#NerdsUnite: Play on playa! (Breaking down the world of sports so you don't have to!)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Derek - I met him when I was professor for a day at CSF. Really rad dude, and he wants to come on board to help explain to us nerdy folk the wild world of sports. Smart dude, and knows his shizzy shiznat. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT DEREK!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @DerekJ_AllDay

It's nice to be here writing for all of you once again this week! Last week’s article was stuck in limbo as the NBA and NHL playoffs slowly developed towards their finals, but we have finally reached the climax of these epic stories. As I had planned from last week, today's post is going to be the wrap-up of the NHL playoffs which ended last night (Monday), and the introduction to the NBA championship series which begins tonight at 6pm/9pm PST/EST on ABC. 

The NHL is known for it's never ending parity. As long as you get to the big dance, you have a great chance to make a deep run into the postseason. This has never been more true than this year when the eight seed and lowest ranked playoff team, the #Los Angeles Kings, made their seemingly impossible run into the #Stanley Cup championship series. Unfortunately for the Kings, this parity has never once favored them and their franchise is without a single NHL championship. Maybe their luck would change this year?

The first challenge that this team of destiny faced was the number 1 seed and highest ranked playoff team (by record) in the Vancouver Canucks. Vancouver entered that series as the obvious favorites, and left as the clearly overrated losers. There was hardly even a fight in the series as the Kings advanced by a 4-1 game lead (series was best of 7 games). The hockey world was left slightly stunned. They are used to seeing upsets, but any time a number one seed is beaten it is shocking.

The Kings advanced and their next opponent was the number 2 seed St. Louis Blues! Experts favored the higher seeded Blues, and they didn't believe there was a way these Kings could pull off a second upset. On the other side, the Kings were sitting in their locker room saying, if we can beat the one seed, we can definitely beat the two seed. The Kings could not of been more right. They swept the Blues by a series score of four games to zero, and actually improved on their spectacular showing in the opening series. At this point, nobody could deny that the Kings were a team of destiny.

The team that the Kings had to play for a spot in the Stanley Cup finals was the third seed Phoenix Coyotes. The Kings once again dismantled their opponents and didn't even allow the Coyotes a moment to breath. They beat them by a score of 4-1, and after game five the eight seed LA Kings walked into the Stanley Cup Final with ease. If you hadn't noticed to this point, the Kings were required to defeat the number one, two and three seeds in their league in order to advance to the Stanley Cup finals. Not only did they have the most difficult path possible, but they won with ease and never looked back.

Finally, after the dust settled and the majority of the battles had concluded, two teams remained. The eight seed LA Kings representing the Western Conference and the six seed New Jersey Devils representing the Eastern Conference. Amazingly, once again, the Kings didn't even blink! As I wrote in my previous post, they won games 1 and 2 by the same scores of 2-1 in OT. Then, as the Devils fought for their lives, the Kings crushed their hopes once again and defeated them by a huge score of four to zero.

Then, out of nowhere the Devils showed signs of life and won games 4 and 5 to put the series at three games to two. Then the Kings put a foot down and decided to stop messing around. Last night, to win the Stanley Cup, they defeated the Devils by a score of 6-1 and took the first ever Stanley Cup home to a great hockey city in LA. As a fan of all local teams it's really fun to see the Kings win it all, but it's even better to see the fans who have never been able to appreciated a championship finally reach the promise land. Congratulations to the LA Kings on their first ever Stanley Cup Championship!

For the entire playoffs the Kings went 16-4 and only lost on the road once. Congratulations to the Stanley Cup MVP for the Kings, Jonathan Quick! Their goalkeeper was absolutely spectacular all playoffs and he goes home as the best player in the series.

As one series ends, another begins. The NBA playoffs feel like they are damn near as long as the regular season is. All the way back at the beginning of the playoffs many experts chose the #Heat and the #Thunder to match-up in the NBA Finals, and for once the experts were right. Neither team had an easy road to the finals at all. The Thunder lost the first two games of their semifinal series against the #Spurs and it looked like they were going to fizzle out in the playoffs once again. That young energy proved to be impossible to match-up against in time, and after the Thunder took a punch to the face they got right back up and won four games in a row to punch their tickets to the NBA Finals.

