Champions League Semifinals Leg 2

The second legs of the Champions League semifinals are today and tomorrow at 2:45 pm on Fox Soccer. To the surprise of many, both of the German sides were able to come out victorious in the first legs with each winning rather handily over the Spanish opposition. Borussia Dortmund were victorious 4-1 over Real Madrid with Bayern Munich winning 4-0 over Barcelona.

Borussia Dortmund @ Real Madrid (Tuesday @ 2:45 on Fox Soccer) (AGG: Dortmund 4-1)

The key for this game is whether or not Real Madrid can STOP Robert Lewandowski. Lewandowski managed to score all four goals against Real Madrid in the first leg and was unstoppable. He had his way with Madrid's back four and made goalkeeper, Diego Lopez, look like he didn't belong out there.

I'm shocked to see Diego Lopez has been named the starting goalkeeper after the last performance and thought that Real Madrid should definitely change it up and go with their captain, Iker Casillas. Casillas has been the guy in front of net for years now and has managed to lose his starting job due to injury. He should have been the first choice in front of goal for Madrid and it shouldn't have even been a question.

Madrid will need to win this game either 3-0 or 4-1 most likely if they are going to advance. They need to outscore Dortmund by at least three goals in order to tie up the aggregate. If the game ends 3-0 Madrid they would advance. If it ended 4-1 it would go to penalty kicks. If Dortmund scored two or more goals then Madrid would need to win by at least four goals.

Dortmund will likely come into this game trying to play defensively. They have the three goal lead and will be trying to do everything in their power to keep that lead. Expect the center backs of Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic to have their hands full today, but they should be able to keep it from not getting too out of hand.

If Madrid is going to win they are going to need a surplus of goals that they just weren't able to get in the first leg. Gonzalo Higuain is getting the start with Karim Benzema likely coming on at halftime. They will both need to score if they are going to want to end up in the final. Cristiano Ronaldo will likely get one goal so they will need their defense to step up and possibly keep Dortmund scoreless. Ronaldo was the only man for Madrid to get a goal in the first leg.

While I think Madrid will get a good amount of goals, I'm not sure if they have a four-goal night in them today. I think Dortmund will be able to get the one goal they'll need as they will keep this game close enough to advance.

Prediction: Real Madrid wins 3-1 (Borussia Dortmund Advances on Aggregate 5-4)

Bayern Munich @ Barcelona (Wednesday @ 2:45 on Fox Soccer) (AGG: Munich 4-0)

As crazy as it was to see Real Madrid lose by three goals, it was even crazier to see Barcelona go down by four. Thomas Muller led Bayern Munich with two of their four goals with Arjen Robben and Mario Gomez each adding one apiece.

The team that is considered the best in the world manage to go scoreless in one of the biggest games of the year and they will have to change a lot if they are going to advance to the final. Their defense allowed four goals, which is unheard of for Barcelona. Their four or five defenders that they use are all arguably a part of the top 10 defenders in the world right now.

Barcelona can't afford to let in a single goal tonight and if they do it will likely be over. If one goal is to go in for Munich, Barcelona would have to score at least six in order for them to advance. If Barcelona is going to advance they are going to have to pull off the impossible.

I'm expecting Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas will have to come out and try to get some goals on the board early. They can't afford to wait too far into the game to start racking up the goals. I could even see Barcelona going to a three-man defense in back and trying to play a much more offensive game.

In all seriousness I just don't think Barcelona has a shot in hell at advancing. There's no way that Bayern Munich is going to slow down their scoring and there's no way Barcelona is going to score five or six goals. Manuel Neuer will have a long night tomorrow, but it will be worth it when his team is playing in what will likely be an all-German Champions League Final.

Prediction: Barcelona wins 3-2 (Bayern Munich Advances on Aggregate 6-3)

Is the NFL Draft Over Yet?

The NFL Draft has become on of the most dragged out events in sports, and I personally think it takes up way too much time to get something done as simple as drafting players.

While drafting the future players for your football team is important it shouldn't be something that takes three days to actually complete. When you compare them to the other three major sports, it just doesn't make sense why seven rounds take three days to compete.

In the MLB they also take three days to complete their draft, but the main difference between those two is the MLB has an additional 20 rounds, totaling 27. The NHL has the same amount of rounds as the NFL in their draft and they finish it in one night as does the NBA who only has two rounds.

The NFL Draft has to get away from their current three day draft and try to get this done in one day. For teams to only make about seven picks during one day isn't really asking much. In order for them to do this I think they should cut down on the minutes it takes for each team to make their picks.

Realistic Changes in Draft Times:
1st Round - 5 minutes (currently 10)
2nd-3rd Round - 4 minutes (currently 7)
3rd-7th Round - 3 minutes (currently 5)

By changing those times to the ones I've come up with you are basically cutting the entire draft time almost in half. If you were to do this on a Sunday and promote it just like any other NFL game that happens on a Sunday, I think it would be just as successful. The NFL would be giving their fans another Sunday of the NFL season to really enjoy it like they do all season long.

