Baily's Sports & Stuff

Most people, including me, expected the Heat to win the Eastern Conference before Derrick Rose got hurt. Then, Rose got hurt, and we all locked the Heat in to win the East. The Heat are dominating the Knicks and should cruise into the second round, where they would play either Orlando or Indiana. Indiana is inexperienced and is playing like it, and there's no way the Magic can beat the Heat without Dwight Howard. That brings us to the East finals, where Miami will be playing Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, or Chicago. If Philly or Atlanta somehow make it here, the Heat will run them over in 4 or 5 games. If the Celtics or Bulls make it, the Heat will have a harder test. But here's why they'd beat both teams. Chicago has played well without D-Rose this year, but with Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and CJ Watson being the Bulls' best players, I doubt they'll be able to beat LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in a seven-game series. Boston isn't the ...

The top-seeded Spurs have had trouble in recent Game 1's. But against the eighth-seeded Jazz, they wouldn't extend their Game 1 losing streak. Tony Parker continued his phenomenal season by scoring 28 points and dishing out 8 assists in the Spurs' 106-91 win over the Jazz. San Antonio extended their winning streak to 11 games. San Antonio's guards penetrated and the team got good results. By driving to the hoop and kicking the ball out (which Parker and Manu Ginobili did a lot) the Spurs were able to get open jumpers. After San Antonio started scoring with those open jumpers, Utah started to try to steal passes more. They outscored the Spurs in fastbreak points, and they did steal some passes, but Parker, Ginobili, and the guards penetrated and finished with dunks or layups. Because of the passing and the penetration, the Spurs always had the Jazz on their heels. In the third and fourth quarter, Tim Duncan got the ball a lot, and he finished with a double-double...

Usually, we see Canadian teams, Pittsburgh, Boston, Chicago, and other hockey powerhouses in the second round of the playoffs. This year, it's totally different. St Louis, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Nashville, Washington, New York (Rangers), Philadelphia, and New Jersey are the 8 remaining teams in the hockey playoffs. Recently, Philadelphia, Nashville, and Washington have been the only teams of the remaining 8 usually seen around this time. In the West, it's been crazy all season. Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak have been great this year in front of the net for the Blues, and both (mostly Elliott) shut down the Sharks in the first round of the playoffs. Teams always get those chances when you think they've scored a certain goal, and then the goalie makes a great play. Those always happen in Blues games. Elliott, who played in most games, stopped 94 percent of shots that went his way, and he allowed an average of 1.56 goals per game. Halak started most games, and he s...

The first round of the draft gets the most attention, but the second round picks are also crucial. Any big college football fan would recognize most of the names of the second round picks. Stud receivers, big lineman, sack-happy linebackers, a pair of great running backs, and a gun-slinging QB went off the board in Round 2. All of them have star potential, but which have the most? Here are five second-round picks that have tremendous star potential and could become the next big thing in the NFL. Mychal Kendricks This guy was amazing at stopping the run and clogging up the inside at Cal, so maybe he'll do the same in Philly. Is this the piece the Eagles need to finally push their D to the next level? In 12 games, Kendricks recorded 98 tackles, 3 sacks, and 2 interceptions. He ran a 4.47 at the 40-yard dash, and he hits hard. I think he's the piece the Eagles need to stop running backs from dancing up the middle and scoring. If a running back bounces to ...

Whenever the draft rolls around, we're intrigued, glued to the TV, and surprised. This year's draft showed a perfect example. We all expected Andrew Luck to be drafted first by Indianapolis and Robert Griffin III, or RG3, to be picked second by Washington. But just about everything after that was unexpected. Cleveland gave up three picks (plus the fourth overall pick) to move up one spot and select Alabama running back Trent Richardson. Minnesota, who made the trade with Cleveland, picked USC offensive lineman Matt Kalil fourth, and Jacksonville traded up two spots to pick Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon. No one expected that to happen. The Browns-Vikings trade was great for Minnesota and terrible for Cleveland. Even though Adrian Peterson tore his ACL, he could be back by Week 1, so using the third pick on Richardson was unlikely for Minnesota. The Vikings likely would've still picked Kalil third, and they got him and three more picks. The Browns were t...

Phillip Humber is the fifth pitcher in the White Sox rotation. He was an inexperienced hurler who hadn't done much in his career. But for one day, Humber was perfect. Humber threw the 21st perfect game in MLB history as the White Sox beat the Mariners 4-0. Humber struck out 9, including the last batter of the game (Brendan Ryan) in his gem. All of Humber's pitches were working, especially his curveball and slider. Humber carefully placed his curves outside the strike zone to get batters chasing with two strikes. Every single one of Humber's strikeouts was a swinging strikeout. With two outs and a full count in the ninth, Humber threw a pitch way outside the strike zone. However, the curve of the pitch entitled Ryan to swing, and when the ball got away from catcher AJ Piersynski, Ryan argued with the call instead of running to first to try to beat the throw. The ball landed in first baseman Paul Konerko's glove, and the White Sox went crazy. In his caree...

