Baily's Sports & Stuff

The first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs left a lasting impact, and a big one too. From the Memphis Grizzles ousting top-seeded San Antonio to Dwight Howard and Orlando taking an early exit, the first round was full of action and surprises. Let's recap all the excitement! Upsets Memphis rested their players at the end of the season, so they could finish as the eighth seed and face the San Antonio Spurs instead of finishing seventh and facing the LA Lakers. The gamble paid off, as the Grizzles dumped the Spurs in six games and became the second eighth seed in just five years to take down the top seed in the West. Golden State did it in six against Dallas in 2007. Zach Randolph made a huge contribution, grabbing key rebounds and draining key shots to help the Grizzles coast to a series win. The Grizzles grabbed a lot more rebounds than San Antonio and made the old Spurs look even older. San Antonio almost lost the series in 5, but Gary Neal saved the club. Atlanta beat Orl...

The San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals had a tough first round, and they needed to make up for it with some second-round picks that could make a big difference. They did. But who were those players? Let's go over them. The 49ers picked up Colin Kaepernick through a draft trade with the Broncos. Kaepernick is the only quarterback in FBS history to rush for 4,000 yards and pass for 10,000 yards. He can make great throws on the run, and he has great accuracy. He is a huge reason for Nevada finishing 12-1 during the regular season and beating Boise State. San Francisco failed to pick up a smart quarterback like Blaine Gabbert in the first round, but in the second, they were huge winners. Kaepernick is exactly what the 49ers need; a smart quarterback who can carry a team to success. If Kaepernick plays, watch out for the San Francisco 49ers. The Arizona Cardinals snatched Patrick Peterson instead of a quarterback, and when they were expected to pick a quarterback, they d...

Zach Randolph isn't as tall as 3 Spurs, and usually, he will get out-rebounded by them. Same with Marc Gasol. So how did those 2, plus the rest of the team, rack up 11 more rebounds than the taller Spurs? Intensity, determination, and sense of victory. Memphis beat San Antonio 99-91, using 31 points and 11 rebounds from Zach Randolph to win the game and the series, becoming only the second eighth seed in the Best of Seven series to win. The Grizzles take on OKC in the next round. Memphis shot much better from the field, and by grabbing the rebounds, they got enough opportunities. Screw the turnovers. Screw the assists. Screw the blocks. Memphis got exactly enough to put the series away. San Antonio has more size, and enough guys who can easily grab rebounds. But Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph totaling three-fourths of the total Spurs rebounds is unacceptable. Age has really been a factor, and the physical element San Antonio lacks has not made any of this easier. The Spurs ...

The 2011 NFL Draft has finally come! With teams making desperate switches to fill needs and adding players they so desperately need to their ball clubs, the draft is once again a success. Forget about the lockout for now. Let's recap the first round of the draft. Winners: Atlanta Falcons The Falcons took a huge gamble by trading up 21 picks to steal top receiver Julio Jones, and even though they gave away 5 picks (2 in the first round), it will still help. Atlanta finished 13-3 last year, but their only problem was completing the long bomb. That's why they took Jones. He will give Matt Ryan a great target to hit deep next year, something Atlanta needs. If they meet Green Bay in the playoffs next year (who went long a lot), the Falcons will be ready. I like this pick and I think Julio Jones and Atlanta will click. Jones will make an immediate impact on Atlanta. Losers: Tennessee Titans I always love to see a quarterback get picked, but this type of pick wasn't right ...

Normally, when you look at it, you see the Heat going 58-24 and winning their first round series in five games as a good sign. However, in this case, it could be a bad sign. The Heat struggled for three of their four wins and gave up a comfortable fourth quarter lead in Game 4, which they lost. The bench has not done very well, and if the Heat struggle against the 76ers, well, they won't have fun against Boston. Boston ended the season rough but shook that off in New York, sweeping the Knicks 4-0 and completing an 8-0 season sweep of New York. Boston struggled for both home wins, but easily racked up two wins at Madison Square Garden, eliminating the Knicks. If the C's take care of the Heat like that, and if the Heat don't start to succeed and win championships, some people may start to wonder if the signing of Bosh, James, and Wade was all necessary. The Heat are getting some contribution from the bench, and just enough to survive Philadelphia. But with all the...

San Jose has pulled top goalie Antti Niemi twice in the past three games. Three games have been sent into OT, and the Sharks are 1-2 at home. So how do you win the series like that, especially before Game 7? Simple. OT wins, and endless fighting. By grinding out their third overtime win this series, the Sharks found a way to shock the Kings and steal the all-California series. San Jose will play Detroit in the second round. San Jose had control of this game until the score was tied up late in the third period and a 5 minute penalty was called on San Jose. However, even though LA had so many great chances, they could never get the puck in the net. Finally, in the extra session, Joe Thornton had the puck, and he was backing up his defender. He quickly spun around, fired a shot, and started celebrating once the puck went in. Thornton has had a tough series, but the OT goal threw all that away. In games 1 and 3, Joe Pavelski added the winning goal to the Sharks side. Now, wi...

