If there’s one thing we’ve learned this year, it’s that the playing field is pretty level in college football. Throw out he top 25, there should just be the top 10, and even that has been questionable. This year is shaping up to be one like ‘06 where every week someone in the top 10 was upset, mostly by unranked teams. This week we saw #3 USC and #7 BYU both lose to unranked teams. We also saw unanimous #1 Florida struggle with “Lame” Kiffin and the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols had Tim Tebow and the Gators so frustrated that at one point Tebow barked at his offensive line like chef Gordon Ramsay does to his peon cooks. Buckle up, it’s going to be another crazy ride this week. Here are some headlines you might see accompanying the ride:

The Texas Longhorns have sat quietly in the #2 spot all year.

Big Game in the ACC???

The ACC has been taking turns with the Big East Conference getting dumped on by naysayers of the BCS the past few years. The thought of either conference being represented in the National Championship has been laughable. BUT, the ACC has been slowly improving and has some good teams this year with an actual shot to play in the big game. Florida State made some noise by smoking #7 BYU on the road last week, and Miami beat conference foe #13 Georgia Tech. It’s been a long time since there has been a critical game with such high stakes in the ACC, so this week’s matchup of #12 Virginia Tech and #13 Miami will be a treat. By season’s end we’ll know if the ACC is really back or if they are just a broken clock, a broken clock is always right at least twice a day. For now, the ACC is looking to rise above it’s critics, the Big East will always be there though.

Bulldogs Finally Bite

Fresno State has had a couple of wins dangle in front of them like a nice piece of meat, but they just haven’t been able to grab it. They came so close at Wisconsin, and scared Boise State at home. If there is a team poised and ready to win a game in which they are not favored, it’s the Bulldogs. Cincinnati has a relatively immature football program, they are more used to being in the basketball spotlight. But as we just barely discussed, if there is a conference for immature football programs to have lots of success, it’s the Big East.

TCU, It’s Your Turn

The TCU Horned Frogs have went from flying under radar to having a target directly on their backs. With their Mountain West cohorts BYU and Utah falling over the weekend, the Frogs look to be the forerunners to get an at-large BCS bid solely based on their schedule. When the season is said and done, if Boise State goes undefeated they will only have one “quality win,” and it will have been a win over Oregon at home. TCU faces the Clemson Tigers this week on the road, and still has BYU and Utah on their schedule. Those are three “top quality wins,” but it all starts this week. Look for TCU to stroll into Clemson, take care of business, and hop away 2-0.  

Yes, Houston has a football program, and yes, they are good this year.

 JIB Picks

Last Week: 18-4 / Overall: 53-10

#1 Florida – Kentucky / #2 Texas – UTEP / #3 Alabama – Arkansas / #4 Penn State – Iowa / #5 Mississippi – South Carolina / #6 Cal – Oregon / #7 LSU – Mississippi State / #8 Boise State – Bowling Green / #9 Oklahoma – Bye / #10 USC – Washington State / #11 Ohio State – Illinois / #12 Virginia Tech - #13 Miami / #14 TCU – Clemson / #15 Cincinnati – Fresno State / #16 Oklahoma State – Grambling State / #17 Georgia – Arizona State / #18 North Carolina – Georgia Tech / #19 Kansas – Southern Miss/ #20 BYU – Colorado State / #21 Missouri – Nevada / #22 Michigan – Indiana / #23 Houston - Texas Tech / #24 Nebraska  - Louisiana-Lafayette / #25 Florida State – South Florida

After getting off to their best start in school history, the #5 Oklahoma State Cowboys were feeling pretty good about themselves.  Just like Rutgers, South Florida, and East Carolina (just to name a few in recent years),  the Cowboys found themselves in uncharted territory of football success and got their ship sunk. Oklahoma State was the ugly girl of the Big 12 Conference that got a self esteem boost in the preseason when several people in the media started gauking over them and telling them that they were gorgeous. Unfortunately, the Houston Cougars came into Stillwater and wrecked the ugly girl’s chance at going to the BCS Ball. With exception to Notre Dame, the rest of the top 25 stood pat, but this week proposes several trap games for highly ranked teams. Here are some headlines you might see as you follow this weekend’s action in the college football world:

After handling #13 Georgia Tech, Miami should move up in the 25 rankings.