The 2013 NFL Draft

When I look at this year's NFL Draft there are three names that I keep hearing everyday when I turn on SportsCenter or any other sports program. These three names are players that to be honest, I don't even think are deserving of being a first round pick.

Manti Te'o
Wow! He was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy last season and was considered to be the best defensive player in all of collegiate sports. Then the BCS Championship happened. Then Lennay Kukua happened. Then the NFL Combine happened.

Te'o went from being one of the best players in college to becoming the laughing stock. He was atrocious during the BCS Championship game against Alabama and for most of it you couldn't even find him on the field. Alabama's offense ate up Notre Dame's defense and turned Te'o invisible.

The Kekua debacle is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard of. How does a guy of his magnitude manage to have a fake girlfriend. He's the best player on the most notorious college football team in the country and he had a girlfriend that he had never met. How any person could fall for a hoax like this just shows that they aren't that smart of a person and are very naive.

On top of everything that had happened for Te'o he then followed it with his poor combine showing. When I heard how slow his time was I began to wonder even more if he would be able to keep up with players in the NFL. I've heard the comparisons to Tedy Bruschi and how neither of them were the greatest athletes on the field, but I just don't think Te'o will be worth it. At best I think he's a late second rounder and that's if you really need an inside linebacker. Hoping to God that the New York Giants do not draft him.

Matt Barkley
Well he went from being the frontrunner for the Heisman to not even being in the consideration by the end of the year. As quarterback of USC they went from being number one at the beginning of the year to not even being ranked at the end of season. His stock plummeted more and more after each start and now isn't even in the consideration for most ESPN analysts' top three quarterbacks. 

Barkley's late season injury didn't help him either as a couple of possible wins late in the year and a good performance at the Senior Bowl could have helped him improve his stock. Coming into this draft he could be taken early in the first to even late in the second and to be honest I don't see him as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

If you look at each of the former USC quarterbacks to come to the NFL in recent years you have Carson Palmers, Matt Leinart and Mark Sanchez who all came in as early first round picks and none of them have turned out to be really great quarterbacks in the league. Palmer has done alright, but he's never become the QB he was supposed to be. In all honesty I would stay away from Barkley at all costs.

Geno Smith
Big Geno is apparently the best quarterback in this year's NFL Draft. That's like say Nick's Pizza is the best pizza in New Britain. It's just not something worth getting excited over. After hearing so much about him as of late, I've also heard a lot of things that make me skeptical about him. 

Most of the passes he was completing at West Virginia were screens and dump passes. While he does have a good arm he was playing with some very good weapons including Tavon Austin who is ranked even higher according to ESPN's big board (Austin is 12 while Smith is 29).

In my opinion he's probably the best quarterback to choose in this NFL draft. I don't think he's worth a first round choice as I don't see any of the quarterbacks in this draft as possible  starting QB's 10 years from now. None of these guys are franchise guys, but some of them could be quality back-ups whenever a team needs to go to someone.

The Rest of the Draft
When looking at the big board of the best possible players in the draft, you have to go outside the top 10 before you find any offensive weapons. For quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends the best guys available are #12 Tavon Austin at wide receiver and #13 Tyler Eifert at tight end.

This is definitely a year where teams will be trying to trade down as there isn't much that is worth drafting right away at the top of the board. The smart NFL teams will be able to move down a few spots and still get the player they want as others will make stupid moves to move up in a draft where there is plenty of decent talent, but nothing that really makes you say WOW.

If you enjoy watching your favorite team drafting offensive and defensive lineman in the top 10 than this is definitely the draft for you. I'm not really impressed with many offensive players in this draft and don't feel the need to watch three days of this so this will probably be the last time I even talk about it. 

New York Giants
Right now I'm just praying that the Giants don't select Te'o or any quarterback to possibly back up Eli. Their real needs are improving their defense as they could possibly use an inside and outside linebacker and some defensive back help. After looking at the big board the one guy I'm hoping falls to us at 19 is Alec Ogletree. The Giants need linebacking help and he is a guy that could step in and start next year. I'd also like to see them go after a receiver in the fourth or fifth round as they manage to always pick up someone good late.

The Somewhat Late NBA 1st Round Predictions

I know this is slightly late as the NBA Playoffs are already four days in, but I thought I'd get this up now anyways. All of the picks made in this piece were done last Thursday and have not been changed.

My favorite time of the year is now upon us. In my opinion there is no better postseason than the NBA Playoffs. The NBA Playoffs are really the only postseason tournament that really shows which team was the best team of the year for the most part. When it's a one-and-done tournament like the NFL Playoffs or the NCAA Tournament I don't think you end up with the best team winning every year. I also think that baseball's playoffs usually don't show which team was the best all year, but rather which team got hot at the right point. The NBA Playoffs is two months of best-of-seven series' featuring the 15 best teams in the NBA along with the Milwaukee Bucks and in my opinion there is nothing better.

