Cody’s Blog

Now that the dust has settled from the trade deadline and new uniforms have been handed out, it is time to give out grades to the various teams that either helped or hurt their chances at making a playoff run. When all was said and done, 35 players and three draft picks were exchanged between 11 teams in both conferences.

Western Conference Grades

1. Dallas Mavericks- anytime you can add three solid scorers and depth at both the guard position as well as in the post all at one deadline you deserve a good grade. The Mavs grabbed a guard with great scoring prowess in Caron Butler, a solid backup in DeShawn Stevenson, as well as Brendan Haywood in the post while unloading the contract of regressing player Josh Howard. My Grade: A-
2. Portland Trailblazers- Marcus Camby. What more can be said? While he only scores 7.7 points per game, he is a vacuum on the defensive end and on the glass, as he is second in the league to Dwight Howard at 12 rebounds a night (with his season high being 25) and blocks anywhere from 1-3 shots a night. And all they had to give up was a role player in Travis Outlaw, and a decent guard in Steve Blake to get it done. My Grade: B+
3. Houston Rockets- Although they had to part with sixth man Carl Landry, they did add a 19 point per night scorer in Kevin Martin while adding forwards Jordan hill and Hilton Armstrong as well as guard Jarred Jeffries. They also accomplished their main goal; dumping Tracy McGrady’s enormous contract from the payroll. My Grade: C+
4. Sacremento Kings- Aside from nabbing Carl Landry, all they did was unload a big time scorer in Martin and grab mediocre guard sin Larry Hughes and Joey Dorsey. My Grade: C

Eastern Conference Grades

1. Cleveland Cavaliers- After pursuing Amare Stoudemire, the Cavaliers struck a deal for the hard working, all-around talent of Antawn Jamison for, essentially, nothing. The Cavs gave up Emir Preldzic and a first rounder as well as Zydrunas Ilgauskas, but can get Ilgauskas back in 30 days, as he will probably be waived by the Wizards. The Cavs added a great talent to the best team in the NBA, and were by far the most efficient team at this year’s deadline. My Grade: A
2. Boston Celtics- Although the Celtics missed at unloading Ray Allen and realing making a big move, they did add solid bench contest and Dunk Contest machine Nate Robinson for a back up guard in Eddie House. Only House gave the Celtics a godd three-point presence off the bench, Nate the Great is a much better scorer and will mak a bigger impact the rest of the way. My Grade: B
3. Charlotte Bobcats- Acquiring potential ridden Tyrus Thomas and Theo Ratliff. Although these moves may not pay off this year, it definitely will in the years to come as they add two solid players to Gerald Wallace, Tyson Chandler, Boris Diaw, and Stephen Jackson. My Grade: B-
4. Washington Wizards- The Wizards effectively gave up their franchise in dealing Jamison and Butler, and have starting rebuilding. They did pick up Drew Gooden, Josh Howard, and two bench players in the Cavs deal, but dealt Gooden to LA for Al Thornton. Simply put, the team is in complete and total rebuilding mode. My Grade: C-

The Eastern Conferences #1 team, and arguably the best team in the NBA, found another weapon to add to LeBron James’ arsenal Thursday as the Cleveland Cavaliers made a three team deal  involving 6 players with the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Cavaliers were making a push to acquire the Sun’s Amare Stoudemire, but talks had recently fizzled out and they decided to look elsewhere. The Wizards, who have already been shakers at the trade deadline, agreed to send forward Antawn Jamison to the Cavs in exchange for Zydrunis Ilgauskas’ expiring contract, a 2010 first round draft pick, and the rights to Emir Preldzic, whom the Cavs drafted in round 2 of last years draft. The Clippers recieved forward Drew gooden from Washington, and sent guard Sebastian Telfari to the Cavs as well. The Cavs add Jamison to an alredy extremely steady lineup with James, Shaquille O’Neal, Mo Williams, and either Delonte West or J.J. Hickson. The Cavs sit at an NBA best 43-11, and are my pick to come out of the Eastern Conference to represent in the NBA Finals.

When the contestant list came out this year for the NBA dunk contest, I was certain that it was a joke. Aside from defending champion Nate Robinson and an extremely solid player in Gerald Wallace, they had a rookie in DeMar DeRozan from the sub-par Toronto Raptors, and a role player at best from the Lakers in Shannon Brown. My favorite going in was Robinson, as he had won two previous contests, and more importantly, he is merely 5′9″ (On a good day). Robinson did not disappoint, bringing home his third title with 51% of the vote. Unfortunately, after the event, Nate the Great announced that there will not be a fourth attempt at a dunk contest championship, as he is “retiring” from the competition. What I want to know is when we are going to get the superstars in the contest. Where is Kobe, LeBron, Dwayne Wade, and Carmelo Anthony? Back in the day, all the very best players participated in the contest. You had legends Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Spud Webb, Julius Erving, and Patrick Ewing pulling off behind the back dunks, free throw line jams, and many more variations. Now, the best dunkers do not even participate in the contest. Instead, we get the likes of DeRozan, Shannon Brown, Hakim Warrick, Tyrus Thomas and Rudy Fernandez. No respect to these guys, but they are not the most prolific dunkers in the world. Just think of the hype and recognition there would be with a Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant contest? With Nate ending his dunk contest career, who are the future contestants going to be? Lets just hope we do not have to suffer through more role players and rookies performing un-original dunks.

