All I want for CHristmas is the NBA

All I want for Christmas is the NBA

After the NHL, MLB, and the NFL found a way to negotiate and get their labor disputes behind them, finally the NBA decided to follow suit. Sources close to the agreement feel the main issue that continued to stall negotiations was the players felt the owners weren’t giving enough. If you look at the deal in its finality, the owners still didn’t give much. They gained five percent of all Basketball Related Income. This instantly gives owners $240 million dollars. Most would feel like they won the lottery at that point. The players feel as though they defeated the owners in forcing a hard cap, however this affects the players more. Not the Kobe’s and LeBron’s, but the mid-level guys who won’t make as much. Teams won’t risk going over the salary cap for these guys. The players are somehow calling this a victory for themselves as well. The real question is why did this take so long and how was this settled at 3a.m in the morning. The answer is quite simple….The NBA quickly found themselves as being irrelevant and saw how fast consumers moved on with the NFL, College Football and College Basketball. Heck, even some NBA veterans were coaching college basketball. Although people that were affected financially were concerned and watched and read everything they could to see if there was a deal on the horizon, most weren’t concerned. Don’t trust these words, look back at your favorite sports channels debates and storylines. Between the NFL, Sandusky, Joe Paterno, Bernie Fine (Syracuse), and the BCS drama, we didn’t have time for basketball. Even the once sought after charity game clips had begun to be few and far between. The NBA did the right thing in keeping their business going before it took a fateful hit, but fans now realize they can live without hoops. No MJ, Shaq, Bird, Magic, long gone is Jerry West, Wilt and Bill Russell, would you really be upset if the Grinch had stolen the NBA.

NFL Hour of Power

The NFL hasn’t gone on as many of diehard fans had planned. We are in the third quarter of the season and finally the cream is starting to rise to the top. The power list is out and this is how it shakes up. Green Bay started fast and is continuing their dominance within a league that can’t seem to even slow them down. Aaron Rodgers has all but solidified the league MVP trophy even with six games left to play. Green Bay improvements this year have come because of their lack of injuries. They are getting huge play out their last year injured tight end, Jamichael Finley. He’s having a Pro Bowl year and seems to be getting better each game. The Pittsburgh Steelers are second on the list because of the stellar play of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Yes they are still very dominant on D, but Big Ben is set to have his best statistical year since the 2009 Super Bowl win. The Saints come up third on this distinguished list because of their explosive offense. The Saints are led by Drew Brees who is having another great year in the N.O. Defensively they’ll need to make huge improvements to be set for a Super Bowl run. San Francisco has been the biggest surprise and one of the most consistent teams in the league this year. It is very evident that the talent was there and the weak link was with ex-coach Mike Singletary. Vernon Davis and Frank Gore have taken their offense to new heights. While defensively, the niner’s are being thought of as a Super Bowl winning Ravens defense in 2000. They’re youngsters are led by the NFL’s best middle linebacker, Patrick Willis. Willis just has a way to finding the ball especially if it’s in the gut of his opponents. The New York Giants push their way into this list next. Eli Manning has had a great season this year and has done it without big names surrounding him. It’s amazing that his critics seem to be unfazed by this lack of talent and continue to say he’s not an elite QB. The Giants D continue to be their backbones as their sack specialist have a way of finding their mark. The Brady bunch could be higher on the list. They also could have a defense. They don’t so they won’t move up. Come on Patriots. The Baltimore Ravens have used Ray Rice and their defense to power their way on this list. Joe Flacco isn’t the guy to lead them back to the Super Bowl, so GM Newsome needs to draft a QB in the 2012 draft. The Bears may have been a few slots better, but they are coming in at number eight because of the loss of Jay Cutler. After a rocky beginning to this season, Cutler had finally begun to show up as the guy they expected two years earlier. The Houston Texans have also been bitten by the injury bug and have lost their QB Matt Schuab for the season. This will inevitably stop them from deep play into the playoffs. However, their defense will always keep them in the fight. This Detroit team closes our top ten list with a vengeance. Yes no one thought they could start off so good. Yes, fans started to believe in them. No, they haven’t handled success well and have begun to drop some games. NO, no one wants to play this team in the playoffs because there’s not a team in this league they can’t beat. Kevin Lewis is a retired NFL linebacker who now does motivational speaking, complete athletic training, and coaching and football seminars. Also listen to him via radio on Fridays at 7p.m. on 740am and www.voiceamerica.com.Follow Kevin on twitter/klew59sports and facebook/klew59sports. If you have comments or inquiries contact him at www.klew59.com or klew59sports@gmail.com.