At the beginning of the year Darryl Wilson and I sat down and went through our preseason picks and midway through the year we made a revised edition that I posted here: NBA Midseason Projections. At the end of the year I finished slightly better than Darryl and managed to get all 16 teams in the playoffs from the mid-point with Darryl getting 14 right. When sitting down the other day we decided that we would come up with our first round projections. Rather than picking the entire playoffs all at once we will just get together before each new round begins.

Eastern Conference:

#1 Miami Heat vs. #8 Milwaukee Bucks (Heat lead 2-0)
Jim: Heat in 4
Darryl: Heat in 5

In all honesty I don't think the Bucks should have been allowed to compete in this year's playoffs. Before the series even started I gave them no chance and expected them to be swept rather easily. So far they haven't done anything to show me or anyone else that they were worthy of being a part of the 16 team tournament. In my opinion I think the NBA should have just given the Heat a bye in the first round, because that's what these two games have basically been for Miami so far.

Brandon Jennings was dumb enough to come out and say that the Bucks would win the series in six games. It's good and all to think that, but when you're playing the team that has been the best all season long, you shouldn't be trying to make any crazy guarantees. If you are going to make a guarantee you are supposed to go out and win the game. People remember Joe Namath's guarantee because he went out and led the Jets to the Super Bowl. In a few years no one is going to remember this series unless LeBron or D-Wade manage to put on one of the greatest statistical performances of all time. By the end of the weekend the Heat should be out enjoying the Miami sun for a few days while the Bucks are unpacking their lockers.

#2 New York Knicks vs. #7 Boston Celtics (Knicks lead 2-0)
Jim: Knicks in 6
Darryl: Knicks in 7

As a Knicks fan I was so happy to get this series. New York fans hate Boston fans and vice versa so getting to see seven possible games between these two teams makes a lot of fans in the northeast very happy. Through two games in New York, the Knicks have come out early trying to get rid of one of their biggest rivals. Carmelo Anthony stated that season two was a must-win and he made sure that Tuesday night the Knicks came out and defeated the Celtics.

Ever since Rajon Rondo went down with injury, many fans and journalists talked about how the Celtics might be better without Rondo. The easy truth is that they are definitely not a better team. Without Rondo the Celtics have had to rely heavily on Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and the last time I checked it isn't 2008 still. The Celtics needed Rondo this year if they were going to make one last attempt at competing for a championship, because after this season they will likely start all over.

The Knicks have been hampered by injuries all season as much as the Celtics, but Gotham's squad has made many key moves before and during the season to make them the biggest threats to the Miami Heat for the east title. While bringing in Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin have been great moves for the Knicks, it's the move that they didn't make that I think has bettered them the most. When New York chose not to match the Houston Rockets contract for Jeremy Lin I was skeptical at first if it was that great of a move, but during the season I came to the realization that it was definitely the right move by the front office.

With the series now headed to Boston, the Celtics will likely have to win both games if they are going to see this series go much further as I don't see them coming back to MSG and winning in game five. I originally predicted the Knicks to end this in six, but I'm starting to think it might be over even earlier than that.

#3 Indiana Pacers vs. #6 Atlanta Hawks (Pacers lead 1-0)
Jim: Pacers in 6
Darryl: Pacers in 5

The Pacers have been without their best player almost all season long and have still managed to get the third seed in the east and will likely be headed to the conference semifinals. With Danny Granger out now for the remainder of the playoffs after missing most of the season, I'm expecting both Roy Hibbert and Paul George to be able to lead them past the Hawks and put up a good fight with the Knicks in the conferene semis. If they had Granger I think they'd finish this series even earlier and would have a much better shot at moving on to the conference finals or even in the NBA Finals.

The Hawks have seemed to be that one team that just can't get over the hump. Over the years they have had Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Al Horford leading their squad and haven't been able to reach the conference finals. With Johnson now playing for Brooklyn the Hawks have now had to rely on Smith and Horford more and it seems as if the two of them are incapable of being the leading man on a team. After the season they will have to possibly work on a trade to bring in someone else because they just don't seem to be going in the right direction at this point.

This is definitely the least sexy of the series' being played in the east including the Heat-Bucks series that is already finished. Neither team will likely contend past this round and expect the Pacers to finish this series in five or six games. The only things to really look forward to in this series are the match-ups between George and Smith as well as Horford and Hibbert.

#4 Brooklyn Nets vs. #5 Chicago Bulls (Series tied 1-1)
Both: Bulls in 6

New York's new team is definitely on the rise and have had a pretty good team in the first season back in the big apple. With their new core of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez they have proven to be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference all season long. However, they are playing a team that just happens to look better than them, even without their best player.

