On the Sidelines with Stephen and Matthew 3

On the Sidelines 3- Special Guest Chuck B.

This On the Sidelines Edition is packed full of sports stuff.  The NFL Draft will continue today at noon with rounds 4-7.  The NBA Playoffs are going to start their next round tomorrow at 1:00 with the upstart Grizzlies taking on the sexy pick Thunder.  Then the Heat take on the Celtics in what might be the most intriguing match up of teams.  That should be one that everyone wants to keep their eye on.  Monday night the Hawks take on the Bulls, which I think the Bulls will take quite easily, especially with Kirk Hinrich out for the Hawks.  And to finish up Monday night, we have the Lakers and Mavs meeting up in the playoffs again.  Can the Mavs break through and get to the Finals???  MLB is in full swing, we'll take a look at this week's standings, and see what team is rising and what team is fallling.  There's racing, hockey, and some golf even happening. Another fun weekend of sports, and can't wait to see what happens this weekend!

NFL NEWS:
NFL Draft News
What will become of Cam Newton?

Colts Draft News
Colts draft for a need
Colts draft Defensive Tackle

NBA NEWS:
Pacers News
10 Days to see if Bird Stays

NBA Free Agent Links
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=18192
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/679287-nba-offseason-2011-top-ten-available-free-agents

NBA Playoffs Conference Semi-Final Matchups
Celtics Heat    Hawks Bulls    Mavericks Lakers    Grizzlies Thunder

OTHER NEWS:
ESPN Puts the Phillies in the Top Spot for Baseball
Power Rankings for the Week of April 25th, 2011

Madden Cover Revealed
Madden 2012

Catch me at sajamie81@yahoo.com  Twitter: stephenA1181

YEAR IN REVIEW- INDIANA PACERS

I wrote this up at the end of last season and wanted to add some other thoughts about the Pacers from last year.  Talk about an up and down season.  I was surprised it took the front office as long as it did to get rid of Jim O'Brien, maybe they didn't know who to put in the place.  But once they did get rid of him, this team did turn it on, and it came at the right team as the Pacers headed into that weak part of the schedule.  But then this team did go into a losing skid, and I still wasn't sold on them making to to the playoffs.  But they made it there to the playoffs, and fought a hard series with the Bulls.  They could have won that series had things gone the right way.  But still a great testament to what Frank Vogel brought to the table, and I was happy to see the progress they made.  This coming year the expectations are high and I hope they live up to them.


Well the Pacers head home after a hard fought battle with the Chicago Bulls, I was going to save some thoughts for the podcast on Saturday, but here are a few questions going into the offseason that will have to be answered.  Let me know what you think about the Pacers season as well.

Is Larry Bird coming back? 

Is Frank Vogel the coach for now?

What free agent signing will we make?

   What are the expectations for next year?  

I don't want to spoil my thoughts on it, and this will give me a few days to totally think out what I want to answer on these.  I was definitely bitter about the Bulls and especially Noah, so it's best to simmer down, and let things settle. Overall, I'm happy with the season.  Did I think we would get to the playoffs? Yes.  Did I think Jim O'Brien would last the season? NO!!!!  He was never the best guy for this job in the first place.  Was that a fun run by the Pacers.  Heck yea!  Giving the Bulls a hard fought battle, and letting them see we weren't going to just lay down for them was great.  Granted, game five wasn't the best, but this series really helped put the Pacers back on the map.  Will I have high expectations for next year?  Depends on who we get, and who is coming back.  Is the city back behind the Pacers?  Not yet, but hopefully it's getting there. No more excuses of "oh I don't like this thug" "oh I don't like this player"  just accept the team we have as long as yes they're performing at the level they should be.  I can't imagine Lance Stephenson being around, who is someone that rubs people the wrong way.  But other than him, you can embrace this team with the core of Granger, Hansbrough, Hibbert, Collison, George, and such.  They're a young group, but they play with heart, and the enthusiasm that I love to see.  Things are turning around, and Indiana is going to be a fun town with the Pacers up and the Colts up and the college basketball scene.  Just a great time to be a sports fan here.  

