Allen Iverson

         On March 1, 2014, I made the journey to Philadelphia to witness my all time favorite basketball player Allen Iverson retire his number as a 76er and have his banner raised to the rafters next to Charles Barkley and Maurice Cheeks.
          Iverson's retirement ceremony was held during the Philadelphia 76ers game against the Washington Wizards. The minute you walked into the Wells Fargo arena you knew you were in Iverson's house. There were banners every where of pictures of Iverson. The giveaways were all the giveaways of Iverson they had throughout the years including the rubber duck, gumby, alien Iverson and the Iverson bobble head. All the fans were adorned with Iverson attire. Throughout the game the 76ers paid homage to Iverson by showing clips from Iverson playing and recordings of NBA players talking about what Iverson has meant to them. The players included Andre Igodala, Kyle Kover, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Dewayne Wade among others. LeBron James also spoke but you were unable to hear what he said because the Philly fans booed him.
          It wasn't until there was 1:30 remaining in the first half I realized this is really happening Iverson is really retiring. I was sitting there in my blue Iverson Sixers jersey my heart beating in anticipation of watching Iverson say goodbye to basketball. I have been a fan of Iverson since 1994 when he started playing for Georgetown University. Iverson has been apart of my life for nearly 20 years and it was coming to an end he was stepping away from basketball. Iverson was apart of my household since I was in middle school. My room was full of his posters, magazine covers, sneakers and jerseys.My college dorm was full of pictures of Iverson and my room now still has a framed picture along with his MVP plaque on the wall. Iverson played hard and gave his all every time he went out on the court. He left his mark on the game breaking records and rules at the same time. He changed the NBA and made sure everyone knew who he was. Love him or hate him you knew who he was. He was named Rookie of the year after being drafted number one in 1996. He also got criticized for everything he did from his braids, black socks to his shorts being to long. Iverson was an 11 time all star, winning the MVP of the all star game twice. He won the scoring title four times, was named to the NBA first team three times, was named NBA MVP one time and that was the year he led the Sixers to their first NBA Finals since 1983. Iverson is sixth all time on average points per game and is second to Michael Jordan in playoff scoring average. He also won a Bronze medal with the USA Olympic basketball team. Iverson had a great career.
          When it was time for the ceremony Iverson's family walked onto the court to take their seat along with Dr. J, Moses Malone, Gary Payton, Dikembe Mutombo, Theo Ratliff and Larry Hughes among others. Then the arena got dark and Iverson walked out onto the court. The NBA Commissioner, the president, the GM and the owner all talked. Larry Brown was shown in a recording because he couldn't make it. Brown said he was put on this earth to coach Allen Iverson. Then Iverson was introduced and was unable to talk for a few minutes because the roar of the fans was so loud and overwhelming. Iverson stood there and took it all in allowing his fans to salute him and show him what he meant to them. When Iverson was finally able to talk he thanked everyone even his critics. He talked about what his fans meant to him and what the city of Philadelphia meant to him. Iverson thanked his family and all the players that came before him that paved the way for him. After his speech it was time to reveal his banner. Tina Turner's simply the best started playing and they slowly lifted his banner to the Rafters. In a matter of 20 minutes it was over Iverson was immortalized and placed in the rafters where his name will forever hang.
            It did not really hit me that it was over until the next day. I was walking around feeling like someone died like I lost someone I loved. Iverson retiring was a bittersweet moment in my life one I will never forget and one I will be forever grateful I was able to be apart of. I want to thank Iverson for being apart of my life for about 20 years, for being the dynamic player he was, for changing the NBA and leaving his mark on the game. Little kids will forever look up to Iverson. He is now among the legends in Philadephia and the NBA. Next up the NBA Hall of Fame. Thank You Allen Iverson for everything I love you and I always will. As the Song says "You're simply the best, better than all the rest, better than anyone..."

Giants vs Cowboys review

Despite the New York Giants playing poorly on offense the defense stepped up and helped the Giants pull out a 29-24 victory and stay undefeated at the Dallas Cowboy Stadium. The Giants are 4-0 in Cowboy stadium and have now pulled away to stand on top alone of the NFC East.

