World Cup Preview: Group D

Group D
Germany:
Germany is by far the favorite in this group but after a year filled with misfortunes, it is unclear were they stand in comparison to the other historical powerhouses. Last November, Germany’s starting goalkeeper Robert Enke took his life. After being hit with such a terrible shock the German team began to move on with heavy hearts and appointed the young, extremely athletic Rene Adler as their starting goalkeeper. Upon completing a great season with his club team, Bayern Leverkusen, Adler got injured and it was announced that he would miss the World Cup. After these two tragedies in the goalkeeping department, misfortune came Germany’s way once again and this time it hit team captain and playmaker Michael Ballack. Ballack who is arguably Germany’s most talented player and is for sure the emotional leader will also miss the world cup. Though Germany has incredible depth at goalkeeper, a player of Ballack’s caliber is irreplaceable. This German team has many of the players it had from its third place finish in the last world cup but even since Euro 2008 (when they finished second) a lot of these players have just gone silent. Up front the two favorites to start for Joachim Lowe’s side are Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, just like four years ago. However neither of these two has been in top form recently. Miroslav Klose’s Bayern Munchen went to the Champions League Final but his contributions were limited as a substitution for most of the year. And Lukas Podolski who’s club career has been a train wreck ever since 2006 has not even been able to contribute much to the small team of FC Koln. Mario Gomez is also going to be a forward but ever since moving to Bayern Munchen last year has not seen nearly as much playing time as he did with Stuttgart. The midfield department without Michael Ballack falls from high quality to normal. Bastian Schweinsteiger of Bayern Munchen is the most talented midfielder on the roster now, however he has been in a slump simply due to the fact that he cannot get used to playing in the center because he is a natural winger. The rest of the midfield has nobody over the age of 26 and it will be interesting to see what will happen without experience but with strong legs. The defense is also very young, but as has become the norm with German teams it is very cold and tough. All of this summed up we cannot forget that since most of the players on this German team have played together for a while the chemistry is there for sure and if the midfield shows up to play then these heavy hearted Germans could make a run.
Ghana:
Ghana’s surprise run into the second round in Germany will be remembered as an upset. The Ghana team this year has yet again very good balance and many good players from elite European leagues. The best part of the team is by far the midfield were Stephen Appiah, the captain, plays alongside Inter star Sulley Ali Muntari and Michael Essien. The problem is that today news was received that Chelsea’s Michael Essien will not participate in the tournament this June due to an injury. The great thing about Essien is that he could basically do everything for Ghana, shoot, defend, dribble and pass, he will be missed. However Ghana will not hang their heads because Essien’s likely replacement will be the blooming Boateng out of Portsmouth. The forwards are not the best with their shots, however their speed and agility is incredible. Asamoah Gyan is the leading scorer of the team and his ability to work his way down the wing will be the key in setting up his partner in crime, Amoah, who is the other notorious goal scorer for Ghana. Goal-scoring will definitely not be a problem for this team especially since Muntari and Appiah also have a combined 29 goals from the midfield. The defense is very low-profile, however Pantsil, Mensah and Addo all get consistent playing times in European leagues and at the last World Cup these three formed a wall that got them to minimize the USA and Czechs chances on goal and due to having such dynamic midfielders, the Ghana counter attack is deadly. Look for Ghana to prove a challenge for favorites at this tournament.
Serbia:
On their way to their second straight world cup, Serbia is very much under the radar. What many people do not realize is that this team has a lot of talent. The forwards, Pantelic, Lazovic and Zigic all score on a consistent basis for their club teams and are above mediocre. Their mediocrity should not prove as a problem since the midfielders are guaranteed to get them the ball at all times. A midfield led by Inter player Dejan Stankovic also has a lot of young talent behind the scenes. 25-year-old Milos Krasic is the star of CSKA Moscow and is wanted by many top-tier European clubs including AC Milan. Krasic has the footwork of a Brazilian combined with the passing of a Spaniard. His speed is also excellent and he has all the tools to be the surprise player of the tournament. Other young players such as Kuzmanovic from Stuttgart have the power and defensive skills to lead this team out of the group stage. The defense is also very good and I am not over rating it. Manchester United star center back, Nemanja Vidic, sets up a solid line with Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic and Lazio’s speedy left back Aleksander Kolarov. Serbia is the dark horse of this tournament and will have a tight battle for the second spot.
Australia:
Australia, much like Serbia, will be overlooked at this year’s tournament regardless of having a world class player at almost every position. The squad is an aging squad, but is basically the same one that showed up at the last world cup, the only problem is that mastermind Guss Hiddink is not coaching them anymore. The defense has players such as Chipperfield and Neill, who though old still have it in them to play at a world class level. The midfield is by far the strongest part of this roster mainly because of Tim Cahill (advanced mid/forward) who plays for Everton and is the most naturally talented player on the Socceroos. He is paired up in the midfield with Palermo’s playmaker Mark Bresciano who in the Italian league has proved a threat form long distance and the wing. Brett Emerton and Vincenzo Grella both whom play for Blackburn Rovers in England are solid tacklers and passers. The only problem for this squad is depth of which there is basically none and a perfect example is that the only decent forward is former Liverpool striker, Harry Kewell who has been on the decline basically since he was 25. The goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer (37), who will probably be playing in his last World Cup, has urged the team to keep pushing and that just like in 2006 they could be able to grit their way out of this group.

