L.A. Pride is a true sports enthusiast.  A former youth, and division II assistant basketball coach, who studied the martial arts, he enjoys and follows all sports, even hockey.  His quick wit and insight brings a fresh view to the world of sports. You may not always agree with him, but you will enjoy his highly opinionated thoughts.

Is it me …

Or can we all breathe a sigh of relief?  Tiger Woods won his first tournament in two years.   Life as we know it can now move on and all is right in the world .  Tiger who was one stroke behind with two holds left to play made  a “Tigeresque” comeback and captured his 83^rd title worldwide, the Chevron World Challenge.  Yes, we know, it was against a small select field, but he did win.

 

The win moved him from No. 52 to No. 21 in the world ranking, and likely will send expectations soaring for 2012. Woods will not play again until starting his year in Abu Dhabi at the end of January.

Asked if the emotion was joyous, satisfying or simply relief, Woods smiled and said, “It just feels awesome whatever it is.”

 Congrats to Tiger.  We wish him continued success and hope his troubles are behind him.

Is it me…

Or did the NY Giants make a 180 degree turn this week?  The Giants were blown out by the Saints last week and appeared to quit during the game.   It was a devastating lost, with the undefeated Green Bay Packers coming to town.  The Packers left NY undefeated, but the Giants played the champions to a standstill right up to the last minute of the game.  The Packers drove the length of the field and kicked the game winning field goal.  If ever there is an opportunity to gain something from a loss the Giants will do so.  They showed the world they have some pride and were willing to go down fighting.

 The Giants are still in the hunt because the Dallas Cowboys* lost to the Arizona Cardinals.  The Giants and Cowboys have yet to play this season.  Therefore, all things being equal, the Giants could sweep the Cowboys and win the NFC east.

 * Bonehead play of the SEASON; Cowboy Coach Garrett “iced” his own kicker in a 13-13 game with 7 seconds left.  The Cowboys thought they had won the game on a 49 yard field goal only to learn that their coached had called time out prior to the kick..  Needless to say the  Cowboys missed the second attempt and the Cardinals went on to win the game.  Garrett deserves the Medal of Honor if he got on the team plane with Cowboy’s owner Jerry Jones, who had the look of death in his eyes after the missed field goal.

The Packers and 49ers have clinched playoff spots, which make for an interesting dilemma.  Do you continue to keep pushing  and play hard or do you take your foot off the gas and cruise?

Tebow and the Denver Broncos won again.  Tebow still has the worst mechanics in the NFL, but he knows how to win, 6-1 since starting this year.  You are what your numbers say you are and Tebow is a winner.

 Cam Newton insists his success isn’t coming easily. All he’s doing is whatever he can to help the Carolina Panthers win.  On Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that was just about everything.

Newton, a rookie, ran for three more touchdowns to set the NFL single-season record for TDs rushing by a quarterback, pacing a 38-19 rout of the struggling Buccaneers with a dominating performance that revealed something else he’s capable of doing: catching passes.

The 2010 Heisman Trophy winner scored the 11th, 12th and 13th TDs of his career on a trio of 1-yard runs. He also had his first reception as a pro to set up a first-quarter TD, then threw a 19-yard TD pass to finish one of Carolina’s three scoring drives.

 NFL teams continue to adjust and shape their rosters;

A list of current NFL transactions can be found at:

 http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/transactions/

Is it me…

Or has the NBA decided to come out “shooting”?  The NBA has put together a great opening day package.  The Christmas games are:

 Boston Celtics versus  New York Knicks   (traditional rivals, who hate each other.)

Chicago Bulls versus L.A. Lakers (new rivalry, the young upstart team versus the old established team, could be the passing of the torch from Kobe Bryant to Derrick Rose.)

Miami Heat versus Dallas Mavericks  ( The Mavericks will probably receive their championship rings before the game;  one more dig at LeBron and the Heat, the team they beat to win the championship.)

A great lineup of games, with story lines that run throughout.  It won’t make up for the cancelled games or late start, but it does start the season with some heavyweight matchups.

Chris Paul has been mentioned in a trade with every team in the NBA.  The New Orleans franchise, which  is owned by the league, needs to come to closure on Paul, if  they are to attract new ownership.

The problem with free agency for superstars is that a player in the final year of a contract becomes a distraction.  The team wants to sign him to an extension, but the player wants to test the market.   This makes the team nervous because it may lose the player and get nothing in return at the end of  the season, forcing the team to try and trade the player now in order to obtain something . This is where we are with Chris Paul ( and Dwight Howard).

 

Is it me …

 Or is it obvious that  Antonio Margarito can only win with loaded hand wraps?

  Miguel Cotto won a 10^th round  TKO victory over Antonio Margarito in their much anticipated rematch.  Margarito who won the first fight but was accused of using doctored hand wraps in that fight was unable to hurt or stop Cotto this time.  It was a very lopsided fight with Cotto dominating and landing the better shots.  Margarito’s eye was badly bruised in the fight, and for several rounds he fought with vision in only one eye.  The medical personnel at Madison Square Garden saw enough after nine rounds and ordered the referee to halt the fight.

Margarito who was defiant till the end claimed he was never hurt and could have continued, his eye and face begged to differ.  Margarito has not beaten a serious opponent since his hand wraps were exposed in the Mosely fight.  Maybe the first Cotto/Margarito fight should be reviewed and declared a no contest?  In fairness to Miguel Cotto, he does not deserve a loss if doctored wraps were used.

Is it me…

Or is the BCS worst nightmare going to happen?  A rematch of a regular season game for the college football championship.  LSU and Alabama will play AGAIN, this time for all the marbles.  LSU won the first game 9-6, a defensive struggle that put the country to sleep, why will it be any different this time?  Do I hear Playoff????????  BCS people take a look at the way college Basketball runs their tournament; you can do the same thing with the top eight teams.  And if there is a rematch, at least both teams played the best teams to get there at the end of the season.  Oklahoma State and Boise State have a right to be upset.

 Is it me…

 Or is that an Ivy League school listed in the top 25 men’s college basketball poll?   Harvard is the first Ivy League school to be ranked since Princeton cracked the top 10 late in the 1997-98 season. The only other Ivy League school to be ranked since 1970 was Penn, which was last in the poll in January 1995. Brown is now the only Ivy League school not to make the poll.

Harvard’s stay among the basketball elite might not last long — they play at No. 9 Connecticut on Thursday.

Edited by D. Pride.