Biggest Playoff Surprises........ So far

This has been an amazing playoffs so far. From injuries, to game winners, even falls of big name players, I have enjoyed the entire playoffs so far but here is our list with the six major surprises so far.

6. Kevin Love's injury

The Cavaliers still have a chance to win the championship. After all they still have the best player in the world in Lebron James. The best athlete can still win you basketball games in ways we didn't know existed before, as James proved with his game winning shot to tie Cleveland's series with the Bulls, 2-2 this past Sunday. But from here on out Cleveland will be in a dogfight, battling against their own health issues without Kevin Love. This injury could be the turning point for a franchise. Whether the All-star uses the injury as a way to lift his team, or takes it as things were never meant to be, remains to be seen.

5. The vulnerable Golden State Warriors

The 67-win season has to be one the best seasons we have seen in recent NBA seasons. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson led an offense that had amazing shooting, creativity and cohesiveness for anyone to handle this year. Then you add on Draymond Green who was the anchor to an intelligent defense that was really good as well. But the Warriors, despite the past blowout 101-84 are in a tooth and nail battle with the Memphis Grizzles. You have to give credit to Mike Conley, Courtney Lee, and of course the first team all defense player Tony Allen. They have taken away the space and timing Curry and Thompson are used to. The NBA's best squad of the season has been tested, and maybe a bit sooner than we thought they would be tested.

4. Blake Griffin, No longer just a dunker

With Chris Paul sitting out the first two contest of their series with the Houston Rockets, we can all agree and say that we thought the Los Angeles Clippers were screwed.  What most of us failed to realize is that even without Paul, the Clippers have one of the games most skilled play makers: Blake Griffin. Dishing out 13 assists in Game 1 which he ended with a triple double, Griffin carried the Clippers to 1-0 series lead. The Clippers haven't let up, leading the series 3-1 after an impressive 128-95 spanking in Game 4.

3. Tricky Randy Wittman

Washington Wizards coach Randy Wittman has made full use of his roster during the postseason. Using the small ball lineup with Paul Pierce at power forward and a up and coming Otto Porter Jr. at the three spot, he's opening the floor for John Wall and putting him in the best position tom thrive in. Even without Wall, who has suffered a wrist injury, Wittman has went deep into his bench to find what he needs. Will Bynum played crucial minutes down the stretch Saturday in their big win over Atlanta 103-101. Now we will see if Wittman has enough left in tank to get the Wizards through this 2-2 struggle.

2. Austin Rivers great play.

Doc Rivers son, Austin has been the butt of jokes for months. The young Rivers looked as if he had never played in the NBA before Los Angeles signed him, and the only reason he had a job was through his family. Those people that where giving Austin troubles are eating their words now. The reserve guard is showing that he is a important piece for this team. He is shooting 49 percent from the field, including an amazing 48 percent from 3 point range. He has made it possible for his father to preserve Chris Paul for the upcoming rounds.

1. Rajon Rondo's fall

At one time Rajon Rondo was one of the most ferocious competitors in the NBA. Rondo's time in Dallas he looked bored and upset. Coach Rick Carlisle and team management were so disappointed by his performance through two playoff games that they benched him for the rest of the year, using a bogus back injury as the excuse. Rondo will be a free agent this summer, and Dallas wants no parts of a future with him. Whoever does take a chance on him will be hoping for the Rondo of old, because Rondo of 2015 hasn't shown that he is worth the money.

By: Joshua Keene

Chasing the Title

We are down to eight teams in the 2015 playoffs. Each team's mindset and main goal is capturing the NBA title. As we take time to look at each team we obviously see that some squads have a better opportunity of winning the championship. Based on injuries, opponents, and just overall talent from top to bottom. So here we go in reverse order; here's a ranking of the title chances of the teams chasing the title. 

8. Memphis Grizzlies 

There are a couple things that truly stick out when it comes to the Grizzlies. and why they are least likely to when the ship. First of all Memphis has the task of playing the Warriors. Secondly their best player Mike Conley status is unclear. Yes, he played great in game 2 where the Grizzlies stole that game, but it's hard to be confident in the amazing effort the Grizzlies showed in game 2. Heart won the Grizzlies that game. 