The Memphis Grizzles rested their players so they would be able to play the San Antonio Spurs. For some weird reason, they thought they had an edge against the talented and experienced Spurs. And now, we are starting to see that edge. With a 104-86 win over San Antonio Monday night, the Grizzles took a 3-1 lead and are now just need one win in the next three games to move on and play either OKC or Denver. San Antonio has been thwarted by the fastbreak, which Memphis is executing perfectly. The Grizzles grabbed 39 rebounds (San Antonio racked up 37), they stole the ball eight times (San Antonio had six steals), and they racked up 22 assists (San Antonio totaled 16). The only columns San Antonio led in were blocks and turnovers. Turnovers to assists ratio for the Spurs? 17 to 16. The Grizzles? 8 to 22. Just by looking at the stats, you can tell Memphis dominated the game. San Antonio got to the free throw line 14 times (and made 11 shots), while Memphis got to the line 21 times ...

The Dallas Mavericks led 80-74 thinking they had the game in the bag. A 3-1 series lead. 2 home games to finish off the Portland Trail Blazers. Well, you haven't seen the last of Brandon Roy. Roy scored the final 8 points for the Blazers, including 18 in the fourth quarter, as the Trail Blazers shocked the Mavericks 84-82 and tied the series up at two. Roy scored 24 to lead the way. Dallas led 64-41 in the third quarter, and Roy had three points until 8 seconds remained in the third quarter. Roy finished with 21 in the final 12:08, including a three pointer to cut the deficit to 18. In the fourth, Roy made long jumpers, short jumpers, and layups to keep the Blazers in it, and Wesley Matthews, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Brandon Roy scored to cut the Dallas lead to four, and Gerald Wallace assisted on a Roy jumper to make it a 2 point game. After Dallas scored, Roy made the biggest play of his life. He stepped up, drained a 3, and drew a foul. Roy made the free throw, and on thei...

Game 1. Derrick Rose scores 39 points, Chicago wins 104-99. Game 2. Derrick Rose scores 36 points, Chicago wins 96-90. Game 3. Derrick Rose scores 23 points, Chicago wins 88-84. Rose has been a huge difference maker, putting in a go-ahead layup to extend the Chicago lead to 3-0. Now, the Bulls are just one win away, and if Rose keeps it up, 4-0 is in sight. Luol Deng has had a great series and has done just enough to help the Bulls defeat Indiana in each game. Deng had some nice jumpers in each game, and he is currently averaging 17.7 PPG during the playoffs. However, Carlos Boozer is only averaging 11 PPG, and he added just 4 to the Bulls side of the scoreboard in Game 3. It might be OK now, but Boozer will need to do more for the Bulls to thrive against Orlando or Atlanta. Joakim Noah is only averaging 8.3 points per game, but again, the Bulls are up 3-0. No other unexpected player is stepping up. Deng has added points, and Carlos Boozer helped in Game 2, Noah in Game 1, and De...

The New York Knicks have let 2 games slip right between their hands. If they let Game 3 do that, they are pretty much cooked. Down 2-0, the Knicks need to find a way to come back and stun the Celtics. Ray Allen sank the Knicks with a game-winning 3 pointer in Game 1, and Kevin Garnett's short turnaround jumper drowned the Knicks in Game 2. New York needs to find a way to stop Boston, eek out wins in those close games and even up the series at 2. As for Portland, the margins of the games were 8 and 12, but both were much closer. In Game 1, Portland led for most of the fourth quarter, but after some big shots by Dirk and Jason Kidd, they fell on the wrong side of the scoreboard. In Game 2, Peja Stojakovic drained a couple threes, and Dirk played a huge part in the Game 2 win. Brandon Roy has received 36 total minutes, and he has only scored 2 points. He used to be the leader and star of the team, and now his buckling knees have caused him trouble. He doesn't fit in with the...

San Jose Sharks vs LA Kings Down 4-0 in the second period, the San Jose Sharks thought about looking ahead to Game 4. Antti Niemi sure did. So did most fans (especially ones not watching the game). But San Jose proved them wrong. Ryane Clowe scored twice, Devin Setoguchi chipped in the game-winner and San Jose stunned Los Angeles 6-5 in OT to regain control of the series, which they now lead 2-1. Brad Richardson had a goal and an assist for the Kings. The Kings scored two goals in a period of 13 seconds, and they added another goal late in the period to take a 3-0 lead. 44 seconds into period 2, Brad Richardson beat Niemi and coach Todd McLellan pulled the goalie. It seemed to make an impact, as Patrick Marleau received a pass from Dan Boyle and poked the puck by Jonathan Quick. Just a little bit later, Clowe took a shot from the right side, and it went by Quick. A Logan Couture slap shot later, and the Sharks were within one goal. Ryan Smyth added to the LA lead with a g...