The Chicago Bulls have managed to get the five seed in the East without former MVP Derrick Rose. Rose has been on the shelf for the entire season with some questioning whether or not he is capable of lacing them up now for the playoffs. The likelihood of Rose suiting up at all for these playoffs is very slim, so I'm not giving them a realistic shot at possibly getting past the Heat in the next round. Even without Rose I still think they are the better team as Tom Thibodeau is one of the best coaches in the NBA today.

The series is currently tied at one a piece and heading to Chicago for the next two games. The place that Michael Jordan built will definitely be rocking in the next two games as the Bulls have always managed to have one of the best home-court advantages in the NBA. Expect the Bulls to take a 3-1 lead after four with the Nets winning at home in game five and the Bulls finishing it in Chicago in six.

Western Conference:

#1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. #8 Houston Rockets (Thunder lead 1-0)
Jim: Thunder in 5
Darryl: Thunder in 4

James Harden went from being on the best team in the Western Conference to the eighth seed about a week before this year's NBA season started. Somehow the Thunder have managed to not skip a beat when losing one of their big three and managed to finish with the best record in the Western Conference.

Kevin Durant has been the MVP this year in the NBA. He has been so important to the success of the Thunder in Harden's absence. While I don't think the Thunder will be able to sweep the Rockets, I do expect them to get it done rather quickly. Durant's new "fire" has been huge for the Thunder and I really think his added attitude and confidence are the key to his success. If he continues to carry the monkey on his back of possibly being second and being out to prove that he should be first, this could end up being the Thunder's year to take home the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

Watching Harden play against his former team might be exciting for some, but you shouldn't expect the Rockets to really compete with the Thunder this year. With Linsanity, Chandler Parsons and Omer Asik they are definitely a playoff team, but they still need at least one more piece if they are going to compete with some of the best in the West.

#2 San Antonio Spurs vs. #7 Los Angeles Lakers (Spurs lead 1-0)
Jim: Spurs in 5
Darryl: Spurs in 4

You look at these two teams playing in the first round and you should get excited. Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant are suiting up against each other. Gregg Popovich and Phil Jackson are manning the sidelines. Then you actually look at the squads as they suit up and now you have Jodie Meeks on the floor for the Lakers with Mike Antoni (the D is silent because it doesn't exist) running the plays. Bryant's leg injury stole away the possibility of one last Kobe-Duncan match-up in the playoffs that could have possibly helped show which player will end their career with the more successful legacy.

While the Lakers are without Bryant, you can still look at their roster and see some of the biggest names in the NBA including Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and "The Artest Formerly Known As Ron." Those four will be going up against the big three of Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker.

As much as you could say that the Lakers might actually show up and defeat the Spurs, there's just no way that this team will be able to do it with this coach. They are going to be outplayed and outcoached in this season and this might be ugly for Laker fans. In my opinion, Popovich is the greatest NBA coach I've ever seen as he has managed to take average players and fit them into his system to produce great results. This season is likely to be the last time you see the Spurs contending for a championship with Duncan, Ginobili and Parker as the three of them aren't getting any younger. It's time to enjoy the "Big Fundamental" while we all still can.

#3 Denver Nuggets vs. #6 Golden State Warriors (Series tied 1-1)
Jim: Warriors in 7
Darryl: Warriors in 6

You would think that when all-star David Lee went down with an injury that will have him miss the rest of the playoffs that the Nuggets would likely win this series very easily. I was very nervous about my original pick when the injury happened, but in Tuesday's game we were all remembered that the Warriors still have Mr. Steph Curry.

When I look at the current crop of young NBA guards there aren't many I'd put on the same level as Curry outside of Kyrie Irving. Curry managed to break the record for most three-pointers made in a season and has helped lead a Warriors team that has struggled a lot over the last decade. With Curry, Lee, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut being the main five for the Warriors they are definitely on their way up in the Western Conference. In a couple of years this team could be one of the best teams in the West and could compete regularly with the Thunder over the next decade.

The Nuggets are led by Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried and Andre Iguodala with Danilo Gallinari missing the rest of the playoffs due to injury. If the Nuggets had a healthy Galo to play with I would have had to choose them to win the series. This season is going to be very close and will likely go the entire season with a winner being crowned in game seven. Remember when Steph Curry came out and put Davidson on the map? He's about to do the same with Golden State.

#4 Los Angeles Clippers vs. #5 Memphis Grizzlies (Clippers lead 2-0)
Jim: Clippers in 6
Darryl: Grizzlies in 7

To be honest I'm shocked to see the Clippers hold a 2-0 lead over the Grizzlies. The Clips won game one pretty easily by over 20 points and were able to squeak out a close win in game two following a game-winning floater by Chris Paul. With the next two games headed to Memphis, the Grizzlies will have to come out playing the defense that got them to this point in the season if they are going to advance.

