2011 NHL Finals Game 6

As unpredictable as this Stanley Cup Final has been, one thing is for sure. The home team has won every time. That statement remained true last night as the Boston Bruins dominated the Vancouver Canucks 5-2.

The game got off to a frightening start when forward Mason Raymond got pushed into the backboards during the early seconds of the game. He is out for the next 3-4 months with a fractured vertebra. Boston then quickly went on to score the quickest 4 goals in Stanley Cup Finals game history, breaking a record that has not been touched for 45 years.

Vancouver tightened up there game a bit but that quick 4 goal lead for Boston proved to be to much for Vancouver.

The Bruins are one win away from their first championship since 1972 and are 0-5 in the finals since. If Roberto Luongo can't pull his act together in game 7, the Bruins will snap that 5 finals in a row losing streak.

As we all know, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in a pivotal game 6 win in Miami Sunday night.  For now, I just want to write about what exactly this NBA finals showed me.

First off, we need to talk about the teams.  Lets give credit where credit is due.  The Dallas Mavericks played one hell of a series.  First and foremost, we have to give credit to Dirk Nowitzki.  Every time this guy shot the ball, you thought it was going to go in.  He hit shot after shot, and free throw after free throw.  But even when Dirk was struggling(9-27, only 2 FT attempts in game 7), the whole TEAM made up for it.  Whether it was Jason Terry hitting another clutch 3-pointer, JJ Barea creating something at will, or even Tyson Chandler grabbing key offensive rebounds to suck the last life out of the Heat.  As a Detroit native, and avid Detroit sports fan, congratulations to Rick Carlisle for winning this championship.  Congratulations to J Kidd for finally winning a championship.  Congratulations to Dirk and J Terry for finally getting their revenge from the 2006 finals.  And lastly, congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks franchise.

DeShawn Stevenson taking a blast at LeBron

Now, on to the the real reason for writing this blog: The Miami Heat.  Man, did they sure prove me wrong.  When LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavs, I was ecstatic to get him out of the Central Division!  I was even more ecstatic that he left the state of Ohio(which I hate) and how he did it!  Quite frankly, I wanted the Heat to win JUST to spite the state of Ohio.

BUT.. The tendencies didn't go away.  He was playing great through the playoffs UNTIL the big show.  That's when the real competitor comes out in people.  Perfect example: Michael Jordan.  6 NBA finals; 6 NBA championships; 6 NBA Finals MVPs.  Another great example: Usain Bolt.  The Jamaican sprinter who broke 3 world records in the 2008 summer Olympics, including an absolute dominating performance the 100M dash.  This guy is a competitor, an amazing athlete who strives in the spotlight.  Even his teammate, Dwayne Wade showed his drive to win by playing much better in the finals than any previous series.

So I ask you this: Did the Miami Heat beat themselves? Or did the Dallas Mavericks earn it?

Answer: The Heat beat themselves.

Now, wait a minute.  Let me explain.  Did the Mavericks DESERVE it?  Of course they did!  But that doesn't change the fact that the Miami Heat BLEW IT.  LeBron James choked.  Under immense pressure to carry his team into the promise land, he let them down.  I've never seen a superstar athlete, back down as much as he did.  I personally think he is one of the top 3 players in the entire NBA.  But he doesn't have the killer instinct.  The Miami Heat backed down, when their back was against the wall.  People love to hate the Heat, and they fueled everyone's fire this year.

Killer stat to end the night:  Nowitzki scored 62 total points(10.3 avg) in the 4th quarter during the series. LeBron James: 18 points(3.0 avg).

Good luck next year Miami!  LeBron, your time will come, I promise you that.  But you will never be the player that the great Michael Jordan was.  End of story.

Miscellaneous recruiting updates

TomVH over at MGoBlog gave a lot of good updates with recruiting here!

A couple of other updates I've read over the past few hours or so..

Sam Webb, an insider for Michigan recruiting, told WTKA radio the Wolverines will take 26 recruits in this class.  No one is really sure how that is going to work with the number of people on scholarship, but we'll find out soon enough.  This gives room for another 10 recruits this class.  I think I can safely assume, these last 10 recruits will be real sought-after recruits.  I think the last 10 will be at least 4-star recruits, and hopefully land a 5-star or two.

Kansas City, MO DT Ondre Pipkins released his top schools today.  The good news with this is that he left Michigan State off that list.  He grew up in the state of Michigan, still considers this "home", and still has family here.  I would say Michigan has a great shot at Pipkins because of all these factors.

2011 NBA Finals

With all the hatred toward the Miami heat and mainly Lebron James, few people like to recognize that this is one of the most exciting finals in NBA history. This series was a rematch of the 2006 NBA finals, which was won by the Heat in six games. This is also the first time since 2006 that the NBA finals did not involve the L.A Lakers or the San Antonio Spurs

Three out of the six games this series were decided by the final shot of the game. Game 1 Lebron James and Dwayne Wade led the fourth quarter to bring the Heat there first win of the series.

Dallas Mavericks 84, Miami Heat, 92

During game 2 the Mav’s overcame a 15 point deficit in the fourth quarter to even the series at 1-1, which is the biggest comeback in the last 20 years.

