East

Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat

It's Big 3 vs. Big 3.

Boston in 7. Miami has a ton of talent, there’s no doubt about that. But Boston has the championship experience that Miami does not. It’s going to be a grind-it-out type of series,  but Boston knows this is probably its last chance at winning a championship.

Atlanta Hawks vs. Chicago Bulls

Atlanta's going to have a hard time guarding MVP Derrick Rose.

Chicago in 6. Atlanta surprised me in beating Orlando, but Dwight Howard had no help from his teammates. Chicago has less talent than Orlando, at least offensively, but Chicago is a much more cohesive unity than the Magic. With Derrick Rose winning the MVP, and Kirk Hinrich unlikely to play in the series, Atlanta has very few people who will be able to contain Rose.

West

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies

Zach Randolph has stepped up his game for this year's playoffs.

Oklahoma City in 6. Memphis surprised a lot of people, myself included, in taking down the Spurs. Zach Randolph has proven that he can be a go-to player, averaging 23/9 so far through the playoffs. But OKC defeated a talented Nuggest squad 4-1. Kevin Durant is averaging 32 points per game in the playoffs and Serge Ibaka is averaging almost 5 blocks per game. And with Kendrick Perkins, the Thunder are allowing 5 fewer points per game in the playoffs; they should be able to contain Randolph and Marc Gasol.

Los Angeles Lakers vs. Dallas Mavericks

Kobe's focus is higher than ever, trying to send Phil Jackson out on a high note.

Los Angeles in 7. The Mavericks won game 1 of this series, but Los Angeles is more talented and tougher than the Mavericks. Kobe Bryant isn’t going to allow his team to not make it back to the Finals.

The NFL Draft is over and now is the time for everyone to analyze and scrutinize all 254 picks. But instead of giving each team a draft grade like everyone else, I’m going to list the five best steals and five biggest reaches of the draft.

Steals

If he stays healthy, Bowers will be the steal of the 2011 NFL Draft

1. Da’Quan Bowers at #51 (TB). The potential first-overall pick (at least top five) after the NCAA football season ended, Bowers plummeted into the second round because of knee concerns. Make no mistake about, it’s a risky pick by the Buccaneers, but if Bowers can stay healthy for most of his career, Tampa Bay’s defensive line will be some kind of fierce with Bowers, Adrian Clayborn and Gerald McCoy.
2. Prince Amukamara at #19 (NYG). Considered to be the best cornerback by some draft pundits and a top-10 talent by almost everyone, the Giants scooped up Amukamara all the way at 19. With Washington, Houston, Detroit and St. Louis all needing cornerback help, the Giants lucked out having one of the best defensive backs falling into their laps at 19th.
3. Nick Fairley at #13 (DET). Another potential first-overall pick in the weeks leading up to the draft, Fairley slid to 13 because of concerns over his willingness to play every down. Fairley has the talent, and with Ndamukong Suh alongside Fairley, pushing him, and Jim Schwartz  keeping him in line like Schwartz did with Albert Haynesworth, Fairley has a real good chance at succeeding and making Detroit’s defensive line one of the best in the league.
4. Cameron Jordan at #24 (NO). Jordan was probably a top-15 talent, one of the best pass rushers in the draft. I don’t think anyone really knows why he almost fell to the end of round 1, but the Saints were happy to scoop up a defensive end that can step in from Day 1 and play opposite Will Smith.
5. Jimmy Smith at #27 (BAL). Smith has characters issues, having been arrested twice while at Boulder and also failing a drug test. But in terms of sheer talent, Smith is right up there with Amukamara and Patrick Peterson. Baltimore has a good organization with smart people running the team and they’ll make sure Smith stays out of trouble.

Reaches

Ponder was a consensus second-round talent, but the Vikings deemed him worthy the 12th overall pick.

1. Christian Ponder at #12 (MIN). Ponder isn’t a bad quarterback by any means, but taking him in the top-third of the draft is a major reach. Everyone had Ponder getting drafted in the second round, but the Vikings panicked with the apparent run of quarterbacks going in the first round. Unless Ponder can help the Vikings win in the next two to three years, this will be a terrible choice for the Vikings.
2. Jake Locker at #8 (TEN). Locker would have most likely gone #1 overall in last year’s draft, but he decided to stay for his senior year. Locker is coming off a poor senior season, completing only 55% of his passes and throwing 17 TD to 9 INT. He has good size and may be able to succeed with the right coaching, but Tennessee probably could have traded down to the bottom of the first round and still grabbed Locker.
3. Alex Henery at #120 (PHI). Anytime a team drafts a kicker before the seventh round, it’s a reach, plain and simple. Obviously the Eagles don’t anticipate Akers being their kicker any more, but considering Henery was the only kicker drafted, the Eagles could have waited until the seventh or after the draft was over to get Henery.
4. Shane Vereen at #56 (NE). The Patriots need a 20-carry back desparately: BenJarvus Green-Ellis is only decent and Danny Woodhead is versatile, but far too small to carry the load. The Patriots could have taken Mark Ingram in the first round instead of trading away that pick, but chose Vereen. Mikel Leshoure and Daniel Thomas, two running backs that were much higher rated, were still available and the Patriots took another running back 17 picks later.
5. Aldon Smith at #7 (SF). The 49ers needed a pass rusher, but they could have traded down a couple spots and still have taken Smith. Quarterback is also a much bigger need for the 49ers and with them passing on Blaine Gabbert and then seeing Andy Dalton getting drafted in the second, this feels like a major reach.

