Top Ten SEC Champions Since 1992

The SEC has arguably been the best conference in the nation for the past seven years.

In those seven years, the SEC champion went 6-1 in bowl games, including going an impressive 4-0 in the BCS National Championship, outscoring opponents 124-66 in those games combined.

Since the inception of the SEC Championship game in 1992, the SEC has won seven national championships, with the SEC Eastern Division winning four, and the West winning three.

The SEC became the first conference in the NCAA to hold a championship game since the league’s expansion in 1991. The first two games were held in Birmingham, AL then they were moved to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA. Since then, the Georgia Dome hasn’t equaled the attendance of the first championship game, where 83,091 spectators witnessed Alabama defeat Florida.

Overall, the SEC champion is 11-6 in their bowl games.

The SEC has produced great football teams during this era and it is hard for anyone to select the best 10 teams during the Championship Era. There are fans of certain teams that are going to be upset, but nonetheless, it’s just a list, and this is open for debate.

It helped the team’s cause by winning their bowl game, the significance of the game, and the team they either beat, or lost to at the time.

But here are the teams who just barely missed the cut in no particular order:

1999 Alabama Crimson Tide

Finished 10-3 (7-1) ranked No.8 in the AP.

Notable losses: Louisiana Tech by one point at home and Michigan in the Orange Bowl by one point in overtime.

Notable wins: At Florida by one in overtime.

Defeated No.5 Florida 34-7 in the SEC Championship.

The ‘99 Alabama team was one of the best teams they put on the field. Led by Shaun Alexander and Chris Samuels on offense, they ran through the SEC with their only conference loss coming to Tennessee at home. They also defeated Florida twice in the same year, once in Gainesville by one in overtime, and by 27 in the championship game. They suffered a heartbreaking loss to Michigan in the Orange Bowl due to a missed extra point.

That same Michigan team was led by eventual Super Bowl winning quarterback Tom Brady.

2001 LSU Tigers

Finished 10-3 (5-3) ranked No.7 in the AP.

Notable losses: At Tennessee by eight, Florida by 29, and Ole Miss by 11 at home.

Notable win: At Alabama by 14 and Tennessee in the SEC Championship by 11.

Defeated No.2 Tennessee 31-20 in the SEC Championship.

LSU suffered back-to-back losses to Tennessee on the road and Florida at home. They got back on track to beat Kentucky and Mississippi State, but stumbled at home against Ole Miss.

Then they played Alabama the following week and exploded with the combination of Rohan Davey and Josh Reed. Davey went 35 of 44 to throw for 528 yards with Reed catching 19 of those passes for 293 yards and defeated Alabama 35-21. They would then capture the West Division and in a rematch against No.2 ranked Tennessee (without Davey); they would defeat the Vols 31-20 to earn a berth in the Sugar Bowl and defeated Illinois 47-34.

1995 Florida Gators

Finished 12-1 (8-0) ranked No.2 in the AP.

Notable loss: Nebraska by 38 in the Fiesta Bowl.

Notable wins: Tennessee by 25 and Florida State by 11.

Defeated No.23 Arkansas 34-3 in the SEC Championship.

This was a tough omission. The decision to leave them in and take a team who won their bowl game out weighed heavily.

They outscored their opponents 558 to 263, scoring over 50 points four times. They also hit the 60 point mark twice. Danny Wuerffel had a great season that year throwing for 3266 yards and 35 touchdowns.

Unfortunately, the omission of the Mighty Gators was due to their poor performance in the Fiesta Bowl against Nebraska giving up a videogame-like 524 yards rushing en route to a crushing 62-24 loss. The Gators came into the game as a slight favorite to win.

With that being said (plus my deepest apologies to the Gator fans), here are the top ten SEC champions in no particular order:

1993 Florida Gators

Finished 11-2 (7-1) ranked No.5 in the AP.

Notable losses: At Auburn by three and Florida State by 12 at home.

Notable win: Alabama in the SEC Championship by 15 and West Virginia by 34 in the Sugar Bowl.

Defeated No.16 Alabama 28-13 in the SEC Championship.