Dallas Mavericks 95, Miami Heat, 92

During game 3 the Mavericks almost fought back from a 14 point deficit in the last 40 seconds but failed to do so with Dirk Nowitzki missing the final shot of the game to put it into overtime.

Miami Heat 88, Dallas Mavericks 86

Game 4 featured an amazing back-and-fourth affair with different lead changes and 15 ties throughout the game.

Miami Heat 83, Dallas Mavericks 86

Game 5 was a 3 point field day for the Dallas Mavericks as they shot 13 for 19 from the 3 point line. Dwayne Wade collided with Brian Cardinal late in the first quarter and did not come back to the game until late in the game.

Miami Heat 103, Dallas Mavericks 112

Game 6 was a very intense and emotional game. During the second half DeShawn Stevenson along with Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers received technical fouls because of a scuffle at half court during a Mavericks time out. Dirk Nowitzki struggled early in the game but prevailed in the fourth quarter to prove how much of a clutch performer he really is and more importantly bring the Dallas Mavericks there very first NBA championship and Dirk Nowizki his first finals MVP Award.

Dallas Mavericks 105, Miami Heat 95

The Moral Corruption of money in college football.

In recent memory there have been many scandals in college football most notably the scandal at USC involving Reggie Bush, Cam Newton at Auburn and most recently Terrelle Pryor at Ohio State.

The allegations against Reggie Bush range from his parents getting a house in exchange for him signing with a would be agent while still in college to his family receiving a $100,00 in benefits from marketing agents while still enrolled at USC.

The allegations out against Cam Newton who played with Auburn last college football season is that he was paid to play. A very serious allegation. There is no telling what other criminal and unmoral things his family and him did when he was in college.

The most recent allegations wrapping around the nation concerning college football are concerning Terrelle Pryor. Many Things are still developing around this but the main allegations our are concerning him and other Ohio State Players giving away memorabilia for tattoos and selling other memorabilia for cash,. As well, Pryor has been accused of taking cars from a auto dealer along with getting other benefits that are against N.C.A.A regulations. Now just from this scandal a lone, Pryor has left Ohio State University and Jim Tressell has resigned as Ohio States coach. I am glad that Ohio States program is in shambles and i hope it falls mightily from where it has been the last few years, the program deserves it.

" It's all about the benjamins" as Puff Daddy once said. The above mentioned players were motivated by money but it came back to tarnish there college playing legacies and those controversies will always be mentioned when their names come up in conversation. This is a bad example to set for the young kids out there who love football. There is no doubt that over time more and more will come out about the above mentioned scandals. The moral corruption of money in college football is a problem, it just makes me wonder what scandals have not been uncovered yet and I am sure we will never find out some of them.

Another pair of commitments!

Today, the mighty blue picked up another pair of commitments.  If you recall, this tends to be the trend of this years recruiting class.  These two are #15 and 16 for this years class.  


The Wolverines picked up commitments from California offensive lineman Erik Magnuson and Ohio defensive end Tom Strobel.





Strobel is a being recruited as a defensive end but his eventual position could definitely alter. He's right about 6"6" and ranges from about 240-250 lbs.  He has plenty of offers including all the big tends schools, a few Big East schools, and teams such as Stanford and Vanderbilt.  Here are his current rankings:


ESPN: 3-star, #56 DE
Rivals: 4-star, #36 DE, #231 overall
Scout: 4-star, #24 DE, #211 overall
24/7 Sports: 4-star, #14 WDE, #169 overall


And my favorite rating, the Touch the Banner rating: 79(Solid starter in Big Ten; some NFL draft potential (Ex: Brandon Minor))

The 2nd commitment of the day is California offensive lineman Erik Magnuson.  He is a bit more impressive of the two commits today.



Michigan has always been a favorite of Magnuson and this commitment does not surprise me as he was just on campus today.


Magnuson is listed the same height of Strobel at 6'6" about 275 lbs.  Though Michigan has always been the favorite, he has offers from many schools such as Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Oregon, Arizona, Cal, Miami, Oregon State, UCLA, Stanford and then some. Here are his current rankings:


ESPN:  4-star, #24 OT
Rivals:  4-star, #8 OL, #34 overall
Scout:  4-star, #16 OT, #97 overall
24/7 Sports:  4-star, #13 OT, #85 overall


TTB rating:  87 (Very good starter in Big Ten; good chance of All-Big Ten; some NFL draft potential (Ex: Jonas Mouton))

In other news, ESPN released its first rankings of the 2012 class.  Michigan comes in at #6 nationally! I fully expect them to jump into the top 5 by the end of the year.  This is great for first year Brady Hoke, and a great sign for years to come.  If you're looking for Ohio on that list, make sure you check out the 2nd page to see where they rank =]


ESPN 2012 team rankings

Legacy Jersey

Michigan unveiled the uniforms they will wear for the first ever night game @ the Big House, against Notre Dame!  Personally, I like them! Along with the new uniforms, the helmets will be slightly modified with an alter in the "wing" and the number on the side. What do you think?