The reason I started “Walders World of Sports” was to get my writing out to the world and eventually get noticed.

Well…..

That day has finally come.

After being discovered for my NBA articles here on the site, I have now accepted a gig to be the new head editor of the NBA fan site “Sir Charles in Charge” on the Fansided network.

For anyone who would like to continue supporting my writing and help me live out my dreams, be sure to check out the site at www.sircharlesincharge.com 

I will return to Walders World of Sports once I have a feel for how the new site runs and how easily I can get my writing done.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me and helped this blog grow to the point it has. I love you all.

Remember to check out www.sircharlesincharge.com

- Christopher Walder

The following video was made by a friend of mine named Rachel Bonnetta. Rachel is currently in the running to win an awesome dream job with the Toronto FC soccer team. The winner gets to host games and events, interview players and travel with the team.

The link below will send you to the contest page. Please take a moment of your time and give Rachel a vote. She really deserves it.

Thanks guys!

http://apps.facebook.com/tfcdreamjobfinalists/contests/196291/voteable_entries  (CLICK ABOVE)

(Click To Zoom)

Final Four: 1. Kentucky 6. Murray State 1. Syracuse 2. Kansas

National Championship: Kentucky over Kansas

The Redskins have traded their first and second round picks in this years draft as well as their first round picks in 2013 and 2014 to the St. Louis Rams for the 2nd pick this April.

The pick will presumably be used on Baylor QB Robert Griffin III.

That seems like a lot to give up for a guy who isn’t even the top prospect at his own position.

I’m not downplaying the ability of Griffin at all. He may end up being a better quarterback than Stanford’s Andrew Luck.

But as of right now, Griffin isn’t considered the best quarterback in the 2012 NFL draft.

That means a lot considering what Washington just gave up to acquire his services for next season.

Robert Griffin III is no slouch by any means. During his 4-year stint at Baylor, Griffin threw for 77 touchdowns and ran for 32 more. In 2011, Robert became the first player in Baylor history to win the Heisman trophy, beating out fellow quarterback Andrew Luck in the process.

He has a great track record from his college days, but is he worth the pirates ransom that Washington gave up in order to get him?

I don’t think so. No disrespect of course.

The Washington Redskins are a franchise in disarray. Adding Griffin to a roster as mediocre as Washington’s won’t spark that big of a turnaround unless he turns out to be a clone of Cam Newton. Newton walked into a bad situation in Carolina and turned a 2-14 Panthers team into a more respectable and passionate squad that won 4 more games.

The Redskins are hoping Griffin can have similar success in Washington. Both Newton and Griffin have similar styles of play. Both are big bodied quarterbacks who can not only throw the long ball, but run the ball effectively as well. Cam’s success with Carolina makes Griffin that much more appealing. If Griffin can be half the player Newton has become, than this trade looks A LOT better.

The real winners of this deal are the St. Louis Rams. All they had to do was move down 4 spots in the draft to secure the Redskins 2nd round pick as well as their first rounders over the next 2 years. Picking a quarterback this year wasn’t of concern to St. Louis. They still believe Sam Bradford is their man for the foreseeable future. They aren’t losing out at all.

With a new head coach in Jeff Fischer and draft picks coming from left and right, the Rams now have the tools and assets in place to really start fixing their team.

On the other hand, the Indianapolis Colts must be kicking themselves now. After watching St. Louis acquire numerous valuable draft picks for their 2nd pick, the Colts can now only imagine what they could have received for the number 1 overall pick. If Peyton Manning is still the Manning of old, than Indianapolis could have traded down and received possibly more than what St. Louis obtained in order to help rebuild the team. Now that Peyton is officially out the door, their fate will now ride with Andrew Luck.

The future of the Washington Redskins franchise is now in Robert Griffin III hand’s. They now hopefully have their quarterback of the future, but the work doesn’t stop here. Adding a player with as much potential as Griffin doesn’t fix all of the Redskins problems. Now what Washington has to do is fix the offensive line to give Griffin time to stay in the pocket and throw the ball. Unless coach Shanahan instigates a new system that works around his strengths as a football player, Griffin will need to have time to throw the football. The Redskins offense is based around the quarterback being able to throw the ball effectively while in the pocket. Adding quality players to the offensive line to help Griffin’s progress is very important.