The Heat had an even more difficult path to the finals. The veteran, experienced Boston Celtics are always a threat once the playoffs begin and that proved to be true once again. Even though it is obvious that the Heat have more pure talent, that wisdom of the Celtics was enough to counter that. The series was pushed all the way to a winner take all game seven, where the Heat prevailed in a game that really came down to the last few minutes.

This gave basketball fans everything they dreamed of. The two most exciting teams in the NBA have to be the Heat and Thunder. Both teams are insanely fast, talented and flashy; and that is exactly what basketball fans love to watch. The problem is, most of the team these flashy teams aren't actually good enough to make it to the finals. For once, that flash and swagger has produced not one, but two phenomenal teams that will now face off in a seven game series for the rights to say they are the best basketball team on the planet. May the best team win.

My prediction is going to be the Thunder in seven games. Both teams are so good that I don't see how it is possible to pick the series at anything less than seven games, and at that point it is basically a coin flip to determine who takes home the trophy.

Congratulations to the Stanley Cup MVP for the Kings, Jonathan Quick! Their goalkeeper was absolutely spectacular all playoffs and he goes home as the best player in the series.

Tweet me your picks @DerekJ_AllDay and I will get back to you. Thanks for reading!

#nerdsunite

#NerdsUnite: Play on playa! (Breaking down the world of sports so you don't have to!)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Derek - I met him when I was professor for a day at CSUF. Really rad dude, and he wants to come on board to help explain to us nerdy folk the wild world of sports. Smart dude, and knows his shizzy shiznat. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT DEREK!!!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @DerekJ_AllDay

I don’t wish to dwell on the tragic passing of 42 year old Junior Seau at the moment, and quite frankly I’d like to get this tid-bit out of the way before I really start. The superstar linebacker for the San Diego Chargers took his own life on Wednesday and even though this should be what I’m writing about today I am not going to. There could be a million medical variables and reasons as to why Junior Seau did what he did, and we won’t know anything for certain until his brain is studied. I’m going to keep my opinions to myself for now, but I will be sure to write a post on this subject when more information is available. All that needs to be said for now is, RIP #55 Junior Seau.

G’day nerd nation, summer is coming up and we all know what that means; time for video games. I know I’m looking at Diablo 3 and its much anticipated release in about a week. I also have rather ambitious plans of playing through the Mass Effect series (which I’ve already begun) again just because it’s so awesome. Ya haters, the ending was AWESOME! Y’all suck. In addition, I’m far in Skyrim so it’s very likely that will be finished too. I may be stupid for thinking I can do this but three months is a long time.

Anyways, I’m not the video game writer on here so I’m going to shut up now. On to my other specialty…sports! Baseball saw one of its craziest days in a long time on Sunday, which included a new rivalry between the Phillies and Nationals sparked by veteran pitcher Cole Hamels intentionally hitting the Nat’s 19-year old super prospect Bryce Harper with a pitch. No that is not a typo, Bryce Harper is 19 years old, in the Major Leagues, and is the #2 prospect in all of baseball. Before the Phillies-Nats game began, there didn’t seem to be any bad blood between the two teams; that has now changed.
For whatever reason, Cole Hamels decided that he did not like Harper and plunked him square in the back with a 93 MPH fastball. (That hurts) Harper then returned the favor by stealing home on Hamels and also going 2 for 3 at the plate with a run added to his stat line. Now, much of this is very normal in baseball, even intentionally hitting/hurting someone, but here is the issue….

