The Final G.O.A.T.

There are some people that say Michael Jordan (MJ) is the best player ever to play the game of basketball. There is, however, a player that sport writers have been comparing to Jordan: Kobe Bryant, the shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Sports writers have broken down these two players by three things: their ability to make their team better, scoring ability, and ability to make big shots for their team in key situations. Both players have played with their share of all-star teammates like Michael Jordan played with hall of famer Scottie Pippen. and won 4 NBA Championships and six division titles together.

Once these two parted ways, Scottie Pippen never won an NBA championship for the rest of his career whereas Jordan ended up winning two more. Kobe Bryant also played with a future hall of famer and his name is Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal. Shaq is labelled as one of the best centers to have ever played basketball. Shaq never won a championship with the Orlando Magic but once he signed with the Lakers, they took off.

They won three championships back to back to back and were considered the best pair of teammates in

Image courtesy of NBA

the NBA at that time. With Kobe drawing so much attention in the front court, the other team would leave Shaq in a one on one. Kobe took advantage of that and Shaq was named NBA MVP two years in a row. In 2007 when Shaq left the Lakers, he ended up winning one more NBA title with the Miami Heat. Kobe would then move on and win three more NBA titles and an NBA MVP.

In terms of scoring titles, which go to whoever averages more points in a game, MJ lead Kobe nine to six. This might not be very accurate though, as Kobe is still playing in the NBA. Their ability to score when they have the ball are also almost the same with MJ’s career scoring average being 26.4 while Kobe’s is 25.9.

These two players were go-to players when their team was in dire need of a  core. ESPN Sports writer Stephen A. Smith said “when you break down these two superstars’ game, they are almost the same.” He went on to add that “Kobe and MJ are the best scorers to have ever played in the NBA.”

I believe that careers are made in the playoffs. For example, Robert Horry has won seven NBA titles and in every single playoff games he’s been in, it always seems that he hits a big shot to win a game. While Horry has always been a bench player, he will probably be a hall of famer simply because of his ability to hit big shots in the playoffs. Kobe and MJ never shied away from big moments like that either.

When ESPN interviewed Kobe and MJ’s coach, Phil Jackson, he said he “never coached two players that demanded the ball in the final seconds like Kobe and MJ”. When looking at these two players’ performance under pressure, Kobe has hit ten game winning shots in the playoffs while MJ has only hit eight. He does, however, beat Kobe five to two in terms of championship game-winning shots.

Who is the best NBA player of all time? The debate will go on for as long as time exists. That’s what makes sports so great, everyone can freely give their opinion. There is no doubt that Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are some of the best scorers to ever play basketball and that they have both changed the game in their own way. ESPN did a poll on who the better player is between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant: the final result said Kobe Bryant was a better player… by two percent.

11/18 Football Game

Did you all catch the football game yesterday? If not, you missed out on a great game. We won against Davis! Our winning score was 52-47. It was such a close score, but our team did a great job. They showed great team work, and it finally paid off for this semester. I did not pay attention to the football game’s of last season, but I heard there was an improvement this season. I believe it, we won seven games out of eleven. I don’t know if it is because of our new players or what but I am very proud of our football team this season.

So yesterday, I didn’t catch the game until the end of the first quarter. I saw the score and said to myself, “Davis does not have a chance”. As the game continued I was for sure we were going to win the game. Towards the end my heart began to race because Davis score was caught up with our. But, behold, we won! I do not know what this means for the players. Rather they have to go to the play offs or something? I’m not really a college football kind of person, but I am interested in figuring out for what is coming up for the players next.

If the players do not have anything else for the rest of the season, I will suggest that they celebrate this good year for them.

I am so excited for next Fall to see what the players are going to bring to us. Maybe I will attend more games during that season. As I previously stated, I am not a football kind of person. However, if our team continue to play as well as they did yesterday in the future, I will finally have a first favorite football team. Well, I hope you all were as excited about the game as I was yesterday. Once again congrats to the football players. Go Hornets!!

Sac State Football Game 11/4/17

Did you all see the football game tonight? It was very entertaining. First of all I wanted to congratulate our team for winning against Northern Colorado with a score of 50-21. We had some ups and downs throughout the game but we still won. There were a few names that I wanted to mention: Joseph Ajeibe, Elijah Dotson, Andre Lindsey, Johnnie Rucker, Devin Mendeiros, Alexis Robinson, and Dre Terell. These were the names of a few football players in the game tonight.