First place should go to Germany unless the midfield sleeps through the tournament but second place is up for grabs with three nearly even teams and so I find it tough to make a prediction.
1. Germany
2. Serbia
3. Ghana
4. Australia

NV

World Cup Preview: Group C

Group C
England
The English truly have a good, solid, well rounded team this year with a lot of depth at every position. Although the English might not have the talent of some teams they will not get tired because of their bench which is stacked with players just as good or a little worse than their starters. Coach Fabio Capello has a lot to work with because he could start over ten combinations in the back line. England’s back line features all well known defenders in the EPL such as John Terry, Ashley Cole, Ledly King, Michael Dawson, Matthew Upson, Steven Warnock, Rio Ferdinand and Jamie Carragher. They have three average goalies in Joe Hart, Robert Green and the veteran David James. Their midfield consists of true stars such as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard who are the captains of their respective club teams. You would think that these two would work wonders playing side by side in the center but however that has not worked well in the past. This could prove to be a concern for England however it seems that under Capello’s watch the two are learning how to play together. The English also have plenty of pace on the wings with players such as Shawn Wright-Phillips, Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon a well as Joe cole and Ashley Young. They will miss David Beckham’s set piece skill and crossing of the ball but these players should be able to help England regardless. Even with one of the best players in the world in Wayne Rooney playing up front, forward is England’s weakest position. You know you don’t have great forwards if Emile Heskey made the roster. Emile Heskey has not been a top goal-scorer in the English league since the early 2000’s. Besides Rooney their next best forward is probably either Peter Crouch or Jermaine Defoe who play club soccer together at Tottenham. I thought Capello’s only mistake was not putting Angbondlahor from Aston Villa on the squad. He deserved it over Heskey. As for England’s chances in the world cup they should easily make it out of their group and have a great shot at making it at least to the quarter finals. My prediction is that this year they will take it one step further and get to the semi-finals and maybe the finals. A thing to remember is that Fabio Capello wins, he has one with AC Milan, Roma, Juventus and Real Madrid so his experience could really propel England forward.
USA
It is hard to tell how the USA will perform in the world cup this year. We know that they have the ability to go far and if they play to their full ability they should be able to get out of their group without too much trouble. The biggest problem for the United States seems to be their consistency. The Confederations cup last summer is a perfect example. The USA started off getting destroyed by an ancient Italian side that was not playing to its full ability. As expected the USA then lost to a very talented Brazil side. Somehow it was still mathematically possible to qualify but the USA needed a miracle. The USA needed to beat Egypt 3 0 and needed Italy to lose by three. Somehow this miracle came true and the USA pulled a shock upset over Spain in the semi finals. Although a win against Spain is great, it is nothing to be extremely proud of due to their inconsistency which was shown again the other night in Connecticut when the USA went down to the Czech Republic who did not even qualify for this year’s World Cup. Sure the USA played it’s “second line”, however the Czechs did were also missing a good half a squad and still managed to beat a team that is going to the World Cup on their home soil 4-2. The game against the Czech republic showed the incredible inconsistency that the USA can have and also demonstrated that there is not too much depth in the roster for this year’s tournament. If the United States wants to do what they did in 2002 and make a good run, they will need to consistently play at a high level and someone will need to step up besides Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey. The defense will have to play well and Donovan and the midfield need to find a way to score goals if the USA is going to make a run due simply to the fact that the USA does not have a “true” forward. Jozy Altidore, the man considered to be the future of USA soccer only had 1 goal in 28 appearances at Hull City. Anyway what occurred in 2002 could happen (or not, depends on consistency) and I do put USA as the favorite for that second spot behind England.
Algeria
Algeria have a surprisingly well rounded and talented young side with promising players all over Europe. Their main problem will be a lack of veteran leadership and experience because they have not reached the world stage often. Algeria field a young side featuring mostly up and coming players. The more well known players are Kevin Prince Boateng and Belhadj from Portsmouth. Algeria’s main problem will be there lack of world cup experience but there advantage lies in the element of surprise. They will probably be slightly overlooked so if they can surprise people they definitely have a shot at pulling some big upsets. Their chances of getting out of the group aren’t great but it’s definitely not impossible. I would put them as an underdog to get the second spot behind England but it is possible to get a result against the United states and sneak out of the group.
Slovenia
Slovenia come into the world cup almost completely unknown but they do come in on a high note after beating Russia (who are considered a much more talented team) on away goals. This is a team that will most likely be overlooked because they have virtually no well known players. Slovenia also completely lack world cup experience and have not played on the world stage often. Slovenia’s only chance is to surprise the opposition, try to get early leads and hang on for dear life. Squeezing out results against Algeria and the United States will be crucial if they wish to get out of there group which will be very difficult.
1. England
2. USA
3. Slovenia
4. Algeria