On the Sidelines with Stephen and Matthew Edition 2-More NBA Playoffs

On the Sidelines 2- Just Stephen Edition <------Click Here

This weeks On the Sidelines, we'll be talking more about the NBA playoffs.  Some series are probably over, while some are still being competitive.  Also, the NFL released their schedule, we'll give some thoughts on the Colts season, and other notable games happening. There's still no end for the lockout, so not much to talk there. Baseball is still plugging along.  We'll look at this week's standings, and see if there's any changes.  Also some other news stories that caught our eyes.  A fun week of sports, and plenty to talk about.  

NBA Playoff stories

Eastern Conference: Pacers Bulls    76ers Heat    Knicks Celtics    Hawks Magic
Western Conference: Grizzlies Spurs    Hornets Lakers    Blazers Mavericks    Nuggets Thunder

MLB News

ESPN's baseball Power Rankings for week of April 18th
Colorado rises to number one.  A bit of a surprise, how well the Rockies have come out.  I didn't hear too much said about them in the off season.  But they're showing they can play.  Rangers, Phillies, and Yankees are still up there in the top.  The Indians and Royals are definitely surprising people, right there in the top ten, and have some of the best league records.  The Mariners are bringing up the rear, which seems to be their normal place here in baseball.

NFL News

NFL Master Schedule

This is the whole NFL season.  Go check out the big games for each week.  

Interactive Schedule

This is where you can select one team, and find their schedule. Or you can go week to week, and see what games will be happening then.

Colts news:

As far as draft picks, I think they need to pick up a linemen of some sort.  Beefing up the offensive line would be great.  But then again a defensive linemen would be great too.  A run stopper would be something to get with the pick here.  It's the Colts though, and it's always a hard one to pick.  Bill Polian will usually make a great pickup, and I have no doubt he will deliver here.

As you can see lots of sports stuff happening.  It's great to be talking Pacers playoff basketball, even if there's just one more game. I think this team is turning it around, and yes the cliched "one more guy" isn't great, but they are heading in the right direction.  There's a great group of players here, and I think Frank Vogel is the right guy for the job.  Why not give him the shot?  Baseball is moving.  There's about 1000000000 games left right?  Yes I do think the MLB season is way too long, and most of it doesn't matter till after July.  And is it really still america's past time or has football passed it up?  Maybe a podcast about that in the near future.  Next week's On the Sideslines will be talking NLF draft, and probably more NBA playoffs.  It should be into the second round by then, so we'll have those matchups set.  May is around the corner, so you know the INDY 500 is coming soon.  Just great stuff coming down the pipeline, and can't wait to keep this going!!!

Want to get in touch with me about being a part of On the Sidelines hit up sajamie81@yahoo.com. Or just tell me how great of a job we're doing.  Any feedback is appreciated.  Look forward to hearing from you and talking sports.  

Game Ones of the NBA Playoffs

I think this was an interesting weekend for the NBA Playoffs, and hopefully will make for an exciting playoffs.  With the Pacers not being a part of the playoffs in four years, I haven't had as much interest in them. But definitely Saturday morning I was up and ready to go.  


The Pacers definitely woke up the Bulls, and played well enough to lead with less than 2 minutes to go.  Who knew that the Bulls would end up going on a 16-1 run to finish the game. After the technical foul on Deng, there was a shift in the game, and the Pacers couldn't match the momentum of the Bulls.  It does make me nervous for tonight's game because I can see the Bulls coming out and making a statement.  But I thought they might do that in game one, and for MOST of the game, the Pacers had something going.  But it's how you finish, and the Pacers didn't finish. I still think this series could go six games, and let's see if the Pacers can help me out.  Side note, I hate listening to the announcers on ESPN, but that's a whole other conversation.


