With The First Pick In The 2011 NBA Draft....

All signs point toward the Cleveland Cavaliers selecting former Duke Point Guard Kyrie Irving. With only limited playing time in college due to coming out after his Freshmen season, and only playing 11 games during that season due to injury, Irving according to multiple sources and analysts is the clear cut favorite to be selected number one.

However in these final few days leading up to the draft, I have been thinking more and more about the style of play in today's NBA and how games are won. This is not to take anything away from Kyrie Irving, I believe he will be a fine player, but more to do with the position he plays at point guard.

You hear a lot about today's game being a point guard driven league, and you could start to see where people could make their case with Derrick Rose winning the league MVP and Rajon Rondo developing into an All Star caliber player all the way to players like Russel Westbrook who is a rising star in the league. But when I really look at it, the key to success in the NBA is not the point guard position. It is clearly a "wing mans" league.

Now before explaining why I feel this way, let me start by saying I do believe the point guard position is important, you need a point guard who is a leader and understands his role, however that last word is key, ROLE, the point guard position is just a role on a team that can be filled by someone with a high basketball IQ and can lead his team on the court and does not turn the ball over. However if you want to be successful and win a championship in today's NBA you need above average production out of you wing men (Shooting Guards or Small Forwards).

When you look at just the playoffs from this season the only teams that made the playoffs where the best player on their team was the point guard were the New Orleans Hornets (Chris Paul) and Chicago Bulls (Derrick Rose). Literally every other "contender" the best player on their team was a wing player. Lakers=Kobe Bryant, Thunder=Kevin Durant, Heat=James/Wade, even the aging Boston Celtics best player is Paul Pierce, and the NBA champion Dallas Mavericks who have Dirk Nowitzki whose style of play is like a shooting guard and he plays on the wing mostly, he just happens to be 7 foot tall.

My point is if indeed the Cavs select Irving with their first pick in the draft he could be a nice complimentary piece to a puzzle that is not close to being finished yet. Ultimately to compete in today's NBA they will need to find him a running mate at a wing position to once again find themselves in contention, whether it be through a trade, the draft, or the unlikely scenario of a key free agent wing player landing in Cleveland. So as long as the Cavaliers organization and fans keep Irvings role on the team exactly that, as a role and a piece, there will be no scenario which they set themselves up for another disappointment, or have a waste in this years NBA draft.

Richard Rodawalt

AB3 Sports

Sir Stanley's Cup

In this moment I would like to congratulate the Boston Bruins for their victory in Vancouver that capped off their championship season. Instead of going too much into the classless actions of Vancouver fans with their rioting and so forth, which is certain to give that franchise and community a "black eye" for many years to come, I feel it is more important to focus more on the positive while still mentioning the negative. The Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in nearly 40 years, led by a goalie who was a pure stone cold killer, if you will, during this series.

Tim Thomas allowed only 8 goals in 7 games. Now think about that for a minute that is a staggering statistic. While most of the blame will go on Roberto Luongo, and rightfully so he does deserve some blame, why not instead turn that blame into credit towards Tim Thomas, because no matter how bad Luongo may have played at times, you simply can not win a hockey game without scoring goals.

The best part of the entire series to me however, has to be that the series went seven games. I myself am a big football basketball and baseball fan, and in basketball and baseball you can also experience a game seven (every playoff game in football is a game 7) and in seven games you are very rarely going to see a team be able to fluke their way to a series win. Generally if the series goes all seven games the better of the two teams comes out on top. Of all these sports I whole hearted believe hockey owns the most exciting game seven experience. The games are typically so low scoring in hockey making the drama of each big play that much more important. Opposed to basketball where there is scoring all over the place and constant blowouts, and baseball where one poor individual performance by a pitcher can ruin your whole season, with hockey it takes a consistency from the whole team to last through a game seven that is not seen in other sports.

This is not to take away from the other sports at all, they all certainly have their share of excitement and exciting moments, it is just different with hockey. I can admit that I am not the type to sit through many hockey games on television but having gone to several in person it is one of the best atmospheres to experience in person in all of sports.