Robert will also need quality receivers to throw to. Anthony Armstrong and Santana Moss won’t cut it. Signing a free-agent like Vincent Jackson of the Chargers or Marques Colston of the Saints should be on the Redskins to-do list as well.

I believe Robert Griffin III has the right mindset to jump into action right away and play effectively. He’s a smart young man and a quality quarterback. Washington is still a lousy team unless more moves are made, but I’m sure the addition of Griffin will at least bring some hope back to Washington that winning days are on the horizon. At least his name isn’t Donovan McNabb or Rex Grossman.

All I worry about is if the price they paid to get him won’t come back and bite them in the end. Those draft picks could have had the potential to all be starters for this team. That’s 4 or 5 quality players out the door in a flash.

Let’s just hope Washington didn’t screw this one up as well.

It was to be expected, but it’s still rather shocking now that it’s actually happened.

Peyton spent 14 years with the Colts organization. He made 11 pro bowls, won 4 MVP’s, 2 AFC Championships and 1 Super Bowl while playing in Indianapolis.

After several neck surgeries and an entire season gone by, Colts owner Jim Irsay has decided to release Peyton Manning from his contract that was set to pay him a whopping $28,000,000 later this week.

Instead of sticking with the man who took their once irrelevant franchise and turned it into a Super Bowl contender, the Colts will now explore other options at the quarterback position. That primary option being selecting Andrew Luck in the upcoming NFL draft.

So what happens with Peyton Manning now? Reports are that he’s nearing 100% health and is ready to play right away next season. Despite his age (35) and history of injuries, Manning is still a huge upgrade over half the quarterbacks in the National Football League.

So who will be the one that takes a chance on Manning? In this writer’s opinion, there are 3 teams that would look awfully good with Peyton behind center.

The Arizona Cardinals

This wouldn’t be the first time the Cardinals have taken a chance on an aging veteran.

Do the names Kurt Warner, Emmitt Smith and Edgerrin James ring a bell?

If the Cardinals can win 8 games with Kevin Kolb and John Skelton running the offense, just imagine what they could do with a future hall-of-famer in Peyton Manning calling the plays.

Throwing to the best receiver in football (Larry Fitzgerald) would just sweeten the pot for Mr. Manning.

The NFC West isn’t exactly the most intimidating division in football. Outside of a 49er’s team that came out of nowhere to reach the NFC championship game last season, there just isn’t a lot of competition in the West. Playing the St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks and the 49er’s weak offense/strong defense 6 times can be very enticing for a quarterback entering the twilight of his career. Qualifying for the playoffs becomes that much easier with the lack of true threats in the division.

The Miami Dolphins

Peyton Manning would automatically become the new King of South Beach (Sorry Lebron) if he were to join Miami next season.

The Dolphins have the perfect setup for Manning. The roster is built in a way that Peyton can come right in and take this down and out franchise and bring it back to respectability. He would have a running back who rejuvenated his career last season in Reggie Bush who can not only run, but catch balls out of the backfield. Add to that an elite receiver in Brandon Marshall and an offensive line with one of the best tackles in the game in Jake Long and you have the makings of a resurgence in Dolphin country.

Miami has been starving for a star quarterback ever since the Dan Marino days. Peyton Manning would walk in and be that shining star for the Dolphins. It’s hard to have a lot of optimism for a team led by Chad Henne that has to compete with the likes of the Patriots and the Jets for a division title. Manning would give the Dolphins something they haven’t had in years.

Hope.

Besides, who wouldn’t want to see Manning battle it out with his long-time rival Tom Brady twice during the regular season?

The Denver Broncos

Before all of you crazed Tim Tebow fans lash out at me for this, just here me out.

The Broncos would have Tebow step to the side and have Manning take over the reigns at quarterback in a heartbeat.

