NBA Playoff Standings

The NBA season is in its final week and the playoff seeding is almost set.  Some of the more familiar teams are crowding the tops of each conference.  In the east, there's the Heat, Bulls and potentially Boston.  However, the Indiana Pacers have quietly posted an impressive record with great role players, team management and an underrated star in Danny Granger.  The West is not nearly as dominant and deep compared to the East like most years.  However, their is certainly still some separation.  The Spurs, Thunder, Lakers and Clippers have remained near the top of the conference all season.  Obviously no one saw the ageless Spurs posting the impressive numbers they've put together since the lockout.  Kobe is past his prime but still one the perennial scoring threats and clutch shooters in the game.  The Thunder have been stacked for a couple years and are finally looking ready for a title run.  Even more recent is the Clippers and their success thanks to huge additions this past season.  Defense has been a question but is coming on of late, and the offense usually a guarantee to put up impressive numbers.  Still, the top teams in the West have to be weary.  Memphis, Denver and obviously Dallas are all capable of sneaking into the title hunt conversation and beating anybody. 

Metta World "Peace"

How about Metta?  Last Sunday the Lakers defensive stopper was ejected and likely will be suspended for a while after belligerently elbowing The Thunder's James Harden in the head.  Harden might be back in time for playoff action after suffering a minor concussion from contact.  World Peace was celebrating after a hard dunk on a fast break when he hit Harden.  It looked to me like he was in the heat of the moment and Harden happened to be walking by so World Peace decided to shove him, just not concuss his head.  There's no questioning World Peace new he was there and definitely wanted to stick him, but he probably wasn't aiming for the head.  Given his history of violence, (Malice at the Palace and others) there's almost no denying that World Peace did have some intentions of being physical when it happened.  I'm not going to say that he purposely elbowed his head, because I have to have some faith in humanity.  Needless to say, World Peace should be suspended as long as Harden is out with a concussion.  That's the only fair punishment in a circumstance like this one.  A star for a star.  Harden's production has been a career best for him this season, so the Lakers ought to loose their defensive star as punishment.

Former JMU basketball player 'Wes Miller" Coaching UNC Greensboro

Former shooting guard, Wes Miller, was hired a few months back to be the new head coach of the UNC Greensboro basketball team.  Miller played ball at JMU before transferring to North Carolina as a walk-on before his Sophomore year.  Miller became a pivotal role player for the Heels and started one game, in which he scored 18 points by shooting 6 for 7 from three.  After a short stint in the amateur pros and writing a book about his playing experience at UNC, he decided the only thing he wanted to do was coach basketball.  After being an assistant at Elon and High Point University for only a year at each school, he was offered the interim head coaching job at UNC Greensboro, which eventually lead to a full-time offer.  Since then, Miller posted an 11-11 record and a 10-5 conference record in the Big South.  Miller recently decided to hire former UNC defensive stopper and assistant strength and conditioning coach, Jackie Manual.  With current UNC men's basketball coach Roy Williams winding down his final years as a head coach, and Miller's ever growing resume, one might think the now 29 year old Wes Miller would be the ideal long term answer to Ol' Roy's eventual retirement.  Only time will tell, but as of now, the former JMU shooting guard is on the right path to his coaching dream at UNC.

Tebow booed at Yankees Stadium

I've always enjoyed Tebow since he was at Florida.  Seeing him criticized and picked apart by different sports analysts has been a common thing over the past few years.  He doesn't have the mechanics or he'll never last a full season with his style of play.  So seeing him booed by Yankee fans was just another piece of criticism that Tebow will have to face and eventually overcome.  Although, he was sitting next to Dwyane Wade, which can't help his reputation.  I can't rap my head around the fact that so many people dislike him.  Yes, obviously the dude takes his religion seriously, but all he ever does is help people and win football games.  So when Skip Bayless defended Tebow and bragged about his talents on "1st and 10", my respect for Bayless skyrocketed even higher, if that's possible.  I love Skip.  Anyways, Steven A. like so many "experts" have done nothing but ridicule him for his lack of talent or bad mechanics.  How can that be all you have to say for a guy that revived the energy of a football team and it's fan base over the course of half a season.  Bad form.  Good form.  Religious.  Not religious.  Who cares?  I'm excited to see what he can provide the Jets with his diverse skill set and will power.  As a Redskins fan, I'd be thrilled to have a figure like Tebow come to my city.  Now, we've got a reason to watch Jet highlights this upcoming season.