World Cup Preview: Group B

Group B

Argentina:

Argentina is considered by many as one of the greatest soccer programs of all time with huge world cup success in past years. Argentina has two world cups to its name (1978, 1986) but recently they have not been able to obtain any. The last world cup the Argentines won was when Diego Maradona played for them and because he can’t play anymore Argentina decided to appoint him head coach. When Maradona was appointed head coach it looked like a good decision but after barely qualifying some might argue that he has lost his magic touch. Argentina has a very weak defense and midfield and will have to fully rely on their arguably best in the world striking force. Up front, Argentina has the very skilled and natural goal-scoring talents of Higuain and el kun Aguero. The scrappiness and work rate of Manchester City star Carlos Tevez and not to mention the best player in the world right now Lionel Messi. Diego Milito is also coming off of an impressive season with Inter and just displayed how good he is with two beautiful goals against Bayern Munich. Although Argentina probably have the most talent in the world up front the rest of the team is very average. Their backline and midfield doesn’t have anywhere near the talent there frontline has. There most notable defender would either be Demichelis or Samuel, but neither of these players is something spectacular. It is very hard to give a prediction for this team. They have the talent to win the cup but also have the instability to collapse as early as the group stage.

Nigeria:

Nigeria was barely able to scrape through to the world cup finals and is labeled as a likely underdog in this group. Since the 1990s Nigeria have been able to put together some decent squads making it to the second round twice in the 1990s and beating Spain 3-2 in 98. Their most famous player was Jay Jay Okocha who played in England and carried the Nigerian squad. Although Nigeria haven’t done anything spectacular in the world cup yet this might be their best chance. Nigeria sports players from all over top teams in Europe. The most notable players are John Obi Mikel, a midfielder who sees a lot of playing time at premier league champions Chelsea. Another is Obafemi Martins who is a great goal-scorer and plays for the German champions Wolfsburg. Although Nigeria are for the most part completely overlooked they are one of those teams that you really need to watch out for. It is likely Argentina will take the top spot in the group but expect Nigeria to be the favorite in getting out second.