Georgia Tech Left With No Option

When head coach Paul Johnson took over the reins at Georgia Tech, he brought his triple option offense from Navy with him. There are several skeptics of the triple option offense, myself included. The last truly successful option offense was run masterfully by Heisman quarterback Eric Crouch at Nebraska almost ten years ago. While Georgia Tech did rank #4 in the country last year in rushing yards, they were #116 in passing. The defensive game plan for the Miami Hurricanes this week seems pretty simple, stop the rush and stop the Yellow Jackets. One important element to stopping the rush is speed, which Miami has, and the home field advantage for the Hurricanes certainly will help as well.

Takin’ Care of Business

 #1 Florida, #2 Texas, and #3 USC all have games with important meaning that could slip away if they don’t focus. When Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin was hired, he said he was looking forward to many things. Two things in particular he was excited for was to beat Florida and to then sing “Rocky Top” (the unofficial fight song of Tennessee), all night long. After Florida dismantles the Vols, the only song Kiffin will be singing is “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, nobody knows but Charlie Weis.” Meanwhile, the #2 Texas Longhorns will have an old Texas shootout and avenge it’s only loss last year to Texas Tech, which kept them out of the National Championship Game. Also, USC will visit it’s former offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, who is now the head coach of the Washington Huskies. The Northwest has not been kind to the Trojans, where they have lost to Oregon State and Oregon the last two years. A re-energized Washington Huskies team will prove to be a challenge for the Trojans, but the Trojans will take care of business and head home 3-0.

That Was Close

Toledo and Fresno State are heading into match ups this week against Ohio State and Boise State feeling pretty confident. Toledo handed it to Colorado and Fresno State went on the road and took Wisconsin into double overtime. Ohio State is coming off of an extreme mental blow, losing to USC at home in a game they thought they should have won. The Buckeyes can either approach this game with aggression to avenge their loss from last week, or they can come out flat feeling sorry for themselves. I believe they will come out more aggressive with their offense and have a tenacity on defense as well. Ohio State knows that when you are “Ohio State,” you can reach the National Championship Game every year with one loss as long as your other wins look good. Toledo is no pushover though, and will test the Buckeyes much like Navy did opening weekend. Switching gears,  the Boise State Broncos need to be careful in how they approach their game this week. The Bulldogs will be the Broncos’ toughest contest they will have until the end of the season, if the Broncos slip up then the Bulldogs will take full advantage and spoil the Broncos dream season.  A win is a win, which will be uttered by Ohio State and Boise State after they pull out squeakers this weekend.

Penn State has quietly snuck into the top 5 again.

JIB Picks

Last Week: 18-3 / Overall: 35-6

#1 Florida – Tennessee / #2 Texas – Texas Tech / #3 USC – Washington / #4 Alabama – North Texas / #5 Penn State – Temple / #6 Mississippi – Southeast Louisiana / #7 LSU – Louisiana-Lafayette / #8 California – Minnesota / #9 BYU – Florida State / #10 Boise State – Fresno State / #11 Ohio State – Toledo / #12 Oklahoma – Tulsa / #13 Georgia Tech – #22 Miami / #14 Virginia Tech – #18 Nebraska / #15 TCU – Texas State / #16 Utah – Oregon / #17 Oklahoma State – Rice / #19 North Carolina - East Carolina / #20 Georgia - Arkansas / #21 Cincinnati – #24 Oregon State / #23 Kansas - Duke / #25 Missouri- Furman

The opening weekend of college football began and ended with lots of excitement. In what is usually an anticipated, but uneventful weekend, the first week of action this year brought several marquee match ups within the top 25 that resulted in a lot of movement in the polls. BYU pulled off the biggest upset of the weekend with it’s win over #3 Oklahoma that vaulted them up 11 spots in the polls. In other action, Boise State knocked Oregon out of the top 25 and Alabama proved it will once again be a force at the top of the polls. Here’s a couple headlines you might see after week 2 is over, along with JIB Picks:

Jimmy Clausen and the Fighting Irish are hoping to knock off Michigan this weekend.

