As most may know, this year the NBA finals is between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. It seems that it will probably be a good game between the first and second seed team. Both teams have amazing players like how the Warriors have Stephan Cury and Klay Thompson and the Cavaliers have LeBron James, which is now back as of last year and they also have Kyrie Irving. Also between the small forwards, for the Warriors there is Andre Iguodala and for the Cavaliers there is J.R Smith.
The two teams have a pretty even record but the Warriors have a little bit of a better record of 67-15 and the Cavaliers have 53-29. The last time the Cavaliers have been to the finals was back in 2007 against the San Antonio Spurs and the Spurs won. The average amount of points usually scared by the Cavaliers is about 119 points per game with their highest scorer as LeBron James. The average number of points for the Warriors is about 109 points per game with their top scorer as Stephan Cury.
Many more people want and or think that the Warriors will win over the Cavaliers in the 2015 NBA finals. It seems that There is a 26% chance of the Cavaliers winning the finals this year. The Warriors have won the first game so far and for now have the advantage; but the finals are not over yet and the Cavaliers still have a chance to come back.
The Rangers and the Lightning are in an arms race at this point and it is a very interesting one to watch. They are in a very back and forth bout and is has gone to game 7. That means that tomorrow, Thursday 5/28 is going to be a great game, For the lightning, it means that they would make it to the Finals for the first time since 2004 and that would mean a lot. The lighting have been one of the elite teams in the league for a few years now. That is in part to their all star gillie and center. Their 6'8 Behemoth of a goal tender made sure to propel the lighting to back to back playoff appearances. The Rangers on the other hand, had the best second half of the season in the league. The presidents' trophy winners are also going to with this series and advance to the finals.
Western Conference
The Ducks and the Blackhawks are both working on a great series, and they are in a gauntlet of one. The series is tied 3-3 and game 7 is tomorrow. One thing is for sure though, One of these two teams are going to be the team to beat in the Finals, it is two close to call with this one, but i am going to say that Chicago is going to step up and take the series. That means that my finals prediction is NYR and The Hawks. I think that the hawks are going to take the finals.
This year the champions league had a lot of good teams and a lot of suprizes this year. In the champions league final is are FC Barcelona and Juventus. Juventus is the Seria A league champions. FC Barcelona are Liga BBVA champions. These two teams are huge teams in soccer and it should be a good compitition.
Juventus has been a great team this season and also a great team in the champions. They have been easily the best defensive team in the tournament conceding only 6 goals in all of the champions league campaign. Juventus has a great overall team with strong players at every spot on the field such as there mid fielders. Juventus is definitely one of the best overall teams in the champions league.
I think the key to Juventus being such a good team has been there mid field this year. There midfielders have a mix of good/strong players that can both be play makers and can also be a strong defensive presence. They have a mix of young players and old players that know more that can teach the young ones. They have very skillful dribblers and they have very great passers/assisters. They have just about any different kind of midfielder and I think because of this it will lead to there success.
Fc Barcelona have been a great team this year yet again. They are the favorited team to be the champions league champions. They have a great team with couple of new players here and there but overall still about the same team as last year. A lot of people think that with the new players it makes Barcelona even better this year than they were last year.
I think the the key to Barcelona having such a good team is defiantly there 3 main men up top. Messi, Neymar, and Suarez are defiantly the strength that has really pushed Barcelona this season. They are such a great mix of players and player makers and with there combination of speed and skill I think it makes them the most dangerous offense in the world.
Who I think will win...
Juventus
I think Juventus will be able to overcome Barcelona and win the champions league final. Although Barcelona has the big 3 up top, I think that Juventus dominant defense will stop them. I think Juventus team is overall better than Barcelona and will end up winning. I think that FC Barcelona's defense will not be good enough to stop Juventus and the underdogs will come out victorious...
The Anaheim Ducks made short work of the Chicago Blackhawks. They went up 2-0 with goals from Hampus Lindholm and Kyle Palmeri. Then Brad Richards dropped an un-assisted goal that came off of a turnover. With 8 minutes left and the score at 2-1, Nate Thomson scored and made it look that much worse for Chicago. Anaheim would add an empty netter to make the final score 4-1 and just like that, the Anaheim Ducks took a 1-0 series lead.
Game 2:
Game 2 was about making a statement for Chicago. As an added bonus, going down 2-0 is practically a death sentence at this point of the playoffs. They started out with goals from Shaw and Hossa, to go up 2-0 in the first period, Then Anaheim came back with two of his own. They came from Cogliano and Perry. The game would head to overtime, then double overtime, then Triple overtime, making it one of the longest games ever played in the playoffs. There was a goal disallowed from Shaw again. The puck ricochet in the air and was on a tee for him to head in and he made no mistake. The goal broke a rule and was disallowed, but no matter, Markus Kruger netted the triple overtime winner.