This is what Hamels said after the game, "I was trying to hit him,”…. "That's something I grew up watching, that's kind of what happened. So I'm just trying to continue the old baseball because I think some people are kind of getting away from it," Hamels said. "I remember when I was a rookie the strike zone was really, really small and you didn't say anything because that's the way baseball is…But I think unfortunately the league's protecting certain players and making it not that old-school, prestigious way of baseball."
HA! That’s basically my opinion…HA! Hamels is a douche, plain and simple. Let me tell you a few things about old school baseball which I happen to know just a little about. Old school guys WILL throw at you intentionally, will bark at you if they want to, and will pick fights if they feel disrespected…but the one thing they WILL NOT do is go to the media after a game and tell everyone about how “old school” they are. If you need to tell someone you’re old school, you probably aren’t. If you’re a real ball player you let your play do the talking in between the lines, and if you hit a guy then any payback is done on the field, not off! Hamels is a fake, a phony, a fraud, a fuck-o…oh and one more thing an old school guy wouldn’t do, is let a 19 year old kick his ass.

Nationals GM Mike Rizzo certainly agrees with me saying, "Cole Hamels says he's old school? He's the polar opposite of old school. He's fake tough,"…"He thinks he's going to intimidate us after hitting our 19-year-old rookie who's eight games into the big leagues? He doesn't know who he's dealing with. He thinks he's sending a message to us of being a tough guy. He's sending the polar opposite message. He says he's being honest, well, I'm being honest. It was a gutless chicken shit act," Rizzo added, "That was a fake-tough act. No one has ever accused Cole Hamels of being old school."

Haha! I love this shit!!! You really don’t get drama like this from any other sport. In baseball there is so much going on behind the game and so many messages being sent that most know nothing about. The game is so much more about respect than the actual rules, it’s about pride and being a true competitor by being willing to gain that edge by any fair way possible. These quotes sound like a conversation my dad and I would have had at dinner, bitching about how much of a chicken shit coward Cole Hamels is. It’s the realest emotion you are ever going to see in sports.

Oh, and let’s not forget Bryce Harper is a douche too, the difference is he’s 19 and has an excuse. He has done some stuff like blow kisses to a pitcher after he hit a home run; if he did that to Nolan Ryan I swear on anything Bryce would be dead. So don’t get me wrong, I think Hamels was right to hit Harper, but he was wrong to blab about it and let everyone know how tough he is.
Thanks for checking in again guys! I was planning on talking about a lot more, but I got excited writing this one and I just kept going. Tweet me @DerekJ_AllDay if you want to chat.
T-minus: 2 weeks until summer break.

#nerdsunite

Click here to follow Derek on Twitter!

#NerdsUnite: Play on playa! (Breaking down the world of sports so you don't have to!)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Derek - I met him when I was professor for a day at CSUF. Really rad dude, and he wants to come on board to help explain to us nerdy folk the wild world of sports. Smart dude, and knows his shizzy shiznat. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT DEREK!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @DerekJ_AllDay

As time moves on and we approach the end of February, I would just like to wish all of you a happy beginning to the 2^nd half of the NBA season. Over the weekend was the All-Star break which includes the all star game, dunk contest, rookie/sophomore game, celebrity game and many other festivities. Most of the time the game passes by and most don't blink an eye, but this year I actually found it interesting. My main focus in today's post is going to be the All Star game weekend and also the start of the second-half of the NBA season including a breakdown of what we have to look forward to. 

I am not sure if all of you have the same opinion that I do, but I really didn't care about the dunk contest. I am not sure why, I guess I am a sucker for the headliner names and this year there weren't many. The real interest for me came from the all star game itself. Returning readers know that I am a Laker's fan, and Kobe Bryant was once again in the headline this weekend. After Kobe scored 27 points on the night, he officially became the all-time all star game points leader. He broke Michael Jordan's previous record of 262 points, and also passed legend Oscar Robertson who has 246 points. This cements Kobe's position in the hall of fame even more securely and is another note to add to his resume. 

It probably doesn't surprise many of you that Kobe is leading something in points, we get it he scores a lot. (pun intended) What shared the headline with Kobe's record was his nose. After a hard foul from Dwayne Wade in the third quarter, Kobe went to the bench and got his bleeding nose fixed up. X-rays later revealed that his nose was indeed broken. This really puts a damper on an already difficult season for the Lakers. I know a broken nose isn't a disaster, but after their not so impressive start one isn't too inclined to think things will get better after Kobe broke something. The beginning of their season appeared promising, but after reading my previous posts return readers should once again know that LA isn't prepared to win this year. Although a trade could be imminent, and that is always a game changer. Potential trade prospects are Dwight Howard from Orlando and Deron Williams from the Nets. Anything is possible, but many other teams are looking much more promising when it comes to their title hopes this year.