The Giants defense is getting back to that championship caliber play that helped them win the Superbowl. The defense grabbed three interceptions in the first half and took a commanding 23-0 lead until the Cowboys scored a touchdown with 5:22 remaining in the first half.

Stevie Brown grabbed two interceptions. One of those came in the fourth quarter that should have sealed the deal for the Giants victory but the offense gave the ball right back to the Cowboys setting up what would be a fight to the last second of the game. Jason Pierre-Paul had a sack and an interception for a touchdown that put the Giants up 23-0. Corey Webster also had an interception.

Chris Canty being back in the defense made all the difference the past two games. Canty is a huge presence in the center and that makes it harder to double team the outside. Canty was able to get to Tony Romo and disrupt his offensive play. Canty had two tackles, one sack and disrupted a number of pass attempts. Linval Joesph also had two sacks.

The Giants defense also had two fumble recoveries. One fumble came on a Felix Jones run when the Cowboys were driving down the field trying to increase their lead after they took a 24-23 lead. The other fumble recovery came on a punt return by Dez Bryant.

 The defense did allow Romo to have big plays in the air and gave up 437 yards. The defense also allowed the Cowboys to come back and take the lead in the third quarter.

The Giants have been stopping the run games of their opponents and only allowed the Cowboys to have 19 yards rushing.

The Giants collapsed in the second half and were only able to score two field goals in the fourth quarter. Fortunately that was all they needed to get the victory and become 6-2.

Eli Manning did not have a good game completing only 15 of his 29 pass attempts for 192 yards and one interception. Only one wide receiver had over 50 receiving yards and that was rookie Rueben Randle. Randle had two catches for 68 yards. Hakeem Nicks had the second most receiving yards with four catches for 46 yards.

The rushing game did not do much better with Ahmad Bradshaw having 22 carries for 78 yards and Andre Brown with three carries for 21 yards and a touchdown.

Steve Weatherford had to punt the ball six times and Lawrence Tynes kicked and made five field goals sealing the victory for the Giants.

The Giants only converted three of 15 third downs and in the fourth quarter the Giants couldn’t convert on third down setting up an exciting finish to this game.

The Cowboys got the ball back with less than a minute remaining in the game. The defense allowed the Cowboys to get close enough to convert a touchdown pass and if it was not for Dez Bryant’s fingers landing out of bounds in the end zone the Giants would not have won this game.

On the last play of the game Osi Umenyoria was able to flush Romo out of the pocket and this caused Romo to throw the ball too high and out of reach of any of the wide receivers ending the game.  

The Giants sit comfortably on top of the NFC East at 6-2 and next up they have the Pittsburg Steelers. The Giants offense had an off game and will play better against the Steelers. If the defense continues to play the way they have the last two games the Steelers won’t be able to get their offense going and if the Giants offense is able to move down they field they will walk away with a victory.

Giants Redskins review

             The New York Giants finally got the monkey off their backs and defeated a division rival. The Giants squared off against the Washington Redskins defeating them in a tight battle 27-23 for their first win in the NFC East this season.

This was an exciting game right to the end when two touchdowns were scored within a minute of each other. Robert Griffin III show cased his play making abilities and also that he can crack under pressure with a few turnovers proving to be costly.

The Giants defense stepped up again this week wreaking havoc on the high powered offense of the Redskins. Chris Canty made his season debut this week and grabbed four tackles in his return. This might have been the reason the Giants looked like the defense from the playoffs. Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyoria and Jason Pierre-Paul all tallied one sack each.

Stevie Brown is solidifying himself in the Giants secondary grabbing another interception this game. Jason Pierre-Paul was everywhere RGIII was chasing him down forcing the Redskins to double team him. The Giants caused four forced fumbles in this game and recovered three of them. Pierre-Paul and Linval Joesph each had one forced fumble and Chase Blackburn had two.

