Sports Blog

Will Greg Oden be a Great Player?

Will Greg Oden be the next Patrick Ewing or will the Portland Blazers someday regret that he will be a Kwame Brown? The Blazers are in the rebuilding mode since Rasheed Wallace left them. Young players are the main core of this team.

We will have big expectation from Oden but obviously he will not be as dominant as Patrick Ewing in the next six years. Or he may play well yet he will be overshadowed by the powerhouse teams in the West. It will even be hard for the Blazers to be in the playoffs.

Hopefully, we will see a dominant center that he will live into our expectations.

Without Ivan Basso, Jan Ulrich, and Lance Armstrong, it is easy to pick the favorites in this year’s Tour de France. Even with Floyd Landis, and this may not happen, clearly Alexandre Vinokourov is on top.

Vinokourov’s experience and power in the mountains are his assets. I remember the 2004 Tour that he went toe to toe with Ulrich and Armstrong. This is the moment for him to get the coveted jersey.

Who’s behind Vinokourov? Alejandro Valverde flashes into my mind when he beat Armtrong in one of the Alps. He has been a perennial contenter, probably won last year if he could had turned luck into his side. He needs it this year, a luck that he will stay healthy by avoiding crashes.

The Discovery Channel team was confused last year of who was there leader. Levi Leipheimer is now back with the Discovery Channel and he will be ready to battle. With the teamwork and tactics of Discovery, we might see another American winning the tour.

What is this video that’s circulating about Kobe Bryant’s denouncing his general manager Mitch Kupchak and teammate Andrew Bynum? It is really a big deal now we know that Kobe was disappointed in not getting Jason Kidd in a trade for Andrew Bynum?

Kobe wants to win another championship. If I were him, I will demand Kevin Garnett or get traded to the Eastern Conference. With Garnet the Lakers has a shot in battling against the Spurs, Mavericks, Phoenix, and other contenders.

The Eastern Conference is the easiest way to the Finals. He must have to go there.

With all the fiasco that occured in last year’s Tour De France, are we expecting an admirable race this time?

Again the big names that we always hear in the news will not be around. All of us really had missed Lance Armstrong and we are dreaming of his return. But he is not Michael Jordan. And the sports of cycling differs greatly from basketball.

What’s happening to the big names.

Floyd Landis Book
In his upcoming book, Tour de France champion Floyd Landis claims the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency spent so much money in an obsessed mission to nail him for drug violations that it passed on prosecuting other cases. AZCENTRAL.COM

Jan Ulrich Snubbed
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has turned down a request to meet with disgraced cyclist Jan Ullrich, who retired from the sport earlier this year after being implicated in the Spanish doping scandal. TheStar.com

Ivan Basso Suspended
Ivan Basso, the 2006 Giro d’Italia champion, was given a two-year doping ban by the Italian cycling federation on Friday.The 29-year-old Basso won’t be eligible to go back to competitive cycling until October 24, 2008, according to a press release from the organization.

You can read Truth and Verify for more news on cycling.

Here comes Kobe Bryant the best player in the NBA still demanding to be traded. He wants out of the Lakers for his team is not competitive enough in the playoffs. It’s either give him help or take him out of LA.

It’s like he is pushing Jerry Buss to make the necessary move. To let the Lakers have a shot in the Western Conference Finals. Give Kobe a Big Man, not the likes of Kuwame Brown and Lamar Odom who couldn’t even make free-throws. And even dunks.

What he needed is a reliable and consistent partner. Kevin Garnett might be the perfect one or Jermaine O’neal. Let Andrew Bynum out for Kobe’s sake.

We know also that Kobe is a businessman. His Jersey Number 24 is beloved worldwide and sold more than anybody’s. If Kobe will be out of the Lakers, that means he has to change his jersey’s color at least. I believe he would rather be traded to the Eastern Conference, he has more chances to be in the Finals.

I made a bold prediction and it happened. I am thrilled that the Spurs had swept the Cavs. Actually I based the prediction on five elements that the Spurs possesed.

Here are what have taken place.

1. Spurs fourth rings in nine years. A dynasty as Mike Wilbon says so? I don’t think so.

2. Tim Duncan’s fourth rings tied with Shaquille O’Neal. Who is better?

3. Spurs now joined the historical teams with at least four rings. Boston Celtics, LA Lakers, Chicago Bulls.

4. Robert Horry’s 7th ring. Yes, he now outnumbers his idol, Scottie Pippen.

5. Greg Popovich joins the elite group of coaches.

6. Tony Parker the Finals MVP.

A repeat will make them a dynasty. See you next season San Antonio..

The field of elite professional golfers will start battling up Thursday for this year’s US Open. Will it be Tiger Woods versus the field again?

Woods is the favorite in any tournaments he has joined. His reputation is exceedingly high that you cannot imagine him being beaten come Sunday afternoon. His stature as the greatest golfer alive has made all of us think that it takes a bad day for him to lose and not how great  his opponents are. I mean it’s all in his hands whether he plays well or not.

While Phil Mickelson will be the next player to watch, we understand that any player on the field can float intantly and win. Vijay Singh is one of the notables.

Last year’s winner Geoff Ogilvy is also on the list whose scored 5-over. Many predictions that the winning score will be higher than that because of the terrible course. We may see more bogeys than birdies or double bogeys.

Let’s watch the the 2007 US Open

I am halfway to my prediction that the Spurs will sweep the Cavs.This time I will lay four things why Spurs will win game three.

The Experience. We may have witnessed the experience factor in the previous two games but actually I am talking here of a close game in which the Spurs must stand the pressure and win the game. Expect to see this on Tuesday night as the Cavs will do their tricks, if they got any left, to battle up the Spurs.

Spurs Is A Road Team. Winning on the road is one of the strength of the Spurs. They can elevate their game as if it is their home.

The Spuracious Defense. I invented the word “spuracious”, hopefully some of the media will pick it up. It is not the Spurs that will make some changes but the Cavs. Again, it is tough to play against this spuracious defense.

The Cavs are not really a great team. “I believe that 4 or 5 teams from the Western Conference can beat the Cavaliers in a series”, says Jeff Van Gundy. That’s true but still probably all the eight teams in the West who were in the Playoffs can beat the Cavs in a series.

Expect a close game and after Tuesday, it would be 3-0.

While Roger Federer tried to surge his mastery of the game of tennis in the French Open final, it was Rafael Nadal who showed a superb performance to win three consecutive titles.

He is successful to anyone else but Federer once more succumbed to Nadal at Roland Garros, one win short of a French Open title, one win short of a fourth consecutive major championship, one win short of a career Grand Slam.

Instead, it was Nadal who made a bit of history Sunday, showing true resolve on the biggest points to beat Federer 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and become only the second man since 1914 to win three consecutive French Open titles.

Millions of Maria Sharapova’s fans around the world were disappointed that she didn’t reached the Finals of the French Open that eventually won by Justine Henin. All has to wait another year to see Sharapova in Roland Garros Stadium.

Despite the fact that she dominantly excels in Wimbledon, Sharapova was a runner-up in Australian Open. She played well in the semis and fell short of the dream.

She is the highest paid woman athlete in the world. Of course because she is marketable. Her beauty allures everybody that it is a must to watch her even though she struggled on clay. But Maria is highly talented compares to Anna Kournikova, who never won any tournament.

We may pause for a moment and asked ourselves if this attractive woman can someday capture a title in the French Open. I believe she will display her poise in the future. She is still young and every mistakes is a learning process.

Let’s wait for Maria Sharapova next year and remember Wimbledon is coming.