I cannot lie, I was kind of upset because Isiah Hennie was not playing in the game as I expected. Ever since the semester began, his name was one that I could not forget because of his plays in previous games. However, there were new players in the game today and I think the audience was as nervous as me when watching the game. This is the game that the Hornets will play before going against Cal Poly next week. Our team never wins against Cal Poly, but there is a chance they were going to get closer to playing them this semester, if the Hornets won this game, and that is what happened.

Just as a run down of tonight’s game, I will write a summary of what happened. Apparently, the  Hornets made the first two touch downs. Towards the end of the first quarter we were ahead in the game with a score of 14-7. Towards the end of the second quarter, the Hornets were down by one point. The score was 21-20, and the game went into half-time. When the game began it’s third quarter I was honestly worried. There were a lot of mistakes made by both teams and time outs. I was thinking there was no way our team would win tonight. Until Elijah Dotson and Dre Terrell came back with some great play and Elijah Dotson finally made a touchdown. The Hornets were up by a score of 29-21 when the third quarter ended. When the fourth quarter began I was sure we had a chance to win the game tonight. We scored more touchdowns and we were at a score of 43-21. After that, to me, the game was over. The referee knew the game was over when there was a call for a time out. That is something that always happens towards the end of a game that is already over to waste time. Once the time began again Alexis Robinson made a touchdown and the game was finally over. Sac State Hornets won again Northern Colorado with a final score of 50-21.

In the end, I am happy with our results. We won the game, and the players now have a chance to go to Cal Poly and try to make their first win against the team. Our semester has been looking good so far compared to other semesters. This semester, our players may surprise themselves by winning their next game. I am so ready to see how this semester ends for them. They have been having a great season so far. Hopefully, they will keep it up for the next games, and end this year on a good note for our team. Go Hornets!

Sac State Homecoming Football Game

Happy Homecoming!

I don’t know about everyone else, but I was so excited about the game. It was Sac State’s homecoming football game, and we won with a score of 41-21 against Idaho State. It is great to see our players make another big win. In the beginning of the semester, some students were afraid that our season was not going to work out. I wrote about this concern before when we lost a few weeks ago. However, the players made a come back and won another game for the season. Things are looking up for the hornets. I am appreciating the new members of the team as well.

Today the hornets played a great game, but there were a few names that stood out to me. Jaelin Ratliff, BJ Perkinson, Isiah Hennie, and Elijah Dotson. There were many other players on the field, but these names stuck out to me throughout the game.

Let me say during the second half of the game and Perkinson made a touch down, and the score was 24-7, I was sure that the game was looking positive for the players. Until Hennie dropped the ball and Idaho state got the ball. My energy began to increase when Ratliffe took three tackles. I don’t think anyone was expecting that from him. But it happened. And of course we made another touch down of score 31-14 soon after. It was also exciting to see Kevin Thomson give a 29 yard run soon after, the third quarter was over. In the end, we won the game with a score of 41-21.

I am so proud of the Hornets for winning their homecoming game. I was ready for the big “boom” sound every time there was a touch down, and I was definitely ready for them to win this game. What ever motivation the players had today, is something that they need each game. I am ready to watch more games in the future. Once again I would like to give the football players a shout out for winning this game this week. Good luck to the future games this football season. Good Luck Hornets!

 

CSUS v. Weber State Recap

Did you all catch the game today? We started off with a good game, but in the end we lost unfortunately. A score of 31-24. The score was so close which made me upset. We were so close to winning. Of course we are going to have loses during the season, but we have to make more wins. Luckily it is only the beginning of the season. Last week we won our first home game and we all celebrated. But I believe that we were so wrapped up in last week that the players forgot that we are in a new week. The team we played this week, Weber State, is a great team. Yet, Sac State is an awesome team as well. So hopefully we can make a come back next week.