If your team is not in the playoffs, they are probably trying to pry players away or hot on the phone, looking for key trades, draft picks, and free agent signings to help their team get better. Here are some good trades, draft pickups, and FA signings that could really boost a team (they may not happen). Free Agency: Jamal Crawford to Houston The Rockets do have Kevin Martin playing shooting guard, but he could easily be switched to small forward. Right now, Crawford is a sixth man in a stacked Atlanta roster, and although he earns just under 11 million dollars a year, he barely gets over 30 minutes playing time on a regular basis. If Crawford goes to Houston, him, Kyle Lowry (who is on the rise), and Kevin Martin could team up and make the Rockets hard to beat. Luis Scola will throw in a lot of points and rebounds, and if Yao comes back, you have a team that is hard to beat. The Rockets already finished 43-39, and Yao and Crawford could easily add to that, and make Houston a co...

The San Antonio Spurs and LA Lakers are both talented, storied franchises who both stand at the top of the league. In Game 1, they didn't play like very storied franchises. New Orleans and Memphis both racked up road wins against the top 2 Western Conference teams, Boston scored a victory late against New York and Oklahoma City survived the Denver Nuggets. Every single game was decided by a single-digit margin, and only one was more than a 4 point game. We'll start with the opening game, Memphis at San Antonio. Everyone was waiting for the Spurs to pull away, but Zach Randolph and Mike Conley helped keep Memphis in the game. San Antonio did take a 67-57 lead on a 3 by Gary Neal, but Memphis wasn't cooked. A couple 3 point plays and a little help from every Grizzle helped cut the deficit to 4 after the third quarter, and in the fourth Zach Randolph helped give Memphis the lead. Randolph's 9 helped keep Memphis in it, and Tony Allen's baskets gave Memphis a 7 po...

Chicago vs Indiana Is it just me, or do the Chicago Bulls really need to step up and start playing better? Derrick Rose is amazing, but can Derrick Rose beat a team 5 on 1? I don't think so. He did it Saturday. Rose scored 39 and was huge in Chicago rallying from down 12 to beat Indiana and take a 1-0 series lead. Luol Deng and Joakim Noah helped Rose by putting up a double-double and Kyle Korver hit a tiebreaking 3 with under 1 minute left. Chicago wasn't allowing many inside shots, but Indiana wasn't being pressured into taking terrible shots. Instead, they started drilling outside shots and the Pacers built up a lead. Chicago wasn't playing smart. Chicago was able to stay in the game during the first half, with Kyle Korver finding the net on a couple threes, Kurt Thomas scored a couple baskets, Derrick Rose hit his free throws, and the Bulls stayed in the game. In the third quarter, no one other than Derrick Rose and Luol Deng scored for 9:33. Deng hit som...

LA Kings vs San Jose Sharks Joe Pavelski has gotten used to the "first round hero" slogan. He scored the winner in Game 4 and the equalizer in Game 2 in San Jose's 4-2 series win over Colorado last year. He's gotten the Sharks started again. Pavelski's goal 14:44 into overtime gave the Sharks a 3-2 OT win over the LA Kings and a 1-0 series lead in the third ever all-California playoff matchup. Logan Couture and Dany Heatley scored for San Jose, while Justin Williams and Dustin Brown found the net for Los Angeles. 28 seconds into the game, Ryane Clowe took a shot, and it richoted off of goalie Jonathan Quick. Heatley picked up the rebound and scored, just 28 seconds into the game. The Sharks completely outplayed the Kings for the first period and a half, taking 18 shots to LA's 3. Then Dustin Brown got going, firing a slapshot from the left side past Sharks goalie Antti Niemi, tying the game at 1. However, that lead lasted less than 3 minutes, for Logan ...

OK, so the NBA Playoffs are finally here. Since the Eastern Conference match-ups were already set, we went over those yesterday, so now it is time for the West. We have seen some surprises in the West, like Memphis making the playoffs and San Antonio picking up the top seed. Now, it is time for the predictions. (1) San Antonio vs (8) Memphis It was a great season for the Memphis Grizzles, who followed up a 40-42 year and 2 or 3 at the bottom of the league with a 46-36 record and a playoff appearance. Their reward? The 61-21 San Antonio Spurs, who have dominated the league in 2010 and 2011. However, they have been losing games recently, and Memphis has been resting players, like they wanted San Antonio. The Spurs have got help from Richard Jefferson and George Hill, but if Memphis can take those 2 out of the game, it will definitely be closer. Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay average more points than any player on the Spurs. Mike Conley, Marc Gasol and O.J Mayo each average over 11 PPG ...