In the NBA the playoffs are decided by splitting the league up into two conferences (East and West), and the top eight in the standings from each conference make it to the playoffs. In reality, only the top four from each league have a realistic chance at winning the championship. In the East the top four are currently Miami, Chicago, Indiana and Philadelphia; in the West the top four are Oklahoma City, San Antonio, LA Clippers and Dallas. If you ask most people they would probably say that these are the main contenders, along with some others close in the standing such as the Lakers (5^th in conference), Magic (5^th), Hawks (6^th) and Knicks (7^th). 

Miami lead by Lebron Jame and Dwayne wade, and Chicago lead by Derrick Rose are both having championship seasons and there is no doubt that these two juggernauts are headed to the playoffs. The surprises from the East are Indiana and Philadelphia. Although there is a lot of competition (listed above) those two previous losers are now winner and look like they have a good shot to stay in the top four. In the West there is a lot of the same with one new contender. Nobody is surprised to see a maturing Oklahoma City team at the top, Kevin Durant is the best player right now and Russell Westbrook works well with him at point guard. They were young, but now that they are gaining experience they look like they are ready to bring OKC it's first title. San Antonio with Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker, along with the defending NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks are also not surprises in the standings. The real shocker is the LA Clippers. This team is the epitome of terrible, and even a Clipper's fan would tell you that is true. This team hasn't won a damn thing since they entered the NBA, but now that they made a trade to acquire Chris Paul and have him compliment Blake Griffin  they are currently third in the West. I don't think there is much doubt anymore that they are officially title contenders, even though most would probably say that they need to keep that team together longer to have a real chance. All in all both conferences have endless drama as teams compete to move into and up the top eight, and the playoffs will once again be filled with drama and excitement.

I hope you all had a good all star weekend, and if you have any comments tweet them to me @DerekJ_AllDay. Talk to you next week!

#nerdsunite

Click here to follow Derek on Twitter!

#NerdsUnite: Play on playa! (Breaking down the world of sports so you don't have to!)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Derek - I met him when I was professor for a day at CSF. Really rad dude, and he wants to come on board to help explain to us nerdy folk the wild world of sports. Smart dude, and knows his shizzy shiznat. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT DEREK!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @DerekJ_AllDay

Hey everyone, welcome back to my weekly sports talk. Hopefully you all have been enjoying the Linsanity, and I know you are all counting the days until baseball season starts. This week pitchers and catchers are reporting to their team's respective spring training camps, and baseball fever is officially settling in.

If you don't pay close attention to baseball then you may not know that spring training is essentially the warm-up period before the regular season begins. It is about 4-5 weeks long and it gives the players who are guaranteed to make the roster time to condition and prepare for the season. Those players who are not roster bound have an opportunity to change their fate in spring training by making the Major League roster or cementing a solid spot in a teams minor leagues. 

After a particularly large amount of dramatic free agent moves occurred in the off-season baseball fans of all kinds are greatly anticipating this upcoming season. Because there are always so many off-season moves, I will just brief you guys on the major acquisitions that occurred via Free Agency and Trades. The biggest one of course, and I know I have spoken about this in the past, is Albert Pujols. In brief, up to this point in his 11 year career, Pujols has put up historic numbers that have made him the best player in baseball right now. 2011 was his last year in St. Louis, and he is ready to join an Angel's team that also added Texas' former ace (best starting pitcher), and best free agent pitcher available CJ Wilson to a rotation that is probably the best in baseball. Just to add to the drama the AL Champions and fellow AL West contenders the Texas Rangers added Asian superstar Yu Darvish. He has never pitched in MLB, but he has great stuff and is very young. He is a great addition to any rotation, and because the Rangers don't have many established starters he is probably going to take the spot at the top. The offense in Texas is straight up scary, although injury prone. The race in the AL West is going to be exciting this year and for years to come. 