The most significant forced fumble was the one at the end of the fourth quarter on Santana Moss. The Redskins were driving down the field after the Giants scored a touchdown to put them ahead. Chase Blackburn caused the fumble on Moss with less than a minute left in the game stopping the Redskins drive sealing the victory.

Manning had 26 completions on 40 attempts for 337 yards with two interceptions and one touchdown. Manning’s biggest completion was a 77 yard touchdown to Victor Cruz which would end up being the game winning touchdown.

The Giants had trouble getting the running game going and they were not as productive as they have been the past couple of games. Ahmad Bradshaw had 12 carries for 43 yards and a touchdown. Andre Brown returned in this game and had five carries for 17 yards and a touchdown. Hopefully this was just a bad game for the running game and it will go back to the way it was in the next game. The running game is vital to this Giants team this game would not have been close if the running game got going.

Victor Cruz was the standout wide out in this game with seven receptions totaling in 131 yards. Martellus Bennett was also solid with five receptions for 79 yards. Bennett fell off the last couple of game but it looks like he is back on track and let’s hope it stays that way because he is a big body threat down the field and is capable of gaining more yards after the catch.

Hakeem Nicks had five catches for 53 yards and his longest was a 21 yard catch. Nicks makes all the difference in this Giants offense even though he hasn’t had his big game yet defenses respect him enough to put people on him opening up the other options for Manning. Nicks will get back to making big plays soon enough.

This game was too close for comfort but the Giants never gave up and pulled out the victory. This was a big game considering the Redskins swept them last season. The Giants had the big plays when they needed them on offense and defense. Even though no one is giving them their respect yet, the Giants are 5-2 and are among the top teams in the NFL. Next up they have the Dallas Cowboys, another divisional rival that they already played and lost to. The Giants are a different team from that first game and will be more of a challenge for the Cowboys. The Giants play better on the road and they do like playing and winning in the Cowboys stadium. If the defense continues to play the way they have the last two games the Cowboys will be in trouble.

Giants San Fran review

The New York Giants are now standing alone on top of the NFC East after routing the San Francisco 49ers 26-3 in San Francisco on Sunday. Almost everyone predicted this to be a close game and picked the 49ers to come out on top because they were being crowned as one of the top teams in the NFL but the Giants exposed them and didn't allow their offense to score a touchdown. The Giants dominated every aspect of the game and walked away with a big victory in San Francisco.

The Giants defense finally stepped up and played big. The last game against Cleveland the Giants were unable to get a sack but against San Francisco they had six sacks. Jason Pierre-Paul had two sacks and Mathias Kiwanuka, Linval Joesph, Jacquian Williams and Adrian Tracy all got one sack. Prince Amukamara got his first interception of the season in the first half and Antrel Rolle dominated the third quarter intercepting Alex Smith two times.

This was Mario Manningham’s first game against the Giants since he helped them win the Superbowl and he was able to grab five receptions for 72 yards. Alex Smith was able to get some big plays in the air but the 49ers couldn’t get anything going in the red zone. David Akers missed two field goals and made one which ended up being their only score of the game.

The Giants defense played outstanding holding a dominate rushing team to only 80 yards for the game. Frank Gore was held to a measly 36 yards on eight carries. The Giants defense stepped up in this game taking the pressure off of Eli Manning and allowing him to take his time and play his game.

The Giants offensive line did not allow the 49er defense to get a sack in the game.

After being held scoreless in the first quarter Eli Manning came alive in the second quarter hitting Domenik Hixon down the field for a 39 yard catch eventually setting up a Victor Cruz touchdown. This would be Manning’s only touchdown of the game.

Victor Cruz grabbed six receptions for 58 yards and a touchdown. Since the drops in the Cowboys game Cruz has stepped up and made big plays for the Giants.

Manning had 15 completions on 28 attempts for 193 yards and one touchdown. Manning’s go to guy was Domenik Hixon with four receptions for 78 yards. Hixon and Manning are becoming more comfortable with each other. The last couple of games Manning has connected on big plays with Hixon.