7 players, 2 teams, millions of dollars, and great talent. Each of these things were exchanged Saturday as the woeful Washington Wizards made a trade with the Southwest leading Dallas Mavericks. The 17-33 Wizards sent solid scorer Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and backup guard DeShawn Stevenson to the 32-20 Mavericks in exchange for Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, Quinton Ross, and James Singleton. The Wizards had been shopping Butler as well as Haywood, but talks with the Mavericks had stalled because Washington insisted Dallas had to take Stevenson and his contract. After it looked like the deal would not get done, the Wizards threw center Brendon Haywood into the deal and the two teams agreed to the swap. This trade marks the beginning of the infamous “rebuilding” period for the Wizards, but puts Dallas in a great spot. The Mavs add the explosive scoring Butler, which will take some pressure off of Dirk Nowitzki. This trade solidifies the Mavs starting lineup, as they now can throw a lineup with Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, Caron Butler, Shawn Marion and either Eric Dampier or newly acquired Brendan Haywood. Owner Mark Cuban greatly helped his teams chances of becoming possibly a two or three seed in the Western Conference and heightens their odds at a deep playoff run.

Having won 8 of their last 10 games, the Orlando Magic, after struggling in the early stages of January, are finally hitting their stride as they head into the All-Star break and stars Vince Carter and Dwight Howard are a huge reason why. After an absolute horrendous January shooting less than  30% and scoring less than 10 point-per- game, Vince Carter is torching the opposition through 5 games this month, averaging 24.2 points-per-game which includes a 48 point performance as he shredded the New Orleans Hornets defense. He is also averaging 3 assists and 5 rebounds this month to go along with 54% shooting from the field including 60% from beyond the arc. Dwight Howard also continues to carry the Magic, as he is averaging 17.9 PPG and is pulling down a league high 13.4 rebounds a game while blocking 2.72 shots a game; another league high. Howard has had seven games in which he has grabbed 20 or more rebounds in a game, and has led the Magic in scoring in 20 of their 53 games played. This Dynamic Duo for the Magic are averaging 44.4 of the Magic’s 103.2 PPG this month. After tonight’s contest with Cleveland, the Magic will be off with the All-Star break, and if Orlando can pick up where they left off after the break, the second-best team in the Eastern Conference will definitely be a force to be reckoned with down the stretch and into the playoffs.

44 years of anguish were dissolved Sunday night as the final seconds ticked off the clock and the New Orleans Saints hoisted their first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. After years of sub-6 win seasons and whiffs at making the playoffs, the Saints knew that things could be better this year with new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams calling the defensive shots and Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees on the offensive side of the ball. Things did not look good, however, on the first two series of the game as the Saints prolific offense went three and out both times. The Colts did not waste any time getting down to business, as Manning connected with Pierre Garcon for a 19 yard touchdown pass which gave Indy a 10-0 lead after one quarter of play. The second quarter belonged to the Saints, as the Colts only ran three offensive plays. New Orleans went into the half beyond by a slim 4 points at 10-6. After the Who’s halftime performance, the Saints prepared to kick off to the Colts, but onside kicked it and after a couple of minutes of unpeeling white jerseys and blue jerseys from the rugby scrum, the Saints came out of the pile with the ball. This was the tipping point of the game, as Drew Brees connected with Pierre Thomas for a score four minutes later. Indianapolis’ only score of the second half came on a Joseph Addai 4-yard touchdown run in that same quarter which halted a Saints 13-0 run, but they would resume scoring with 18 more points over the rest of the game; the game clinching play came on a Tracy Porter interception return for a TD that put the final nail in the Indianapolis Colts’ coffin. Drew Brees was named Super Bowl XLIV MVP  as he completed an astounding 82% of his passes going 32-39 for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns good for a 114.5 QB rating. The New Orleans Saints deserved to win this game, as the Colts turned in a sub-par performance on both sides of the ball; but the bigger reason was that they defeated three Super Bowl winning quarterbacks in Kurt Warner, Brett Favre, and Peyton Manning on their way to capturing their first NFL title in their team’s history.

Super Bowl XLIV is abundance of firsts on the New Orleans Saints’ side of things. This year marks the first time in the franchise’s 43 years that they have gone to the Super Bowl. For all but three of the players and coaches, it is their first time at the big game as well. But when talking about the Indianapolis Colts, they have, however cliche it may sound, “been there, done that.” The Colts and league MVP Peyton Manning captured a Super Bowl XLI title amidst the pouring down rain in Miami. And, oddly enough, they find themselves back in the Super Bowl this year in the same site, but with a totally different outdoor element to conquer; the swirling winds of South Beach. Both the Saints as well as the Colts are from dome stadiums, and this could play a part in this culminating game of the 2009-2010 season.