Led by quarterback Terry Dean and defensive players Kevin Carter and Ellis Johnson, the Florida Gators ripped through the SEC losing only one conference game. This is probably the only team who had the respectable losses and the notable win to back up their claim of being on the list. They lost to undefeated Auburn by three on the road and lost to the eventual national champion Florida State at home.

Due to Auburn’s probation, they ended up playing and Alabama in the championship game and then blew out undefeated and No.3 ranked West Virginia 41-7 in the Sugar Bowl.

They outscored their opponents 513-244.

2002 Georgia Bulldogs

Finished 13-1 (7-1) ranked No.3 in the AP.

Notable loss: Florida by seven.

Notable wins: Tennessee by five at home and Florida State by 13 in the Sugar Bowl.

Defeated No.22 Arkansas 30-3 in the SEC Championship.

Georgia was loaded with talent in 2002. Led by the two David’s—Pollack and Greene—and linebacker Boss Bailey, the Bulldogs climbed up as high as No.5 in the AP Poll. With an 8-0 record, they faced their rivals the Florida Gators in their annual game in Jacksonville, FL.

This time, with Ron Zook as the head coach, the Gators beat the undefeated Bulldogs 20-13.

The Bulldogs would bounce back and win their last five games, including beating Arkansas 30-3 in the championship game and defeated Florida State 26-13 in the Sugar Bowl.

2004 Auburn Tigers

Finished 13-0 (8-0) ranked No.2 in the AP.

Notable wins: LSU by one point at home, Georgia by 18, Tennessee on the road by 24 and by 10 in the championship game, and Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl.

Defeated No.15 Tennessee 38-28 in the SEC Championship.

Auburn may have gone undefeated and didn’t win the national championship, but it’s hard to keep an undefeated team off the list. Especially a team who defeated four ranked opponents.

This team was solid on offense and fierce on defense, but the team was led by their backfield consisting of quarterback Jason Campbell and the running back duo of Ronnie Brown and Carnell “Cadillac” Williams. Carlos Rogers won the Thorpe Award that year for best defensive back in the nation and defensive end Stanley McClover became an overnight star making a living in the offensive backfield.

Had it not been for Oklahoma and USC both going undefeated, Auburn probably would have played for the BCS title.

1996 Florida Gators

Finished 12-1 (8-0) finished No.1 in the AP.

Notable loss: At Florida State by 3.

Notable wins: At Tennessee by three and Florida State in the Sugar Bowl by 32.

Defeated No.11 Alabama 45-30 in the SEC Championship.

The Gators had redemption on their minds in 1996. After their loss to Nebraska the previous year, the Gators with new defensive coordinator Bob Stoops, complimented the high octane offense led by Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel. The Gators jumped out of the gate with a 10-0 record which included beating No.2 ranked Tennessee led by Peyton Manning and setting up a No.1 vs. No.2 battle with arch-rival Florida State. After their loss, they beat Alabama 45-30 in the SEC championship to earn a rematch against No.1 Florida State.

The Gators got their revenge by blowing out the Seminoles 52-20 and with some help from Ohio State beating No.2 Arizona State in the Rose Bowl, the Gators became national champions.

1998 Tennessee Volunteers

Finished 13-0 (8-0) finished No.1 in the AP.

Notable wins: At Syracuse by one, Florida by three in overtime at home, at Georgia by 19, Arkansas by 4 at home, and Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl by seven.

Defeated No.23 Mississippi State 24-14 in the SEC Championship.

Trivia question: Who is the only SEC team to ever go into the SEC Championship Game ranked No.1 in the nation?

That team on Rocky Top.

A team who lost Peyton Manning, but returned almost everyone on defense including the unquestioned leader Al Wilson, the Vols had a brutal schedule with heart-stopping finishes, starting with a back-and-forth 34-33 win against a Donavan McNabb-led Syracuse team, and snapping a five losing streak against Florida.

Even losing Jamal Lewis to an ACL injury didn’t derail the Vols’ chances. Travis Henry picked up the slack and led the team in rushing.

Their last close game against Arkansas as they fell behind 21-3 in the first half, came back to within six, and due to the “stumble and fumble”, Henry scored the final touchdown in the waning moments.