Next Coach Out?

No two head coaches have been more highly scrutinized than Notre Dame’s Charlie Weis and Michigan’s Rich Rodriguez. Going into this week’s match up in Ann Arbor, fans of both sides are satisfied. It’s definitely a new low for both schools when they are excited after wins over Nevada and Western Michigan, but one of them will be back into pessimistic mode after this game. Weis and his Fighting Irish have an easier road ahead of them. With exception to the USC Trojans making a stop in South Bend to pound the Irish in a couple weeks, the Irish do not play another ranked team and are catching most teams on a “down year.” The Big 10 (with 11 teams in it, and Notre Dame as an unofficial 12th team) is having a down year as a whole. Rodriguez and his Wolverines have the tougher road, having to play Ohio State and Penn Statethis year. A win against Notre Dame could be a nice springboard to prove to themselves they can win against a ranked team, but the Irish will dash those hopes and be the sixth team in eight games to beat Michigan in “The Big House” under Rodriguez.

Buckeyes Get Cracked

 Ohio State was exposed greatly as they nearly escaped Navy last weekend. Buckeye quarterback Terrelle Pryor was pressured and the Buckeye defense seemed to be on their heels most of the game. USC’s greatest weapon they have against the Buckeyes will be their speed, on both offense and defense. Trojans freshman quarterback Matt Barkley was largely untested in his debut at home against an inferior San Jose State squad, his ability to stay poised and mistake-free will be a huge factor in the outcome of this game. Ohio State has struggled recently in big time games.  They lost last year’s match up to USC at the Coliseum and ended their season with a bitter loss in the Fiesta Bowl to Texas. Ohio State needs this win to prove themselves as a legitimate contender for the National Championship and to defend the accusation that the Big 10 Conference is on the outs, it’s too bad USC is standing in the way.

MWC Strikes Again

The Mountain West Conference has plead it’s case more than any other conference that they belong with the big boys. Last year they beat out the PAC-10 in head-to-head match ups, and had three teams finish in the top 25 (those same three also started this year in the top 25). The Utah Utes made a huge statement at the end of last year when they beat #4 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and BYU made a huge statement last weekend by defeating #3 Oklahoma. UNLV is by no means a powerhouse in the MWC, but they do play well at home and defeated PAC-10 school Arizona State last year on the road. The Oregon State Beavers are well acquainted with the role of “giant killer,” they have filled that role in being USC’s worst enemy in recent years, this week they will be on the other side as UNLV will leave them not missing Vegas.

USC running back Joe McKnight is looking to carve through the Buckeye defense this weekend.

JIB Picks

Last Week: 17-3 / Overall: 17-3

#1 Florida – Troy / #2 Texas – Wyoming / #3 USC – #7 Ohio State / #4 Alabama – Florida International / #5 Penn State – Syracuse / #6 Oklahoma State – Houston / #8 Ole’ Miss (Bye) / #9 LSU – Vanderbilt / #10 California – Eastern Washington / #11 Boise State – Miami(OH) / #12 BYU – Tulane / #13 Georgia Tech – Clemson / #14 Oklahoma – Idaho State / #15 Virginia Tech - Marshall / #16 TCU – Virginia / #17 Utah – San Jose State / #18 Nebraska – Arkansas State / #19 North Carolina- Connecticut / #20 Notre Dame – Michigan / #21 Georgia – South Carolina / #22 Miami / #23 Cincinnati - Southeast Missouri State / #24 Oregon State - UNLV / #25 Kansas – UTEP

College football is finally here, and with it brings the return of new articles to JIB Sports!!! Following tradition of “Sunday Headlines” from last year, “Headlines” will preview the upcoming weekend’s action in college football by providing you with headlines you might see in your Friday/Saturday/Sunday/Monday newspaper, or online, or on your favorite sports show. Let’s face it, we are long past the time when games were only played on Saturday and we all read the Sunday newspaper. One final point of business, JIB Sports uses the USA Today Coaches Poll in all our articles, which is one of the components used by the BCS to “calculate” who the best teams are. It’s great to be back, now let’s get down to the real business!