South Korea:

South Korea are far from the dream team they were in 2002. In 2002 everything was perfect. They got to play on Korean soil with some of the loudest and most passionate fans behind them every game. It was truly a miracle that South Korea with the team they had were able to finish fourth and knock off sides that were bigger, faster and much more talented. Unfortunately for South Korea that won’t happen again. South Korea is an aging side and I just don’t see how South Korea will have the players or the talent to compete with elite teams in the world cup or even within their group. Although you can never say never, look for South Korea to finish 4^th or 3^rd with a very slim chance of qualifying for the knockout stages.

Greece:

Greece is truly a team that no one will overlook in the near future. Greece went into the euro 2004 with no respect but ended up shocking the world by pulling off one of the greatest upsets in soccer. Greece were able to beat top teams without any well known players but performed amazingly well defensively and scored the opportunities that were given to them. Greece’s euro cup win in 2004 out them on the map and got them some high recognition. Although the Euro is not the world cup it is still packed with some of the top teams in the world and is very challenging to win. You can never say never with Greece because their team isn’t so much different now than it was in 2004. They still have very few well known players with their most notable probably being Samaras but in the end I think they will turn out like South Korea and although Greece might be better then Korea, I don’t see them going very far in the world cup South. I think both Greece and South Korea both had their miracle runs on the world stage but I don’t see them doing it again in the near future. As for Greece’s chances in the world cup I would say that they have a fair shot of getting out of the group but I wouldn’t guarantee it.

1. Argentina

2. Nigeria*

3. Greece

4. South Korea

*team to watch

GB

World Cup Preview: Group A

In just eighteen days the most followed sports event worldwide will commence. Thirty-two teams will battle for one month to see what nation will reign supreme in the World Cup beginning on June eleventh. Due to the fact that regardless of being a soccer fan or not you will end up watching the world cup, we have decided to prepare a preview with analysis and opinion on all 32 squads competing this summer. We will start with the first group and work our way down.

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France

South Africa: The host nation is not well known for it’s soccer, the Springboks automatically qualified and because of this not many have seen them in action outside of the confederations cup last summer. The performance at the Confederations Cup, also known as the World Cup’s dress rehearsal, seemed fairly solid, they made it to the semi-finals and lost to eventual champions Brazil at the end of regulation on an unbelievable free kick from Dani Alves. Their style of play seemed to be very free-flowing, much like the former Brazilian samba-style, the only problem being that they are not as talented as the Brazilians. Even though with a home crowd cheering you on the whole time anything could happen and that is why I am not underestimating the Springboks.

Key Player: Steven Pienaar (Everton, 28); The attacking mid fielder is by far the most excelled and talented player on this roster and his ability to get past men using his speed on the wing can help in setting up many goals.

Mexico: A much different Mexican side than from the last edition of the tournament, also what seems to be a much weaker team but regardless a team that as usual with the Mexican squads has a lot of character, passion and grit. That self-belief may serve as enough for this team due simply to the fact that there are no “superstars”, and non of the players are truly world-class phenoms to come. The team varies in age, from Chautemoc Blanco to the two most promising players; Giovani dos Santos and Carlos Vela, both who play in England but do not see a good amount of playing time. What seems to be the only concrete part on el tri’s roster is their 24-year-old Guillermo Ochoa in front of the posts. Then one never knows what could happen with a young nucleus of players in the mid-field. The captain Rafael Marquez who is thought of by Mexico’s fans to be one of their best ever, almost never starts for FC Barcelona. Mexico’s run this summer does not seem very promising with no real “great” players.

