Sports Blog

The Magnificent Consistency By Albert Pujols

Sports are always a topic of debate, and baseball is no exception. If you are a fan, you will undoubtedly have been asked at sometime if you think that the best hitter you’ve ever seen is Albert Pujols.

To keep the debate modern and up to date, we shall only compare Pujols with players we are familiar with from the past thirty years.

Players from the past such as Mays and Williams were great in their day, but the game has changed so much since then comparisons can’t really be made. Conditions and even equipment are completely different in the modern game.

Would Albert Pujols have been so formidable in a different era? How would Ted Williams have played in today’s game? These questions are unanswerable, so let’s just look at what Pujols has going for him in the modern game.

As he is still only 29, he can stay at the level he is at, or even improve further, in the years to come. The key to his success is how consistent he is, week in, week out. Here are just a few stats that other players would die for. The .334 career average of Albert Pujols is outstanding.  Read more...

Highlights From The 09-10 NBA Basketball Season

The plot in the world of basketball this season has been so twisted, so convoluted in terms of performances of some players as well as some of the news about particular players, it has made it an exciting game to follow.

In this article, I intend to look at both the good and the bad, the highlights and the lowlights of the 09 to 10 season.

The first thing we should recognize is some of the teams that have come out of nowhere and established themselves as very respectable basketball teams. There are two that stand out to me more than any others, and these were both two of the worst teams in the league last season.

The first of the two teams to mention is the Oklahoma City Thunder. No one imagined that they might become this successful in such a short space of time. The team can thank Kevin Durant for helping them to rise out so quickly from being one of the worst teams to being a successful team this season.

The second team that seemed to arise from nowhere is The Memphis Grizzlies. These guys are simply shocking, as unlike the Oklahoma City Thunder, people had no idea that this team would ever make it into the season.  Read more...

The Standout Players To Watch In The Current Year Of Tennis

The Australian Open once again got the tennis year off to a great start and whetted out appetite for the forthcoming season. The master they call Roger Federer once again lifted that famous trophy, sending out a warning to all his opponents that he’s still the man to beat.

Don’t assume, however, at this early stage, it’s going to be the same winners at all the Majors. There are a few good players just waiting to seize the moment and lift a few big titles themselves. Here are a few who showed great promise last year, and this could well be their time to shine.

Melanie Oudin, the 18 year old American, had a terrific 2009 and could really break through this year. Reaching the semi final in the US Open was the highlight of last year, who’s to say she won’t do even better this year?

With time on her side to improve even further and grow in strength and confidence, you can bet that her competitors are keeping an eye on her.

Still a teenager, there is still plenty of time for Oudin’s all round game to grow and mature, A fact her competitors will be well aware of and hoping they aren’t drawn against her.  Read more...

A Fierce Matchup In The Works

Every generation of football sees the emergence and prevalence of a few elite quarterbacks. In the 80s and 90s, we saw the likes of Montana, Elway, Marino, and Aikman dominating the sport. Currently, quarterbacks like Manning, Favre, Brady, and Brees are clearly the best in the game.

Very rarely do we see two of the best quarterbacks in the sport facing off against one another in the Super Bowl. This year, the football world will be privileged enough to enjoy such an opportunity. Not only is this the case, but many believed that both teams were tops in the league through the course of the season.

Both the Saints and Colts won their first 14 games, leading many to speculate as to whether these teams would go undefeated through the course of the entire season.

Now, they have a chance to showcase their abilities once more in a game that is sure to result in a very high final score. This will be an offensive battle at its finest in Miami.

While both of them lost a few games during the last few weeks of the season, many would attribute this to the fact that they no longer needed to win more games in order to secure home field advantage.  Read more...

Attributes That Make Red Clay A Unique Tennis Surface

The red clay that is used as the surface on a tennis court originated right back to the origins of the game. If you play tennis yourself, you have been privileged to have a game on this famous surface. The history of the red clay court is particularly prevalent in Spain and the home of the only major played on clay; France.

There is no other surface quite like clay to have a game of tennis on. The strong red color is very attractive and literally makes tennis a whole different ball game!

If you have never had the pleasure of playing on red clay, and would like to know a little more about it, here’s a few interesting facts.

A player who constantly serves and volleys on other surfaces will find themselves really struggling on the class. As will those whose success depends on the accuracy of their booming serves.

To see a player approach the net is a great rarity on clay. The baseline player is the one who will win through on the red clay court.  Read more...

The Truth About Mark McGwire’s Revelation

Recently, Mark McGwire came out with an admission that many people were shocked to hear. He had taken steroids from 1989 through the end of his career, despite his unwillingness to speak on the issue during a congressional hearing five years ago.