The Sixers and the Heat had a good game going.  With the Heat taking control and the Sixers trying to storm back, but they couldn't get any closer than 9 at the end.  It looked like the Sixers might be able to get a game up as they lead some of the way, and help Lebron down in the first quarter.  He came on in the rest of the game even with the Sixers up by 14 at one point.  Just like the Pacers Bulls game the more talented team pulled ahead and won the game. The Heat can play like they want, and should be able to control this series. 


Even Superman couldn't help the Magic get past the Hawks in their game one. I was watching it, and couldn't believe how Dwight Howard was scoring at will, and he ended up with 46 points and 19 rebounds, but it wasn't enough. The Hawks just seemed in control of the whole game, and Joe Johnson had 25 points to lead the Hawk.  Jamal Crawford hit some big shots that kept the lead going, and it was the Hawks day.  This should be an interesting series to watch if Howard can keep putting up these big numbers.


The final game of Saturday was the Blazers and the Mavs.  Dirk was Dirk in this game, and we're not talking Dirk Diggler here.  Nowitzki scored 18 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, and Jason Kidd hit some big shots along the way.  He continues to show that he can be a great if not elite point guard at 38 years old, and will hit a big shot if you need it.  The Blazers had a six point lead in the fourth quarter, but the Mavs took the lead with 4:49 left when Nowitzki hit two free throws.  And the Mavs were able to keep control in that fourth quarter and take game one.  The Blazers were a sexy pick to make the upset here, but I think the Mavs might be too much for them.  Side note, when did Rick Carlisle shave his head?  Was he in a hair for hair bet?


Sunday definitely provided two big surprises.  The Hornets and the Grizzlies took game one in both of their series.


The Grizzlies in my opinion were the bigger surprise.  They hadn't won ONE playoff game ever.  Got swept in all their postseason appearances, so to think they would come out fighting in game one against the Spurs, and win it on the Spurs home floor is pretty amazing.  We know the way the Spurs started out this season with that ridiculous start where it took a while before they got their tenth loss.  They looked unstoppable, but not so much in the second half of the season.  This game definitely featured some good play by Zach Randolph and the other Gasol, Marc, not Pau.  Randolph lead the way with 25 points and 14 rebounds.  The Spurs were playing without Manu Ginobili, who sat out the game, but may end up playing in game two. There's no definite word on it, but the Spurs probably want him back sooner rather than later.  As for the Grizzlies, there's no pressure on them to win this series, and they played like that.  Shane Battier hit a big three with less than a minute to play, and Richard Jefferson missed a three pointer at the end that would have sent the game into OT.  Who knows what would happen then?  But congrats to the Memphis Grizzlies on their first post season win, and who knows how many more will come?


The Hornets played spoiler as well in their game one. I didn't think that the Hornets had much of a shot against the Lakers.  But Chris Paul looked like Chris Paul, finishing up with a line of 33 pts, 7 rebs, 14 assists, 4 steals.  Not a bad night of work at all.  The Hornets had a great defensive approach, and an even better offensive game, leading to ONLY three turnovers by them.  A great feat in itself.  Kobe Bryant put up his points, but it wasn't enough.  Artest came through with 16 points and 11 rebounds.  Pau Gasol got outplayed by his brother on this day, only having 8 points and 6 rebounds.  Maybe the Hornets can keep the big MO going and somehow take this series.  Side note, Steve Blake had to sit out because of chicken pox, and three other Lakers haven't had chicken pox before, Andrew Bynum, Ron Artest, and.......Kobe.  Can you imagine how different this series might be without those three guys??   


I was out for Rock of Ages, which will be talked about in my music blog....shameless plug, so I didn't get to watch the Knicks and Celtics, which was a game I was looking forward to.  From what I've heard and read, it sounds like the Knicks actually played some defense.  But the Celtics still overcame it, and won the game by 2 points on a miss by Carmelo Anthony at the end.  Chauncey Billups left the game with 51 seconds to go, and it is still undecided on game 2 status.  That could be a bit of a blow for the Knicks.  Ray Allen proved he's always ready to hit the game winning shot or go ahead three and did that again in this game.  I still think the Knicks have this series, and it will probably be a fun seven game one.  But the Celtics have shown they can handle young guns with their old dogs.  