Key Team Match-ups

• Colts offense vs. Saints defense – The Colts offense, led by the best signal caller in the league in Manning, go up against the #26 ranked overall defense in the NFL. This number is misleading, however, as they ranked first with 46 forced turnovers and are some of the scrappiest, hardest-hitting players in the league. The key for the Colts is going to be getting mis-matches and finding someone or something to exploit. Dallas Clark provides big match up problems for a defense, and I think that Peyton is going to find him a lot in this game. As far as weakness, cornerback Rudy Gay has shown that he can be vulnerable, and Manning will no doubt try and go at him until he proves he can hold his own.
• Saints offense vs. Colts defense – This match up pitts the league’s most productive offense against the NFL’s fastest defense. The Colts, while ranking down near the bottom of the barrel in rush defense, have given up less than 2oo yards rushing to Ray Rice as Well as Thomas Jones and Shonne Greene and have held their opponents offense to just 20 points total. The Saints are in an opportune position exploit an improved Indy defense, however, as they are seven widouts deep and have two of the best explosive running backs in the game today in Reggi Bush and Pierre Thomas. The Saints and Drew Brees are going to have to be on their game, as the the Colts have a great secondary and do not give up a whole lot of points.

This game is definitely going to be a classic by the time the final whistle blows, and is also going to probably going to be one of the highest scoring contests as well. I think that the Colts and Peyton Manning are going to pull out their second Super Bowl title in four years, and it may come down to what Manning is best known for; the two-minute drill. The Colts have scored 76 points the entire year (including the playoffs) in the final two minutes of the first half alone and I have a feeling the Manning may have to make one of his patented drives in either the first or second half in order for the Colts to pull out the victory. My Pick: Colts 34-Saints 30

Days after securing his class of 2010 football recruiting class, USC Trojan’s new head coach has already begun to turn his attention to the class of 2015. 13-year-old Red Lion Christian Academy middle school quarterback David Sills of Bear, Delaware gave a verbal commitment to Kiffin and the Trojans late Thursday evening. The 13 year old, seventh grade quarterback is 6′ tall and weighs 130 pounds and is already breaking down films by himself as he works under the tutelage of personal quarterback coach and close friend of Kiffin’s Steve Clarkson. Clarkson has coached some of the countries best young quarterback talent, including USC’s Matt Barkley, and knows that Sills has the opportunity to become something special. There are mixed reactions to this story. One side says that allowing kids to verbally commit at such young ages is absolutely absurd, while others say let it happen, as most of the kids change their mind about what school they want to attend anyway. Take Indy coach Jim Caldwell for instance. While he was the head coach as Wake Forest, he received a verbal commitment from middle school quarterback Chris Leak, only for Leak to change his mind and go to Florida, where he won a national title. Athletes committing at such a young age still have no idea what they want to do, even if they think they do and most of the time they end up switching things around. For me, the issue is not the commitment, but the fact that college and professional coaches and tutors are getting involved in the kids lives so young. These coaches are telling the kids that they can be great if they stick with them, and are not allowing them to enjoy being a kid. Some of the blame also falls on the parents, as they push their kids to do these things and by the time they get their, they have already ben playing their whole life and get burnt out. Although you are not allowed to sign a letter of intent until further down the line, I think that the same should be said for verbal commitments to allow kids to go on with their lives without the pressures of such large, life altering decisions.

After dropping 30 points in South Carolina’s enormous upset win over the # Kentucky Wildcats, Devan Downey showed why he is the best point guard in the SEC and one of the best in all of college basketball. With 10 minutes left to go in the game and the Gamecocks down by 9 points, Downey scored 12 of Carolina’s final 24 points, including what proved to be the game winning layup with a shade over 50 seconds left in the game. The 5′9″ senior point guard finished the night with 33 points, and is averaging a shade over 31 points per game in SEC play. He is also tied for fourth in the nation in scoring with 22.9 PPG and also leads the nation averaging 3.1 steals a game. Downey has gone for 30 or more in six games this year, and has gone for 20 or more twelve times this season and continues to be one of the only steady options that is keeping the Gamecocks going. With nine games left on the slate, if Downey can keep putting up the numbers he has been, he could quite possibly end up in the National Player of the Year talks at the end of the year.

After weathering an early storm by the Depaul Blue Demons, the Syracuse Orangmen and Kris Joseph went on a run of their own. With seven minutes left in the game, Joseph hit the go ahead three and the Orange never looked back en route to closing the game on a 16-5 run and grabbing their 21st victory of the season. Syracuse went down 16 point early in the game, but battled back to cut he lead down to four before the half, and then lurked around waiting to make their move, which proved to be the difference in the game. Joseph dropped 15 points for the Orangemen, and Wesley Johnson added 16 points while corralling 13 rebounds. The #4 ranked team in the nation sits at 21-1 overall, with their only loss coming in a Big East Brawl with the Pitt Panthers. Syracuse has an extremely talented team, and Jim Boeheim has them playing great basketball as they head down the final stretch of the season in conference play.