The beautiful thing about it is that Tebow would more than likely be comfortable with that decision if it were to happen. Tebow did get Denver into the playoffs and help win a game against Pittsburgh, but he is still far away from being a great quarterback, at least when it comes to his techniques. Taking a season or 2 to sit behind Manning and learn the art and simplicities of the quarterback position from one of the greatest of all-time could do wonders for his career. He seems humble and decent enough to know that this would be best for the Broncos in the long-run.

I don’t pay much attention to all of the fake slurping John Elway has been giving Tebow. Elway wants a quarterback that reminds him of himself.

Manning is that quarterback.

Throughout this whole ordeal, Peyton Manning has conducted himself with the utmost class, respect and dignity as a football player, a businessman and as a human being. He is sure to find success with whichever franchise he ends up with.

Dating back to early 2009, the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League have operated a bounty system in which defensive players would be rewarded financially for taking out members of the opposing team. Between 22 and 27 members of the Saints roster as well as former defensive coordinator Greg Williams (now with St. Louis) pooled their own money to pay out the bonuses.

Players were given $1000 for getting an opposing player carted off the field and $1500 for knocking a player out. The money was then doubled if the play was made during the postseason.

Head Coach Sean Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis were all aware of what was transpiring and still did nothing to halt it.

This is big. This is huge.

This is horrible for the NFL.

My opinions on “Bountygate” have changed over the past few days. Originally I figured this to be nothing more than a transgression that half the league was probably already doing. Now that I have truly evaluated the situation, I realize that this is way more serious than I initially thought.

When you look at the specifics of what “Bountygate” really is, it doesn’t appear to be that horrible. Football is a violent sport. Players are injured during on the field action on a regular basis. The job of the defense is to secure tackles, make plays and hurt the opposing team. So what if they’re making a little pocket cash on the side? They make millions upon millions of dollars as it is. Do you really believe a couple grand is enough incentive to want to physically hurt another player? I thought wanting to inflict some damage on the opposing offense as a strong-willed defender was reason enough.

“In all honesty, there’s a bounty of some kind on you on every play.” – QB Brett Favre

This is what players do. It wouldn’t shock me to hear that all of the other 31 teams in the NFL had some sort of system in place similar to what the Saints were doing.

The only difference being that New Orleans got caught in the end.

To see the damage of what this system has done, all you have to do is look back at the Saints Super Bowl run in 2009. During the NFC Championship game against the Minnesota Vikings, Saints defenders deliberately went after QB Brett Favre with hopes of eliminating him from the game. The hits were low and the hits were frequent.

I’m not saying that what the Saints did tarnished their eventual Super Bowl victory, but the constant late hits and sometimes illegal hits on Favre and even Kurt Warner in their first playoff game did play a part in both outcomes.

What they did was wrong, but it isn’t enough for me to taint their championship run and put an asterisk next to the win in the record books.

With Commissioner Roger Goodell’s push for safety in the game of football, this story of bounty hunting by the Saints organization becomes that much more of a big deal. Goodell needs to protect his players at all costs. If he has players trying to physically injure others for the benefit of cash rewards, than he needs to put a stop to it right away.

Goodell needs to make an extreme example out of the New Orleans Saints.

Should the players involved be punished? I don’t think so. Athletes are a product of the coaching and management that surrounds them. If you have your defensive coach offering you money and incentive to go out on the field and take somebody out, then you do it. It just makes your role on the field that much more exciting. The head coach wasn’t stopping it, so who cares right?  It would be hard enough as it is to single out specific players and deal out suspensions anyways.

The 3 names that need to be punished are Payton, Loomis and Williams.

These are/were the leaders of the Saints organization. These are the men running the football team. They call the shots and set guidelines and boundaries for the players. How stupid do you have to be to not only start and organize this bounty, but let it continue? Did they not figure it to be a bad idea? They made their bed and now they have to lie in it.

So what should Goodell do? In my opinion, taking away draft picks and fining the staff isn’t enough. This goes way beyond just a slap on the wrist. Payton, Loomis and Williams should all be suspended for at least half of the season if not longer (Williams especially. Sorry Rams). The Saints should lose all of their draft picks in the first 3 rounds. Heavy (and I mean heavy) fines should be dished out as well.

