LeBron vs. KG and Pierce is Good For Basketball

I first started watching basketball in 1999.  The season after Michael Jordan retired from the Bulls for the second time.

I fell in love with the game right away.  My favorite things to watch in the beginning were the Reggie Miller-led Pacers teams verses the Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell-led Knicks teams.  That was a rivalry.  It was interesting.  It was compelling.  It grabbed your attention.  It made you passionate about what you were watching.  These feelings are stirred up in any rivalry.

Outside of the Yankees verses the Red Sox, football is home to the greatest rivalries.  In college there are great ones like USC vs. UCLA, Auburn vs. Alabama and Ohio State vs. Michigan.  In the NFL you have the Cowboys vs. the Redskins, the Packers vs. the Bears and the Ravens vs. the Steelers.  I believe that this is the reason why football is so popular, there are big-time rivalries.  Rivalries that are deep-rooted, sure the names have changed over time, but the new faces in these organizations always seem to adopt the same hatred for their rivals.

The NBA is sorely lacking in rivalries.  The days of Bird and Magic are gone.  The days of the Pistons adopting the "Jordan Rules" are gone.  There is too much brotherhood in today's NBA.  Rivalries do not necessarily have to come from teams.  They can stem from players.  That is what has taken shape with LeBron James, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.  KG and Pierce have been teammates on two teams now (The Celtics and now the Nets).  They have won a championship together and have bonded.  One foe that has stood in their way of multiple championships for this duo while with the Celtics is James.  KG and Pierce have carried this hatred over to the Nets.  The Nets and the Heat are both viewed as contenders in the Eastern Conference.

James has recently mocked KG and Pierce for leaving Boston after they got so angry with Ray Allen for heading south to Miami a year ago.  Garnett responded by telling James to worry about his own team.  He also reminded James that he and Pierce were traded away from the Celtics and that leaving was not their wish.  This is great for basketball.  In a meaningless preseason game on October 17, 2013, we saw Pierce commit a hard foul on James that was clearly meant to send a message.  Imagine how great the competition between these two teams will be in the regular season and how much more intense it would be if they met in the playoffs.

When you are about to face a rival, you seem to dig a little deeper and give it all you have.  The games become more intense.  It is better competition and in turn becomes better viewing for the fans.  This is what made players like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant so great, they found reasons to have disdain for their opponents.  A rivalry must be kept appropriate.  Leave everything on the court or field and maybe say a few things in the media.

Part of the reason the NBA does not boast the rivalries is that players change teams so often.  This is why we need player-driven rivalries like we are seeing with LeBron and KG and Pierce.  The NBA would benefit from a few more rivalries like this.

Jim Irsay Strikes Again

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is an idiot. 

Irsay is getting to the point where is mostly known as a loudmouth.  When he is not tweeting way more than an owner of a professional sports team should, he is verbalizing his opinions through different channels of media.  I used to be believe that he just wanted attention.  I believed that he wanted as much celebrity status as the world-class athletes that he employs, or his buddy Rob Lowe.  After looking over his recent comments about Peyton Manning, in the week leading up to Manning’s return to Indy no less, we can all see that he is just a moron. 

Irsay’s exact comment was,

"(Tom) Brady never had consistent numbers, but he has three of these (championship rings," Irsay told USA Today. "Pittsburgh had two, the Giants had two, Baltimore had two and we had one. That leaves you frustrated.

"You make the playoffs 11 times, and you're out in the first round seven out of 11 times. You love to have the Star Wars numbers from Peyton and Marvin (Harrison) and Reggie (Wayne). Mostly, you love this (referring to his Super Bowl ring)."

In breaking down what Irsay said sentence by sentence, let’s start with him saying that Tom Brady never had consistent numbers.  For the last decade or so, Brady has been one of the top two quarterbacks in the league, along with Manning.  His numbers are fairly consistent with Peyton’s.  Irsay then goes on to imply that with a quarterback other than Manning, he would have advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs more often and won more Super Bowls. 