We can say without hesitation that college football is the most anticipated sport in America. Nothing compares to the passion and rivalry in college football. Families are torn, alliances are made, and grown men paint their faces and scream shirtless for hours in the bitter cold to rear their team to victory. We as fans really feel like we are part of the team. If given the opportunity, I’m sure many of us would quit our jobs to be a water boy for our beloved teams. Opening week this year is bound to be a great one. Breaking the tradition of top schools playing cream puffs, there will be three matchups with six schools in the top 25. Thursday features the most intriguing matchup of #14 Oregon and #16 Boise State. Then on Saturday #3 Oklahoma and #24 BYU will play in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and #5 Alabama will square off against #7 Virginia Tech.

Boise State QB Kellen Moore will lead another high scoring offense in '09.

Broncos Send Ducks Waddling

This year has the writing on the wall of USC giving up their PAC-10 Conference Title for the first time since 2001. Oregon is looking like one of the schools that might claim it, and this first game will show us how good the Ducks really are. On the other side, as sad as this may seem, Oregon is the only road block in Boise State’s quest for an undefeated season. The next speed bump they will have is Nevada, and that isn’t saying much. With the increase of non-BCS schools qualifying for BCS bowls, an undefeated season with a weak schedule might not be enough anymore. The Broncos beat up on the Ducks last year in Eugene, so they have all the confidence coming into the game. The Broncos also have the comfort of playing on their blue home turf (also named the “Smurf Turf.”) Donald Duck used to be Oregon’s actual logo, their mascot is most likely a retired Donald Duck costume from Disneyland, and first year head coach Chip Kelly will be cussing up a storm in true Donald Duck fashion after this game.

Weber State Strikes Again

If you are a college sports fan then Weber State might ring a bell. Weber State, a small subdivision team from northern Utah, made some noise in the ‘99 NCAA basketball tournament by defeating the mighty North Carolina Tarheels, a few years earlier they ousted Michigan State. The Wildcats are giant killers, but the Wyoming Cowboys are not giants. However, the Mountain West Conference, which the Cowboys belong to, is a giant right now (or a pain in the butt depending on who you talk to). With all the ruckus the MWC has caused this off-season with the BCS, and being the first non-BCS conference to have three teams in the pre-season top 25, the MWC has some pride. After Wyoming’s loss to Weber State, it will be just one more knock on the conference. Fact is that Utah, BYU, and TCU are BCS caliber schools, the other six in the conference are not even close. If a tree falls in Laramie, Wyoming and nobody hears it, did it really fall? Yes!

Need Mor Skoring

No, my spell check is not broken, the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game will leave us desiring more scoring and less defensive struggles. The Alabama Crimson Tide and Virginia Tech Hokies were both in the top 10 defensively in points allowed last year and neither had stellar offenses. The Hokies ranked 90th in offensive scoring, scraping by less than a touchdown in six of their games last year. Alabama ended last year with their poorest offensive performance in a beatdown at the hands of the Utah Utes. The Crimson Tide only averaged 189 passing yards per game last year and that number won’t get better with first year starter Greg McElroy as quarterback. Much of this game will be between the tackles going up and down the field at the pace of turtles with gimp legs.