Memphis has a good squad, but with Curry having 19 in game 2, and Thompson with a mediocre 13 you can't expect those two to have games like this too often. With that being said, and not enough bench production, even with Game 2 steal Memphis's chances look very bleak. 

7. Washington Wizards 

Now don’t get me wrong here, this is a Washington Wizards team that was 5-0 in these playoffs until last night's loss. Honestly this team could sneak in and steal this series. Wall and Beal are playing very well, Wittman is doing well coaching this team, and with a battle tested leader in Paul Pierce the Wizards are a tough out. 

But it's really hard seeing these guys top the Chicago Bulls or the Cleveland Cavaliers in the next round and that’s if they sneak past the Atlanta Hawks. This team is tough, and really playing good basketball right now. The Wizards are close but not yet ready. 

6. Atlanta Hawks 

Regardless of the Wizards comeback win in Game 1, I'm going to give the Hawks a slight edge simply because of potential. When the Hawks have everything going they are a better team than the Wizards. 

It would also be hard to overlook the fact that the Hawks have not played to their full potential since March 6th when the Hawks beat the best team in the east in the Cleveland Cavaliers. Atlanta are 15-13 including the playoffs since that big win.  Now if Atlanta could somehow go back to that winter magic, they have a chance at the Eastern Conference crown. But time is slipping and that’s why the 1 seed Hawks are at the 6 spot here on this list. 

5. Chicago Bulls 

The Bulls had an up and down series against the Bucks. The first three games they looked like the team we all envisioned with Derrick Rose at full strength, Jimmy Butler an up and coming superstar, the amazing front court with all stars Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol. You could look at this team and say the eastern conference title is going to Chicago with Kevin Love being out. Bur then the next two games happened, Chicago struggled to find holes in the young, long, and lanky defense of the Bucks. 

Then game 6, Chicago throttled the Bucks by a margin of 54 points. The bulls are as talented as any other team, but they fail to perform consistently on a high level. We seen them steal game 1 at Cleveland but once the series unfolds completely we will know a lot more about Chicago's title hopes. 

4. Houston Rockets 

The Rockets made it look easy against the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, it won't be so easy against the Clippers who just knocked out the defending champions. James Harden is one of the top players in this league, Howard is playing big boy basketball right now, and bringing in guys like Josh Smith and Corey Brewer where really nice additions. 

With all that being said there chase to the title is really rough. Chris Paul is hurting right now, but when he gets back the Clippers will have two of the leagues top ten players in Paul and Blake Griffin, plus with one of the best coaches in the NBA in Doc Rivers. Best case scenario they beat the Clippers in six or seven games, aftewards the Warriors would loom. The Rockets road in the West has done them no favors in their title hopes. 

3. Los Angeles Clippers  

The Clippers just beat the Spurs, and when you look at the series, and Chris Pauls injury, seems like it took literally everything the Clippers had to knock of the defending champions.That was one of the best first round series we will ever see, it was an emotional series, It was emotionally draining for the players, coaches, and even the fans watching at home. You can only imagine what it done to Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and the rest of the crew. 

With that being said the Clippers first six guys are a really  good group. But with the heavy load from the first round that may begin to catch up with them in this series with the Rockets and possibly the Warriors 

2. Cleveland Cavaliers 

This series between the Bulls and the Cavs seems like it’s the eastern conference finals, because knocking off this Bulls team will take a lot more then knocking off the Hawks or the Wizards. JR Smith is out the first couple of games, and Kevin Love may have possibly played his last game in a Cavaliers uniform. But if Blatt can place LeBron James at the four spot and the wings are making shots, this Cleveland team is still tough to stop. 

Without Kevin Love, its tough to say that the Cavaliers are a better basketball team than the Clippers or the Rockets, but Clevelands road is a lot easier. 