They went on to win their second straight SEC title and defeated Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl as Peerless Price had 199 yards receiving in the win.

2003 LSU Tigers

Finished 13-1 (7-1) ranked No.2 in the AP.

Notable loss: Florida by 12 at home.

Notable wins: Georgia by seven at home and by 21 in the SEC championship, at Ole Miss by three, and Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl by seven.

Defeated No.5 Georgia 34-13 in the SEC Championship.

The Bayou Bengals had probably the most physically imposing team in the country that year.

Led by Marcus Spears, Chad Lavalais, and Lionel Turner on defense, they held their opponents to 154 points. Their offense were led by quarterback Matt Mauck, their three headed monster of running backs—Justin Vincent, Joseph Addai, and Alley Broussard—, and the talented Michael Clayton.

Their offense scored 475 points, hitting the 50 point mark twice.

However, this team was tested, especially with a stunning loss to an unranked Florida team, defeating No.7 ranked Georgia by seven and defeating an Eli Manning-led Ole Miss team.

In the SEC championship game, they embarrassed No.5 ranked Georgia 34-13.

Due to USC’s No.1 ranking in the AP Poll, they split the national championship, but LSU has the crystal ball in their possession since finishing No.1 in the BCS Standings.

2006 Florida Gators

Finished 13-1 (7-1) ranked No.1 in the AP.

Notable loss: at Auburn by 10

Notable wins: at Tennessee by one, LSU at home by 13 and Ohio State by 27 in the BCS National Championship Game.

Defeated No.8 Arkansas 38-28 in the SEC Championship.

Talk about a team who got better as the season went on that year.

Chris Leak may have led the offense, but Reggie “Eraser” Nelson, and Brandon Siler carried the defense.

Florida had a preseason top 10 ranking in 2006, but they were under the radar. In 2006, Ohio State was everyone’s favorite to win it all. On the other hand, Florida quietly made noise and crept up in the rankings. They traveled to No.10 Auburn ranked No.3 in the country and were taken surprise by the Tigers.

Dropping five spots, they proceeded to win their last five games of the season, gaining a berth in the SEC championship against No.8 Arkansas. Arkansas pulled out every trick in the book, but it wasn’t enough as freshman Percy Harvin ran “hog” wild as Florida defeated Arkansas 38-28. Their victory was enough to leap No.2 Michigan—who lost to Ohio State—in the BCS Standings.

They would go on and throttle No.1 Ohio State in the BCS National Championship 41-14 to earn their second National Championship.

1992 Alabama Crimson Tide

Finished 13-0 (8-0) ranked No.1 in the AP.

Notable wins: At Tennessee by seven and Miami by 21 in the Sugar Bowl.

Defeated No.12 Florida 28-21 in the SEC Championship.

This team finished No.1 in the country and No.1 in the hearts of all Alabama fans. In their 100th year of football (another recurring theme), ’Bama fielded statistically one of the best defenses in the history of college football allowing only 122 points in 13 games and pitching three shutouts. Their defense was led by the “Bookends” Eric Curry and John Copeland, while Antonio Langham and George Teague patrolled the secondary.

The offense was led by Derrick Lassic who led the team in rushing and Jay Barker who didn’t put the fear of God in opposing defenses, but he never made mistakes. 

No team scored more than 21 points on the defense all season.

This team is more known for the 34-13 beating of No.1 ranked Miami in the Sugar Bowl. Miami talked a lot of trash before the game, but they didn’t say much during the game.

It must have been hard to speak when a football is rammed down your throat.

2007 LSU Tigers

Finished 12-2 (6-2) ranked No.1 in the AP.

Notable losses: at Kentucky by six in three overtimes and Arkansas by two at home in three overtimes.

Notable wins: Virginia Tech by 41 at home, Florida by 4 at home, and at Alabama by seven.

Defeated No.14 Tennessee 21-14 in the SEC Championship.

One of the most talented teams in recent memory, the LSU Tigers had almost just as many convincing wins as they did nail biters. Be that as it may, it takes a great team to win the close games as well.