#1 Florida – Charleston Southern / #2 Texas- Lousiana-Monroe / #3 Oklahoma – #24 BYU / #4 USC – San Jose State / #5 Alabama – #7 Vriginia Tech / #6 Ohio State – Navy / #8 Penn State – Akron / #9 LSU – Washington / #10 Mississippi – Memphis / #11 Oklahoma State – #13 Georgia / #12 California – Maryland / #14 Oregon – #16 Boise State / #15 Georgia Tech – Jacksonville State / #17 TCU – Virginia / #18 Utah - Utah State / #19 Florida State – Miami / #20 North Carolina – Citadel / #21 Iowa – Northern Iowa / #22 Nebraska – Florida Atlantic / #23 Notre Dame – Nevada / #25 Oregon State – Portland State

After reaching the 2008 Final Four, the North Carolina Tar Heels shocked many (including themselves) when they laid an egg in their semi-final game and never got a shot at a National Championship. With a star-studded team and a weak NBA Draft class, several players for the Tar Heels were put on the spot to decid between leaving and making millions or staying and having another possible shot at a National Championship. One by one, Wayne Ellington, Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Marcus Ginyard, and Danny Green all declared they were going to return to North Carolina in hopes of winning it all. And so the story of the 2008-09 UNC Tar Heels began, with the storybook ending of them winning the 2009 National Championship earlier this month. “Storybook ending” doesn’t really fit the ‘09 Tar Heels quest, “expected ending” seems a bit more fitting. An overwhelming amount of experts and fans picked UNC to win it all, even President Obama, which isn’t surprising because he makes most of decisions based on what other people think.

We have all heard of “March Madness,” but the madness could be maddier. The NCAA basketball tournament has received increasing praise the past couple years because they use a playoff to determine their champion. College football; however,  has been the victim of much criticism with it’s BCS system they have had in place for about ten years. For all the proponents against the BCS, North Carolina winning it all in basketball was the worse thing that could have happened. Even though they have a playoff, ultimately the best team won it all, so why have a playoff at all? They could have pitted North Carolina against a randomly selected team from the top 10 in the country and North Carolina still would have won.  And so the BCS money rakers will argue, “why do we need a playoff when we already know who the best team in the country is?” It’s well known that nobody is going to change the BCS, but there is still room to change up the March Madness format.

We have officially copyrighted the following format under the name “JIB Bracketpalooza.”  Our format is simple and in two parts. A selection committee will be required to pick the top 12 teams and then 52 other good teams. The committee will seed the top 12 teams 1-3 and put the groups of three into four regions. Now here is where it gets interesting, the top 12 teams will each get to pick their first round opponents from the other 52 teams selected. After the top 12 have selected their 12 opponents, the remaining 40 teams will each have a “lottery ball” thrown into a rollercage and the rest of the matchups will be a lottery. If the point of a playoff is to find the best team, then seeds should not matter at all. A true champion will beat every opponent put in front of them, whoever thinks otherwise is mad, mad, mad, mad…

After a long and grueling season, the NBA Playoffs are finally here. The Los Angeles Lakers are still the team to beat in the West with several worthy contenders below them, but the powers have been shifted and distributed in the East. With Kevin Garnett being sidelined, the Boston Celtics have been deducted to just a really good team. Usually that’s okay, but this year the Orlando Magic are also a really good team and the Cleveland Cavaliers are a great team. Lebron James and the Cavs and a record-setting season (by Cleveland standards) and have taken claim to home court advantage throughout the Playoffs. The Cavs were 39-2 at home this season (one loss was with all the starters sitting to rest for the Playoffs), so you have to believe that the Eastern Conference is Cleveland’s to lose. As for the Western Conference, the Lakers are at the top of the pack but it really is anyone’s to win. You can throw out “intimidation” in the West, no team is afraid of playing the other. Here’s a quick rundown of all the first round matchups in each conference with some predictions:

Eastern Conference

#1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. #8 Detroit Pistons – How fast the Pistons have fallen and how quickly the Cavs surrounded LeBron with some talent after he made hints of wanting to leave Cleveland. After firing their head coach to move in a different direction, the Pistons have only gotten worse. Cavs win series 4-1.