1. Golden State Warriors 

The Warriors make the game look so simple. Other then game 2 versus the Memphis Grizzlies one of the splash brothers are dominating the basketball game. If Curry isn't knocking down 3's, Thompson is knocking down 3's. Draymond Green can do just about anything you need him to do on the basketball court. With the best home court advantage in these playoffs the Warriors are sitting pretty. 

And another thing that helps: Clippers beating the Spurs. The Spurs could've put the long athletic Kawhi Leonard on Curry and Danny Green on Thompson. There aren't any more wing defenders like that in these playoffs. Thanks to the Clippers, the road to the Finals has one less roadblock. 

Joshua Keene 

Trouble in BBN?

By: Ken Clayton

The Kentucky basketball team for the 2015-16 season will look alot different than it did this past season. We expected to see a good portion of the team declare for the NBA daft but, but it looks like having 7 guys leave is a bigger challenge than coach John Calipari may have expected. Some fans and past players complained about the platoon system Calipari used during the season, but when your team is 38-1 there really isn't much room for complaints. However 38-1 was never the goal for the Wildcats. The team and fanbase had hopes of a 40-0 season and another national championship. When neither of those things happened it left fans looking toward the incoming recruiting class with hopes of reloading instead of rebuilding. But something interesting has taken place. The Wildcats are being turned down left and right by top recruits lately. They question becomes why are kids turning down the chance to play for Kentucky when there will be plenty of mins to go around?
My theory is as talented of a team that Kentucky had this past season there are only so many mintues to go around. There is something to be said about a kid who comes to campus as a McDonalds all american but can't average more than 25 mins per game. When kids are choosing to go to Miss State, UNLV, and California over UK this has to be alarming for BBN.
I won't go as far as some and say Calipari has lost his touch in recruiting, especially since the Cats have another top 5 class coming in, But it's clear some adjustments need to be made.

The Biggest Loser in the Pacquiao/Mayweather Fight Was Boxing - Travis Williams

This was supposed to be the fight of the century. Our generations Thrilla in Manilla. Our Hagler vs Hearns. Two pugilist at the pinniacle of the career, punching for pure pandemonium and profit. Ok I'm sorry, went a little Don King there on the last one. But you get what I'm saying.

This was it. The biggest fight in boxing history.

Yet it turned out to be the most over hyped sparring match I've ever recalled.
Now I know by now some of you are saying, "Oh, he just doesn't understand or respect the nuances that go along with boxing. Or simply doesn't respect an athlete who's mastered his craft.


Not true. I understand and can appreciate all of that. It really boils down to the fact that I just don't like boxing anymore. Or at least not what it's become. And judging from the outcry from people after the fight,  of America doesn't like it anymore either.

One of my friends pointed out that every other televised sporting event that day was better than the fight. And they were all free to watch.
If this was a bout between the two best fighters in the world then boxing is officially lost.

Where does it go from here? The world of boxing would have been better off if Mayweather would've lost. The buzz of his loss would have sparked interest in a even more profitable rematch. Instead we were given the usual Money Mayweather snoozefest.

I'm not taking anything away from Floyd Mayweather. He's a great champion and one of the best boxers we've ever known. The only problem is that most of America doesn't care anymore.

My Thoughts on the Mayweather/Pacquaio Fight.

If you follow boxing closely or listened to the Main Event Sports Show the day of the fight then you were not surprised by the outcome or the pace of the fight. Now, if you were a casual boxing fan, like I imagine the vast majority of people were, then you would be very disappointed with the fight. For the average fan this was not an exciting fight at all. It was slow. Manny could barley hit Mayweather. Mayweather rarely pressed or initiated any action.  Basically, it was a typical Mayweather fight.

Manny knew what he had to do to win. Mayweather was the bigger fighter and had a substantial reach advantage. Manny's only chance to win was to smother Mayweather with punches and force his way inside to neutralize Mayweather reach advantage. For this strategy to work Manny was going to have to eat a lot of punches. Which he should have been able to do because Mayweather isn't a power puncher. He doesn't have one punch knock out power. Instead Manny held back looking for an opening that would never be there.