So congratulations Boston Bruins on making the Patriots organization now hold the longest championship drought in Boston at a whopping 6 years, and as said before in seven games the better team will typically come out on top, well in this case the victory also goes to the more deserving fan base. Congratulations Boston Bruins, your organization, and fans everywhere, and enjoy hoisting Sir Stanley's Cup.

Richard Rodawalt

AB3 Sports

The Weight Of A Champion

Last night the Dallas Mavericks were able to do it, win the NBA Finals and hoist their championship trophy to the delight of the majority of basketball fans who were rooting for them or against Miami, whichever way you look at it.

This championship, the first for the Dallas Mavericks organization means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. There is the obvious, it being the first ever for the franchise. Then there are the individuals, Jason Terry who along with Dirk Nowitzki are the only remaining players left from the 06 team that lost to the Miami Heat in the 06 Finals. This win and championship is certainly a sense of vindication.

There is Jason Kidd, who although he has had a long and certain Hall Of Fame career, a championship always seemed to avoid him, coming up short twice in his time with the New Jersey Nets.

Owner Mark Cuban, who chose to stay quiet for virtually the entire playoff run. You can bet that the Cubes will be right there celebrating with all of the players he put on this team because the chemistry and camaraderie go from the front office in Cuban all the way down to the last players on the bench like Brian Cardinal and injured Caron Butler.

It means a lot to the game of basketball after all of the shenanigans that went down last summer and players in the league trying to push the notion that a superstar alone with just a decent supporting cast could not win it all. Well these Mavericks did just that with Dirk Nowitzki being the only All Star/Superstar on this Dallas team.

And then there is Dirk Nowitzki and what being a champhion will mean to him and what the weight of having that championship title means to his legacy. Dirk carried and willed his team to a championship with no one in the NBA playing as consistently as he. This playoff run kills all talk of Dirk being soft, choking under the pressure because of the collapse he and his teammates suffered at the hand of Miami just a few years ago, and more importantly has probably moved him into the discussion of top 5 power forwards to ever play the game.

Even though some of his teammates are getting a little older, Dirk is only in his early 30's and can still play another good 4-6 years in the NBA as long as no injuries hit him. If he can add one or even two more rings to his resume then you would certainly have to say Dirk would challenge Tim Duncan as the best PF in NBA history, and you can bet that owner Mark Cuban will see to it that his team is competing for a championship every season.

So with the last few years watching the Celtics form a "Big 3" and the Lakers able to stack their team from top to bottom with perennial all stars and former all stars at each position. Then Miami trying to follow the blueprint of the previously mentioned Celtics, except bringing stars in during their prime, and ending with Carmello Anthony forcing his way to the Knicks to team up with Amare Stoudemire, and Deron Williams talking his way out of Utah, it is kind of fitting that the team who won it all, was the team with an old school approach and an old school coach. A team who from top to bottom believed in doing whatever it took to get the job done.

People forget that Dirk was also a free agent in the summer of 2010, and he re-signed with the only team he had ever known. He did not leave and go to Chicago, or in the years since the 06 Finals talk about what needed to be done around him for him to be able to win a championship. He did not degrade his teammates and talk about not being able to get it done by himself. No instead he embraced it, he worked his butt off to get to where his team is at now, even if he is the only superstar on his team he still believed he could win no matter what the circumstance. So congratulations to the entire Dallas Mavericks organization and TEAM, and their ONE superstar who believed they could get it done with just that, after all, Texas is the "Lone Star" state.

Richard Rodawalt

AB3 Sports

NBA Or WWE?

I found it particularly interesting that last night the NBA had Danny Crawford as the lead official for the pivotal game 5 between the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat. It is no secret that the Mavs and in particular their owner Mark Cuban have had trouble and rarely win games officiated by Crawford. This of course being in complete interest of the conspiracy theorists out there, but I for one still could not help but wonder, what is David Stern thinking?