#2 Boston Celtics vs. #7 Chicago Bulls – The Bulls made a late push after some great deals at the trade deadline, but even without Garnett, the Celtics will start their Title defense with a major statement. Celtics win series 4-0.

#3 Orlando Magic vs. #6 Philadelphia 76ers - The Eastern Conference hasn’t been stacked so deep in a long time, the Magic are the best #3 seed they’ve had in a long time. The 76ers simply don’t have the firepower to keep up with “Superman” and Co.  Magic win series 4-1.

#4 Atlanta Hawks vs. #5 Miami Heat – This will be the most tightly fought battle in the East, Dwayne Wade vs. the Hawks. Wade will carry over his superb season into the Playoffs. If the Hawks proved anything last year in the Playoffs, it’s that they are a resilient squad. Heat win series 4-3.

Western Conference

#1 Los Angeles Lakers vs. #8 Utah Jazz – The Jazz are prehaps the most pesky #8 seed that we’ve seen in years, but they stink on the road and don’t have home court advantage. Lakers win series 4-2.

#2 Denver Nuggets vs. #7 New Orleans Hornets –  Who’s afraid of the big bad Nuggets??? The answer to that is simple-nobody. Chris Paul and the Hornets will make Denver work for every shot and try to quicken the game. Hornets win 4-2

#3 San Antonio Spurs vs. #6 Dallas Mavericks -  The Spurs are battered and bruise, the Mavericks are on a roll, amd Mark Cuban is still a freak. All that chalks up to be one entertaining series. Spurs win series 4-3.

#4 Portland Trailblazers vs. #5 Houston Rockets – Of all the teams in the West, Portland is the one that looks most likely to take down the Lakers in the Playoffs, but the Rockets are no pushover. Sad to say  that they are better without Tracy McGrady, they won’t have to deal with his curse of never winning a Playoff series this year. Blazers win series 4-2.

We left a few disappointed last week when we didn’t release a report card that could have gotten a coveted ‘A’ or ‘B,’ but just as many were relieved not to get their less than satisfactory grades. Love it or hate it, we are back at it again this week, with our second to last report card of the regular season:

John Stockton, the NBA all-time leader in steals and assists, was elected the the Basketball Hall of Fame this week.

A – The ‘09 Basketball Hall of Fame Class - One of the best parts about sports is honoring the greats is retiring their jerseys and even better,  enshrining them into their respective Halls of Fame. This year’s class is headlined by Michael Jordan, the greatest player of all time, if we forget about his two-year debacle with the Washingotn Wizards. Behind him is John Stockton, the greatest point guard of all time,  David Robinson and Jerry Sloan (some may forget he has his jersey retired by the Chicago Bulls). In the modern era of NBA marketing, there will be several players disappointed when they retire and aren’t enshrined into the Hall of Fame. Carmelo Anothony and Gilbert Arenas will headline the list of ones left out, but at least they will have their jerseys being worn by kids in third world countires around the globe.

B – The Billups Factor - The Denver Nuggets have their place in the Playoffs. it’s the seventh or eighth seed with implosion and dissappointment in their imminent future. At least they still have that one series they won over the #1 seed Seattle Supersonics back in 1994 was Dikembe Mutumbo was 20ish…maybe. The Nuggets had thought they had changed their fortune when they traded for Allen Iverson, but it was trading away A.I. that vaulted them to where they are now. Iverson was a scorer and a play-maker, but never a leader. When the Nuggets traded for Chauncey Billups early this season, they got everything they needed and are now sitting comfortably in the #2 seed. Lost in why the Nuggets are where they are is Chris “Birdman” Andersen. The tatooed, illegal drug-using, failure of dunking (refer to his tatoos, his being suspended a year for drug use, and him failing miserably in the ‘05 Dunk Contest) has contributed greatly this year in the posistion left vacant by Marcus Camby.