What goes unnoticed is they played half their games against ranked opponents—Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, and Ohio State—. Slice that anyway you want, that is a pretty tough schedule to have. Led Matt Flynn and Jacob Hester, the Tiger offense scored an impressive 541 points, while Glenn Dorsey anchored a talented defense.

Even after losing a heartbreaker to Arkansas a week before the SEC Championship Game against Tennessee, LSU needed a miracle to play for the BCS Championship—needing Missouri and West Virginia to lose—, and win without Flynn as Ryan Perrilloux would lead the way and their victory catapulted them to the BCS Championship Game against Ohio State.

Since the Championship Game was held in New Orleans, it turned into another home game for LSU as they dominated Ohio State 38-24 to earn their second BCS Championship.

2008 Florida Gators

Finished 13-1 (7-1) ranked No.1 in the AP.

Notable loss: Ole Miss at home by one.

Notable wins: LSU at home by 30, and Georgia by 39.

Defeated No.1 Alabama 31-20 in the SEC Championship.

Led by Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, and Brandon Spikes, the Gators were flying high, ranked No.4 and had to play Ole Miss. Losing a hard fought game, Tim Tebow delivered his speech, and after that, the Mighty Gators outscored their four remaining ranked opponents 201-52, en route to a showdown against No.1 ranked Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.

The Gators were tested in a back-and-forth game that was decided in the Fourth Quarter as Tebow would simply will them to win as they scored 14 points and defeated Alabama 31-20, to earn a spot in the BCS Championship Game against Oklahoma.

The Gators imposed their will on the Sooners as they forced Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford to throw two interceptions as they defeated Oklahoma 24-14. Tebow was the Offensive MVP.

The Gators tied the 1996 offense by scoring 611 points, but their defense held their opponents to 181 points.

Game 1: L.A. 100, Orlando 75

It was almost too easy for Kobe Bryant.

It was a rough night for Orlando.

 Bryant led all scorers with 40 points, while dishing out 8 assists and grabbing 8 rebounds as the Lakers dominated the Orlando Magic 100-75.  Bryant’s 40 points was a finals career high for him, as he is looking for his fourth NBA championship.  Orlando looked good at the start of the game taking a 24-22 lead at the end of the first quarter.  Orlando guard Jameer Nelson was activated for tonights game and played well in the beginning stage of the game, dishing out three assists and scoring on a jumper.

The Magic jumped out to a 33-28 lead in the second quarter.

Kobe had a career night.

Then with 8:32 left to play in the half, Phil Jackson decided to insert Bryant back in the game, and the rest was history, as he went 6-8 from the field scoring 12 points.  His 12th point in the quarter came from a driving lay-up with time winding down to give the Lakers a 53-43 lead at halftime.

The third quarter was more of the same.  Bryant started out scoring the first four points of the quarter and never let up, torching the Orlando defense for 18 points in the quarter.  As Bryant did his damage in the third, the Laker defense stiffened up, shutting down Orlando’s vaunted offense.  The Magic were held to 15 points in the quarter.

The Magic disappeared for tonight's game...

Orlando had it’s worst shooting performance in the playoffs, by going 23-77 (29.9%) from the field and going 8-23 (34.8) from 3-point territory.  Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, and Rashard Lewis went a combined 6-27 (22.2%) from the field.  While the Lakers shot 41-89 (46.1%) from the field and outrebounded the Magic 55-41.

The stars were out tonight, Kanye West, Tyrese Gibson, Denzel Washington, Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, David Arquette were there to see the Laker win, and of course, no Laker game wouldn’t be complete without Jack Nicholson, at his usual seat.

Madden Monday…on Tuesday? And must have games…

First time in a Madden series...two players will share the cover...will they share the jinx??

Yesterday at the E3 Conference, the EA Sports team shared news that the hardcore gamer has been dreaming about for years.  This year, with the addition of Online Co-Op, gamers will also be able to play with a new innovative feature: Online Franchise mode.

Online Franchise mode works exactly like the offline version, except that..well it’s online.  The concept is simple, there are 32 NFL teams, and they can either be controlled by users, or the CPU will take over and manage the rest of the NFL teams. 