I would even dare to say that the Saints should be banned from the playoffs in the 2012-13 season.

I realize that I’ve probably downplayed the severity of Bountygate, but that doesn’t mean that the issue doesn’t need to be addressed. If Goodell can make an example out of the Saints in such a way that no one in their right mind would ever think of doing something like this again, than the league will be better for it.

There is no place in the NFL for bounty hunting.

Hard hits? Sure. Just get rid of the undercover payments on the side.

Former Anaheim Ducks coach Randy Carlyle will now take over the bench duties for the team.

This was inevitable. Ron Wilson’s tenure in Toronto was mediocre at best. He had coached 310 games for the team and only achieved victory in 130 of them. He failed to take the Leafs to the playoffs even once during his 3 1/2 year stint with the franchise.

The problem I have with Wilson’s dismissal is the timing of the decision.

There are only 18 games left in the regular season. Despite being 3 points out of the final playoff spot, the Leafs are still only 12th in the entire conference.

In order for Toronto to qualify for the playoffs as the final seed, they would have to pass Buffalo, Tampa Bay and Washington.

That’s not going to happen.

GM Brian Burke attributed part of his decision to fire Wilson to the chants of rowdy and unsatisfied Leaf fans during the team’s home games.

FI-RE WIL-SON!! “clap clap, clap clap clap” FI-RE WIL-SON!!!

Burke and Wilson have always had a close relationship dating back to their days as teammates on the Providence College hockey squad. Burke couldn’t stand to see Wilson face such horrible public ridicule any longer. The firing was more than likely going to occur regardless, but the timing of the matter shows that Burke wanted to put Ron out of his misery sooner rather than later.

Even though Wilson deserved to get canned, ultimately all he was is a scapegoat for a team and talent roster that has grossly underperformed this season.

Could Ron Wilson play goalie? Toronto has some of the worst goaltender play in the entire National Hockey League. The Leafs currently sit at 27th for goals allowed with 198 and goals allowed average with 3.01 per game. Brian Burke needs to address this issue fast as it looks like neither Gustavsson or Reimer have a long-term future with this team. They both have shown signs of brilliance here and there, but would you want either man in net during a 7-game playoff series?

There is some reason for optimism, at least when it comes to the young offensive skill players the team has.

Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupol are for real. Both sit near the top of the Eastern Conference in points with 68 and 66 respectively.

What else is there around them though? Are those 2 enough to shoulder the offensive load for the Leafs?

Of course not. This team is still 1 or 2 solid players away from truly being considered a real threat in the Eastern Conference. Kessel and Lupol need more around them to really help this team make a splash.

This is a team that needs an extreme makeover from top to bottom. Ron Wilson needed to go, but the repairs that need to be made to this roster and franchise as a whole go way beyond just replacing the coach.

Selecting Randy Carlyle as the replacement is at least a good start. Randy has not endured one full season as either a player or a coach with a losing record. He brings over championship experience from when he coached the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks to the Stanley Cup. As did Wilson, Carlyle also has a prior relationship with GM Brian Burke from his days with the Ducks.

I like the move to have Carlyle step in as the coach, but in a perfect world he would have been brought in during the offseason so he could start from scratch with the players. Having him replace Wilson at this point of the year just puts unnecessary pressure on his shoulders. Fans are dying to see this team make the playoffs and they will expect results right away from a man who has been put into a dire situation. Burke did say publicly that if the team were to miss the playoffs, at least they would have a new coach in place that can evaluate the roster and have a head start on the 2012-13 season. That doesn’t sound very confident to me.

What’s the best case scenario for the Leafs? Is it the 8th seed in the playoffs? Do you really believe they would stand the slightest of chances against the Rangers in the first round? I don’t see that happening. The Leafs own one of the longest championship and playoff droughts in the entire league.

Expect that to continue for the foreseeable future.

This match between Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle and “the Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels is criminally under-appreciated in the annals of wrestling history.

This was a personal dream match of mine. In my opinion, Michaels and Angle were the 2 best in-ring performers in the company at that time. They had never squared off in a one on one scenario going into Wrestlemania, but were finally going to get that opportunity on the grandest stage of them all.

