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 ...