The 2012 NFL schedule has been released, and it's now time to jump back into the NFL. 2012 has brought us a lot in football, including playoff drama, Eli Manning's second championship, a huge free agent signing and draft drama. Adding on to that will be the 2012 regular season, chock full of great games. You want the best teams in football in prime time? The NFL's got you covered. Great matchups are scheduled in 2012, and the NFL took advantage of that by scheduling great prime time games and adding Thursday Night Football from Weeks 2-15, plus a Wednesday night game to open the season between the Giants and Cowboys. Here are five games to look forward to in 2012. 5. San Francisco 49ers at New Orleans Saints, Nov. 25, 4:15 PM ET Two words describe this matchup perfectly: playoffs and bounty. New Orleans' bounty program has landed the Saints in a heap of trouble, especially with the audio recording of Gregg Williams, the Saints defensive coordinator, talkin...

The first week of the season has been kind to us, unless your team is one of the suffering ones. Action-packed games, walk-off wins, and no-hit bids have been the story in opening week. We've had some surprises, like Boston, San Francisco, and New York (Yankees) all getting swept in their first series. Tuesday was more of the same. Here's the update from Tuesday's MLB action. The New York Mets were one of the three remaining undefeated teams, but they fell from that spot when Washington beat them 6-2. Ross Detweiler had a strong start, Ian Desmond homered, and Wilson Ramos knocked in a run on a double and scored a run. Arizona, one of the two other remaining undefeated teams, had a tough, close game with the Padres. Paul Goldschmidt's deep double to left was enough to send the game to extra innings, where Chris Young came through with a two-run bomb to left field. The D-Backs won 4-2. Detroit and Tampa Bay both hadn't lost a game, but the Tigers prevaile...

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino has been fired from Arkansas amid a motorcycle accident on April 1. Last week, Petrino was placed on paid administrative leave by the Razorbacks, but this week, they decided to let him go. Petrino crashed the motorcycle April 1. 25-year old employee Jessica Dorrell was on the motorcycle with Petrino when he crashed. Petrino crashed in a rural area southeast of Fayetteville, where Arkansas plays. 25-year old employee Jessica Dorrell was on the motorcycle with Petrino when he crashed. Petrino crashed in a rural area southeast of Fayetteville, where Arkansas plays. Petrino wasn’t wearing a helmet and was taken to the hospital immediately, but both he and Dorrell were okay. However, his reputation will be tarnished. Taver Johnson will take over as the interim head coach at Arkansas, while Petrino’s future remains in doubt.

Finally! Baseball's back. Two of my favorite words, when they're in the same sentence. The Cardinals, Yankees, Marlins, Phillies, Red Sox, Giants, and the rest of the league have returned to work and all have one goal in mind: winning the 2012 Fall Classic. Of course, only one will win, and 29 will fall short, with some getting closer than others. This year, some of the expected contenders have started off on the wrong foot. Let's see if they picked up the slack Monday or if those slow starts continued. Also, let's see what's going on around the league. Here we go! Baseball's back. San Francisco won their first game of the season after three heartbreaking losses to the D-Backs. Barry Zito pitched a four-hit shutout, Pablo Sandoval golfed his second homer of the season, and Brandon Crawford hit a three-run double. Philadelphia lost their third straight game, falling to 1-3 with a 6-2 loss to the 2-3 Marlins, an expected contender. Omar Infante hit t...

Every year, young stars rise and become part of baseball's elite core. Young hurlers come up from Triple-A and shut down the best lineups in baseball. Young bats rise from Triple-A to pick apart major-league hitting. Every MLB star went through that cycle. Now, we recognize those up-and-coming players who have either spent a couple years or have only played two games in the MLB. However, all three of them are ready to dominate the MLB in 2012. Future MVPs? Maybe. Future Cy Young winners? Possibly. NLCS and World Series MVPs? Sure. Here are three rising stars poised for great seasons. David Freese Even though he won NLCS and World Series MVP, David Freese isn't a star yet—but that'll change by season's end. Freese was a hero during the 2011 World Series, hitting a walk-off home run in a wild Game 6. He wasn't the star then, though; Albert Pujols was. Now, Freese, Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman are taking over. In the Cardinals opener, Freese went 3-f...

Disappointment. That one word summarizes Kentucky's last 13 seasons of basketball. Last year, the Wildcats lost by 1 point to Connecticut in the Final Four. Kentucky lost to West Virginia in the Elite 8 the year before. But this year, anything short of a championship was a disappointment. How can you be satisfied with second place with Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones, Marquis Teague, Darius Miller, and Doron Lamb? You can't. That's why Kentucky went out and finished first instead. Lamb scored 22 points, Teague added 14, and Kentucky beat Kansas in an exciting championship featuring [at least] three lottery picks. The Wildcats won by a score of 67-59. Many shots were blocked, and many dunks came down. Anthony Davis probably had the best six-point game in tournament history, blocking six shots, giving out five assists, and snagging 16 rebounds. The game started close, but it became obvious Kentucky was the better team. The Wildcats led by as ...