It is also a cross between video game and fantasy football (featuring live drafts, messageboards, player transactions, etc).  As you start up the game mode, one person is designated at the commissioner.  The commissioner approves trades, or gives the option of starting out with the default rosters.  In your trade, you can include up to six-player deals, as well as trade for upcoming draft picks.

August 14th can't get here soon enough.....

Probably the best part of this feature, is that every feature of this mode is not only manageable from your console, but through your computer via browser, or an app through Apple.  So if you’re on the go and you have your iTouch, or iPhone, you are able to keep up with your franchise due to an application that is downloadable through iTunes.  After thinking about it, this could be a relationship hazard…

Must Have Games:

I will be brief, so bare with me (as I’m writing this, I’m trying to contain my excitement).  These must have games has certainly caught my attention during E3:

Assassin’s Creed II

God of War III

Final Fantasy XIII

Gran Turismo 5

Super Mario Galaxy 2

New Super Mario Bros.

Modern Warfare 2

Tekken 6

Halo 3: ODST

Metal Gear Solid: Rising

 

The news that hit me the hardest was that the Metal Gear Solid series is coming to XBox….

Now if only Microsoft can get God of War…….one can only dream.

Death....comes for us all.

Finals Preview

The Black Mamba vs. Superman

As the Orlando Magic dispatched the heavily favored Cleveland Cavaliers, the NBA Finals just got interesting as they face another opponent who will be considered the favorite.  The Los Angeles Lakers are basketball royalty.  The franchise has won 14 NBA Championships, and are now in the NBA Finals for a record 30th time in the 63 years the NBA existed.  The Orlando Magic have only been in the NBA for 20 years, debuting in 1989.  This is their second time in the NBA Finals, their last finals appearance came in 1995, where they were swept against the Houston Rockets.

The Lakers got to the finals by defeating the Utah Jazz in five games, struggled through a depleted Houston Rockets team in seven games, and fought off the Denver Nuggets in six games.  The Magic on the other hand, defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in six games, outlasted the defending champion Boston Celtics (without Kevin Garnett) in seven games, and dispatched the best team in the NBA in six games.

If the Magic think they are going to fly under the radar, then they are only fooling themselves.  They have proven they are a legit contender, using their 3 point barrage and strong inside play as momentum to carry them to the finals.  The Lakers have more talent than anyone in the league and when they put it together and stay focused, they are tough to beat. 

Orlando Magic Starting Five:

PG: Rafer Alston 12.7 PPG

SG: Courtney Lee 8.8 PPG

SF: Hedo Turkoglu 15.2 PPG

PF: Rashard Lewis 19.4 PPG

C: Dwight Howard 21.7 PPG

Bench:

Mickael Pietrus 10.5 PPG

JJ Redick 6.2 PPG

Anthony Johnson 4.3 PPG

Marcin Gortat 3.3 PPG

Tony Battie 2.2 PPG

The Magic are not afraid to go their bench for production.  They have nine players who have played a minimum of 16 games in the playoffs.  Their sparkplug is Pietrus who averages a shade below 26 minutes per game.  He’s the French build of Michael Jordan (6-6 215 lbs), and he did a decent job of playing LeBron James during the East Finals.

Pietrus looks to have a repeat performance in the NBA Finals

He will most likely guard Kobe Bryant when called upon off the bench.  The Magic give matchup problems from positions 3-5.  Turkoglu and Lewis are big men who play like guards, and Howard is a man-child in the paint and when he gets his touches, he’s almost unstoppable.  They are shooting a blistering 36.7% clip from the 3-point line and shot 40.8% in the Eastern Finals.  They rebound, they defend well, despite at the fast pace they play on offense, and they don’t get frustrated easily (see the Boston series, as well as the Cleveland series).  Note to the Lakers:  You are not playing the Denver Nuggets.