It is impossible to suggest players miss on purpose and things of that nature to decide the outcome of a game, but something that can easily be done is to sway the calls of officials in the favor of a team to make it that much easier for that team to win. Why, with all of the documented problems the Mavs have had with Danny Crawford and the attention it has gotten, would the NBA and particularly David Stern allow him to not only officiate a Finals game that the Mavs are playing in, but the most important Finals game, and game of the season with the series tied at two a piece?

I have been saying for a long time the NBA officials are the worst most inconsistent officials in all of pro sports and I thoroughly believe that. However now my interest has began to turn toward the commissioner. The NBA is looking at a more realistic possibility of a lockout for next season than the NFL is right now and it is because the commissioner of the league allows the players to run it. The players in the NBA have complete control, dictating which coaches are brought in, superstars taking it upon themselves to play GM and form their own team. Even when there are several obvious signs that point to players planning to play together while they are on separate teams years before their contract with that team is up, which by the way is against the NBA rules, David Stern and his league officials do nothing. Is it a surprise that only 7 different NBA franchises have won an NBA title in the last 25 or so years? The ironic way that the draft always seems to play out with the lottery. I mean was there anyone really surprised that the Cavaliers won the lottery this year with their ping pong ball that had a 2.8 percent chance of winning it? My thought, is because Dan Gilbert was very open about the investigation he spent his own money on showing the rules that were broken when Miami formed their "Big 3", so now the Cavs win the lottery and all is supposed to be forgotten right? Also interesting were the words Gilbert chose when asked about the "Decision" at the draft, he said and I quote "winning this lottery should be the final piece of closure to get us over what happened a year ago". Interesting choice of words Mr. Gilbert.

As I watched the end of last nights game 5 in Dallas and saw Dallas seize control of the series even with Danny Crawford officiating (which by the way I take nothing away from him as an official just can not understand with such open publicity about his history with Mavs games why he would be officiating this game) my mind drifted to a certain point in the movie The Longest Yard with Adam Sandler. After the game the warden tells the captain of the guards team that he couldn't even win a fixed game. Again it would be pretty hard to fix a game from start to finish in the NBA but you can definitely try and steer and sway the outcome, just ask the former official who admitted to betting and gambling on games he officiated, but I just cant help but wonder if there is a little bit of Vince McMahon and WWE style to the way David Stern produces the great entertainment of the NBA.

Richard Rodawalt

AB3 Sports

What Will Tiger Dream Of....

There was a time not too long ago, that Tiger Woods was not only considered the best golfer in the world, but the most dominant pro athlete that we had. Those times seem so long ago now. Due to injury to his left leg that have been plaguing him for awhile Tiger Woods will miss the U.S Open for the first time since 1994.

Since returning to the golf course after having a heap of personal matter that he had to deal with, Tiger has just not been the same. The dominance is gone, it is now more of a shock if he is hanging around the leader board going into the final day of a tournament, where before it was expected. This time around though missing some time will be far different for Tiger than the last time. Last time he was trying to save a marriage, be a father, handle things that arguably take priority over the golf course. With all of that in the rear view mirror now Tiger will be sitting around healing, thinking and pondering about yesteryear. One thing about Tiger Woods is that he is a very fierce competitor, and this time he will be able to take his time away to focus solely on how he can re-claim his greatness.

When Tiger is back to finish out the golf year one of two things can happen. Either we will see the old fist pumping, front running, take no prisoners Tiger, with a focus for the game and winning way that pushes him back to the top. Or we will see him dwindle, fall to the middle of the pack and slowly but surely fade away from greatness. Only Michael Jordan can rival Tiger Woods in what he has meant to his individual game from a performance and marketing standpoint. If indeed the latter of the two scenarios happens, I for one hope Tiger is remembered for what was done on the golf course, because it could be quite some time before we see another athlete in ANY sport as dominant as he once was.

Richard Rodawalt

AB3 Sports

Oh Plaxico Where Will You Go?

Right now news in the NFL is pretty scarce with the lockout still in effect. However today former New York Giant pro bowl wide receiver Plaxico Burress is again a free man. Burress served twenty one months of a twenty four month sentence and received and early release due to good behavior.