I would like to give a shout out to a few players. Andre Lindsey, Jaelin Ratliff, and Isiah Hennie were doing a great job this game. They put in a lot of effort and tried their best. Andre Lindsey made a lot of great moves on the field, and there was a lot of team work to make touch downs. Last semester we were making a lot of progress, so hopefully this could be a game that will motivate the players to make a come back for this semester. I was honestly impressed with the team work that our team gave today. The third quarter things were looking good, but around the last quarter I was getting nervous. Weber players were making some great moves on the field as well. The best thing our team can do is be okay with their loss and move pass it positively. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s the beginning of the season as I mentioned before. We have time to make a come back so let’s make this season a good season for the player and audience.

I’m looking forward to attending the game next week. For me it is not just about winning. It is about two great teams going head to head to see who will win. If the other team was not good then it will not be a good game. That is what makes our players so amazing. They can go against any team and still play without any fear of being defeated. I am unsure about how well the team is that we are up against next week. But I cannot wait for that game. I want to see action and competition against the two teams. It’s our last home game for a while so I am ready to see the outcome. I’m sure the players will bring their “A Game” from both teams. Let us all hope for another win from the Hornets of course. Either way it goes we are not going down without a fight.So everyone get prepared for next Saturday at 6:05pm for the Hornets to play another home game. I will be in attendance and ready for another great game. See you all next week. Go Hornets!

Westbrook Enters In the History Books

On April 9, 2017 the people of Colorado witnesses a piece of history that is uncertain ever be broke again. Russel Westbrook Guard for Oklahoma City Thunder broke the long standing record for the most triple doubles in a single season with 42 triple doubles. Thunder vs Denver Nuggets was a highly anticipated game that it was a win or elimination from playoffs with the Denver Nuggets. Denver Nuggets came into this game with a lot of pressure of not being able to go to the playoffs if they lose.

With the highly anticipation of Russel Westbrook breaking the record it was a sellout crowd at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Russel Westbrook ended the game with a triple double breaking Oscar Robertson and a game winning shot to beat the Denver Nuggets. Which sends the Denver Nuggets fishing on vacation instead of going to the playoffs. This was a huge tip of the iceberg for Russel Westbrook to beat the record with a win finishing the game with 50 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assist to cap off an amazing game with a win.

Russel Westbrook puts his name in the hat of being heavily favored to win the 2017 NBA MVP for this year. Breaking the record of most triple doubles in a single season and have his team be contending for a playoff run at the 6th seed makes it very compelling. With one more game in the regular season to go. Russel Westbrook can continue this amazing run of excellence as the Oklahoma City Thunder will head into the playoffs this weekend. With the current standings in the Western Conference. Russel Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder will face off his old teammate James Harden and the Houston Rockets in what will be an exciting match up with the two favored MVP candidates of the season.

-DJLeodawnus

Raiders Will Relocate From Oakland to Las Vegas

If there is one thing people can bet on is another NFL franchise will relocate in the coming future. The Oakland Raiders will pack their bags and play in Las Vegas in a couple years in a brand new stadium. Las Vegas also known as Sin City went from no professional team to two within one year (the other Las Vegas Golden Knights). This relocation started with a vote with the results 31-1 in the decision to allow Mark Davis to move the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas. The only owner who opposed the relocation was the Miami Dolphins owner named Stephen Ross.

The reason for this occurring is because the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams will receive a new stadium in a few years and the Raiders needed a new stadium to compete against other markets to gain revenue. Oakland stadium has been the laughing stock of the NFL. With unsafe conditions having the baseball field being in play during football games. Look at the reason why Chargers left San Diego. They left for the purpose of they were tired of playing in Qualcomm Stadium. Chargers needed a new stadium to play in to create revenue and boost the brand. When things did not go their way they swiftly went up north and relocated to Los Angeles. Raiders wanted to play in a new stadium and could not compete against other teams financially if they did not make a move to do something.

Las Vegas is the destination for gambling and nightlife so for the NFL to all of a sudden look past gambling as an issue shows that NFL doesn’t care as much as it seems to the public. At the end of the day it is all about the dollar signs. Fans think with their emotion, and owners think with their wallets. Overall, it is very sad for the fans of all these teams that have to deal with relocation, but it is business, whether we like it or not. With this move means the end of the Stadium Era, which is great but at the same time equally depressing for all the teams fans that were effected with the relocations. It blossoms the idea of giving people more ideas to go to Vegas.