If you want to get a friend to become a fan of professional wrestling, just show them this match. There was no stipulations, blood or foreign objects involved. It was just a 30 minute wrestling clinic from 2 of the greatest of all-time.

Moment of the match: Kurt Angle delivering the Angle Slam to Michaels from the top-rope and only gaining a two-count.

9. Bret Hart vs Owen Hart              Wrestlemania 10

This was what a brother vs brother match was supposed to be. It wasn’t some fraud like Kane/Undertaker and Edge/Christian. Bret and Owen were actual brothers. They knew each others strengths and weaknesses and put on one hell of wrestling match to OPEN Wrestlemania 10.

What was most shocking about this match was that Owen actually won! He was always considered to be the lesser of the two Harts but still ended up winning in the end. The loss ultimately didn’t hurt Bret as he went on later in the evening to defeat Yokozuna to become World Wrestling Federation Champion.

R.I.P Owen.

Moment of the match: Owen reversing the victory roll of his brother to win the match

8. Triple H vs Shawn Michaels vs Chris Benoit in a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship         Wrestlemania 20

This match will always be tainted in WWE history because of the inclusion of Chris Benoit, but that shouldn’t take away from the match itself and the amazing story behind it.

Chris Benoit had been in the business for 18 years but was just now receiving a mega push to the top. He was coming off a Royal Rumble victory and was ready to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H. HBK was later added to make it a Triple Threat because many in the company (more than likely) believed that Benoit/HHH couldn’t draw on their own.

The New York City fans were solemnly behind Benoit. They were so behind him that they were even booing Shawn Michaels during the match. Everyone who was a fan of the sport wanted Benoit to finally win the big one because of all the hard work he had put in over his career. When Chris slapped on the crossface submission to Triple H and made him tap out, the crowd went absolutely nuts. What made the ending even more special was WWE champion Eddie Guerrero coming to the ring and embracing his friend Benoit. Eddie and Chris hoisting their respective championships in the air with the confetti raining down from the sky always brings a tear to my eye.

Hard work always pays off.

Moment of the match: Chris Benoit putting the Crippler Crossface on Triple H and making him submit to become World Champion.

7. The Hardyz vs The Dudleyz vs Edge and Christian in TLC II for the WWF Tag Team Championship           Wrestlemania 17

Remember when tag team wrestling actually meant something in the WWE?

Edge and Christian had their chairs, the Hardyz had their ladders and the Dudleyz had their tables. What it all added up to was one of the most violent tag team wars in wrestling history.

Not only did you get these 3 tandems, but you also got Spike Dudley, Rhyno and Lita involving themselves in the match as well. Tables were broken, bodies were falling left and right off of ladders and skulls were constantly getting cracked with steel chairs. The match was more or less a spot fest, but what a spot fest it was.

It was simply awesome.

Moment of the match: Edge spearing Jeff Hardy from the top of the ladder

6. Ricky Steamboat vs “Macho Man” Randy Savage for the WWF Intercontinental Championship                Wrestlemania 3

On a card which featured the great Hulk Hogan vs Andre The Giant, this match perhaps stole the show.

I remember listening to Chris Jericho do an interview about 10 years ago on the first time he met Ricky Steamboat at an autograph signing. He asked the Dragon about this match and where it ranks on his all-time favorites.

From what I recall, Steamboat said that he and Savage choreographed the entire match from start to finish. They had a list of moves they wanted to get in and pulled off every single one in chronological order. That’s pretty amazing considering the match ended up being 15-16 minutes and every move performed was near perfection.

I would have liked to see George Steele not influence the decision, but that’s just nitpicking on my part. Savage vs Steamboat at Wrestlemania 3 will live on in infamy.

Moment of the match: Savage delivering the double axe handle to the outside on Steamboat.

5. Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker                                  (Streak vs Career)                              Wrestlemania 26

This match was the last of Shawn Michaels career. That distinction alone should be enough to get this on the list. This was also the sequel to one of the greatest matches of all-time (which I’ll get into later on).