The second best free agent that was available this off-season was the vegetarian giant known as Prince Fielder. Son of superstar slugger Cecil Fielder, Prince has cemented himself as one of the best 1B in baseball. Little Fielder decided to follow in his father's footsteps and join his dad's old team the Detroit Tigers in the off-season. Although other names such as Pujols and Miguel Cabrera, who is also on the Tigers can be placed above him, Fielder is a major impact bat that can crush the ball and is a 50 home run threat in any park. He is joining a squad that already has the best pitcher in baseball (last year anyways) and AL CY Young and MVP winner, Justin Verlander. Fielder and Cabrera in the lineup makes Detroit a serious contender, but 3-5 in their rotation is spotty. It will be interesting to see how their season develops, but since they don't have much competition there is no doubt that they are AL Central favorites.

The Yankees remained silent for most of the off-season, but once again they didn't remain silent for long. They made a huge trade by sending their prized catching prospect Jesus Montero to Seattle for a young power pitcher named Michael Pineda. Both players are extremely talented yet raw players, but the Yankee Spankees needed good young pitching and that is what they got. Along with Pineda they signed veteran FA starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda who has put up great numbers in his career, but has fallen victim to a lack of run support. He can get injured at times and age is always a factor, but if he stays in that rotation for 30 starts he could win 18 games. The competition in the AL East could not be any stronger. The Boston Red Sox, who had a disappointing 2011, are looking to come back with a vengeance and get back into the playoffs. They have a very strong and balance overall teams, and there is no doubt that they could finish atop the division. The team that could be the favorite to win the division is the Tampa Bay Rays. Their pitching staff is ridiculous, and with minor additions to an already productive offense they are going to be very exciting. Their manager Joe Maddon has to be the best in baseball right now, and he is once again looking to lead his team to victory with less financial resources than everyone else.

The National League has not had quite as much parody or excitement in this off-season. The NL Central lost Prince Fielder (Brewers) and Albert Pujols (Cardinal), and even though the Reds are a very strong team there is no clear favorite. The Cardinals are adding Wainwright, who is coming off of injury to their rotation. The Reds pulled off a big trade this off-season and added a top of the rotation starting pitcher named Mat Latos. He is young and unpredictable, but the potential is very high. They also added Ryan Madson, who was probably the best closer available this FA period. The Brewers look screwed, to be frank. The loss of Fielder hurts, but they also had a major slap in the face when their NL MVP left fielder Ryan Braun allegedly tested positive for steroids, and will probably receive a 50-game suspension. Look for a race between St. Louis and Cincinnati, with a possible surprise run from a very young and talented Kansas City Royals team.

The NL East has been absolutely owned by the Philadelphia Phillies. With a monster rotation and a strong offense they have been atop their division for 5 years straight now. They added a closer, Ryan Papelbon, after losing Ryan Madson to the Reds, but they basically stayed quiet. They are confident in their team and with good reason, but the up and coming Washinton Nationals are looking to make a move and take own the kings of the east. The Nats added Gio Gonzalez, a power lefty that goes behind young super star Strasburg in their rotation. The race between the Nats and Phils is going to be intense, just add this one to the list.

The NL West is probably the least exciting division in baseball, but there has to be one stinker right? The Arizona Diamondbacks look to repeat as division champs after a very impressive 2011 run. With the support of ace Ian Kennedy and young power hitting outfielder Justin Upton and Chris Young, they breezed through a weak west and took the crown. The Giants, and ex-Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum look to rebound this year, so do the Dodgers, but most fully expect a repeat from the snakes.

I hope all of these trades and signings have gotten you all excited for the upcoming baseball season, which begins in the first week of April. Any thoughts, questions or opinions about baseball? Tweet them to me @DerekJ_AllDay
 and I will be happy to respond to you. Fantasy Baseball is a specialty of mine also, so if you have any questions or need advice I will be happy to lead your team to a championship. Thanks for reading! 