 

Happy Trails to ‘Night Train’~~Javier Lopez

The Giants are saying goodbye to another member from the championship runs in 2010, 2012, and 2014. Javier Lopez recently announced that he is retiring from baseball after 14 seasons in Major League Baseball. Lopez finished his career with an ERA of 3.48 and accumulated 30 wins to go along with 17 losses. He pitched in 839 games which translates into 533 innings pitched (he became a lefty specialist with the Giants, and so did not always pitch a full inning). Javy also recorded 358 strikeouts. All in all, Javier Lopez had a very solid career.

Lopez broke into the big leagues on April 1, 2003 with the Colorado Rockies. He spent another 2 seasons with Colorado before going to Arizona where he finished the 2005 season. In 2006, he went to the Boston Red Sox and won his first of 4 championships there. He was there until 2009. In 2010, he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates and then was subsequently traded to the San Francisco Giants mid season. This is where Javier Lopez finally really made a home for himself.

Once he landed with the Giants, Javy’s career took off. He consistently posted very low ERA numbers and became the Giants secret weapon against tough left handed batters like Ryan Howard, Jay Bruce, and Adam LaRoche just to name a few. Lopez became an essential assent to the Giants during their playoff runs in all 3 World Series wins. It is my honest opinion that without ‘Night Train’, the Giants probably don’t win a few of those titles.

Giants fans soon came to love watching Lopez because of his fun and outgoing personality. When Jeremy Affeldt was with the Giants, (he retired at the end of the 2015 season) both Lopez and Affeldt seem to have a friendly competition to see who Bruce Bochy’s favorite left handed reliever was. It became YouTube material for fans to enjoy and appreciate. Lopez was instrumental in helping to maintain a clubhouse that had good chemistry. Every player got along with each other and having guys like Lopez, and Affeldt only helped to strengthen the relationship that the Giants players had then and still have today as we dawn upon the 2017 season.

There is some good news though for Giants fans. I recently heard that both Affeldt and Javier Lopez will be working in the Giants broadcast booth this season due to the health issues that Giants color commentator Mike Krukow is suffering from. Krukow said he is going to downgrade his workload to about 120 games this season, which will allow us fans to enjoy the vocal sounds of Mr. Lopez and Mr. Affeldt. It is sad that Mike Krukow has to work less because I have learned a lot about the game of baseball simply by listening to his commentary, and I still enjoy listening to him and Duane Kuiper, but at least we will be in good hands with the characters of these two former Giants.

So happy trails Javier Lopez! I hope that you enjoy life in retirement, I know your family will love having you around on a more permanent basis. I look forward to hearing you on the Giants broadcasts this season. Be well!

*insert Roy Rogers and Dale Evans singing “Happy Trails to You” with a sunset image*

Super Bowl LI: Thank You For Being Like These Guys

Before the big game we saw this past Sunday, ESPN 1320’s “Rise Guys'” host Mark Kreidler wrote about how he did not want the Super Bowl to be one of the most boring championship games in the history of the the NFL. Among that list was a game we just saw a few years ago in Super Bowl XLVIII when the game was pretty much over when Peyton Manning fumbled the snap on the opening drive, resulting in a safety for the Seahawks.

Honestly, when the game was 14-0 in favor of the Falcons, I thought we were heading for another sleeper. Even though the great New England Patriots were having of their worst performances in the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era, everyone still wants an exciting or at-least a good game if their team, like my now-Los Angeles Chargers, isn’t competing on of the biggest sports stages in the world.

So, in response to Mr. Mark Kreidler’s blog (http://www.espn1320.net/Dear-Super-Bowl-LI-Don-t-Be-Like-These-Guys/19475646?pid=531369&do=1&stnBlogPage=true), here is a list of why Super Bowl LI was like these guys.

The Five Most Exciting Super Bowls Ever:

5. Super Bowl XLIII. 2009

Arizona was trailing 20-7 at the start of the fourth quarter but scored 16 consecutive points to take the lead with 2:37 remaining in the game. If Santonio Holmes doesn’t make the game-winning catch, everyone would remember Larry Fitzgerald’s 64-yard go-ahead touchdown catch. Unfortunately when you leave 2:37 remaining on the clock and Ben Roethlisberger in his prime is your quarterback, you should have nothing to worry about. Ultimately Holmes had the game-winning touchdown to give the Steelers a 27-20 lead with 35 seconds left and was named Super Bowl MVP. Even though it was the Pittsburgh Steelers winning their sixth Super Bowl, what a finish right?