Uruguay: After having missed out on the party in 2006, Uruguay is back and though many of us may not know most of the names on this roster, it seems pretty solid and a safe bet to get out of the group stage. Uruguay has what seems at the moment to be a great mix of young players and experienced veterans, the forwards being the biggest threat. Uruguay’s front line has an incredible depth and many heavy goal-scorers from around the globe. Starting with Diego Forlan who has just come off a UEFA Cup victory with his club side of Atletico Madrid, in which he scored both goals. Forlan has been around, he has played from Manchester United most notably and has always scored for the Uruguayan national team that he should be captaining this June. Another very much experienced striker is Abreu who leads the team in goals and mixing in with the veterans could be the 23-year-olds Edinson Cavani from Palermo or Luis Suarez (leading goal-scorer in the Dutch league) from Ajax. A very young midfield could prove to be anything in this tournament and that seems to be the only question mark for this squad. The goalkeepers are not very experienced, in fact their total number of caps between the three of them is just 17 games and if Lazio’s Fernando Muslera starts it could prove to be a nightmare for the Uruguayan fans, however the defense of the team seems to be fairly compact and experienced, so hopefully Fernando Muslera will not be seeing too much of the ball. It all depends on Uruguay’s midfield and if they show up to play I would not be surprised to see Uruguay get out of the group in first place.

France: France, France, France. Oh all the things we can say about France, one of them being that they should not be in the tournament to begin with and I have to say that I agree with this considering that they completely cheated an Irish side in front of a hostile crowd in Ireland. One thing is for sure and that is that regardless of how France plays they will be playing with the label of cheaters and other than Les Bleus faithful not many will be cheering for them (not as if they usually did anyway). This world cup starts a new era for the French team, a world cup without Zinedine Zidane and oddly enough without their most promising striker Karim Benzema from Real Madrid. As those of us following the global game of soccer have gotten used to France’s coach Raymond Domenech’s antics, so will you at this world cup. The man once again pulled another one of his stunts and left out Karim Benzema from the team for no apparent reason, even though he is one of the best young forwards in the game at the moment. Sometimes I think what could possibly go through this man’s head on these occasions but then I remember that this is the same coach who bases how he forms his teams on horoscopes, until recently Raymond or as he calls himself “the philosopher” would not put Scorpio’s (late October-November) on his squads for fear that they would bring bad luck. However this is not about Raymond, a true piece of work, but it is about Les Bleus chances this June and to me they do not seem too bright. Nicolas Anelka should be able to take a strong load up front, however you never know what you are going to get out of an aging Thierry Henry and a very young rest of the squad. Franck Ribery is probably going to be carrying this team and will have to play a huge part in the attack because it does not seem as if there is a trustworthy defense at the back for Les Bleus. In the end what I believe it will come down to is No Benzema, No Party. I do not see France getting past the round of sixteen simply because they are no where near the same team they were in 2006.

1. 1. 1.Uruguay

2. 2. 2.Mexico

3. 3.3. France

4. 4. 4.South Africa

Should He Stay or Should He Go?

Is he the greatest? Does he have the potential? Can we even compare yet? Does he need a title to prove himself?

Could be, Yes, No, Yes.

LeBron James is the most gifted player in the NBA at the moment and there is no debate about that at this instant; however he is not yet the greatest ever. Does he have the potential to be? Sure, but until he has one of those shiny NBA Finals rings on his hand then we cannot compare him. Michael Jordan who in the mind of most right now is the best player to have ever touched the hardwood led the Bulls to seven titles. LeBron in my opinion has more raw talent, but does he have the leadership, can he bring the Cavs all the way? He has led them to five straight playoff appearances and even to the finals in 2007 against the Spurs but never has he hoisted the gold in the air. It is clear that to be considered the best he has to win it all, not seven times (even though who wouldn’t want so many championship rings that you need two hands for them), but he has to prove that he is not only great but a leader.

All of this makes his free agency this summer much more appealing because if he wants to win it all odds are he has to leave. The Cleveland Cavaliers have got to be “a superior team” to win it all and not “a high-quality LeBron and four other guys”, yet at the same time it would really be incredible to see the kid who grew up 40 miles from Cleveland lead a city in crisis to a level of satisfaction that would never be forgotten. He may perhaps have a better chance in a place such as Chicago with Derrick Rose and the newly improved Joakim “Caveman” Noah because we all know LeBron’s addition to that team would entirely turn around their .500 record of the past two seasons. In LeBron’s years with the Cavs they have had the opportunities and these past two seasons they have been the favorites out of the East but seem to not be able to cope with the demands of the playoffs.