CP3 has been the best player in the NBA this season that doesn't play the 3-4 position that has been occupied by LeBron, Melo and Durant. When CP3 was traded to the Clippers they finally had something to look forward to in Los Angeles in the NBA outside of the Lakers. The Clippers had been the laughing stock of the NBA for years and with CP3 and Blake Griffin now leading them, they are now the best team playing in the Staples Center.

The Grizzlies will need their big men of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol to better protect the rim and control the glass if they are going to turn this series around. Mike Conley and Tony Allen will have their hands full enough with all of the different guards the Clippers can throw out at them so the bigs will be the ones that will be relied on in this series.

I'm expecting the Grizzlies to head back to Memphis and win both games at home to even up the series with the Clippers then finishing it in six. This series should end up with more low scoring games going forward so if you like defense, this is something that should be worth watching.

Champions League Semifinals Leg 1

The Final Four of soccer is starting up in a couple of hours as the Champions League semifinals will feature the two best teams from Spain and Germany. Barcelona and Real Madrid will try to prove why Spain has the best two teams in the world today, while Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will try to prove that their German teams are right up there with them.

Barcelona @ Bayern Munich (Tuesday @ 2:45 on Fox Soccer)

Barcelona and Bayern Munich have been the best two teams in Europe so far this year. They have both gone on to win their league titles relatively easy and have dominated just about everyone on their way to this semifinal match-up.

Lionel Messi has been cleared to play for Barcelona for this game and he will be the man to watch. He has been the best player in the world the last few years and hasn't shown any signs of possibly losing the top spot. With a healthy Messi, Barcelona are considered to be the favorites to win the Champions League as he has managed to score 57 goals in the 46 games he has played so far this year.

While Messi is the man to watch for Barcelona, they still feature many other world-class players in Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas. The three of them are considered to be some of the best midfielders in the sport of soccer today with Xavi and Iniesta both being perennial runners for player of the year award.

Barcelona's back four has switched depending on who has been healthy this year, but the five main guys splitting time back there have been Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Dani Alves, Javier Mascherano and Carles Puyol. The five of them have done a great job in helping goalkeeper Victor Valdes protect the goal all season long.

The man to watch for Munich is goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. With Madrid's Casillas being injured for a majority of this season, Neuer has stepped up as the world's best goalie. Neuer has been the key to Munich's resurgence as the top team in Germany and one of the best teams in the world. Prior to his arrival they were relying on lesser-caliber goalkeepers that had trouble when playing against the world's best.

Munich has many players on their side that could add goals for the German squad. Mario Mandzukic and Mario Gomez will split the time at striker for their side with Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery providing the help on the wings. Bastian Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller will be the guys in the central midfield trying to control the game that will likely be controlled by Barcelona's passing. Munich will have to try and keep possession between those three guys as Barcelona has shown all year that they can keep possession for the majority of the game on their way to victory.

This game will feature two of the best offensive squads in the world with both teams trying to just contain the other squad rather than stop them altogether. Messi and Mandzukic will both find the nets for their squads, it's just a matter of who else will end up finding the net that will change the outcome of the game. With Munich playing at home today, I like them to come up victorious as Messi might not be 100 percent fit.

Prediction: Bayern Munich win 3-2

Real Madrid @ Borussia Dortmund (Wednesday @ 2:45 on Fox Soccer)

When you look at the prestige of these two clubs and the names that will be featured in this game, you'd expect Real Madrid to run all over Borussia Dortmund. However, that is not the case as the German side has already shown twice this season. In group play the two teams played twice with Dortmund winning one game and the other ending in draw. In the first game Dortmund won 2-1 with goals coming from Marcel Schmelzer and Robert Lewandowski with Cristiano Ronaldo getting the lone goal for Madrid. Alvarao Arbeloa scored an own goal while Marco Reus adding one of his own for the Dortmund side in the second game which ended in a 2-2 draw. Pepe and Mesut Ozil added the two goals for Real Madrid.

Neither of these teams will be winning their respective league titles as the two teams playing in Tuesday's game will be claiming those trophies. Madrid will be trying to win their tenth European title this year and are the favorite to come out of this pairing. They haven't been able to defeat the German side yet this year, but with them setting all of their focus now on the Champions League, they should be able to come out victorious.

Whenever people talk about Real Madrid the first name that comes to mind is Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo is the main key to Madrid's chances, but he is not who I am worried about. All year long fans and journalists have complained about the lack of goals coming from strikers Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain. Both Benzema and Higuain have struggled this season with finding the back of the net and there have been many rumors of Madrid trying to go after some new strikers in the summer transfer market including Falcao of Atletico Madrid and Edinson Cavani of Napoli.

If Madrid is going to advance they are going to need Benzema and Higuain to step up or they will likely end up going home. If they can each manage to get at least one goal out of the two games that should be enough with Ronaldo and others being able to get in some others to advance.