Study Long Study Wrong

The writing is on the wall. The Big East has lost their ability to compete as a football conference and lack the desired power of their once envied basketball conference. With the anticipated additions of Boise State, Air Force, UCF, SMU, and Houston, the Big East is doing anything to save their BCS automatic qualifying bid. Since losing Pitt and Syracuse, the pressure has mounted on Big East Commissioner Marinatto to save a conference that is coding. When no interest from other power conference teams seemed to come their way, the Big East begin to look to smaller conferences to fill the void left by two of their strongest teams. As the other teams saw the declining respect of a once proud football conference, West Virginia has pulled the trigger and has now joined the Big12. This leaves a well-respected Louisville, Connecticut and Cincinnati as the only attractive teams left in the Big East. So what are they waiting on? The best offer of course. In a college landscape that has been filled with so much money that even “the Donald” would envy, they are seeing which conference would best suit them. Louisville needs to make a play at the Big 12 and even the SEC, while UConn should only look to Pitt and Syracuse for direction and join the ACC. This leaves Cincy in a tough situation. They lack the luster of a dime piece. They’re about a 6 ½. They work hard, have a great mind, but they rarely wear any makeup to cover their blemishes and could stand to lose a few pounds in problem areas. In conference terms, they have a stadium issue, it looks like a big high school. They are solid in their football and basketball programs, but NCAA tourney births are rarely their and more consistency in football bowl games could be better. Marinatto has stood idly by as the rest of the power conference commissioners have been sharks and made their conferences better. About eight years ago, everyone watched in amazement as John Swafford (ACC commissioner) jumped on the opportunity of acquiring Boston College, Miami, and Virginia Tech away from the Big East. Because of that acquisition, the ACC was able to almost match the amount that was given to the SEC from ESPN in television revenue. The PAC12, SEC and Big10 have now followed suit which almost left the Big12 in conference disintegration. Now, because Commissioner Marinatto “studied long and studied wrong”, the Big East is in total disarray trying to save a once proud conference. Kevin Lewis is a retired NFL linebacker who now does motivational speaking, complete athletic training, and coaching and football seminars. Also listen to him via radio on Fridays at 7p.m. on 740am and www.voiceamerica.com.Follow Kevin on twitte.com/klew59sports and facebook.com/klew59sports.If you have comments or inquiries contact him at www.klew59.com or klew59sports@gmail.com.

Who are you when no one is looking?

The covers have been yanked off of Penn State and have exposed a problem that lies within our great institutions of higher learning. The Brown wall that protects these universities from transparency to the rest of us to see is alive and well. ESPN exposed the real reported rape numbers that were going on at some of the most notable colleges and universities around the country. They on the other hand, had blatantly lied in order to erase any doubts of safety on their campuses. And of course, if they released the real numbers, they would suffer financially. Hazing, alcohol, and drug incidents are consistently unreported and clearly illegal in every academic institution in the country. The Brown wall keeps insiders in, and outsiders out. Let’s take McQueary, the Penn State coach who caught Sandusky in the act. At the time of the incident, he was a graduate assistant, which meant he was on the bottom of the coaching pole and was their attempting to start his coaching career. When he walked upon the terrible scene with Sandusky, these thoughts almost certainly came to his mind. This can’t be going on. I need to tell coach Paterno. You may wonder why calling the cops weren’t involved in those first thoughts. Since high school, players are taught to trust coaches and coaches closest confidants are other coaches. When you enter college this is strictly reinforced as coaches tell you very plainly that if anything happens, players should come to them first. It’s the kind of the situation that most went through with parents who said, “What goes on in my house, STAYS in my house.” This is no different on college campuses and especially inside of locker rooms. Don’t believe these words; ask a coach or athlete you know who their closest friend is? Undoubtedly, most of the time after they get through their faith and hopefully their spouse, their ex-teammate will fall in next. McQueary’s decision not to call the cops doesn’t come as a shock to anyone who has played or coached college athletics. This Brown wall that you’re bound to, forces you to fall in line or be made an example of. Look how Penn State has handled the situation; they hid it until finally an indictment came. Then they sat around and watched as the entire country put them on blast and then decided to act in the “Best interest of the university.” Notice that I didn’t say, what was in the best interest of the young boys who were victimized, or they acted in the best interest of what was morally right. They are as much to blame in this as Paterno and his staff. Where do we go from here? The NCAA in all of its rules, regulations, and committee’s lack the muscle or care to protect players, coaches and athletic personnel from telling the truth and thus, blowing the whistle. The government has GAP (Government Accountability Project), and everyone else has OWPP (Office of The Whistle Protection Program), except of course players, coaches and athletic staff. What they have is the promise of being black-balled through ought the rest of their profession for not being a “standup” guy, or for not protecting the program. None of the people involved should be excused from their outrageous behavior but, there needs to be something done and put in place so that no one has to think about their livelihood before they think about a LIFE. Kevin Lewis is a retired NFL linebacker who now does motivational speaking, complete athletic training, and coaching and football seminars. Also listen to him via radio on Fridays at 7p.m. on 740am and www.voiceamerica.com.Follow Kevin on twitter/klew59sports and facebook/klew59sports.If you have comments or inquiries contact him at www.klew59.com or klew59sports@gmail.com.