For anyone who follows professional basketball, this is the book to read regarding the history of the sport.

The guys at FreeDarko put out this book to write about the history of basektball like no one has ever covered it before. Instead of strictly talking about which teams or players are the best and which championships are the most memorable, The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History covers the most memorable personalities from professional basketball history.

From the description on the back of the book:

The real history of the game is not in its championships, which are indisputable, but in the personalities of its heroes, which are, at least, undisputed. It’s in the larger-than-life pathos of Wilt, the secret ties that bind Larry Bird to the flashy ABA, and Michael Jordan when he flew a little too high. From the prehistoric teachings of Dr. James Naismith to pioneering superstars such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant, FreeDarko retells the history of the game in fresh, arresting detail. You’ll never see roundball the same way again.

You’ll never see roundball the same way again. Pretty bold statement to make about a book written by guys that run a blog that is satirical in nature and includes plenty of cartoons in its pages such as these:

The debate over who has the best hair in NBA history

Charles Barkley in cartoon form

But it’s close to an accurate statement.

The book is divided into seven chapters, based on eras in basketball history:

1. Chapter Zero: Up from the waters (1891-1946)
2. Chapter One: A more perfect union (1947-1956)
3. Chapter Two: They walked this earth (1957-1969)
4. Chapter Three: The big payback (1970-1979)
5. Chapter Four: The gold standard (1980-1990)
6. Chapter Five: A tale of two three-peats (1991-1999)
7. Chapter Six: The new deuteronomy (2000-2009)

It starts off with how basketball began, based on Dr. Naismith’s idea of using peach baskets mounted to each end of the gym and putting a ball through the basket. A more perfect union discusses the formation of professional leagues for a more polished product. They walked this earth is mostly about the Boston Celtics and their domination at the beginning of the NBA, with a small section devoted to Wilt Chamberlain and a small passage about Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and Oscar Robertson.

The big payback is about the New York Knickerbockers of the 70s, the ABA and famous stars of 70s basketball. The gold standard is about arguably the most competitive era of the NBA: the battles between the Lakers and Celtics; Magic and Bird; the 1984 draft that brought in MJ, Barkley, Olajuwon and Stockton. A tale of two three-peats is about none other than the Bulls that dominated the 90s thanks to MJ, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman and Phil Jackson; it also touches on the 1992 Dream Team and the Knicks-Heat rivalry that was one of the most hate-fueled rivalries ever in all of sports.

The new deuteronomy is about Allen Iverson; the break out of fast-paced basketball by the Suns, Kings and Mavericks; Shaq; the Spurs dynasty; and the benefit of Youtube in archiving rare NBA footage.

In terms of basketball history, you will learn more from “The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History” than any other book about the NBA. It’s easy to read and comes in at only 211 pages. It ‘s the level of detail that FreeDarko put into this book that separates it from other basketball works; putting the time into finding quirky stats and factoids that no one else would bother looking up. And it’s what makes this book so special.

5/5

FreeDarko published another book in 2008, “The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac: Styles, Stats, and Stars in Today’s Game.”

“Hoosiers” is the quintessential underdog sports story. The 1986 movie is based loosely on the story of the 1954 Milan High School basketball team that won the Indiana state championship. The Hickory Hoosiers have an enrollment of just 64, leading to an undersized basketball team that has only six boys on it.

The movie stars Gene Hackman as the controversial coach, Norman Dale, and Dennis Hopper as Shooter, an embarrassing drunk who later serves as an assistant coach for the Hickory Huckers.

Dale finds himself battling the entire town to stay employed, rubbing the citizens and some of the players the wrong way. He eventually gains help from the state’s best player, Jimmy Chitwood, who decides to come back to playing basketball.

Dale leads his ragtag group of kids on a run after Chitwood joins the team and eventually make it to the state championship as the smallest school to make it there in Indiana history.

