#NerdsUnite: Play on playa! (Breaking down the world of sports so you don't have to!)
<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Derek - I met him when I was professor for a day at CSUF. Really rad dude, and he wants to come on board to help explain to us nerdy folk the wild world of sports. Smart dude, and knows his shizzy shiznat. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT DEREK!!!</editorsnote>
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @DerekJ_AllDay
Welcome back! This week in sports one again includes quite a few very interesting stories. The lead story in my mind is the NBA playoffs. As a Lakers fan it hasn’t been the best postseason, but outside of that the playoffs have certainly entertained us again this year. I am always excited about baseball, so I’m going to have to mix that into my post, especially after the huge day in baseball (and for my fantasy team) on Sunday. Last, but not least, I have to show love to my soccer fans (considering I am one) and talk about the epic conclusion of the English Premier League.
The Western playoffs proved to be much more dramatic than most people probably anticipated. In what would seem like a boring series that concluded in a 4 games to zero sweep, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the defending champion Dallas Mavericks. It isn’t a surprise that OKC won, but that they mopped the floor with them. Quite opposite to that series the Lakers were expected to take down the kid’s meal Denver Chicken Nuggets in 5 games at the most. Unfortunately for the Lakers and I, the Nuggets pushed us to seven games and even made the seventh game very interesting before LA finally won. Now, LA must face off against the younger, faster, but less experienced Thunder. Go Lakers! The very professional and dangerous San Antonio Spurs beat up on the lowly Utah Jazz, and will now try to slow down the inspired LA Clippers. On paper the Spurs are strong favorites and should win, but the Clippers are back in the playoffs for the first time since the Civil War and something in my gut tells me they won’t be dismantled quite as easily as the Jazz were.
Unfortunately, the East has not proven to be as dramatic. The oncoming showdown between the two elite teams, the Bulls and Heat, was ruined by an ACL injury to Bull’s superstar Derrick Rose. To make things worse, their center Joakim Noah was also injured during the series and out. Chicago lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in round 1, and will now have to look for a way to temporarily replace Rose heading into next season. The other half of that story, the Heat, did what they were supposed to do and defeated the Knicks four games to one. Two other teams advanced, the Boston Celtics after beating the very talented Atlanta Hawks, and the Indiana Pacers who beat up on a Dwight Howard-less Orlando Magic. The Heat seem to have an easy road to the finals at this point, and it looks as if only a team in the West will be able to vanquish them. Man, a Thunder vs. Heat final would be fun.
The baseball season marches on, so I’m not going to get too excited, but every year we see certain days that are just amazing. When these days happen to help my fantasy team they are even better! Going into Sunday I was tied 5-5 in my match-up against my good friend Christian. Realistically, it looked like I could only win 1 other category and I could sneak out of there with a modest 6-4 victory…until Votto and Cruz said NAY! My team has been slumping, and I was too far behind in home runs and RBIs to have a chance. My squad includes the previously slumping Joey Votto and Nelson Cruz. Sunday afternoon, Joey Votto hit 3 home runs including a walk-off grand slam, and collected 6 RBIs along with 4 runs. Moments later Nelson Cruz hit a home run, brought me 4 RBIs and 3 runs. Those familiar with ESPN fantasy baseball or baseball in general know that this is insane! In the end, I came back thanks to this big day and ended up winning 8-2. Keep it going boys!
Side note, anyone interested in playing fantasy baseball with my friends and I just tweet me @DerekJ_AllDay.
Finally, I have to entertain the masses (considering the whole globe loves soccer) and talk about the English Premier League’s epic finale! It came down to two teams, Manchester City and Manchester United (no relation). Besides the in city rivalry, the stress was even higher because both were playing two other teams with the first place finish in their league on the line. Man City knew one thing, win and you’re in. Considering they were playing fourth to last QPR, that shouldn’t be a problem. QPR had other things in mind. They pushed Man City all game and even though City had chances, the pressure was clearly present and they could not find the back of the net more than once. Man City also had to overcome a huge mental gaffe from a defender that handed a goal to their opponents. The scene was set, City was losing 2-1 and the game had just reached its 90th minute. For you yanks, there’s 90 minutes in a game and then a certain amount of extra time allotted by the referee. As this was happening, Manchester United was beating a weak Sunderland team and in the end no miracle was found for Sunderland, all of those went to Man City. The extra time ticked on, 5 minutes, and City decided that nothing was going to stop them. In that five minutes they scored not one goal, but two goals to win 3-2 and take home the English Premier League championship. Unbelieeevvaaabblleee!!! *in an English accent* In a sport where last minute goals are so few and far between, Man City found two miracles in one game and I for one still can’t believe it.
Just took my accounting final this morning and I’m pretty sure I whooped its ass! Hope you are all feeling the same way!