Game 3:
Game 3 was a fairly even scoring game. The Ducks would take this one by a score of 2-1. Patrick Maroon would net their first goal with assists from Hampus Lindholm and Ryan Getzlaf. Their second goal came later in the game from Simon Despres, with another assist from their captain Ryan Getzlaf, and cam Fowler. Chicago's only goal came from Patrick Kane off of a sloppy turnover by the ducks. That was as far as the Blackhaws would come though, and now they are in a 2-1 deficit in the series.
New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning
Game 1:
The Rangers would take the first game of this venture by the score of 2-1. They needed the win for how hard they played, they beat Tampa to almost every loose puck and used their great speed to set up 2 great goals. Derek Stepan mustered the First goal and was able to give them all the offense that they needed, but then Kevin Hayes sent a hail mary pass, and it deflected off of Domonic Moore's knee and went in the net. This is a legal goal, but the Refs reviewed just in case. Tampa Bay's Goal was sent in the net by Ondrei Palat on a beautiful one time pass by Tyler Jonson. The series was tilting in favor of the Rangers at this point, with a 1-0 series lead.
Game 2:
Game 2 was all about the lightning, and in particular, Tyler Jonson. He netted 3 of their first 6 goals. It turns out that this is all that they needed. The Lightning won the game 6-2. Jonson provided all the offense that the Lightning needed. Other Goal scorers included Alex Kilhorn with 2 goals and an assist, and Steven Stamkos with a goal and a helper. Nikita Kucherov had 3 Helpers that game, a playmaker. New York's Goal scorers were Chris kreider and Derek Stepan. Martin St. Lois and Dan Boyle both had 2 assists, but it was no match for the propane fueled offense that the lightning brought to the game.
Game 3
Game 3 was a much better game than the last for the Rangers. There was plenty of offense to go around, and no shortage of Goal scorers. The Lighting players with their name on the scoresheet include, Brassard, Fast, Boyle and McDonagh. Fast netted 2 goals and everyone else, one. Boyle and McDonagh also netted a helper a piece. Tampa Also had quite a few Goal scorers too. Palat had 2 goals and an assist. Stamkos, and kilhorn both added goals as well. Nikita Nesterov had 2 helpers. Even with all that scoring, the game was tied 5-5. But in First OT, Nikita Kucherov finished the Rangers to give the Lighting a 2-1 lead in the series. That is where they stand as of 5/22/15.
The Green bay Packers had a good 2015 draft. They got a lot of good picks that should do great for there team for when the season starts up again. They had 8 draft picks and I think that they did the best with all the picks they had. They had 1 First round pick, 1 Second round pick, 1 third round pick, 1 fourth round pick, 1 fithround pick, and 3 sixth round picks.
Round 1: Damarios Randall
Damarios Randall was a Arizona State free safety. He was arguably one of the best safeties in college football and was a critical part of Arizona States season. Although he was a safety in college he is said to be moved into the cornerback spot for the green bay packers. He was technically the cornerback on the Arizona State roster, and was the best cornerback that they had. However because the Arizona State had so many good defensive players this season they needed someone to play free-safety so the put the best player they could there, Damarios Randall.
This was a good pick for the packers because they needed a better defensive player and to be more specific they either needed some more defensive line men or a cornerback. I think they got the best possible player to play cornerback for them (from college) because of his speed and agility. He should be starting on the side opposite from Sam Shields.
(This has been partially deleted so I will re-wright all the other 8 picks of the draft)
Thanks for reading - Ben W
The Tampa Bay Lightning managed to barely get by the Red Wings in Round One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 4-3 series victory. They advanced to face the Montreal Canadians, the first seed in the same division as the lightning. The lightning took a commanding lead, but the Canadians were not going away that easy.
Game One:
Game One would Require Overtime, The Game was tied 1-1 at the end of Regulation time, with Goals from Tyler Jonson from the Lightning and Max Pacioretty for the Habs. Then the first 20 minute OT came and went. Off to double OT went both the teams, and it was Nikita Kucherov That put the Lightning over the Habs in a hard one to take for Canadians Fans. With the 2-1 Final, the lightning took a 1-0 series lead.
Game Two:
Game two was all about the Lightning. The Canadians opened the scoring with a goal from Jeff Petry, their Last minute pick-up at the trade deadline. After that, it was all about the Lightning, with 5 straight goals. Stamkos Finally got his first goal of the Playoffs, and also netted a 3 point night.
Other Tampa Goal Scorers include, Headman, Filupula, and Kucherov with 2. The Final ended up being 6-2 Tampa bay, with an impressive power play, the Lightning managed to smoke the Canadians. Lightning were then up 2-0 in the series.
Game Three:
Game three was a closer party than their last battle, but the goaltending ended up deciding this one. The Canadians Mustered 31 shot on goal, and the lightning only 19. The lightning still managed to win this bout with the score 2-1. The Tampa Goal scorers were Alex Kilhorn, and Tyler Jonson. Jonsons's came with just over a second left int the game. There was 1.1 second to be specific. It was pure luck, and they probably should not have won this one. The lighting were now up 3-0 on the series, and the Habs hopes were Grim, But they were not going away that easy.