C – The NBA Green Week - In an effort to remain in good standing with the environmentalist and Al Gore, the NBA had it’s first “Green Week” to raise awareness of recycling and raising funds to improve the earth. As part of the week of festivities, players went around to their local communities planting trees, educating children on being green, and skipping in fields. The league also had every player wear  NBA Green tees over their jerseys on the bench (that you can buy on NBA.com for a very green price of $24.99), and a sleuth of teams sported green jerseys. Those teams with green jerseys included the Nuggets, Chicago Bulls, and Boston Celtics…imagine that.

D – The Sliding Sixers - If there is one way you don’t want to go into the Playoffs, it’s on a losing streak. Right now the Philadelphia 76ers are doing just that, having lost their last five games and dropping two spots in the Eastern Conference seedings. The Sixers had been more than impressive in their efforts to get a high seed on the Playoffs because they were doing it without Elton Brand, their huge offseason addition. Basically, the Sixers are now doing what they were expected to do, which isn’t as disappointing, but no more desirable.

F – The Offtune Jazz - The Utah Jazz did not play a single game with their full starting lineup until late February and went on a roll to win 12 straight. For whatever reason, the Jazz have fallen hard the last couple weeks. Their reputation of being a horrible road team has not changed, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a better road record than the Jazz this year. This past week the Jazz have dropped road contests to the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs (they have not won in San Antonio in 10 years), and home contests to the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors. For the Jazz’s pathetic effort of late, they will most likely win a first round butt whooping at the hands of the Los Angles Lakers. CONGRATUALTIONS!!!

We’ve taken a couple weeks off here at JIB Sports because we have been relocating our office. We are now moved and ready to get rolling again. The NBA season is winding down,  and the Playoff pictures are no clearer than two weeks ago.  We’re back with another report card, only one more left in the season.

A – The “Work in Progress” Trailblazers- It was only a few years ago that the Portland Trailblazers completely overhauled their roster. At the time, they looked several years out to being decent, but their several trades and draft picks have already turned the corner. When the Blazers drafted Brandon Roy in 2006, they did so based on his performance in the NCAA tournament with his Washington Huskies. With Roy as their nucleus, the Blazers have transformed into a contender in the NBA. They have the look of the Sacramento Kings of old, they are stacked with talent but their window of opportunity might close soon because their talented players might go elsewhere for more money sooner than later.

B –  Cavs Making Franchise History – The Cleveland Cavaliers have a rich history. They have had many different uniforms, we know that because this year’s team has worn more throwback uniforms than their actual uniforms. They have also had many winning seasons and been posterized more by Michael Jordan than any other team in the East. Amidst all their “storied history,” no Cavs team has ever won more than eleven straight games, until this season. LeBron James will most likely win the MVP, Mike Brown will most likely win the Coach of the Year award, and the Cavs are also going to set a franchise record for most home wins. Nothing short of an NBA Title will satisfy the Cavs this year, which is sad because they’ve had an amazing season regardless.

C – The Stumbling Spurs – At the beginning of February, there was the Los Angeles Lakers, the San Antonio Spurs and everybody else. While everybody has been duking it out for the 3-8  spots in the Western Conference Playoffs, the Spurs have slipped. The Spurs have stumbled, going 9-7 in the last month, and opening the front door for several teams to jump them in the Playoff seedings. While the Spurs got younger when they lost Robert Horry, they are still an old team and as such their bald spots are getting  bigger. With younger teams like the Trailblazers, Hornets, and Jazz on the upswing, the Spurs are definitely on the downswing.

D – “Brackets” -Whenever March Madness rolls around, in all it’s glory, it’s only a matter of time before someone somewhere comes up with a lame spin off of the tournament. This year it’s NBA.com, and they have a NBA dance team bracket, the battle to find the hottest dance team. There was one good bracket I heard about, the breakfast cereal bracket, Cinnamon Life was the #1 seed.

F – The NBA and Mark Cuban’s Soap Opera- It happens every year, it’s expected, Mark Cuban makes disparaging comments about referees and the NBA fines him $25,000. This year Mark Cuban has been fined several times, twice involving complaints against J.R. Smith of the Denver Nuggets. As horrible as NBA refs can be at times, they are made untouchable by David Stern. He’s made a NBA society where criticizing refs is just not politically correct. Although most of Cuban’s comments are warranted, he comes off as the parent that embarrasses their kid at a recreational basketball game by yelling at the refs.