However, I think the fight was lost well before then. All week long leading up to the fight we heard reports on how relaxed Manny was. He was smiling, joking and pretty jovial all week long. I'm not saying he had to look serious and and talk trash about Mayweather all week, but I would like to have seen the eye of the tiger at least once. I knew the fight was over when Manny and his trainer Freddie Roach took a selfie on the way to ring. I lost even more confidence in Manny when I saw that his entourage to the ring included Jimmy Kimmel dressed like the 4th member of Run DMN and the Burger King King. It was over before it even got started.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the good Rev. Jaime Foxx and the National Anthem.  I was expecting a jazzed up soulful rendition of the National Anthem. I was expecting to hear a gospelized version. Who gave the OK for that? I'm sure they had to of practiced at least once during the week. Somebody should have stepped in and said, "You know Jamie, I loved you in Ray Charles. Can we get a Ray Charles rendition instead? James Brown maybe? How about an impersonation of Prince? You do a good Michael Jackson."

I'm not even going to comment about Manny's post fight interview when he said that he thought he had won.

This fight was like one of those old movies about a group of thieves who are looking for that one last big score before they retire. This was Manny's and Floyd's last big score. They will fight again, but this was the big one that set them up for life. Floyd is 38 and will soon retire, and Manny is 36 and has a ton of others things to do, like finish out his term in congress. Floyd can now say his career is complete and his legacy is intact. Manny, go his biggest payday ever. Just like in Ocean's 11 they can all meet in front of MGM grand. Smile at each other. Take a long look at the strip, and then shake hands and walk away.

                                                                            - Haven Harrington III -

Why Mayweather Will Never Be Considered The Greatest Of All Time

Floyd "Money" Mayweather is one of the greatest boxers in our lifetime, but he is far from the greatest of all time as he claims. Mayweather will have the win/loss record to be in the conversation (maybe), but there is so much more than wins and losses, especially in boxing. The true greats took great risk, were innovators, fought the best of their generation in their prime, and usually beat an opponent they shouldn't have beaten.

Let's look at the self proclaimed greatest of all time, Ali. If you take Ali as just a boxer and nothing else he would be right up there as one of the all time greats. He won a gold at the Olympics, defeated both Sonny Liston and George Forman as huge a underdog, came back from several defeats to win the title, had several epic battles that will go down as some of the best bouts in history, and had an impressive win loss/record. His resume' alone makes him one of the best ever, but what pushes him over the top were his stances on the Vietnam War and his involvement in the Civil Rights movement. He gave up boxing while he was in his prime, because of his beliefs. Name me another top athlete today that would do that?

If you talk to most boxing historians they will tell you that the greatest of all time was Sugar Ray Robinson. He was the person that every fighter after him model their style after, even Ali. Some even named themselves after him (Sugar Ray Leonard Sugar Shane Mosely). Sugar Ray Robinson was 123-1 with 78 KOs. He is the reason why they created the "pound for pound" rankings. He had it all. Speed, balance, footwork, power, stamina, heart, offense, defense you name it, he had it. There has never been a boxer as complete as Robinson. NEVER.

Mayweather is good,
if not great, but what will always keep from a serious discussion of best ever was the fact that he didn't fight the best boxers of his era when they were in their prime. He never really took a fight were he seriously thought he might lose. He is a master businessman and promoter. He knows how to pick and choose when and who to fight. But if you want to be the greatest then you have fight the best when they are at their best. Takes tomorrows super fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao.  This would have been a career defining fight for Mayweather 5-6 years ago when they both were at the top of their game.  But Mayweather waited. He knew the longer he waited the more the fight would be worth and that eventually Pacquiao skills would decline. Now, both fighters are on the backside of their careers and now we get the super fight. This is the number one reason why Mayweather will never be considered the best or even better than Ali like he claims. He had a chance to fight the best in his class when they were both in their prime and he didn't. He waited, but history waits for no man.

Why Sugar Ray Robinson is the greatest

                                                                                                  - Haven Harrington III-