After his release he did what anyone would do after being away for nearly two years. He met with his family, most notably his two young children, and embraced the feeling of being a part of the free world again. However this is where it will get tricky for Mr. Burress. With the NFL still being in the lockout, and Plaxico being a free agent, he can not have contact with any teams at this point. Now this is not to say there will not be interest, however there will also be questions. Plaxico Burress is now 34 years old, and one has to wonder what kinda of market will there be for a 34 year old wide receiver in the NFL who spent two years away from the game. Now I know a lot of people will argue Mike Vick, but the reality is Vick was not even 30 at the time of his release. All reports indicate that Burress kept in as good a shape as one possibly could in the element he was in the last two year, but will that be good enough shape to be an elite NFL receiver again? Do not get me wrong there will always be a market for a six foot five wide receiver who can go up and snag the ball out of the air, my only question is what is he worth? What can a team expect to spend on him, and more importantly what kind of pay day will he be expecting knowing this could very well be his last NFL contract at his age? The financial matter should work itself out and Plax should land a job this year, but here are my likely destinations.

Cincinnati- Do you really even have to ask why? Well in case you do I will explain. With the team seemingly now ready to part ways with Ochocinco, and drafting A.J Green with their number one pick, Burress could be a likely candidate to take some pressure off of Green and the young receiving corps the Bengals have. Not to mention this is the type of player that has been brought into Cincy recently, players with troubled pasts that they hope to hit home runs off of.

St. Louis- The Rams seem to have their QB of the future in Sam Bradford, but they do not have one standout WR to pair him with. Burress could be that stop gap for the Rams while they groom their young receivers. Add that with a former Giants assistant is now the Rams Head Coach who has worked with Burress before, and the Rams playing in doors on turf and in a weak division this could be the best fit.

Philadelphia- For all the people who think you can get Vick 2.0 but at wide out it just isn't worth the risk. with Desean Jackson and the rest of the young good receivers in Philly there just isn't room for Plax here.

St. Louis and Philadelphia being the most talked about and Cincinnati being thrown in there because of their past these are a few of my assessments. My honest opinion is Burress signs with the Rams, or a team like Jacksonville, or Tampa Bay who can contend and is in "need" of a good play making WR to get them over the top, because that is where his best chance at getting paid will also be. I can guarantee this, there will not be as much question about Plaxico, as there was Mike Vick when he was released about if and where he will play, because as many coaches will tell you, when you are a receiver, and you are six foot five, you are always open, and that is a luxury people would love to have.

Richard Rodawalt

AB3 Sports

The Big 401K

This morning I sat down to write this blog and there were many story lines that could be talked about. NHL Stanley Cup Finals and a player with a taste for fingers. NBA Finals now two games deep and the series tied at one a piece, after the Dallas Mavericks pulled off one of the greatest fourth quarter comebacks in NBA Finals history being down fifteen points with seven minutes left to play. However I just could not bring myself to not take this moment to salute Shaquille O'Neal, as he announces formally his retirement from the game of basketball, from his home in Orlando Florida today.

Shaq is arguably the most dominant player in NBA history when you take a look at the talent he faced, in the era which he played. Combined with the fact that he alone was the reason for the NBA changing their rules and allowing teams to play a zone defense, makes him, in my opinion the most dominant player of all time. Now I must clarify that I do not place him as the best PLAYER of all time, simply most dominant, and a sure first ballot Hall of Famer.

A lot will be missed about the Big Fella, and not only his basketball ability that he brought to the floor every time he played, but his charisma and personality will be missed equally or more so than all of his highlights and thunderous dunks. Shaq had a way of captivating any room that he was in, and the ability to put a smile on the face of anyone. There will never be another like him. No other big man has been as marketable as he is. So one thing is certain, this is not the last we will see or hear from Shaq. I for one think him and Charles Barkley could provide the best, most entertaining tandem of analysts in the media today. Only time will tell where the next move for him will be, but as everything Shaq is, and has ever done, you can bet anything that it will be BIG.

Richard Rodawalt

AB3 Sports