Dortmund will be relying on their big three of Lewandowski, Reus and Mario Gotze for their scoring. Lewandowski and Reus have done most of the scoring for Dortmund this year with Gotze being the main playmaker for their side. Gotze has been a player on most team's radars with the summer transfer market coming up and has shown to be one of the best attacking midfielders in all of Europe.

With Madrid's usual starting goalkeeper, Iker Casillas, possibly sitting on the bench for this game, I think there will be plenty of goals to come from this week's game. Madrid was unable to defeat Dortmund so far this season and with this week's match-up taking place on the road, I'm expecting this game to end in a draw.

Prediction: Draw 2-2

NBA Regular Season Awards

The regular season of the 2012-2013 NBA season is over and the playoffs are starting today. Darryl and I sat down on Thursday to look at our midseason projections and make our picks for the first round of the playoffs. We also decided it was a good idea to come up with this year's regular season awards. 

Regular Season Awards:

We decided to go with the main five awards of the year and didn't feel the need to the the All-NBA teams yet as we will likely leave that for the next go around. I have renamed each of the awards after some of the best NBA greats of all time.

The Michael Jordan Award (Most Valuable Player)
Me: Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Darryl: Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks)

Yes I know that LeBron James was the best player in the NBA season this year, but in my opinion being he isn't the Most VALUABLE Player to his team in the NBA and Darryl agreed with me. I had to go back and forth between Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony for this award as I don't think any other player should be in the consideration for the award.

In the end I chose Durant because of what he had to do for his team this year and the way that he did it. In my opinion this was Durant's best season in his career to date and he was able to help the Thunder finished first in the West without James Harden. As good a player that Kevin Martin is he's no Harden. If James was to lose Wade for a much minor player like Klay Thompson would the Heat still have finished with the best record in the East. By losing Harden the Thunder were a worse team all year so Durant had to do more for his team. As much as I wanted to choose Carmelo I just couldn't do it in the end. Melo missed 15 games for the Knicks while Durant only sat out one contest all season long. Melo might have had to do more for the Knicks while he played, but Durant did it over more games and led his team to the first spot in their conference.

The naming of the award was pretty easy as MJ is in my opinion the greatest to ever set foot on the hardwood. The only other candidate for the award was Bill Murray since he had one of the greatest clutch performances in the history of basketball for the Tune Squad in Space Jam while finishing his career perfect.

The Magic Johnson Award (Rookie of the Year)
Both: Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers)

The only hard thing about picking this award was which player would I name the award after. I went with Magic because of his great performance in his rookie season when he helped lead the Lakers to the NBA Championship.

As for the choice itself, Lillard was the best rookie all season long and I hadn't actually heard of him until the season started. 19 points and 6.5 assists is a really great season from a point guard, but to get that from a kid that has just come into league is really impressive. Anthony Davis was the guy to watch coming into the season, but Lillard showed all season why he was this year's best rookie.

The Manu Ginobili Award (Sixth Man of the Year)
Both: J.R. Smith (New York Knicks)

As a Knicks fan I have never had such a love-hate relationship player ever. When he makes the shot I love him, but when he missed I hate him. If it wasn't for his run he put on at the end of the season during the Knicks winning streak I wouldn't have selected him here and would have likely went with Jamal Crawford.

When I look at J.R. Smith there is one player that I see every time I see him touch the ball and it's former Knicks great, John Starks. Smith like Starks is one of the keys to the Knicks going anywhere this season. The Knicks had to rely on Starks during the 90's and now they rely on Smith for key buckets. You always know what to expect from Carmelo like Ewing in the 90's, but what you get out of the other guy is usually what decides the outcome.

Has any other player in the history of the NBA played as well coming off of the bench as Manu Ginobili. Can't think of any player as great as Ginobili to be okay with coming off of the bench for the majority of his career because it was what his team needed him to do.

The Bill Russell Award (Defensive Player of the Year)
Me: Roy Hibbert (Indiana Pacers) 
Darryl: Larry Sanders (Milwaukee Bucks)

Honestly I didn't really know where to go with for this award this season. I ended with Hibbert because of how important he was for his team's defense as Tyson Chandler was the year before for the Knicks. Sanders was a guy I also considered, but Hibbert was the main reason that his Pacers were one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. The only other guy I would've considered was Marc Gasol. Gasol had a great year for the Grizz, but I think Hibbert's was slightly better.

The naming for this award was extremely easy. When people look at the record books they will likely ask why is Russell the greatest defensive player in the history of the NBA when he's not anywhere in the whole book. Let's just say that had the NBA kept track of blocks during the 1960's Russell would likely have about double the amount of blocks that the current "leader" Hakeem Olajuwon has today.

