicks take on the Toronto Raptors. The Knicks currently lead the Raptors by 4.5 games for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Stoudemire, meanwhile, is expected back tomorrow night, so it will be interesting to see how the two gel.
How the Knicks do over the next week will go a long way in determining if they will be in the Steve Nash sweepstakes or not.
It may be the Christmas season, but it is a very big weekend on the world sport stage. On Boxing Day, the sports world will be focused on Alberta for the 2012 World Junior Hockey Championship. The event is significant because it is the first time that Edmonton and Calgary, two bitter provincial rivals have joined forces to host a world class sporting event. Edmonton will host all of Team Canada’s round robin games, with Calgary hosting the medal round.
Team Canada’s first game is Monday at 1:30pm against Finland (TSN). Both teams have something in common. They both lost to Russia in the medal round at the 2011 World Junior Hockey Championships in Buffalo. Finland lost 4-3 to Russia in the quarterfinals, while Canada lost 5-3 to Russia in the Gold medal game.
At the beginning of the NBA Playoffs, I thought that the New York Knicks were in an excellent position to knock off the Boston Celtics.
Now, due to some serious injury concerns, the Knicks are the heavy underdog, down 2-0 in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
Amare Stoudemire did not play the second half of game two because of back spasms, while Chauncey Billups did not play at all because of a left knee strain.
In the Knicks’ 96-93 loss to Boston on Tuesday, Carmelo Anthony performed admirably with 42 points, but without Billups and Stoudemire, New York will have a tough time getting back into the series.
On a positive note for the Knicks, I felt the rest of their core players were the major reason why the Knicks were competitive. Toney Douglas and Jared Jeffries combined for 24 points.
Prior to the start of the 2010-11 NBA Regular Season, the Miami Heat were the odds-on favourite to win the NBA Finals. Now many aren’t so sure. But I think it is fair to say it’s a slam dunk they’ll advance to the second round.
(1) Chicago Bulls vs. (8) Indiana Pacers–
Bulls Top Three– Derrick Rose 25.0 PPG, 7.7 APG; Carlos Boozer 17.5 PPG, 9.6 RPG; Luol Deng 17.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG
Pacers Top Three–Danny Granger 20.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG; Darren Collison 13.2 PPG, 5.1 APG; Roy Hibbert 12.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG.
Analysis: The 2010-11 Chicago Bulls may not be as good of a team as any Bulls squad in the 1990s during the Michael Jordan days, but they are currently an elite team in the NBA heading into the postseason. Rookie head coach Tom Thibodeau deserves a lot of credit for improving the Bulls by 21 wins and from eighth place in the East to first. The other is the addition of Carlos Boozer, who had a terrific career in Utah. If center Joakim Noah stays healthy (averaged a double double), this series will end fast. Bulls in four.
Before I write my weekend sports preview, I need to make a comment. I am not a supporter of having “any sport at any time” on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. It should be considered an important time for everyone to spend with their families and closest friends.
But there’s sports, and as long as there’s sports, people like me will watch.
Here are the events I’ll be watching when I am not eating turkey or opening presents.
Christmas Day–10am–NBA–Chicago Bulls @ New York Knicks–Sportsnet One–In a battle of two playoff bound teams in the Eastern Conference, this is the best Knicks team since 2001 when New York lost to Toronto in the first round of the playoffs. Since then, the Knicks have only been to the playoffs once, in 2004, where they swept by New Jersey. New York (17-12) is led by Amare Stoudemire, who is averaging 26.4 points per game. Stoudemire led Phoenix to a Western Conference Final last year and is proving he is an elite player in 2010. Chicago (18-9) leads the Central by five games over Indiana.
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