It was hard for these 2 to outdo what they did Wrestlemania 25, but they sure were close. The WWE made a wise decision and had these 2 close out the show instead of having the standard WWE Championship match. Considering the circumstances and stipulations of the match, it was the right move on their part.

The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels tore down the house for the 2nd straight Wrestlemania and had the crowd right in the palm of their hands from start to finish.

In his final act of defiance, HBK slapped the Undertaker right across the face before receiving a tombstone piledriver to end his career once and for all.

Wrestlemania will never be the same without Shawn Michaels. What an amazing end to an amazing career.

Moment of the match: Shawn Michaels kicks out of the first tombstone piledriver.

4. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs Bret Hart in a Submission match    Wrestlemania 13

Not only was this match amazing, but it changed the course of the company’s history.

This was the match that catapulted Steve Austin into superstardom. This submission war with Bret Hart showed the world the Stone Cold that we would be getting for the next 5-6 years. He was a brawler who had a never say die attitude that the fans would eventually fall in love with.

Watching Steve get put into the sharpshooter only to pass out from the blood loss is one of the most iconic images in wrestling history. He never submitted and he never tapped out.

He walked into Wrestlemania 13 as the hated heel, but he walked out with the respect of his peers and the admiration of the fans.

What happened in the years following this match is history.

Moment of the match: Steve Austin struggling to stay conscious as he is locked in the sharpshooter.

3. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs The Rock for the WWF Championship                         Wrestlemania 17      

Whenever Steve Austin and The Rock square off, it’s always magic. Their match at Wrestlemania 17 was no exception.

It was one of the most anticipated main events in the history of the company. You had the 2 biggest stars in the world facing off in front of 70,000 fans at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston. It was hard to predict which man was going to emerge with the belt because let’s face it…it’s Austin vs The Rock. The idea of either man losing was hard to fathom.

Austin’s heel turn and eventual alliance with Vince McMahon at the end of the match shocked everyone in attendance. Steve and Vince had been at each others throats for years. Even though Austins heel run was considered a flop, the shock value of it actually taking place in the main event made for one memorable Wrestlemania moment.

Moment of the match: Austin wailing away on the Rock with a steel chair with McMahon cheering him on.

2. Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart  in an Iron Man match for the WWF Championship           Wrestlemania 12

It’s hard to keep the fans attention for more than 20 minutes, let alone an hour. In a match that didn’t even see one pinfall for 60 minutes, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels managed to do just that.

There were points during the contest in which time was blown on long, drawn out submission holds, but that should be expected in a match lasting one full hour.

An eventual overtime period was decided so the match didn’t end in a draw (which would have been TERRIBLE). Shawn Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to the bewildered Hart to win the WWF title in dramatic fashion.

It takes great conditioning, stamina and perseverance to compete in an Iron Man match. Very few in the world can do it and make it work effectively. Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels both took the ball and ran with it on that night. It was wrestling at its finest.

Moment of the match: Hart throws Michaels into the cameraman. Michaels superkicks him right in the face.

1. Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker                                  Wrestlemania 25

Not only was this the greatest match in Wrestlemania history, but it could very well be the greatest match in the history of the business.

Everyone figured that this would be match of the night, but what we got exceeded all expectations and then some. These 2 took the fans on an emotional rollercoaster. They kicked out of everything. Chokeslams, Tombstones, Sweet Chin Music, Last Rides and Elbow Drops weren’t enough to keep either man down.

The finish was to be expected. The Undertaker never loses at Wrestlemania, but Michaels still made you believe that the streak was going to end. That shows the true greatness of Shawn as a performer. He made you think that the impossible was possible.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a match that was as good as HBK/Undertaker at Wrestlemania 25. It had drama, emotion, brutality, heart and soul.

It doesn’t get better than that.

Moment of the match: Undertaker diving over the tope rope on to the cameraman and Michaels.

ALL FOOTAGE COURTESY OF WWE and YOUTUBE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Most Valuable Player: Lebron James – Miami Heat

Stats: 27.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.8 assists

The MVP will more than likely be given to either James or Kevin Durant depending on which team finishes with the better record. As of now, I’m giving the slightest of edges to the king because A) James is putting up slightly better numbers and B) his record-breaking PER rating of 32.42. The PER (player efficiency rating) is the rating of a player’s per-minute productivity. No one in the history of the game has had a rating higher than what James has at the moment.