Game Four:
Game Four was do or Die for the Canadiens, and they performed. They took the Game with a final tally of 6-2. Max Pacioretty had a goal and two helpers, Suban and Galchenyuk also had two helpers.
Marcov, Prust, Gallager, and Petry all added to the scoreboard once. Tampa did not play their best game, and lost the ability to sweep the Habs. This was indeed do or Die for the Habs and they did not disappoint their fans, but their battle was not yet over, and they were still on the Brink of Elimination.
Game Five:
Game five was still do or die for the Canadiens, but they did do. The Canadians with their season on the line, the former Presidents trophy candidates had to play their hearts out. The Canadians took this one with a 2-1 final. The Canadiens hero was P.A. Parenteau, who netted their second goal, witch turned out to be the Game winner. The Habs also had a goal from Devante Smith-Pelly. Tampa's lone goal came from Stamkos and it was not enough to put away the Canadiens. At this point, the 3-0 series deficit was looking a lot better as a 3-2 series. The Canadians were still on the brink of elimination and had to get the job done to force a game 7.
Game six:
Game six was the third straight do or die moment for the Habs, and it was an unusual spot for a team that was in first place in their division and was only a few points out of the Presidents trophy. Nikita Kucherov netted the Lightnings first goal in the first period. Then Stamkos and Palat added two more in the second. Down 3-0 going into the third period the Canadians were desperate. They got a goal from Pacioretty, but that was not enough for the Habs. Tampa would add an empty netter from Kucherov, and that ship sailed. The Tampa Bay Lightning had won the series 4-2 in a best of seven bout. The canadians picture perfect season was over, and the Lightning advance to the third round to face the New York Rangers, the Presidents Trophy winners.
Just like that the Lightning advance in the Playoffs, and the Canadians end their season with the ceremonial handshake at center ice. From Detroit Sidelines, thank you for Reading,
On May 3rd 2015 Chelsea beat Crystal palace 1-0. The goal was scored by (Arguably) there best player Eden Hazard who got a header of of his deflected penalty kick. This gives chelsea 83 points at the top of the table. A full 13 points away from the secondhand third place teams (Arsenal and Manchester city both have 70 points). Now that they are so far ahead of any other team Chelsea has now fully won the title with no other tam being able to possibly pass them because of point differential.
I think there have been many reasons for chelsea's success this season. Jose Mourinho's strategy and managerial skills have definitely been a big reason for chelsea being the most dangerous team in the Premier league this year. Lots of other teams/players/fans have called Mourinho's playing style "boring". However playing "boring" has certainly worked out for the club as they so far have only 2 loses in the season. Personally I don't think Mourinho's style of play is not boring but instead some what of genius.
Another reason for chelsea's success is there new signings from the summer transfer list. Diego Costa is one of there big signings this year from Athletico Madrid. Diego Costa is Chelsea's leading goal scorer and is one of the leading goal scorers in the BPL. Cesc Fabregas is also an important signing for chelsea. He is a player that can really effect the game and is deffinatly a play maker for chelsea.
Chelsea's starting 11:
ST: Diego Costa
Diego Costa is chelsea's leading goal scorer. He has been one of the best signings of the BPL and he is a great aggressive player that perfectly fits in chelsea's play style.
LM: Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard is arguably not just chelsea's best player but also the best in the BPL. He earlier won the PFA player of the year. He is not only one of chelsea's and the BPL's top goal scorers but also one of the top assisters in the BPL and in chelsea. I personally think he is the best all around player in the BPL this season.
RM: Willian Borges da Silva
Willian is a hard working player that had an average season this year. He is a fast playing player that likes to drift more towards the middle of the field. He defiantly is a good player that I think will get even better in seasons to come.
CAM: Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Júnior
Oscar is a good young player that had a average season. The world cup loss from Germany did not seem to effect his performance this season and he looked good and relaxed.
CM: Nemanja Matic
Matic has had a amazing season this year for chelsea. he truly has been a rock at the central middle and has beed added to the PFA team of the year (One of 6 chelsea players) and has truly deserved it.
CM: Cesc Fabregas
Cesc is a new signing for chelsea and has been a real play maker this year. Leads the BPL in assist's, it bring's up controversy why he was not in the team of the year even though he has easily been one of the best players in the BPL.
LB: Cesar Azpilicueta
He is a very quick, young player for chelsea however I think he will always be somewhat as good as he is now. I think the will always be more of an average player.
CB: Gary Cahill
He is a very strong and dominant player in the back for chelsea. He was in the PFA team of the year and rightfully so being that he and John Terry are arguably the best center back duo in the BPL.
CB: John Terry
John Terry has been chelsea’s strongest player in the back this year. He has been a hardworking, aggressive player and I think he has done great this season. He has even been a good player on offense now being the highest scoring defensive player in the BPL.
RB: Branislav Ivanovic
A strong presence for chelsea this season. He has had another good season getting into the team of the year and also scoring many great goals for chelsea this season.
GK: Thibaut Courtois
After coming back to chelsea on loan to Athletico Madrid Courtois has really had a strong season and has been a good goalie for chelsea.