We are relocating our offices this week so will be a little off of our normal schedule. We will be back on Friday, March 27th with an article on the NCAA March Madness. Until Friday, you can reread old articles to ease the pain of not having fresh JIB Sports articles. See you Friday!!!

A lot of the top teams have hit road blocks this past week. All the streaking teams got tripped up and are trying to get their feet under them to make another run. It seems that teams jostle all week long for Playoff position only to end up in the same place we started the week before. The Playoff chase in both conferences is down to nine teams each, the only questions left are who will be left out and where the rest will be seeded. Time for another report card, it’s almost time for final exams (the Playoffs)… 

Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks have proven they can hang with anyone this year and beat them!

A - Atlanta Proving Us All Wrong- The Atlanta Hawks were the record holders of one of the most undesired records, most consecutive years without making the Playoffs. They broke that record of eight years during the 2007-08 season when they made the Playoffs and gave the Boston Celtics all they could handle. The Hawks peaked at the right time, but some wondered if they had reached the peak and would start sliding back down the mountain again. With the Playoffs coming upon us soon, the Hawks are holding onto the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference, and are almost guaranteed their first winning season since 1998-99. The Hawks have proven they are a team to be reckoned with this year, a position the Hawks have not been in since the days of Dominique Wilkins, Stacey Augmon, and Danny Manning.

B – Chicago Showing Signs of Life - The Chicago Bulls are one of those teams that has had a lot of talent, but not the right combination of talent. Let’s just say their “Captain Planet,” team is better than the individuals collectively, ability is lacking. With their latest trade to acquire Brad Miller and John Salmons from the Sacramento Kings, they look like they have finally tweaked their roster enough to win consistently. The Bulls are currently sitting at 30-37, pathetic by all means, but good enough to be just one game out of the Playoffs in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls are 7-7 since making their multi-player trade in February, not stellar, but consistent!

C -  The Fallout of the Pistons - The Detroit Pistons won the NBA Title in 2004 and they thought they had their own little dynasty in the making. The Pistons went on to make four straight trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, but never to the NBA Finals again. After their latest failure to make it to The Finals, they decided they needed a new direction and fired Head Coach Flip Saunders. Earlier this season thy also went on a whim and traded away their Finals MVP Chauncey Billups to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson. Amid all these “changes” to get better, two things have happened. One, they have gotten older, and two, they have gotten worse. Richard Hamilton is so old that his noticeable baldness forced him to cut off his cornrows this year. The Pistons window of opportunity is closing fast.

D – Latin Night(s) – The average English speaking person should be able to easily distinguish some Spanish words. Likewise, the average Latin person should be able to just as easily distinguish some English words. For these reasons, it bewilders me that the NBA has Latin Night complete with Latin jerseys! El Heat, Los Mavs, Los Bulls, Los Rockets, Nuevo York, who are these teams??? Chinese Night, on the other hand, would be awesome! I guess the NBA is really hurting on revenue from jerseys. I can only imagine the conversations in the NBA marketing department…”Those Bulls jerseys aren’t selling!!” “Just put a “Los” in front of the “Bulls” and send them to Mexico. It will be a fuego sale!! ”  

F – Dwayne Wade’s New Fashion Statement - There have been a lot of fads that have come and gone in the NBA. There was the time when everyone had cornrows in their hair, then there were the “LIVE STRONG” wannabe wrist bands. One of the weirdest ones was a few years a go when some players would wear elbow and knee pads on their forearms and shins. This week, Dwayne Wade reached a level of fashion stupidity yet to be touched, he wore an eye paint strip (like football players) under one eye! The strips are called “black paint,” or “eye black,” and are helpful in reducing glare from a players vision. The only thing glaring in Miami on Saturday was D-Wade’s unintelligence.