His incredible play has kept the Miami Heat near the top of the standings in the Eastern Conference despite injuries to fellow star Dwayne Wade. Let’s face it, without Wade the Heat are nothing more than the Cleveland Cavaliers of old.

James is also shooting better from the field and attempting less 3-pointers which will only benefit the Heat when the playoffs come. Durant is still in the running, but the hardware is James’ to lose.

Honorable Mentions: Kevin Durant – Oklahoma City Thunder, Chris Paul – Los Angeles Clippers, Kobe Bryant – Los Angeles Lakers

Rookie Of The Year: Kyrie Irving – Cleveland Cavaliers

Stats: 18.3 points, 5.1 assists, 3.4 rebounds

I was CLEARLY wrong about Kyrie Irving. I didn’t give him much of a chance after only playing a handful of games in college, but he has certainly shut me up for the time being.

He isn’t Lebron James, but he does have the fans in Cleveland getting over their former king awfully fast. He has joined the ranks of the upper-echelon point guards in the league after only half a season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are still horrible (13-19), but their not Charlotte Bobcats or Washington Wizards horrible. That’s got to count for something right? Ricky Rubio would also be a valid choice, but he has way more help around him than Irving does.

Honorable Mentions: Ricky Rubio – Minnesota Timberwolves, Kawhi Leonard – San Antonio Spurs, Marshon Brooks – New Jersey Nets

Sixth Man Of The Year: James Harden – Oklahoma City Thunder

Stats: 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists

I always pondered as to why James Harden wasn’t the starting shooting guard for the Thunder.

Now I know why.

He is the ultimate bench player. Having James in the starting 5 would just devalue his ability. There isn’t enough ball for Durant, Westbrook and Harden in one lineup. At least by coming off the bench, the Thunder can emphasize his strengths rather than have him lost in the shuffle of the Durant/Westbrook combination.

Harden is putting up all-star caliber numbers for a guy who doesn’t even start games. I could name 7-8 teams that would take James in a heartbeat and turn him into the cornerstone of their team. He’s that good.

The Thunder needed that third scorer to take the pressure off of their 2 star players. Harden has finally evolved into that missing piece and that is why the team sits at 27-7 midway through the season.

Honorable Mentions: Lou Williams – Philadelphia 76ers, Al Harrington – Denver Nuggets, Moe Williams – Los Angeles Clippers

Coach Of The Year: Rick Adelman – Minnesota Timberwolves

Team Record: 17-17

The Minnesota Timberwolves are once again relevant in the Western Conference.

The team has the talent (Love, Rubio, Williams, Peckovic, Beasley, Barea, Johnson) to make a run for a playoff spot, but it needed the right coach to bring it all together.

Cue Rick Adelman.

He has created the perfect system for the players. Emphasize Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio on the offensive end and push defense on the other side of the ball.

The Wolves already have 17 wins, which ties their mark from all of last year. Minnesota is for real. The coach and talent are all in place. Now let’s see where they go from here.

Honorable Mentions: Greg Popovich – San Antonio Spurs, Doug Collins – Philadelphia 76ers, Kevin McHale – Houston Rockets

Defensive Player Of The Year: Serge Ibaka – Oklahoma City Thunder

Stats: 8.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.2 blocks

I’m sick of Dwight Howard constantly winning this award. He’s an all-time defensive player in the league, but I think the guy who leads the NBA in blocked shots and has 3 10+ block games already deserves the trophy just a little bit more this time around.

It’s not only the block numbers that are impressive. His length and strength down low in the paint alters many a shot by opposing players. The Thunder rank 5th in the league for opposing team field goal percentage and first overall in blocked shots with much credit going to Ibaka.

He’s also on pace for over 200 blocks in a season that’s only 66 games long.

That’s good enough for me.