The reason this movie works so well and is considered one of the best sports movies of all time is because it laid the foundation for underdog sports movies.

West

1. San Antonio vs. 8. Memphis

The Spurs should be able to pass by even if Ginobili can't go.

San Antonio in 5. Memphis was probably better than most people expected this season. But with the Spurs having been the most consistent team this year and having homecourt advantage, Memphis picked a bad time to sneak in as the #8 seed. The Spurs have too much playoff experience with Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and Poppovich. And even with Ginobili hurting his elbow Wednesday night, the Spurs are still good enough to win the first round.

2. Los Angeles vs. 7. New Orleans

Maybe one day Chris Paul will get out of New Orleans and win a championship

Los Angeles in 5. The Hornets might have a chance if they had David West. But with him out due to a torn ACL back in late March, the Hornets don’t stand a chance. Even with Chris Paul running the show and the Lakers being on and off all season, New Orleans doesn’t have enough size to contend with the Lakers. Kobe most certainly won’t allow his team to lose in the first round, particularly with how tough he has been on his teammates lately.

3. Dallas vs. 6. Portland

Gerald Wallace has kept the Blazers afloat with Brandon Roy struggling.

Dallas in 7. Dallas has struggled in the first round recently, advancing to the second round only once in the past four years. Portland struggled all year long and Brandon Roy may never be the player he was with his lack of knees. These two teams are about equal in talent. I take Dallas for two reasons.

1. Point differential. Dallas’ differential (+4.2) is nearly 3 points higher than Portland’s (+1.7).
2. Road record. Dallas is 28-13 on the road, Portland is 18-23. Portland has a great home crowd, with a record of 30-11 at home (tied for 3^rd best in the West), but Dallas has home court in this matchup.

4. Oklahoma City vs. 5. Denver

These two All-Stars will make the difference in this tight series

OKC in 7. Who would’ve thought Denver would have not only made the playoffs as the #5 seed, but go 18-7 since trading away Carmelo Anthony? They have and they could very well sneak to the second round past a very talented Oklahoma City Thunder. But the Thunder have Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, two All-Stars, one of whom is the NBA’s leading scorer. And Westbrook has shown that he has a flair for big games. It’ll be a close series, but the Thunder will prove to be more resilient.

It’s NBA playoffs time! So many story lines for this year’s playoffs:

• The two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers look to send Phil Jackson off to retirement with his fourth threepeat.
• The Chicago Bulls head into the playoffs with homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, possibly setting up another dynasty thanks to Derrick Rose.
• The San Antonio Spurs, old as ever, are the number 1 seed in the West. They have been arguably the most consistent team this year, yet they still fly under the radar.
• The Boston Celtics look to win probably their last championship in this window with their current roster.
• The Miami Heat look to win the first of their eight guaranteed championships.

East

1. Chicago vs. 8. Indiana

Derrick Rose and the Bulls win in 4

Bulls in 4. Chicago beat the Pacers three of four times this year by an average of 17.6 points. Indiana is one of two teams in the playoffs to have a negative point differential (-1.1). With probable MVP Derrick Rose running the show, look for the Bulls to cruise through the first round.

2. Miami vs. 7. Philadelphia

These three will be enough to pass the 76ers

Heat in 4. The 76ers are much improved from last year with Doug Collins at the helm, especially considering the poor early-season start (3-13). But drawing the Heat does no favors for Philadelphia. Miami swept the season series 3-0 and quite frankly, the 76ers have nowhere near enough talent to compete with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

3. Boston vs. 6. New York

The Celtics' playoff experience is too much for Amar'e and Melo

Celtics in 6. New York made the trade for Carmelo Anthony and struggled until recently. Now, the Knicks have won seven of their last nine, albeit against paltry competition except for Orlando. The Celtics have struggled since trading away Kendrick Perkins and trying to incorporate their new players. But Boston has too much playoff experience for New York to legitimately threaten them. The Knicks will provide a scare in a couple games, but Boston’s D will be too much.

4. Orlando vs. 5. Atlanta

Dwight Howard will prove too much for the struggling Hawks

Magic in 5. Atlanta may have won three of the four regular season matchups, but the Magic have better talent and their coach, Stan Van Gundy, has playoff experience. Atlanta coach Larry Drew has none, and this was his first season as an NBA head coach. Atlanta made a mistake in trading away Jordan Crawford and a first rounder for Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong. Crawford provides ball handling and a scoring punch off the bench, something the Hawks desperately need. And the icing on the cake for this matchup? Atlanta’s point differential this season was -0.8 ppg; Orlando’s point differential: +5.5. And Atlanta limps into the playoffs on a six-game losing streak.