To me, it does not seem like the Cavaliers will be able to win it all anytime soon just because of their failed chances. For LeBron’s own sake, I say he should leave Cleveland and get his deserved title. However it would be even more impressive if he is able to get that title in the company of an organization with which he started a renaissance. LeBron has to decide whether to think just about his own legacy or to do it for his hometown team. If he is to choose the second option I will respect him even more, however nothing will be lost if he leaves. It is completely understandable. Cleveland fans don’t need to get mad (even though the franchise would not be special anymore and even though a youtube classic states that “their economy is based on LeBron James”, which is true http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZzgAjjuqZM), they have to understand that this is “The Chosen One”, and he has it all, he has all the tools to be the greatest in the near future and if he feels like Cleveland is not the place he can fulfill his legacy then so be it.

The bottom line is that until he wins a title he has not achieved his full potential and cannot be compared to MJ.

NV

For the Sake of the Game

There is no other sporting event which is as symbolic of the sport as a whole as the NCAA tournament is to college basketball. Many people have considered this to be the best sporting event of the year, and if you aren’t familiar with the tradition of filling out a bracket full of one’s tournament projections then you should probably find a new blog to read which better suits your interests. All you have to do is push the button marked “next blog” at the top of the page. It’s fine. We won’t be mad. But back to the matter at hand. The National Collegiate Athletic Association recently agreed to expand the size of the tournament from 65 to 68 teams. Although this isn’t so bad, it’s still concerning that the NCAA is thinking of expanding to as many as 96 teams in the near future. This kind of reckless expansion for the sake of making a greater television profit should concern any and all sports fans. I think we all learned from Coach Gordon Bombay in D2: The Mighty Ducks that money should never be prioritized over the sanctity and love of the game.

Anyways. Lately the topic of tournament expansion has been on the minds of the college basketball powers that be. The truth is that the NCAA tournament needs expansion about as badly as Transformers superstar Megan Fox needs plastic surgery. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It’s a classic adage which still makes sense to this day. Unfortunately “sense” has never been particularly high on the NCAA’s priority list. They’re more into the kind of “cents” that they can make by unapologetically exploiting billions of dollars off of the ability and effort of dirt broke student athletes, but that’s a different article for a different day. (I’m not an English teacher, but I’m pretty sure that last little clause we threw in there is an example of foreshadowing. Pretty clever huh?)

So what is so bad about 96 tournament teams? If some is good then more is better, right? Not in this case. Can you really think of 31 more at large teams that had a legitimate beef with being left out of this year’s tournament? There are always going to be teams on the bubble unless we let everybody in. Disagreeing and debating about things like Who’s in?/Who’s out? is one of the great things about sports. Expansion will also lead to the death of everyone in America filling out their own bracket. The bracket is essentially perfect as composed. It’s wacky enough to lead to upsets and drama, but simple enough that anybody can understand it after one glance. The proposed 96 team bracket will feature the top 32 teams getting byes and will have to be printed in tiny font to fit on one sheet of paper. That doesn’t really sound very casual fan friendly to me. Finally, tournament expansion will essentially eliminate any value to the regular season or major conference tournaments. This aspect of college basketball is still highly entertaining. We don’t watch important in season match-ups to be cheapened by the fact that all the teams from major conferences will get into the tourney either way.

At the end of the day, expansion would only stand to harm the best event in the sport. The minor increase from 65 to 68 teams won’t have much of an effect, but if they’re allowed to expand the tournament to 96 teams the results will be disastrous. Unfortunately, there will always be more money to be made off of television contract deals. Hopefully the NCAA keeps the best interests of the fans and the athletes in mind rather than jumping at a few more dollar signs. In the long run, it’ll help to retain prosperity in college basketball.

DHP

Disgusted

Today the man who is arguably the best linebacker to have ever played the game of football, Lawrence Taylor, was charged with the rape of a sixteen year old girl. Lawrence Taylor has become of fallen hero in the mind of many throughout his years for drug abuse and after this scandal if he is to be proven guilty then he will have permanently tarnished his hall of fame legacy. This is a man that for so many years and to this day was looked up to by little boys with dreams of playing in the NFL and now he has become a disgrace to the game of football. I am disgusted at what Lawrence Taylor is being accused of doing , and I am even more disgusted about how modern athletes think they are much more special just because of their fat paycheck, I am disgusted at how they believe they can do whatever they want because they think they are special. The worst part of this is that it does not surprise us what LT is being accused of doing because he has taken advantage of his place for many years. Sure, Lawrence Taylor is special football-wise, but that does not give him the right to think he can do something like this.