The Gregg Popovich Award (Coach of the Year)
Me: Mike Woodson (New York Knicks)
Darryl: Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs)

Sometimes it's just not fair to give an award to the same person year after year and that's why I couldn't justify giving this award to Popovich again. Instead I decided that I thought it was time to actually just name the award after him. He might not have the most rings of all time, but I think he's the greatest coach in the history of the NBA. As great as Auerbach or Jackson were they also had the greatest players in the NBA at the time on their teams. Auerbach had Russell, Cousy and Havlicek while Jackson had Jordan and Pippen along with Kobe and Shaq. Those guys had it pretty damn easy.

So if you eliminate Popovich from the running like I have this year, I think the obvious selection for coach of the year is the Knicks' Mike Woodson. Woodson had to deal with injury problems all season and still managed to coach his Knicks to second in the East. There were nights where I'd turn on a Knicks game and laugh at the lineup they were playing with that night and somehow Woodson would be able to get them to play so well together and come out victorious. He has helped turn around a Knicks team that struggled for over a decade and Gotham's team is finally competing for the title again.

National Championship: Michigan vs. Louisville Preview

Men's Basketball National Championship

#4 Michigan Wolverines (31-7, 12-6 BIG 10) vs. #1 Louisville Cardinals (34-5, 14-4 Big East)

The number one overall seed in the tournament has a chance to win the national championship tonight as the #1 seed Louisville Cardinals are playing the #4 Michigan Wolverines at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

The Cardinals are coming into this game on a 15-game win streak including winning the Big East Tournament. Louisville defeated North Carolina A&T, Colorado State, Oregon, Duke and Wichita State on their road to today's championship game.

The Wolverines are coming into this game on a 5-game win streak all of which were in the NCAA Tournament. Their last loss was in the BIG 10 Tournament as they lost to the Wisconsin Badgers in the semifinals. They defeated South Dakota State, Virginia Commonwealth, Kansas, Florida and Syracuse on their road to today's championship game. In my opinion they have had the harder road to the championship.

Mitch McGary has been Michigan's key player in the tournament after not being as much of a factor all season for the Wolverines. In the tournament he has averaged 16 points and 11.6 rebounds per game which is much higher than his season average of 7.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. McGary has been a force inside for the Wolverines after having to rely heavily on their guard play all season long. His added presence has made the team less one-dimensional and he is the main reason that Michigan is playing as well as they have been in the tournament.

Louisville has been playing with the added pressure of trying to win the championship for Kevin Ware. Ware was injured in one of the most freak in-game injuries I have ever seen during the Elite Eight game against Duke. Ware broke his tibia while jumping to block a shot which left most of his teammates and coaches crying after seeing him go down the way he did. Some of his teammates on the bench were even puking due to how bad the injury looked.

Ware wasn't a player that the Cardinals relied on heavily, but the 15 minutes a game he gave his team off the bench allowed Peyton Siva and Russ Smith the chance to rest for a few minutes a game. Ware was wearing his uniform on the bench during the Final Four game against Wichita State.

Due to Ware's injury the Cardinals have had to rely on Siva and Smith for more minutes as they haven't had the option to go to the bench as often. Siva and Smith have been the keys to Louisville's success all season and this game will be riding on their shoulders. The two have combined for about 29 points and 9 assists per game this season.

Michigan will be able to match up well with Louisville's guards as they will be starting Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke. Burke became the first player in Michigan school history to win the Naismith Trophy for Player of the Year. The two combined for over 33 points and 10 assists a game for the Wolverines. Burke went off during the second half of the Sweet 16 game against Kansas as he absolutely torched the Jayhawks defense. Burke finished the game with 23 points and 10 assists, with a huge three pointer with five seconds left to tie the game and send it into overtime. The Wolverines were then able to defeat the #1 seed Kansas Jayhawks in OT.

Hardaway is the son of former NBA great Tim Hardaway who was one of the best point guards during the 1990s. He is joined by another son of a former NBA great in Glenn Robinson III. His father played around the same time as Tim and was a key player for the Milwaukee Bucks during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Both Hardaway and Robinson are potential first round picks in this year's NBA Draft as well as Burke.

The last key player to watch in this game is Gorgui Dieng. Dieng has played very similarly to that of former UConn player Hasheem Thabeet. He isn't going to give you much on the offensive end, but he will bring you defense and rebounding that will definitely affect the outcome of this game. He will have to shut down McGary if the Cardinals are going to come out victorious tonight.

My Prediction: #4 Michigan Wolverines Win 76-73

Player of the Game: Trey Burke

As good as Louisville has been playing I think Michigan is the hottest team in the NCAA right now. Burke has been unbelievable all year and is the best player in the nation. Him, Hardaway Jr., and Robinson III carried the team all season long and with the now added presence of McGary up front the team has been a force.

Louisville will be able to hang with the Wolverines all game long, but I just don't see them having enough to win it all. For the first time in a long time the Big East wasn't the strongest conference in basketball and Michigan will be looking to show that they were a part of the best conference in the country and that they are this year's best team.