Most baseball players are thought to have used steroids in order to pump up their offensive stats, thereby securing more valuable contracts in the process. In McGwire’s case, things were different. He simply wanted to recover from any injuries in less time than he’d otherwise be able to.

You may remember that the beginning of McGwire’s career was marked by many injuries that saw him missing the majority of some seasons as a result. His potential was never realized because of this, despite the fact that he averaged more home runs per at bat than any other player of his time.

What followed in the years to come was exactly what one would expect. He was healthier through the majority of the remainder of his career, and his offensive production was exceptional.

The pinnacle of this all took place in 1998, when McGwire shattered the old home run record set by Roger Maris, hitting 70 home runs in a season. The baseball world was amazed, and McGwire was the toast of the baseball world.  Read more...

The Most Meaningful Qualities A Tennis Competitor Can Have

As tennis continues to grow its fans and players will always be arguing on what determines a good player and which skills are the most important to have.

It can be fun considering the different perspectives and opinions of the many arguments that evolve from the different aspects of the game.

Some very important aspects are listed. Are there any that you would find most important?

Looking back at top players in history such as John McEnroe, the question to ask is, is it volleying? All things considered, a regular game may be a danger for either opponent and end a point without trouble.

What about baseline play, is that important? Many experts would say that it is the more modern approach as opposed to playing at the net. Take Rafael Nadal for example, he spends a lot of time hanging at the back of the court rather that up at the net. And other players such as Andy Roddick have changed tactics in favour of the baseline play.

On the other hand, a powerful serve gives a player an edge no matter what the circumstances. Someone with an elite serve (i.e. Roddick) can easily dictate the tone of a match if their opponent has a hard time breaking them. A big serve makes the rest of every point far easier.  Read more...

The Key Moments That Have Occurred During The 09-10 NBA Season

The plot in the world of basketball this season has been so twisted, so convoluted in terms of performances of some players as well as some of the news about particular players, it has made it an exciting game to follow.

Let’s look at some of the highlights of the 09-10 basketball season thus far. We’ll cover some good, as well as some bad here.

Two teams seem to have appeared from nowhere and stand out due to the fact that last season they were nobodies but this season they have become very successful and are building themselves a decent reputation with every game they play.

Thanks to Kevin Durant the Oklahoma City Thunder team have shot to a fast success, a success that people didn’t think was impossible but also didn’t think that would happen so fast. They have shot from being one of the lowest to one of the highest-ranking teams this season.

The Memphis Grizzlies may be an even bigger surprise. While people knew that the Thunder had the potential to be a good team, everyone had written off Memphis entering the season.  Read more...

Falcons Hold Off Late Bears Rally

The Atlanta Falcons didn’t so much win their Sunday Night NFL Football game against the Chicago Bears as much as the Bears lost it. A series of costly mistakes and turnovers in the red zone negated an otherwise solid road effort for the Bears, as Atlanta held on to win 21-14 at the Georgia Dome. Chicago held a decisive edge in most of the statistical categories, but was undone by untimely turnovers. Atlanta improved to 4-1 with the victory while Chicago slipped to 3-2.

Chicago also disappointed fans who bet on NFL football by failing to cover the pointspread as +4 road underdogs. Both teams’ ATS records match their straight up records with the Falcons moving to 4-1 against the number while the Bears slumped to 3-2.

Winning Falcons’ QB Matt Ryan chose to credit his defense rather than point to Chicago mistakes as the determining factor in the outcome:

“Our defense, give them some credit. Our guys stepped up and made some plays when we needed them to.”

The Bears did a good job shutting down Falcons’ star running back Michael Turner holding the NFL’s second leading rusher to only 30 yards. He came through with the game on the line, however, rushing for the winning touchdown with just over three minutes remaining in the game. Ryan praised his running back’s effort:  Read more...

The Top NBA Rookies

This season has shown us some really good NBA rookies who have definitely started out their careers on the right note. The norm is usually that it can be a lot of seasons down the road until a rookie will do really well, with a bumpy start and many things to learn about this league along the way.

But that’s not the case right now as we have been privileged to watch some very extraordinary rookies who have shown that they have everything a veteran player has. In the long run, this is such a good thing and means that they will most likely have a long career ahead of them.

So let’s review some of them who are at the top of the list for the NBA rookie of the year right now. Here are the ones who have the best chance.

If you asked anyone a month or two ago, Brandon Jennings might have been the consensus answer. He came out with a bang this year, highlighting his impact with an incredible 55 point performance in November.

Unfortunately, Jennings has shot around the 30% mark during the course of the last month so he’s fallen out of contention for the moment.  Read more...