T.O is who we thought he was!!

Terrell Owens has given all of us a reason to watch TV. Whether it’s because he had just bashed a teammate in the media, did a scripted routine after a touchdown, outside giving an interview while doing sit-ups with his shirt off or just for crying out, “that’s my quarterback.” T.O, as he’s known affectionately by friends, fans and the NFL, has dominated the league over his 15 year career. T.O has been better than any other receiver in the NFL except for his idol, Jerry Rice. He was granted the opportunity to learn from him as a young player in the NFL. T.O took the good from Jerry, his work ethic and approach to the game. But what’s not widely accepted is that Jerry also gave T.O that “ME” attitude. We forget that Jerry Rice never really discussed team often, he talked about his goals, his job and what he needed to do. This isn’t just reserved to Jerry Rice, most of the greatest athletes possessed the attitude, “if I can’t do it, no one can.” Michael Jordan was able to hide this from the public his entire career until his famous Hall of Fame speech. But, the media and fans call that being competitive. T.O celebrated in a way that offended fans, media, and opponents on plenty of occasions. His brash and brut opinions often sent the media and fans reeling. This does more to affect the way fans and the media feel about the player than the team. On the inside of a team, no one really cares. Of course you have the sensitive guys, usually QB’s and some corner backs, but for the rest of the guys, it’s about winning. Usually when T.O comments were made, the team was losing. This was definitely why his comments were always sensationalized. For instance, New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs is complaining about his role on the team. The media is widely ignoring it. Why? The New York Giants are winning and Jacobs doesn’t go by the name of T.O. Terell Suggs, just called out his entire offense and the Baltimore Ravens offensive staff, ignored again. What about Sanantonio Holmes offensive comments about the offensive line, quickly brushed under the rug after the Jets have won 2 games in a row. Owens has made these same sorts of comments in San Fransico, Dallas, and the most famed in Philadelphia. These opinions have been the truth according to T.O and although we may not yet be considering him for first team All- Nostradamus, he has been right a lot. He felt like the 49ers were nothing without him. Well they haven’t had a winning season since his departure. He felt like he wasn’t the reason for the Cowboys inability to get into the playoffs and win. Well it looks like everyone in Big D now knows who the real problem is except for owner Jerry Jones. And lastly, his comments about McNabb have been true if we compare it to T.O relentless approach to the game. Terell Owens is a man who came back from a broken leg to be the most dominate player in the Super Bowl in about two months. He also has come back from a torn ACL in 6 months, and looks better at thirty-eight years old than about 80% of the receivers in the NFL. Should T.O be blamed for not biting his tongue? T.O has made himself into a future Hall of Famer and may have ended his career in manner that would greatly be appreciated by Frank Sinatra. T.O would say, “I did it “My Way.”