Somewhere Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King and Chris Webber will all be smiling tonight.

Champions League Quarterfinals Leg 1 Part 2

The second set of leg 1 of the quarterfinals will be played today. The second leg of these match-ups will be played next Tuesday. During yesterday's quarterfinal games Bayern Munich defeated Juventus 2-0 and Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona played to a 2-2 draw.

Today's Games:

Galatasaray (Turkey) @ Real Madrid (Spain)

Real Madrid are currently on their quest for "La Decima," which would be their tenth European Cup title. Madrid struggled all season during La Liga and will likely have no shot at catching Barcelona the rest of the way so winning the Champions League is the only trophy they really have a shot at the rest of this season.

Real Madrid have been carried by the play of Cristiano Ronaldo all season due to some goal struggles by both Karim Benzema and Gonzala Higuain. It is likely that during the summer they will offload one of them if not both and bring in Falcao from Atletico Madrid or Neymar from Santos. Ronaldo will likely score at least one of Madrid's goals today as he will be trying to match Messi who was able to score one of Barcelona's goals yesterday.

Jose Mourinho will be coaching against two of his former players today in Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder. Both were brought into Galatasaray over the winter transfer window and will be the key for the Turkish side if they will be able to advance past the Spanish giants. Mourinho coached Drogba while at Chelsea and Sneijder during his time at Inter Milan.

Drogba will likely do the scoring for Gala during today's game, but I don't see their squad getting any more than one goal against Madrid's defense. Madrid has way too much talent in their back four and Diego Lopez has been playing very well in the absence of captain Iker Casillas. I think Madrid will be able to get multiple goals from their squad, it's just a matter of how many they will finish with.

Prediction: Real Madrid win 3-1

Borussia Dortmund (Germany) @ Malaga (Spain)

In my opinion this is the weakest match-up of any of the four quarterfinals this year. Out of the eight teams left in the tournament I think Dortmund are the sixth best team left and Malaga is the worst team that is left in the Champions League. Neither team are the best team left from their country as Dortmund are being outplayed by Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and Malaga is currently behind both Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga.

Robert Lewandowski of Dortmund and Isco of Malaga have been each team's best offensive weapons thus far in the Champions League and those will be the two players to watch today. I don't think a lot of goals will be scored in this game as both teams will kind of even each other out. I expect Dortmund to advance between these two teams as they are the better team but with Malaga playing at home I think they will be able to play this game to a draw.

Prediction: Draw 1-1

Champions League Quarterfinals Leg 1 Part 1

The quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League are finally here. The first legs of the quarterfinals will be played today and tomorrow with the second legs being played next Tuesday and Wednesday. The final eight teams remaining are Bayern Munich, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, Malaga, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid and Galatasaray.

Today's Games:

Barcelona (Spain) @ Paris Saint-Germain (France)

These two teams are currently the best teams in their home countries and with a win in this game would be moving closer to the claim of being the best team in all of Europe. Barcelona have been arguably the best team in soccer the last two or three years and PSG has been moving closer and closer to possibly claiming the top spot. Both teams have gone completely different ways of building their teams with Barcelona bringing up must of their players through their youth squads and PSG going out and buying some of the world's best talent.

One of the key players at PSG right now is Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic is a former player of Barcelona who had a falling out with the team about playing time and eventually moved to Italian side AC Milan before joining PSG last summer. Ibrahimovic and teammate Thiago Silva both left AC Milan to come to PSG over the summer and have been the keys for PSG's great season. The two of them are the keys for the French side.

Barcelona has managed to do what many teams haven't been able to do successfully. They have had a great youth program that has seen the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta grow up while playing together on the same team since before they were teenagers. They have been three of the top five players of the last three or four years and are the reason Barcelona are the best team in the world.

Both teams will manage to get a couple of goals in this game and as good as PSG is playing I don't know if they will be able to get a win over Barcelona. This game will likely end even as PSG will likely not lose at home.

Prediction: Draw 2-2

Juventus (Italy) @ Bayern Munich (Germany)

This game could easily be the championship game. Both teams are currently the best teams in the countries just as Barca and PSG are in theirs. Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus and Manuel Neuer of Bayern are two of the best goalkeepers in the world if not the best right now. Both teams will rely heavily on the play of their goalkeepers as they will try to slow down each teams scoring.

I think that Bayern Munich is one of the three favorites to take home the Champions League this year. Outside of the Spanish giants in Barca and Real Madrid they have the most talent at every position. The play of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben will likely decide how many goals Bayern ends up with today as they are two of the best in the world when it comes to creating goals for themselves and others on the outside.

I think both goalkeepers will be able to keep the scoring relatively low, but Bayern will get enough for a win that will give them the edge when the second leg is played in Italy.

Prediction: Munich win 2-1