The final game one of the night was the Nuggets and the Thunder.  Got home in time to catch most of the second half of this game.  It was fun to watch Kevin Durant play since I've never sat down to watch a Thunder game.  His shot just looks so smooth, it's awesome.  I bet he could score on every play if he wanted to.  He's that good, and can just get his shot whenever he wants.  The rest of the Thunder stepped up and got some big scores as well.  Russell Westbrook helped along side Durant, and gave 31 points.  Durant ended up with 41 so they had 72 points of the Thunder's 107 points.  Good day at the office for those guys.  This game was definitely up and down most of the way.  It was hard to tell which team would take control.  The Thunder, just feels weird saying that, are another sexy pick to win and go all the way to the finals.  The Nuggets came on after the Melo trade, and showed they can play just as well.  This will be a fun one to watch, and looking forward to the rest of this series.


Overall, not a bad day one and two of the NBA playoffs.  The intensity that was talked about before is definitely there in all the series.  I think people weren't giving enough credit to the lower seeds, and how they could turn it on for the playoffs.  Hope the rest of the playoffs can be close, and give us some fun games.  That's what the NBA is all about.  

On the Sidelines with Stephen and Matthew Edition 1- NBA Playoffs

Podcast Hosting at CyberEars.com

Kobe Bryant Meets Rudy the Real Rudy

Lebron Jersey is Tops in NBA

ESPN Baseball Rankings

Western Conference Predictions- Walking in a minefield

Once again going to post out my own thoughts on what might happen in the Wild Wild West. I keep hearing on ESPN how it's like a minefield.  So I'll post what time will blow up hence the loser. And I'll point out who sets the bomb, so you'll be able to tell who I actually think will move on. 

ESPN broke all the series down for us too.
Grizzlies Spurs    Hornets Lakers    Trailblazers Mavericks    Nuggets Thunder

Spurs vs. Grizzlies
Will the Grizzly Old Spurs be able to move on and blow up the Grizzlies?  I think they will.  San Antonio came out on fire in the first part of the season, and I can't see them having a big let down even with a not so great second half.  It's still got Tim Duncan leading the way, so they have a good chance, as long as he steps up the game, and plays like the player he can. Hard to believe the season series was tied up at 2-2, so maybe the Grizzlies can pull off some magic.  But I'm going with Memphis stepping on the mine, and Spurs blowing them up.


Hornets vs. Lakers
I hate the Lakers.  Should I be any more honest than that?  But I know they'll probably turn it on like they tend to do in the playoffs.  It looks like the season series wasn't even that close, so I can't envision the Lakers letting down and getting upset by the Hornets.  Even with Chris Paul back at somewhat of him self, the Hornets will have a hard time facing against the two time champs.  They will step on a mine, and get blown out.


Blazers vs. Mavericks
Will the Mavericks finally break through and really show they belong as a top elite team?  Can Dirk work his shooting and get the Mavs to where they think they should be?  Wouldn't it be awesome to see Mark Cuban holding that championship trophy?  The Blazers could try to hold their own, and get Alridge the points he needs to score.  Andre Miller can run the offense as best he can.  This series could get interesting, but I'm going with the Mavs setting out a mine for the Blazers. See you Blazers.


Nuggets vs. Thunder
The Thunder seem like a sexy pick, and I know I love being sexy, so I'm going with the Thunder.  Durant is awesome, and should be in the upper elite soon if he's not right there now.  Adding some veteran like Perkins should give the inside some presence.  The Nuggets definitely turned it on even after trading away Melo.  It's pretty amazing they were able to do that.  But it just seemed like they knew the team they could have, and went out there and played ball.  This could be a fun seven game series with the Thunder setting out three mines for the Nuggets to step on.  Bye bye Denver.  Moving on up thunder.


There we go. First round predictions.  I'll go round by round.  