#nerdsunite

#NerdsUnite: Play on playa! (Breaking down the world of sports so you don't have to!)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Derek - I met him when I was professor for a day at CSF. Really rad dude, and he wants to come on board to help explain to us nerdy folk the wild world of sports. Smart dude, and knows his shizzy shiznat. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT DEREK!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @DerekJ_AllDay

Hello again everyone and Happy Super Bowl week! Hope you're all getting your BBQ's and burgers ready for this Sunday and I am actually really curious to hear all of your picks to win. I hope all of you tweet me your pics and some trash talk on mine to @DerekJ_AllDay; all correct picks will get a shout-out in next weeks post. No lame shit talking allowed. This week is my Super Bowl post and I can't wait to break down both of the teams playing for the NFL Championship. Once again, same as 2008 the New York Giants and the New England Patriots will play each other in the Super Bowl. Both teams had extremely dissimilar paths through the playoffs, yet both are equally interesting. If you are all dreading those lame Super Bowl parties with your family, then at least you can drop some of the knowledge you learn from me on them.

Lets begin with my pick to win the 2012 NFL Super Bowl, the New York Giants! Established in 1925 and in their 87^th season (42 seasons in the Super Bowl era, began in 1970) as a franchise the Giants will be contending for their 4^th Super Bowl victory. That statistic truly shows how rare and important playing in one of these games is. When the Giants began their season they naturally had Super Bowl intentions on their minds. The Giants knew they were an extremely strong and balanced team with effective supporting casts on both sides of the football. The anchors of the offense were QB Eli Manning and a very good and young WR core including Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham. Combining that offense with a very stout run defense with Defensive Ends Justin Tuck, Usi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul made for what we see today, a Super Bowl team.

Throughout the regular season the Giants showed flashes of brilliance, but at times looked like one of the teams floating on the outside of the “elite” circle. After finishing the season with a less than spectacular 9-7 record, the Giants won the NFC East by beating the Dallas Cowboys in the last game of the season. Considering they crawled into the playoffs, nobody really expected the Giants to excel. They were underdogs in their first playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons, and won big 24-2. Then, when they were even bigger underdogs facing the defending Super Bowl Champions the Green Bay Packers, they prevailed 37-20. The team that proved to be their biggest test was the San Francisco 49ers. In a slug-fest of a defensive battle the Giants barely won by a late field goal 20-17. After taking an unlikely path, the Giants now find themselves in the Super Bowl once again with a great shot at repeating 2008 and defeating the Patriots.

The New England Patriots are once again in the Super Bowl and the evil mastermind Bill Belichick will accept nothing short of victory. With his pretty boy side kick Tom Brady at his side they once again set their sites on taking over the football world. The “Pats” have been in existence since 1959, obviously making them much younger than their Super Bowl counterparts. With an equal amount of years in the Super Bowl era, the Patriots have 1 less Championship than the Giants. All 3 of New England's Super Bowl victories have come under the Belichick/Tom Brady era. In 2008, the Patriots went undefeated (16-0) during the regular season and remained perfect all the way up to the Super Bowl. This is where they met the New York Giants, and were painfully defeated 17-14. There is no doubt that the Pats would love nothing more than to avenge their 2008 loss and match the Giants with their fourth Super Bowl Championship.

The Patriots found themselves with a championship contending team once again going into the 2011 season, and with the emergence of superstar TE (Tight End) Rob Gronkowski they easily marched into the playoffs once again with a 13-3 record and a first place AFC East finish. They had a much easier path than the Giants with a bye week round one, and then a second bye week round 2 by facing the Denver Tebows. After Brady stomped Tebow 45-10, they found their first real opponent in the Baltimore Ravens (my Super Bowl pick). The game was as close as it gets and with great performances from both teams the game came down to a FG attempt to tie the score at 23-20. Unfortunately, Belichick's best friend, Billy Cundiff, missed a relatively easy FG and the Ravens were sent home. We now find ourselves with a rematch of the 2008 Super Bowl, and what is guaranteed to be a game for ages.

Whose side will you be on when it comes down to Super Bowl Sunday? Will you support little brother Eli? Or will you choose the dark side and cheer for the Pats? Tweet me @DerekJ_AllDay and give me your opinions! See ya next week.

#nerdsunite