Los Angeles Lakers Starting Five

PG: Derek Fisher 7.1 PPG

SG: Kobe Bryant 29.6 PPG

SF: Trevor Ariza 11.4 PPG

PF: Pau Gasol 18.2 PPG

C: Andrew Bynum 6.3 PPG

Bench:

Lamar Odom 12 PPG

Shannon Brown 5.7 PPG

Jordan Farmar 5.1 PPG

Luke Walton 3.8 PPG

Sasha Vujacic 3.8 PPG

Josh Powell 2.0 PPG

The Lakers are deep, talented, and borderline enigmatic.  We never know which Laker team will show up.  The one who got hammered by a depleted Rocket team in Game 5, or the one who closed out the Nuggets in Game 6.  Kobe is only as good as his supporting cast.  When players like Gasol, Odom, Bynum, and as of late, Ariza are doing well, they are a well-olied machine.  When they are in a funk, missing shots, turning the ball over, the Lakers are doomed to get blown out.  Kobe just has to be Kobe and the rest of the Lakers just need to play their roles in order to win.  It will be curious to see what Phil Jackson does in this series to combat the quickness of Orlando.  My guess is that he’ll insert Odom in the 4 spot, and move Pau to the 5 spot for defensive purposes.

Pau has to be a force this year…and not be on the side of a milk carton like last year…

Last year, I was very critical against the Lakers after their performance against Boston…

Okay, I was really harsh on them.

Alright, alright fine, I said some pretty mean ish about them.

The LA Lakers were soft as tissue paper. Everyone, from the MVP (yes I said it again), to their last role player, played soft. You can’t cry after every missed call in the NBA Finals, you just can’t get punked out the way they did, you can’t blow a 24 point lead in the 3rd Quarter in Game 4 at home, you can’t blow a 19 point lead in Game 5 also at home, but barely win, and you can’t under ANY circumstances get blown out on the road by 39 points in a game-clinching Game 6. You just can’t have that happen.

Yeah, that was pretty brutal, but from the outlook, I hope the Lakers change their ways, for their fans’ sake.

 

Matchups:

• Alston vs. Fisher

This one is a push.  Both of these guys must shoot well in order for them to play well.  If one outplays the other, it could be a big key in winning and losing a game.

• Lee vs. Bryant

Do I really have to go in depth with this one? yawn*

Edge: L.A.

• Turkoglu vs. Ariza

This is going to be interesting battle.  Ariza is a long, athletic defender and Hedo is a crafty veteran who has a few inches on Ariza.  When it comes down to it, I’ll take the vet over the young gun. Edge: Orlando.

• Lewis vs. Odom

Odom is probably the second best player on the Laker team…when he has his mind right and Lewis has become somewhat of an assassin withhis late game heroics.  I would say push for the simple reason with Odom, but if he doesn’t play well, Lewis will own him.

• Howard vs. Gasol

Gasolis going to need some help guarding Howard one-on-one.  No one has been able to really keep him in check because of his strength.  I don’t see the Lakers doubling Howard down low, because if they do….someone is going to linger around the three point line and Orlando is shooting well from there last time I checked.

Edge: Orlando.

Coaching:

• Phil Jackson vs. Stan Van Gundy

The Zen Master is going for ring number 10.  This isn’t his first rodeo by any means.  He has a way of manipulating how the officials call the game later on. Whether it’s the next game, or a pivotal one down the road.  He’s calm, cool, collected, and when his teams aren’t playing well, he lets them handle the adversity on their own.  This is Van Gundy’s first finals appearance as a head coach and he’s done a remarkable job getting this far.  He’s never stopped coaching, always making adjustments, and has his team playing solid basketball throughout the playoffs.  With a matchup like this, you have to go with the experience.

Edge: L.A.

After looking at these two teams, I’d say they are about even.  There is some drama added to this story, as Jameer Nelson might come back to play in this series.  Nelson was key in the regular season matchup, averaging over 25 points in the two games.  I’m not so sure if they really need him for this one, because we don’t know how effective he would be coming off that shoulder injury he had.  However, I’m going with the underdog in this one.

Magic in six.

East Finals Aftermath

Shocked.

Stunned.

Bewildered.

Bamboolzed.

Hoodwinked.

Hustled.

Conned.

Fleeced.

Led astray.