Welcome to the NBA Playoffs- Eastern Conference First Round Predictions

Well after what felt like a long regular season, we are finally at the playoffs, and it's extra exciting for us Pacers fans because we've not made the playoffs for four years.  We get a chance to shine, but then it's against the top seed, and possibly the team that's been playing the best basketball, the Chicago Bulls.  I'm not having high hopes, but hoping that we can be competitive, possibly win a game.  Winning two games would be icing on top. Playing well would be the biggest hope for this series.  


Espn breaks down each playoff series here:
Pacers Bulls    76ers Heat    Hawks Magic    Knicks Celtics
Here are my own thoughts on what to expect out of each series, and who I think will move on.

76ers vs. Heat
This probably will be a cakewalk for the Heat if they play the way they should.  The 76ers have been a surprise, and besides the other AI, it's hard knowing who is on the team.  Miami took the season series 3 games to 0, and the box scores showed the average win was by 10 points, and who knows if that even shows how close the games were.  Miami has plenty of playoff experience, Wade was MVP of the Finals back when Miam won it.  Like I said, can't imagine Miami losing this series, and taking it pretty easy.

Hawks vs. Magic
This one should be interesting because it seems like both teams flew under the radar, and I'm not really sure what to expect out of this.  I feel like we're still waiting on Howard to really take his game up.  I know this year he was mentioned in the MVP discussion, so perhaps this will be his time to shine, and show everyone he's arrived fully.  The Hawks are a team that I didn't realize took the season series from the Magic 3 game to 1.  But those games were close with Atlanta winning by an average of 6 points.  I like the Magic in this one, and it would probably go 6 games.  


Knicks vs. Celtics
Who know what to expect out of this series??  Are the Celtics going to turn it on in the playoffs like they usually do?  Are the Knicks going to play enough defense to get past the Celtics?  Will Rondo get back to form, and take over games?  Or will Melo step up and show he belongs in NY?  I definitely will be watching these series, and would love to see a good competitive 7 game series.  I don't care for either team, but I'll go with the Knicks, since they haven't been to the playoffs in a few years, and I'm tired of the Celtics.  That's good enough reasoning right?


Will the Eastern Conference be able to take the trophy away from the West?

It's Baseball Season--- But who do I root for???

Time to step up to the plate and hit it out the park!  But the only thing is I can't hit it out of the park, and I can't really get into baseball. I gave it a shot today for about two minutes, and fell asleep. Maybe it was the fact that Joe Buck was calling the game, and that could be ANYONE asleep.  Maybe it's the fact that Indy doesn't have a pro team that I can rally behind.  So who do I root for in MLB????


The closest team would be the Cincinnati Reds, but then am I just jumping on the bandwagon of last season?  They do seem like a fun team to get behind.  I would love to check out a home game of theirs, since I've yet to experience a Major League game.  Ok it's decided, I will attend a Reds game this season, who's with me?


What other options do I have as no MLB team city?  The Cubs, but their fans just get annoying.  I can still recall being on Butler's campus when the Cubs made it to the playoffs, and all these "fans" who still had the tags on their hats, were saying how great it would be if the Cubs won.  Also I heard how they always loved the Cubs, but yet I never ONCE saw anything Cubs related on them.  


You have the White Sox up in Chicago as well.  Another team that you can get behind, but I don't know anyone on the team, and that's always a good thing to know. I would hate to say oh yea I'm a fan of the White Sox, and someone asks me who do I like.  Ummm that one guy that plays out in left field, yea that guy!  


Do I root for the Tigers since Detroit is hours away?  Cleveland is hours away as well.  Oh the pain of nothing have a club to root for!  Tell me loyal readers, what team should I pull for, and should I even care about baseball????

The Pacers- A Topsy Turvy Team

Since the Pacers are on the brink of finally making the playoffs again after a few years away from it, I wanted to share my thoughts on this team.  They are definitely a hard bunch to figure out, and one that I have seen glimpses of a team ready to take on the top teams as they've beat the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, and such.  But then again they are a team that gets beat by the Wizards, Bucks, Kings, teams that shouldn't beat them at all.  Last weekend when they lost to the Kings and the Pistons on a back to back, but then come back to win against the Celtics on a Monday REALLY threw me for a loop.