This is the most ridiculous statement Irsay has ever made, the main reason being that the Colts would have never been to the playoffs those 11 times without Peyton Manning.  Irsay could believe that with a different quarterback, a few breaks could have gone a different way.  I suppose that they could have, but the more likely scenario is that they find a significantly less amount of success. 

Manning is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL.  In my amateur opinion, he is the greatest of all time.  He put fans in the seats and made his owner in Indianapolis a lot of money.  That nice new stadium the Colts play in and even hosted a Super Bowl in, was able to be built because of the success orchestrated by Manning.  Peyton meant so much to the Colts organization.  He handled his release with the utmost class and always had his former team’s best interest at heart. 

Fortunately Manning’s new coach, John Fox, had his back. 

Fox is absolutely correct.  These comments by Irsay are stupid.  When speaking of Manning he should be nothing but grateful of the time he employed his former quarterback.  Before Manning got there, the Colts were a terrible team, the year Manning was injured before his eventual release, the Colts were also a terrible team.  The reason that the Colts are now finding success is that they have a quarterback who will one day be at Peyton’s level and is already very close.  A quarterback that Manning himself spoke highly of to the organization. 

Both the Colts and Peyton Manning are in good situations right now.  Manning is running the NFL’s best offense and could possibly lead them to a Super Bowl victory this year.  Irsay’s Colts are a team on the rise and one day, Andrew Luck may get his owner another ring.  For now, both the Colts and the Broncos have benefitted from Mannings talents and let’s leave it at that.  

Who Will Finish On Top- Broncos or Seahawks?

Peyton Manning gets the offense ready.

Right now the talk of the NFL seams to be all about the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks.  Four weeks into the young season these two teams are on top the league and it would not surprise anybody if this was the matchup that we saw in the Super Bowl at the end of the year, but which of these two teams will be on top at season's end?

The answer is the Denver Broncos.  They seem to be on a mission after a disappointing playoff loss last year to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens.  That game was more than winnable for the Broncos and they have started this season appearing highly motivated after that loss.  The Denver offense, through four games, is averaging an astounding 44.8 points per game.  Including a seven touchdown performance by Peyton Manning in the opener against the Ravens.  That game was not a fluke, and the Broncos have shown us that.  They continue to put up great numbers on offense behind the smartest, craftiest quarterback in the league, a stable of weapons for him to throw the ball too and a better than advertised running game.

Wide receivers Wes Welker, Eric Decker, Demaryius Thomas and tight end Julius Thomas give Manning plenty of places to throw to.  Some have worried about how he will keep so many hungry targets happy but as long as they are winning games there should not be a problem.  Everyone seems to be getting their fair share as well.  Each wideout is averaging at least six catches a game and everyone with the exception of Decker, who has a total of one, is averaging at least a touchdown per game.  Julius Thomas is hitting his touchdown per game average but has only 18 catches to start the year.  The running game is led by Knowshon Moreno.  Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman have been good as well, and as soon as Ball can cut down his fumbles he may be the best of those three.  The offense does not have a real weakness.

The Seahawks secondary is something to be feared.

The Broncos will have a better regular season record than the Seattle Seahawks and should win in a head to head battle.  Seahawk fans will point to their daunting defense and especially their secondary as to why they would beat the Broncos and while that secondary is the best that we have seen in a while, the Broncos just have too many weapons on offense.

That being said, the Seahawks have been great. They can win in many different ways.  That defense is so tough to play against, so tough to complete passes against (they can even score) .  Marshawn Lynch is better than anybody thought he could be when he was in Buffalo and Russell Wilson continues to grow and mature as a leader and as a quarterback.  This is a team that is built to be good for many years to come and they will be.

The Broncos are a team with a star quarterback who is in on the back end of his career.  Both Manning and the team know they need to win now and I believe this mentality will carry the team to a Super Bowl victory this season.  Sure Lynch and the mobile Wilson could run wild on the Broncos 16th ranked defense in points allowed per game but this has all been without Von Miller and Champ Bailey. Once those two return the Broncos will become an even more complete team and while their defense won't be nearly as good as Seattle's, their offense is more than capable of picking up the slack and put up a higher number on the scoreboard than any other opposing offense they face.

Broncos for Super Bowl champs in a much too early prediction.