NO Kobe,Lebron,Wade or Barkley

The NBA is quickly headed into a lockout and fans are upset about the ramifications. The superstars of the NBA won’t be floating through our 3-d laden living rooms to the basket for monster slams. The three point shot of Ray Allen won’t be breaking the backs of teams down the stretch in the 4^th quarter. It will be harder to emulate one of Kobe’s new moves without having the clear televised view. My game will struggle trying to use moves in these charity games having to solely depend on YouTube and its constant loading and its choppy at best picture quality. And worst of all, how can we survive without hearing Charles Barkley? You know, when Sir Charles listens to Kenny and Ernie has a conversation and then ignores them and completely talks about a different topic. Or he’ll all out create a hate campaign on an owner, player, general manager, referee, media member, or even a fan. No one’s safe from Sir Charles. All of this because of a lockout, what’s it all about. Well the owners made a bad deal in 1995 and 2005. In it they gave the players the right to make 56% of ALL of the NBA’s revenue. This put the NBA in a bad spot because teams that weren’t in well supported markets with lucrative TV deals weren’t able to cash in. David Stern (NBA commissioner) said that 22 out of 30 teams in the NBA are losing money. NBPA president Billy Hunter believes that number is really about 8. Why are NBA teams losing money at all? The reason is owners don’t share their money like in the NFL. NFL owners have practiced revenue sharing as a tool for decades and it has kept their league very lucrative. Basketball owners haven’t used this tactic and it has come up to bite them. Instead of using this smarter business plan, they’re individual greed is bankrupting their league. David Stern points the finger solely at the players to get liquidity back into the purses of ownership; however their problem may be solved themselves. The players should and are willing to give a percentage back to ownership, but owners for now seem to want wholesale changes. The owners want to garner majority of ALL NBA profits. They also want a hard cap. A hard cap will force every team to only spend a certain amount of money across the board like in the NFL, and is what helps create parody in their league. This means they don’t want teams like Miami to be able to exist. They want every team to have a superstar. The NBA forgets that their league was built to have major market teams dominate their league. If you think of NBA Champions, only a few markets matter, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, and Texas. Kobe, Lebron, Wade or Barkley, please, can any of you get us out this mess.

defense

defense?

Gone are the days when "defense won games and offense sold tickets." Irrelevant is the slogan, "offense wins games and defense wins championships." Today's game is a complete offensive game regardless of new or old rules. Coaches have figured out if they can score a lot of points, they can win. Only 3 out of the last 11 years has the NFL team with the worst offense won the Super Bowl. Case and point, one of the favorites to win this years Super Bowl is the New England Patriots. They are #1 in the league on offense and last in the league on defense. To add insult to injury , they are coached by a future hall of fame coach who is known for his defensive brilliance. It's far to easy to slice and dice through defenses that play with a bend but don't break mentality. There's only about 5 defenses every year that possess the kind of pride that Mean Joe Greene and Jack Tatum would appreciate. After that, defenses feel like if they can limit an offense then, they played well. Fans constantly cheer for their offenses and then look in total horror as their defense takes the field afraid they'll give up the big play. Far too often it just seems as though the losing team just ran out of time. Where's the D-E-F-E-N-C-E?

NFL week 6

ATL@Carolina

T.Brady,D.Brees, A.Roodgers, and Cam Newton, the list of the best QB's in the league. No, but they are the league leaders in passing yardage. Cam Newton has electrified the Panthers offense and given hope to a once ready to be traded, Steve Smith. The Falcons have struggled, Roddy White isn't the same receiver he has been.Matt Ryan isn't the super QB the Falcons thought either. If they're smart they'll give the Panthers a heavy dose of Michael Turner. Carolina Wins

Indy@Cincy

The Colts are bad. Cincy and Andy Dalton have managed to turn a bad Carson Palmer situation into a winning year so far. Cincy wins

Det@SF

The real big D is going to the Bay area to show their serious. Harbaugh has the once overlooked 49ers in a position to be the best team in the NFC. Detroit still hasn't played the perfect game this season, but they will against the 49ers. The D wins.

*******************Upet Alert**********************

Stl@GB

The Rams are coming off their bye week to play a red hot Packers team. GB has been awesome offensively. The Rams will put Bradford in the gun more this game to counteract the Packers blitzing. Also, to change up to a style more suiting for him. Rams win

Jac@Pitt

The Steelers seem to be back on track after starting the season badly. The Jaguars have steadily improved with Blaine Gabbert at the helm. The physical style nature of this game will play into the hands of a motivated Jaguar team. Jags win

Philly@Wash

Philly will win this game because they have to!!!!