The NBA Playoffs are coming up, and it is full of surprises. Who saw Chicago and San Antonio wrapping up the top seeds? What about Philadelphia, New York, Indiana, and Memphis all making the playoffs? Well, we'll see how they do, but here is how I think they will do. Lets go! Chicago vs Indiana Derrick Rose and Chicago have dominated the NBA this year, but they will need to beat Indiana to prove that they can play. Chicago is 61-20 and has been able to top Boston, Miami, San Antonio and others. If they beat New Jersey and San Antonio loses, the Bulls have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. Chicago is 35-5 at home and 1-0 at home against Indiana. They are 2-1 against the Pacers this year, with a 1-1 road record in Indianapolis. The home-court will probably be too much alone, and once you throw Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng into the mix, you have a team easily capable of beating the Pacers, who have more losses than wins. Derrick Rose will dominate the Pac...

The Philadelphia Phillies fans weren't very nice to Jayson Werth when he took the field. And how did he treat them? Well, just a home run, a double, an RBI and 2 runs. Werth helped Washington take down the Phillies for their fourth win in 5 games. Livan Hernandez allowed 1 run and 7 hits over 6.2 innings, and he picked up his first victory of the season. Both pitchers went 1-2-3 in the first, but on the first pitch of the second inning, Ryan Howrd sent the baseball flying into the left field seats. He got a nice slider outside, and the result was a 1-0 Phillie lead. But Washington would counter, as Wilson Ramos singled, advanced to third on Laynce Nix's single, and scored when Danny Espinosa hit a deep fly ball to score Ramos. The would stay tied in the 3rd inning, but in the fourth, Washington dominated. Jayson Werth hit a double and got knocked in on Wilson Ramos' double. Jerry Hairston Jr knocked a single into left to score Ramos, and Livan Hernandez finished with ...

This year, many MLB teams are looking good. From the unbeaten Rangers to the 5-1 Orioles to the 5-3 Pirates, many teams are on the track to surprise. Let's take a look at those teams. Pirates: Neil Walker and Andrew McCutchen have really stepped up for Pittsburgh, and Pedro Alvarez and others have stepped up at key times. Pittsburgh is looking good now, and we think they could be onto a good year. Orioles: Buck Showalter and the Orioles have continued the success from last year, as Brian Roberts (2 HR, 8 RBI), Vladimir Guerrero and Derrek Lee have each homered, and when they get on, the Orioles will be hard to stop. Rangers: Mike Napoli, Ian Kinsler, and Nelson Cruz have each hit 2 or more homers and knocked in 4+ runs, and the supporting cast has been huge too. If Texas keeps it up, they could be a World Series winner. Indians: The Cleveland relievers have done a masterful job, with Rafael Perez picking up 2 wins and Chris Perez picking up 2 saves. Adsurbal Cabrera has...

It may not have been the best 2 games of basketball ever played by Connecticut, but after the game ended, nothing mattered to them. They were as happy as a husky, or a Connecticut Husky. The reactions were very different for Butler. Butler shot 18 percent, grabbed 11 less rebounds and played their worst game since early February as the Bulldogs were beaten 53-41 by Connecticut and Kemba Walker. Walker led Uconn with 16. The game looked to be close for a while, and it started out in a 6-6 tie. Niels Giffey put Uconn up with a layup (and a lucky bounce), and a jumper by Kemba and a bucket+1 helped Connecticut take a 5 point lead. However, Butler would get back in it with some free throws, and a 3 by Chase Stigall gave Butler a 16-15 lead. Kemba and Donyell Beverly would put Connecticut back up by 3, but another Butler 3, this time from Mack, tied the game at 19. Hard defense was the key in this game, and it certainly took over in the last 4:17 of the half. Defensive reboun...

The N Your Court 5th grade AAU team rode on the shoulders of practically every player, as a team effort powered the team to 3 victories and a championship in the San Jose tournament. Patrick had 10, Ravi had 6, Will had 4, Thomas and Justin had 3, and Vignesh and Baily had 2. Everyone scored at least 5 total points during the tournament. N Your Court won 37-18 over Team Hoop. The team scored 63 in the semis against the South Bay Scholars, and Baily had a career-high 18, while Ravi scored 12. Baily averaged 9.3 points per game during the tournament, while Ravi and Patrick averaged 7+ PPG. With Thomas, Justin, Patrick and Ravi picking up 6 free throws and some nice jumpers, the team overcame a 7-5 deficit and took a 21-10 lead early in the second half. The lead went up to 17 after a 3 point play by Patrick, and down to 11. However, 2 buckets by Will (his only 2 of the game) helped the team finish off Team Hoop smoothly. Sean scored 10 and 6 for the club in the first 2 games, ...