I think overall, there is the right players here, but we still need that one guy who can take us to the next step.  It's one thing to just compete with teams, and another thing to beat those teams, and show the excitement of those Pacer teams of the 90's.  Those were such a great time.  People all over were rooting for the team, and you could feel the energy in the building. I've not felt that except a few times at Conseco over the past few years. I went to the Knicks game a few weeks ago, and there was that playoff energy. I really felt like the team wanted to go out there and win that game.  Such a great feeling to have back.

Unfortunately, this Pacers team just might not be the team that I want it to be.  I love Granger as a player.  But there are times when he seems disinterested in playing, and to be a team player, you can't be that way.  He needs to be the leader of this team, or else ship him on out like we did with Jermaine O'Neal. I enjoyed watching him play, but then he got so wordy and never backed it up, so I knew it was time to give up on him. I don't want to do that with Granger because I know there's something there that could be special.  He was an All Star before, and has put the team on his back.

The best move the Pacers made was getting rid of Jim O'Brien, and putting Frank Vogel in charge. While he might not be the long term solution, I've seen enough to think he should be given a chance. I mean they gave O'Brien a chance, and I felt like he never fit as a coach here.  He tried to model his way on to the team we had, and there wasn't the players that needed to be here.  I think he wasn't willing to let the younger guys have a chance as well, and you can see how much Hansbrough has come through when Vogel took over.  So just give him a chance, and let's see where it goes.

Final thoughts would be that this team will be in the playoffs, and might win a game or two, but probably won't make any noise. I do think the playoff experience is better than being a lottery team, especially since it seems like the players coming out of college won't be those superstars right away. You need to be in the top 5 or so to really get a game changer, and at this rate, the Pacers aren't up there. So why not get to the playoffs, get that experience, and keep improving as a team. Bring back those good days of Pacers basketball, and get the fans back in the seats.

Here's a fun memory for all of us:

Introduction and thoughts on last night's championship game.

People might not realize it, but I'm a fan of sports as well as music. I follow the Pacers and Colts mostly.  But I love the Butler Bulldogs, and I want to finally go to a MLB game this year.  Never been to one, but with Cincy so close, and Chicago a short drive away, there's no reason not to go to at least one game.  This summer I will get to one!

But I wanted to use this as a forum to get some sport thoughts out from time to time.  Hopefully it will be every few days or just when the urge hits me.



Right now, I can't help but think about Butler's final game against UCONN last night. I was very confident that Butler would be able to contain and stay with UCONN. I had great belief that Butler would win, and take their first championship in ANYTHING.  That's right, Butler has not won a National Championship in any sport.  That just was astounding to me. I couldn't believe it.  But for such a small school with not a big history of winning and even sports, it shouldn't be that surprising.

If you would have told me that Butler would shoot 18%, I would have laughed in your face.  That's about the percentage of the pick up games I play in every Wednesday night.  You can say UCONN played good defense, and I think that Butler just started losing confidence, which hurts even more.  I've watched plenty of games, and never seen Butler get down mentally like that.  I think that's what is MOST frustrating and disappointing about a loss like last night.  Last year, we had a shot to beat Duke, and even went on a scoring drought.  But last night was nothing I had ever seen before.  We play UCONN again, and it's a different story.  Then again, it would be a different team as well, so I wouldn't want to go play them again. Mack and Howard show up even more if we would play them again.  Andrew Smith doesn't miss every shot!  That's something he is going to have to work on, and I think he will.

I know this team will come out next season with a renewed energy, and one that will be focused. I hope we won't have to sweat it out in Feb, and hope that they just turn it on. I have high hopes that Butler will come out of the gates, and start showing they are a real power.  They've proved it this year, and last year, so why not keep it going?  Losing the seniors will be tough, and possibly losing Shelvin Mack.  But I think he will be back, and be even better than what he was.  He will come around as the leader of the team, and put them on his back if need be.  It will be something to watch next year, and I'm already for that.  Go Bulldogs!!