Well, you get the picture.  That’s probably how the fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers felt after their series with the Orlando Magic.  It can be said that the Cavs coach, Mike Brown, felt that way too.  After all, when you’re named the Coach Of The Year and not make a single adjustment to Orlando’s style of play, and not to mention, the sheer lack of offensive adjustments from Game 1-6 that left your team stagnant at times.  Not to mention, you’ve simply dominated your first two opponents, breaking out the brooms in consecutive sweeps, LeBron James looking like an MVP, and the Cavs looking unbeatable….until Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

As much as I don’t like the man, Stan Van Gundy deserves a lot of credit.  He took a lot of heat from Shaq’s comments after a regular season game after he accused Shaq of flopping:

I heard his comment.  Flopping to me is doing it more than one time, and I realized when I tried to take the charge, as I went down, I realized that that play reminded me of this whole coaching career, and one thing I really despise is a front-runner, so I know for a fact that he’s a master of panic, and when it gets time for his team to go in the postseason and do certain things, he will let them down because of his panic.  I’ve been there before, I’ve played for him.

Those words stuck out to me during the Magic’s run against the defending champion Boston Celtics.  There were times during that series that I thought that Orlando had the game won and Boston came right back and snatched the game from them.  Especially Game 5 where Orlando had a seemingly insurmountable lead and simply gagged.  It seemed that Shaq’s comments about Van Gundy were true after all, but the Magic didn’t fold and eventually won the series, snapping Boston’s record of 32-0 when leading the series at 3-2. 

Van Gundy pushed all the right buttons and made all the right moves.  The Magic was supposed to win Game 1, sounds crazy after they just had an hellacious seven game series with the Celtics, and the Cavs were well rested and looking like a well-oiled machine.  I came into this game thinking that the Cavs would be a little rusty and a slow start from them would help Orlando…..that was my thinking until Cleveland jumped out to an early 10 point lead and Mo Williams made a 66 foot three-pointer at the buzzer to put the Cavs ahead by 15.

Then…the second half happened.  Orlando started to play like the computer on Hall of Fame level on NBA 2K.  They made 3’s in bunches, Dwight Howard imposed his will, and Cleveland…well…they were nonexistant.  Even though LeBron had 49, they still lost by 1. 

If you were to tell me that the remainder of the series would play exactly like that, I would have told you that you were crazy.  But as crazy as it sounds, it played EXACTLY like that.  This is as brief of a synopsis I can give to someone who missed the series:

Cleveland would jump out to a big lead, LeBron would play out of his mind, Magic down by the area between 10 and 20 points, Magic starts hitting 3’s, Cavs look stagant on offense, game gets tight, Orlando wins game…with the exception of Games 2 and 5.  That’s it.  Orlando outplayed them in the second half of every game, with the exception of Game 5, even when LeBron made that crazy 3 at the buzzer to win Game 2, Orlando still outplayed them.  They were deeper, bigger, athletic, and posed matchup problems at every position outside of LeBron’s man. 

Shame on me for thinking that there wasn’t going to be a team who would beat the Cavs in playoffs. 

Shame on me for thinking that Game 1 was a fluke. 

Shame on me for thinking that the Cavs had control of the series after Game 2.

Shame on me for thinking that Orlando couldn’t keep up shooting this ridiculous percentage from beyond the arc.

And shame on me for thinking that LeBron actually had some help this year.

Now we have Orlando vs. Los Angeles in the NBA Finals.

So much for the constant LeBron vs. Kobe commercials.

I’m glad it’s over, but I’m going to miss those puppets though…

Hello world!

Hello everyone!  I’d like to take this time to thank you for reading my blog.  To be honest, the name of this blog came from the top of my head during my long, and stressful day at work.  I was thinking of doing a blog about sports, then I thought, ‘well, I like video games.’ so at that point I considered doing a blog about video sports gaming.  Then, I figured, ‘well, it doesn’t have to be about video sports gaming, I can separate it.’ To top it off, I can write about some serious man ish. Well, some of the things I mentioned are something that most guys do anyways.

So then I thought of the name….and I came up with:

Sports (since I have deep love for it), Gaming (since I love video games, not just sports games), Blog (well…it’s a blog, duh.), and Guy (well, I’m a dude.)

There you have it:  Sports.Gaming.Blog.Guy.