Tom O'Connor

Tom O’Connor and the athletic department want George Mason University’s program to be the best in the Colonial Athletic Association. Not in terms of wins and losses, but in academics, in the community and in on-and-off court standing.

The two key words that the athletic department stresses are quality and balance; they rarely talk about winning.

“I would rather have the coaches of each team do it the right way and lose then do it the wrong way and win,” O’Connor said. “Winning is what people in the media and fandom zero in on.”

O’Connor has been the athletic director at Mason since 1994 and has served as AD at Loyola (Md.) College, Santa Clara University and St. Bonaventure University. He spoke at George Mason University on April 14, 2011.

Every team plays to win, but according to O’Connor, the success of the program is based more so off the field of play than on it.

O’Connor also tackled the biggest misconception surrounding athletics, at least at GMU.

“The biggest misconception is that the athletes are spoiled and that there is a jealousy between the students and the student-athletes,” O’Connor said.

O’Connor said that the average GPA for the student-athletes at Mason is actually higher than the average GPA of other students at Mason. He also said that there is a bonus of the contract of every coach at Mason based on how high the average GPA is on the team.

O’Connor also touched on the possibility of a football program for Mason in the future, but said right now it’s a funding issue more than anything else. Almost everyone is on board with having a football team. O’Connor said if Mason does eventually get a football team it should be in the BCS, not in 1-AA because as he pointed out, who can remember who won the 1-AA championship (even though a CAA team has been in the championship the past four years)?

Jeff Zillgitt said one of the toughest things reporters have to come to realize is that you’re not going to become as good as your favorite reporter.

Jeff Zillgitt

But just because that it most likely going to be true, you can still find a place in writing and it’s up to you to find that place. You have to find out what you can do well.

When you’re covering a beat, you don’t want to miss a story. You might get beat, but you don’t want to miss it. You want to be aware of when a story breaks and try to confirm that the story is true. You don’t want to get a call from your boss asking if you knew something happened, and not have an answer.

The best thing for a reporter is to be out in the field. People get to see you and you see them and they get to recognize who you are, so that the next time you try to contact them they may recognize you.

You have to tell the truth, but be fair, even if you’re critical. Players and coaches don’t typically hold a grudge, as long as you don’t write mean for the sake of being mean.

When people talk about the demise of newspaper, they’re not talking about the demise of journalism. Journalism will always be around. People crave information. The problem is the economic model of the newspaper.

Even if you don’t go into journalism, employers love having people who know how to get information: people who ask questions and have resources.

Jim Iovino, managing editor of nbcwashington.com, visited class on March 10 to talk about how he got to be managing editor.

Jim started a hockey blog before blogs were really considered blogs near the end of the 90s.

Jim and his colleagues at the LCS Hockey blog were one of the first online publications to get credentials for its writers to go into the locker room.

They didn’t make money off of the blog because there was no online advertising, but they continued to do it to prove to “the man” that they could survive and succeed at blogging about the NHL.

You have to be able to shoot video. Gone are the days where you can cover a game, interview players and the coach with a voice recorder, write the story with quotes and be done.

As a journalist, you have to build a relationship with the media reps and the PR reps. If you both are comfortable with each other, your relationship will grow and you’ll get more stories.

Image by @superamit via Flickr

Jon DeNunzio, former high school sports editor and current user engagement editor for “The Washington Post,” visited class on March 3 to talk about how journalism has and hasn’t changed and what it takes to succeed.

Things that don’t change in journalism:

• Journalism is hard.
• Real reporters run towards the bomb. You have to go into the tough places to find the best stories.
• Journalism requires you to ask tough questions.
• You’re competing for eyeballs, especially with the way technology has advanced and how many people can write online now.
• You have to love this job, otherwise find another job. Passion makes the best journalists.
• You have to work hard: long hours, nights, weekends, low pay.
• The best time working in journalism is when it’s busy, when something big has happened.
• You have to pay attention to really small details. Getting small details wrong drops your credibility.
• You have to keep it simple; don’t write flowery. What makes a story is the reporting and the facts you give.

Things that have changed in journalism:

• Having information at your fingertips. The access to technology has allowed people to have information as soon as possible.
• The audience. The audience is more empowered, they’re writing as well.
• Readers don’t trust journalists like they used to. Trust is harder to win.
• The pace of news. News moves so fast now because of the increase in technology.
• Big-time media personalities aren’t as influential as they used to be, because of the proliferation of opinion.

Some other tips DeNunzio provided:

You need to read more about online journalism to understand what’s going on. It helps you to become more well-rounded in case you’re thrown into something you’re not used to covering.

Interviewing and good listening can’t be overrated.