Now until proven guilty he is innocent and though I shouldn’t jump to conclusions, I do not believe that such an outrageous claim would be made unless true. I could be wrong and he could be innocent but really I do not think so and part of that has to do with the fact that it is Lawrence Taylor and unfortunately it does not surprise us. Lawrence better hope he has a legendary defense attorney because I think it is going to be hard to get out of this one.

There might be a minority out there that argues “Oh he just made a mistake.” Are you kidding me?! I don’t care if it is a mistake, he made the choice and he is in a bright spotlight being a hall of famer and in a spotlight like this you should know that you cannot do things like this. When so many people think of you as their childhood hero, you cannot do something like this. Lawrence Taylor you like many other athletes and former athletes have taken advantage of your place in society and have tarnished your legacy today. Sure we will all remember how you revolutionized the position of linebacker but people will never forget the allegations made today that say what you did to this sixteen year old girl.

Once again an athlete has broken the hearts of many today because he thought that since he was so important to society he could do whatever he wanted, but that was not the case. As we have seen many times with athletes such as Kobe Bryant, Ben Roethlisberger (sure they never pressed charges, but twice in one year…something is going on), Michael Vick and not to mention Tiger Woods among others, athletes think they can get away with anything.

One day I will have kids and when I do, I do not want them to find out that their favorite athlete is a criminal, I do not want my kids to find out that the guy whose poster is on their wall is a criminal. When athletes do things like these, they do not understand that they hurting others just as much as themselves.

I am sick and tired of men who should be acting like role models taking advantage of their place in society. Being constantly in the spotlight with no room for error comes with the territory of becoming a professional athlete. So do us sports fans a favor and next time not just think twice but just not do it, think about what others will think of you because what it comes down to when you are a person of that high of stature is just that.

NV

This Week in Sports (4/26-5/2)

The world of sports is constantly moving at a high speed and because of this we have decided to include a segment in which we summarize a week in our crazy world of sports.

The first round of the NBA playoffs has ended, it is now down to 4 teams in each conference. Utah and San Antonio were able to knock off higher seeded teams in the Nuggets and Mavericks, respectively. Only one sweep occured and it was by Dwight Howard's Magic over the Bobcats who made their first playoff appearance in franchise history. Only one series went to the seventh game and surprisingly it was the Bucks that somehow managed to stay in the series against the Hawks regardless of missing starting center Andrew Bogut. The matchups for the second round are set, EAST: (1) Cleveland vs (4) Boston (LeBron's Cavs took game 1), (2) Orlando vs (3) Atlanta. WEST: (1) LA Lakers vs (5) Utah, (3) Phoenix vs (7) San Antonio.

I would also like to congratulate Floyd Mayweather Jr. on defeating Sugar Shane Mosley by unanimous decision in a welterweight title bout on Saturday night. Notice how I said welterweight and not heavyweight, yeah I am not kidding. It is ridiculous how the biggest fight of the year was of welterweights and not heavyweights. Boxing in America would be much bigger if there was a dominant heavyweight such as an Ali, Liston or Frazier.

In our Minnesota sports world the Twins have improved to a record of 16-9 and lead the division by a half a game over Detroit with whom we start a series tomorrow at Target Field. Francisco Liriano fresh off a shutout against the Tigers in mid-week went seven innings today and is now 4-0.

Savor my last paragraph because the purple is not looking so good. News was received that Brett Favre will have to undergo offseason surgery if he plans to participate in an NFL season next year. Without Brett it would be tough and they would really come to regret not drafting Clausen but at the same time everybody knew Favre would have missed training camp even without an injury so hopefully he gets it cured and can get back to business for our opening trip to the bayou.

NV

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