Entries by Tyler Rollason

All season long it was said that the Miami Heat’s biggest challenge in the Eastern Conference was the Indiana Pacers. The defending Champions went 1-2 against the Pacers in the regular season and it was very clear that Indiana gave Miami more matchup problems than any other team.

By the time that Miami and Indiana met in this year’s Eastern Conference Finals it was quite obvious that the Pacers had a good chance to defeat the Heat. Their biggest advantage was Roy Hibbert and David West down low where the Heat simply didn’t have an answer.

But the biggest surprise — and ultimately what will be most remembered by Pacers fans for years to come — was the show that Paul George put on, making him go from just another player for the Pacers to a perennial superstar in the league. [Full Story »] 

In a matter of two days the NBA has seen two of its most experienced and respected veterans retire from their illustrious careers.

The Knicks’ Jason Kidd and the Clippers’ Grant Hill both retired this past week at the young age of 40; the two ageless wonders that joined the Association in 1994 combined for a total of 17 All-Star appearances (ten from Kidd and seven from Hill).

In the 1994 NBA draft, the Dallas Mavericks selected Jason Kidd out of California with the second pick overall; following the Mavericks’ selection was the Detroit Pistons who chose Grant Hill out of Duke. [Full Story »] 

Championships, and as everyone continues to pick the Heat to win the title I thought it would be a good time to talk about one of the big storylines from this year’s playoffs — the NBA’s anti-flopping rule.

This year the NBA put into motion a stricter anti-flopping rule at the beginning of the playoffs. Players that violate the anti-flopping rule will be fined $5,000 for their first offense, $10,000 for their second offense, $15,000 for their third offense, and $30,000 for their fourth offense.

If a player violates the anti-flopping rule a fifth time they will be subject to an increased fine and/or a suspension that is consistent based on the individual case.
For the last few years flopping has become a huge ordeal in the NBA; players are becoming more clever and tricking the officials to call fouls on the opposing players.

In fact, players who are often found guilty of flopping have been labeled “floppers,” which in the NBA is something you don’t want to be characterized by. [Full Story »] 

After one of the most colossal falls from grace in modern day sports history, Tiger Woods has made his way back to the top and is gaining back his popularity.

The man who cheated on his wife and had numerous alleged affairs with other women over several years was dropped from his main sponsor Nike after all the news of the scandal came out along with Tiger’s injury from a few years ago.

For a few years now we have been wondering when Tiger would be back. And sure, he was around and was still playing golf, but that wasn’t Tiger. Tiger was the confident and aggressive goliath on the golf course, seemingly untouchable. [Full Story »] 

For the fourth time in his career, Miami Heat superstar LeBron James has won the NBA MVP award. This was his second straight MVP trophy and his fourth in five years.

Alongside this incredible stat, the Miami Heat are rolling through the playoffs and most likely on their way to another appearance in the NBA Finals.

James has certainly lived up to the hype that was set from the moment he entered the league and continues to improve his game which is far above the level of any other player this season. [Full Story »] 

Jason Collins, a center in the NBA, came out this past week and announced to the world that he is gay. He is most likely not the first gay athlete in American sports history, but he is the first athlete of a major American sport to come out and announce his homosexuality.

Almost immediately after Collins’ reveal Chris Broussard, an analyst for ESPN, was taking part in ESPN’s show Outside the Lines where he — like any other analyst in sports — stated his opinion on the matter.

Seeing as this was a huge moment in sports history, “Outside the Lines” was sure to discuss this on their program and due to the severity of the topic there were sure to be many different opinions about the matter — but it is strange how nearly all the talk is about one man’s comments. [Full Story »] 

Some of the biggest moments in sports history were started after a bold prediction by a player for a certain team that sparked an eventual upset; there are many that I could name, but most notably was when Joe Namath predicted that his New York Jets would beat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in 1969.

That year the Colts were the best team in the NFL (pre-merger) with a regular season record of 13-1 and were easily the favorite to win the Super Bowl; the Jets had a good team but no one expected them to defeat the Colts 16-7 in the Super Bowl.

This year there was another bold prediction in the sporting world, but unlike Namath, it comes from a far less dominant athlete on a far less competitive team – the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. [Full Story »] 

Think back to the beginning of the NBA season when the Lakers were favored to trample through the Western Conference and meet the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
This would have set up the first Kobe/LeBron Finals in NBA history — exactly what David Stern and the NBA has wanted for years.

The Lakers came into the season with two huge acquisitions of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard. Along with Kobe, Gasol, World Peace and other notable returning Lakers; Los Angeles looked to be the top dog in the West.

But then after only a 1-4 start the Lakers organization fired Mike Brown and brought in Mike D’Antoni, with the possible return of Phil Jackson being left in the wake. [Full Story »] 

We are nearly half way through April and I have yet to talk about the Atlanta Braves. First of all, let me apologize for that. As exciting as a new Braves season is, this time of the year is always a busy time for sports and sometimes we can overlook the beginning of a new baseball season.

The Braves enter the 2013 season in a similar fashion that they had in years past – with very high expectations. People are throwing around “NL pennant winners” as if it is going to be handed to the Braves.

In years past the Braves have been expected to be one of the top teams in the National League, and for moments that seemed to be the case, but they have still fallen short in their attempts to make the World Series. [Full Story »]