Buf@NY

The Bills are a team that's full of confidence and will use it against a beat up Giants team. Bills win

Hou@Bal

This is the game of the week. Houston is without all-pro wideout Johnson, but they style have their money maker QB Matt Schuab. Baltimore will struggle with the Texans because Flacco won't be able to match their scoring. Texans win

Cle@Oak

The Raiders will continue to play for Al Davis and beat a bad Browns team.Raiders win

Dal@NE

The Cowboys will rally to Romos defense, but still won't have enough for the #1 offense in the league. NE wins

NO@TB

The Bucs will slow the pace of this game and force the high powered offense of NO to struggle. But missing the running game of Blount will prove to be too much for the Bucs to overcome. NO wins

Min@Chi

The boo birds will be out as a much thought bad Vikings team finds a way to beat the Bears.

Vikes win

Mia@NYJ

Jets will win because they need it to save their season. Jets win

OHHHH it's party Time!

LSU@Tenn

The Vols are a team that just can't get it together. Their fans have started to point the finger at head coach Derek Dooley. Tenn has had trouble getting the ball out quickly on offense. That will spell trouble because the front of LSU will make life miserable for QB Matt Simms. LSU37-13

OKST@Texas

The Cowboys are an explosive scoring offense who will put up plenty of points. Texas defense has struggled, especially last week versus Oklahoma. Texas defense couldn't have improved enough in a week. OKST 55-24

BAMA@OLE MISS

Houston Knutt , mama said there'd be days like this. This will be a blowout. BAMA 48-6

OKlahoma@Kansas

Enough said....OK 70-10

Florida@Auburn

Florida is in trouble. Brantley was an average QB at best, and they lack the experience behind him to make enough plays to win. Auburn has played in tough games and will be able to make just enough plays to win. Auburn 27-18

CLEMSON@Maryland

This is usually a trap game for Clemson. Not this time, Clemson with or without Taj Boyd will play well. They have just enough play-makers on offense and defense to get the job done. Clemson 20-10

ArizST@Oregon

ASU has a powerful offense led by RB Marshall and QB Osweiler. Burfict will also come to play on defense, but they won't be fast enough. Even though RB L.James won't play because of a dislocated elbow, Oregon is still loaded on offense. Oregon 50-27

************UPSET ALERT***************

Michigan@MichiganST

The Wolverines and Denard Robinson have been on fire this season. Brady Hoke has come in and returned Michigan back to dominance....Or so they think. The Spartans will come in and bring Michigan back to reality. Besides the running of Robinson, the Wolverines aren't very good on offense. Robinson has to get better throwing the ball but this won't be the game in which that will happen. Spartans 31-20

KState@Texas Tech

Kansas State has played very well and has been a huge surprise in the Big12. The Baylor win was big, but beating Miami wasn't that big of a deal. Texas Tech is pure offense and doesn't struggle to put up a lot of points on the board. KState won't be able to match their offense. Texas Tech 42-36

Time to make a change!

The 1st quarter of the NFL season has come to an end and the head coaches who are in a bit of trouble will begin to emerge. The proverbial "Hot Seat" is what we'll call it and there maybe more coaches who are deserving, but this is KLew59's list. And yes, the usual suspects are in play.

Jack Del Rio- I know , I know, I said the same thing last year. But Jacksonville needs to fill their stadium and attempt to give LA a fight to keep their team. Winning can solve this, Jack Del Rio just hasn't delivered. Three winning seasons in 9 years just won't cut it this time. Del Rio's seat is up in flames and everyone in J'ville knows it.

Marvin Lewis- Far, far gone are the days with the Superbowl champ Ravens and their glorious defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis. Oh you probably forgot already because somehow, Baltimore's defense has become known as something Rex Ryan created. Lewis needs to leave, but he's good enough to get another job. The working relationship that he's shared in Cincy is at the best unpleasant. They seem to have never allowed Marvin the full control as the head guy even with the latest Carson Palmer debacle.

Tony Sparano- Let's just face it, Miami is terrible. They need a change immediately. Sparano has had one good year, his 1st as head coach. Since then he's had a losing season every year. It's time for us to stop saying look how Miami is improving, and demand results now.

Steve Spagnola

Three consecutive losing years in a division that flat out stinks can't spell success to the Rams new owner Stan Kroenke. You can argue that Spagnola doesn't have all the pieces to compete, but he's in a division where a 7-9 team went to the playoffs. The excuses end with him and his seat has begun to warm up.

Leslie Frazier

Leslie seat is still is as warm as sitting down in a seat that's been occupied for an hour. He's going to have much more scrutiny in a city that felt like their right on the cusps of a championship. They also need to be in the new stadium sweepstakes and winning always helps with that cause. If it wasn't Frazier's 1st year, he'd be out.