Don't Blink, You Might Miss Him
Usain Bolt has continued his string of dominance in Olympic events this year in London. On Sunday, he defended his title in the 100m with a time of 9.63 seconds proving he is still the "World's Fastest Man" He also became the first person to not only win Gold in the 100 meter but come back and finish ahead of the competition in the 200m race as well. The medalist from Jamaica is unbelievable and makes it look easy. So easy in fact that he often "pulls up" or "jogs" the end of his races as he pulls ahead of his opponents and leaves them in the dust. I remember watching him in the qualifiers earlier this week and he literally looked to both sides and dropped down a few gears into neutral as he had blown away everyone around him. He explodes off the block and just glides down the track with ease. His speed is unheard of, but it almost makes you wonder. He breaks records and crushes his competition at ease and often lets up towards the end...you can only imagine how much damage he could do if he actually ran through the entire sprint every time. Its unreal, almost kind of scary, just how fast this guy is. He seems to be a man among children and dominates his sport, similar to how Michael Phelps has done in swimming but obviously he isn't as decorated as Phelps. I haven't payed too much attention overall to the Olympics this year, but Bolt definitely has grabbed my attention since the Track and Field games have started. Interested to see just how long Bolt can continue to dominate this sport.
Superman is Headed to Los Angeles
After a long summer of trade rumors and complaining, Dwight Howard is now officially out of Orlando and will join newcomer Steve Nash in LA with Kobe and the Lakers. It was a complicated deal that involved 12 players, 4 teams, and a protected 1st around Pick from LAL, the 76ers, and the Nuggets for Orlando. The Magic also immediately get Al Harrington, Josh McRoberts, Christian Eyenga, Moe Harkless, Nikola Vucevic and Arron Afflalo. Along with Howard, the Lakers acquired Earl Clark and former Duke Blue Devil Chris Duhon. The 76ers receive Andre Iguodala, and the Nuggets obtain Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson. Coincidentally, I think everyone wins in this situation except Orlando, though they are reportedly satisfied with the deal. They will definitely be starting fresh with not only a new coach and general manager, but many new faces on the court as well. As a Laker fan I'm thrilled with the trade. Bynum was solid but every since he made it clear he wasn't dedicated to LAL and "didn't care where he played" following the series loss to the Thunder, I was more than willing to give him up for another solid big man that wanted to play for the Lakers. I think we did great in picking up Howard. Dwight has become the king of scoring off the pick and roll and I'm already drooling at the thought of seeing Nash dishing him the rock all night long. I think its fair to say that the Lakers (trade wise) have had one of the greatest off seasons in NBA history. They knew exactly what they needed, went out on the marker and picked up not one, but two All-Star players in Steve Nash and Dwight Howard. With this addition, take a look at what will likely be the Lakers starting 5 next year: PG Steve Nash, SG Kobe Bryant, SF, Metta World-Peace, PF Pau Gasol, C Dwight Howard. Boy, oh boy that is music to my ears. Many people have already started talking up a Kobe-Lebron NBA Finals match-up. As great as that sounds, I have to pull a Lee Corso on you guys. NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND! Though LAL as raised their stock dramatically, Oklahoma City is still the team to beat as they are the defending Western Conference Champions. We will still have a dog fight on our hands against them and will likely have to knock them out in the Western Finals or we won't even get a chance to see Miami. So first things first, lets take care of our conference and see how the team plays together before we start prematurely raising any banners in the Staples Center.
LSU's BCS Title Hunt Takes A Huge Hit
If LSU is able to make another great run at the BCS National title again this year they will have to do it without a major piece to the team puzzle. News broke this morning that CB Tyrann Mathieu had been dismissed from the team for violation of team rules. No word on what the infraction was nor when it occurred but we do know that he is no longer with the team as of today. It is a major blow for the team. "We will miss him, but we must go on." said head coach Les Miles. The Junior was the MVP of the SEC title game and was a legitimate Heisman contender entering this season. Mathieu is one heck of a play-maker and his presence on the field made everyone around him better. LSU is left with a major void not only on the defensive side of the ball but on special teams as well. The CB scored two of his four touchdowns last season on punt returns, the other two were on fumble returns. He has a nose for the football and seems to make game changing plays in the most crucial moments of the game. Someone will have to step up and give LSU that spark that Mathieu provided though it will be difficult to replace the intangibles he brings to the table. He is a one of a kind athlete. I posted an entire story about this earlier this summer, so you guys know how I feel about it. It drives me up the wall when guys/girls have this type of talent/potential and risk or lose it all over useless garbage. It's completely senseless and just not worth it. Stay on the straight path! The Honey Badger is looking to find another team where he can play immediately but depending on what rule was violated he may find himself forced to sit out this season. Though it really doesn't matter, I'm very interested in seeing what exactly we was kicked off the team for. With camp just now getting into full swing and the severity of the punishment, I'm led to believe it may have been drug/alcohol/gun related or is something that is "old news" and just not being brought into the spot light. Just my hunch. Unless he had been warned before, I don't see how a simple missed practice (for example) would have led to being dismissed from the team. It will be interesting to see how LSU is impacted by the loss from a physical standpoint and mental stand point as well. Mathieu brought a swagger to his team and someone will need to keep that going this season. Nevertheless, LSU will still be a top ten team and be a contender for the National Title.
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