4. Super Bowl XXV. 1991

I wasn’t born when this game occurred, let alone that my parents weren’t even married yet. However, watching the ESPN 30 for 30 series can make a young sports fan like myself feel like I watched some of the greatest moments in American sports history from the 1970’s, 1980’s and early 1990’s. The Four Falls of Buffalo episode went into heavy detail on this Super Bowl because the Bills were so close and the next three Super Bowls that they lost wouldn’t have been less of a discussion. Let me break this down to those who haven’t seen footage of this game; it’s 20-19 in-favor of the Giants, there’s only  eight seconds left on the game clock in the fourth quarter and Bill’s kicker Scott Norwood lines up for a potential 47-yard game-winning field goal. Unfortunately, the late January Tampa Bay wind forced the kick to go just left on the goalpost upright. Fast forward 26 years later and this is still the only potential Super Bowl winning field goal attempt missed by a kicker.

3. Super Bowl LI. 2017

Do I really have to go into too much recap of a game that happened not even three days ago? You must really don’t care about football or sports in general if you didn’t hear about this game. Greatest comeback in Super Bowl history and the only Super Bowl to go into overtime. Must I say more?

2. Super Bowl XLIX. 2015

I can’t put this past Super Bowl ahead of this one and my number one simply because Super Bowl LI was basically a blowout in the first half. This game was exciting from the start with no points scored in the first half, tied at 14 going into the half (Katy Perry halftime show I believe), the Seahawks having a 24-14 lead after three but due to some bad play-calling, on the 1-yard line to be specific, the Patriots found a way to win another close one on one of the biggest sports stages in the world. You’d think this would be history and everyone has forgotten (except Seahawk fans), but this Super Bowl is drawing a lot of comparison to this one. I wonder why?

1. Super Bowl XLII. 2008

Maybe I’m still bitter over this one because the Patriots defeated the Chargers in the AFC Championship but I am forever grateful for the “helmet catch” of David Tyree. We don’t need perfection in the day and age of sports and we don’t need old records to get broken. If records keep getting shattered then what’s the point of keeping track and frankly what’s the point of watching anymore? As sports fans we expect the great ones to rewrite history sometimes but not every year. We want the excitement of the possibility but we don’t want it to happen. I’d be telling a lie if I said I fully supported the Warriors to have the greatest regular season record of all-time and win the championship. The reason for that is, look at NBA fans now. We are expecting the Warriors to achieve greatness and rewrite history but will it happen? Probably not. That’s why the 2007 New England Patriots with a record of 18-1 is a great part of sports history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No more football. Oh no!

Football season for the 2016/2017 is now over. What are we going to do when football teams are on their offseason? Wait, I have to admit that every team did their best this season, such as Cleveland Browns that broke their winless streak when the won against the San Diego Chargers, which are now Los Angeles Chargers. It’s amazing to see that what the football teams have done from the beginning of the season until the end of the season.

First, the NFC teams that I am happy that made the playoffs were Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, and Seattle Seahawks, which all of the teams lost which was quite unfortunate because I wanted to see either Dallas or Seattle in the championship game that occurred on Sunday, February 5, 2017. The teams that competed in the championship game were New England Patriots from AFC and Atlanta Falcons from NFC. When I was watching the game, I thought that Atlanta had it, but they blew off a 28-3 lead that ended up with 34-28 New England at the end of the game. It wasn’t an easy game, but it was worth it because the first time in history the game went to overtime in which that almost does not happen in football championships.

Now that football is over, what do we do? Well, hockey and basketball are going on and soon baseball will be on too. One of the recent basketball games was when Sacramento Kings faced the Golden State Warriors at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA. I was impressed with the game, not that I didn’t watch it, but the fact that it went to overtime. Sacramento Kings won the game with 109-106 in an overtime. It was a surprise to see that the Sacramento Kings won that game, well they are the NBA team in Sacramento. When will Sacramento get a WNBA team? We never know.

Baseball is almost here. Now that football is over, who is ready for baseball? I know I am! My favorite baseball team is Los Angeles Dodgers. Los Angeles Dodgers recently added Sergio Romo to their team roster for the season. I wonder what’s in store for Chicago Cubs this season whether or not they are going for another championship. We will wait and see how the season goes.