Honorable Mentions: Dwight Howard – Orlando Magic, Lebron James – Miami Heat, Joekim Noah – Chicago Bulls

Most Improved Player: Jeremy Lin – New York Knicks

Stats: 14.4 points, 5.8 assists, 2.8 rebounds

Um, isn’t it obvious? If he keeps playing at the level he has over the last few weeks, than he’s going to run away with this award.

I don’t want to go too in-depth about how much of a stud Lin is on the court (I have TWICE akready), so feel free to check out my 2 major columns on Jeremy Lin entitled “Do you believe NOW!!” and “Do you feel the LINSANITY!!” to help appease your Lin appetite.

Honorable Mentions: Greg Monroe – Detroit Pistons, Kyle Lowry – Houston Rockets, Ryan Anderson – Orlando Magic

That’s only because I felt someone should have taken this event behind a woodshed and put it out of its misery.

I am a huge fan of the NBA, but boy did they fail to deliver for All-Star Saturday.

It wasn’t just the Slam Dunk Contest that sucked, but the entire event was completely weak, emotionless and lacked the luster of past years.

No one wanted to be there. Very few fans showed up to the arena and those who did were absolutely lifeless. Nothing that happened on that court was going to wake them up out of their collective comas.

I suppose it’s hard to get excited for an event that’s headlined by such “big” names as Landry Fields, Jerry Stackhouse, Mario Chalmers, Jeremy Evans, Chase Budinger, James Jones and Paul George.

The Slam Dunk competition was the definition of “waste of time”.

As a fan of the sport, I spent my Saturday night sitting on my couch and watching the festivities hoping for something memorable to happen to justify my decision to spend 2 and a half hours in front of my television.

The 3 point shootout and skills competition are always nice, but the event I was eagerly awaiting was the Slam Dunk contest. I knew the 4 players participating (Jeremy Evans, Derrick Williams, Paul George, Chase Budinger) were no where near being star players, but they were all young and athletic and more than capable of putting on a somewhat watchable show.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

With the exception of 2 dunks (Jeremy Evans 2 ball slam + Derrick Williams 360 off the side of the backboard), every single slam was just dreadful.

Please don’t mention Paul George and his Tron inspired dunk. I love the movie, but the glow in the dark he used as his gimmick didn’t work at all. I couldn’t see what he was doing because his jersey barely lit up. The slam would have come off better if he decided to just leave the bloody lights on in the building.

The Tron dunk basically sums up all of the other dunks for the night and why they were bad. There were WAY to many gimmicks. Why can’t players just dunk the ball and leave it at that? Using celebrities and motorcycles and bowling alley lights just to get a cheap pop out of the crowd didn’t work for these 4 last night.

The 2 best dunks of the evening involved no setup or storyline whatsoever. They were just 2 great dunks. That’s all you need in a competition like this. Don’t over-think things.

The fans ultimately had the final say in who won the contest which was a HUGE mistake. The lack of judging really hurt the event because no one really knew who was winning after each round. That can’t be a continuing trend in future events. Fans should not be the ones deciding the winner of this competition. Leave it in the hands of those who know what they are talking about.

Utah Jazz guard Jeremy Evans ended up winning with 29% percent of the vote. The votes were so close in the end because not one of the players involved really stepped up and stood out amongst the pack. I feel good for Evans because he was a late replacement and truly wanted to win and make a name for himself.

It just sucks that the guy who bounced the ball into the net and jumped over a tiny comedian won the 2012 Slam Dunk Contest.

The NBA needs to take some drastic steps in changing this event so it can thrive in future incarnations.

Where are all of the stars? Why won’t Lebron James do this? Where is Dwight Howard? How come Blake Griffin didn’t return to defend his crown? Those are the players I want to see slamming the ball on All-Star Saturday. I don’t want to see the scrubs of basketball attempt to entertain me. I don’t care if the league has to provide some sort of monetary incentive to the stars to get them to participate, but it needs to be done.

It’s called All-Star Saturday for a reason. Give me some All-Stars.

The Slam Dunk Contest is running on borrowed time. It needs some sort of change to have the strength to continue for the next 5-10 years.

I don’t know how many more Dunk Contests like that I can handle before giving up on the event entirely.