GMU to the A-10

There's been recent news regarding the likely deportation of GMU, VCU and Butler to the A-10 from their respective conferences.  For Mason and VCU, the move is certainly in upgrade in competition and conference prestige.  The CAA has been impressive to some degree as a mid-major but has its limitations.  Apparently the A-10 feels that Mason and VCU are solid additions to an already deep basketball conference.  I don't see Mason competing very well against A-10 competition, at least during the first few years of the move.  Xavier, Temple, St. Josephs, Dayton, Richmond and St. Louis are all mid-major basketball teams with rich history and experience in the NCAA Tournament.  Dayton in particular is a mediocre program in the conference, and has given Mason fits the past couple years.  However, Mason has been finishing at the top of CAA for over a decade, so the adjustment may be beneficial in the long term  There's no telling when or how the players will fully adjust to Paul Hewitt's system.  Until then, lets hope we remain at the top of our current conference so the transition to the A-10 can be as smooth as possible.  Mason had an impressive recruiting class last year lead by Eric Copes and another one seems to be on the way, lead by local guard Patrick Holloway.  They'll be the first generation of Mason players to experience the A-10 competition if the move goes as planned. 

The Capitals Bandwagon

I've always been a Wizards and Redskins fan growing up mainly because I was raised in Virginia and my dad followed the Skins back when they had the hogs and were winning super bowls.  Unfortunately, I was born right when the glory days ended.  Since then it's been tough watching any Washington sports.  That's why I immediately hopped on the Capitals band wagon a few years ago when Alexander Ovechkin was drafted out of Russia.  Normally, I'm not a fan of those who start liking a team because they're the hot commodity at the time.  However, being as I am from the area, I couldn't help myself.  Like many others, I didn't know how entertaining hockey was because its never been popular in the southeast.  Once the Capitals started streaking, I became fascinated.  Ovechkin is hilarious in interviews and in recent years, the Caps have been a fast-paced, high scoring and physical team.  All the elements of a hockey team someone sitting in the stands would want to see in person.  The atmosphere in the Verizon Center is loud and covered in a sea of red these days.  I've only been to one game a few years back, and they lost to Edmonton, and I still had a blast.  Until RGIII starts some revolution in Washington or the Nationals continue to play like they have been, I feel very obligated to start introducing myself as a Capitals fan, not a Skins fan......... probably won't though.

Twitter in College Sports

I made a Twitter account...... then I deleted it less than one month later.  I don't think Twitter accounts are something college and high school athletes should possess.  Professional athletes can't even seem to control what they say to the public and publish for everyone's viewing convenience.  The social maturity of most young athletes is not very high.  They seem to feel as though they can say whatever they want to whenever they feel like it.  As a result, athletes have lost scholarships and gotten into trouble with the public quite often.  Some of the recent Tweets that have gotten athletes in trouble have been racially offensive (See Maryland football recruit, Stefon Diggs), threatening and ignorant.  Diggs is only a Senior in high school and has an opportunity to move on past his poor upbringing and get a college education, while opening up the possibility of playing in the NFL one day.  Tweets like the one Diggs published about Jeremy Lin are the easy way out of starting a successful football career.  Having a Twitter account means one can publish his or her opinion any time of day.  So if an athlete is drunk or out with friends, their egos can easily take over their general thought process.  This can blind them and make them say something they normally would never speak of or mention.