Hakeem Nicks made his comeback this week after sitting out the last two games dues to knee and foot injuries. When Nicks is in the game the offense seems to work more smoothly. Nicks is Manning’s safety net due to his big play making abilities. Nicks grabbed three receptions for 44 yards and one of those was a 26 yard play.

After having a 200 yard rushing game last Sunday Ahmad Bradshaw came out and continued to run hard against the 49ers. Bradshaw had 27 carries totaling 116 yards and one touchdown. David Wilson also had 35 rushing yards on seven carries. The Giants offense is starting to become more dimensional instead of always relying on Manning to win the game in the air. If they keep up with the rushing game this offense is going to become hard to stop.

Unlike the past few games the Giants offense did not have a turnover in this game and that was the key to their high powered victory.

The Giants offense and defense played the way they should’ve been playing all season. They were able to catch the 49ers off guard and disrupt their offensive game plan. The Giants were ready for everything the 49ers were going to throw at them and dominated the game showing they are a top team in the NFL.

Next week the Giants are back at their divisional play which they have had trouble against so far this season. The Giants are 0-2 in the NFC East and Sunday at home against the Washington Redskins they look to change that.  

Joe Pa

                         So can someone explain why Joe Paterno is getting more blame for the Jerry Sandusky scandal than Jerry Sandusky is? Why is Joe Pa the only person being discussed every single day? It's starting to look like the FBI needed a scapegoat for their findings and who better to blame than a deceased person. This scandal killed Joe Paterno and now they are dragging his name through the dirt. They are making it so no one will ever remember his 61 year coaching career and all the good he has done for Penn State and the kids that have come through his football program. I understand that he made a mistake by never following up and checking if the board and heads of Penn State did anything about the allegations. Do you really think a father not to just his kids but all the kids he has coached and a grandfather would cover up an alleged child sex abuse case for a football program? Lets not forget he was close to 70 years old when this came out. Who is to say what McQuery really said to Joe Paterno and if Joe Pa understood what he was being told? This is a lot of he said she said. Jerry Sandusky was a so called friend to Joe Pa so its more likely that Joe PA did not believe what McQuery a graduate assistant was telling him. It is a travesty that this happened to these children but lets not forget Jerry Sandusky created a charity for young children and that is where he got his victims from not Penn State. So if we are going to blame Joe Pa for covering up shouldn't we blame the workers at the charity for covering up also don't they play a part in this too? Your telling me that they didn't see Sandusky being overly friendly with the children or taking the children off who knows where while at the charity?
                      No matter what is said and what is done I'll never believe that Joe Pa would cover up something that was hurting a child! No one knows what really happened and the FBI should not come out and make allegations making it look like it was all Joe Pa's fault. No matter how this ends Joe Pa will always be a legendary coach and a great mentor to thousands of men. Everyone has something to say and it is easy to blame the person everyone knows instead of the assistant that no one has every heard of until this scandal. The Joe Pa statue should remain where it is. Joe Paterno made a mistake everyone makes mistakes this mistake should not erase his 61 years of coaching, his 61 years of putting others first, his 61 years of helping young men to become responsible adults, his 61 years of sacrificing family time to full fill his commitment to Penn State and his 61 years of helping a University to become known all over the country! The way they are talking about Joe Pa now is hurting his family and haven't enough families been hurt in this whole scandal. He has children and grandchildren and they are making him out to be a monster that only cared about keeping a football program's reputation in tact instead of the welfare of children which is absolutely ridiculous considering working for the football program was him helping out the welfare of young men! This whole thing makes my blood boil everyone needs to take a step back get all the facts straight instead of pointing fingers and passing blame. Jerry Sandusky allegedly committed these crimes therefore Jerry Sandusky should be the only person that is talked about. Why are his actions anyone else's responsibility? Joe Pa should have went further in making sure something was done but i fully believe he thought by telling the higher ups in Penn State that they would do what was supposed to be done. Not following up and making sure someone was looking into the allegations was something that Joe PA had to regret until he passed away. This killed Joe Pa and it should not take away from everything he has done for Penn State and that community!
                    The only way Penn State will get passed this is if they don't have football for a couple of years because as long as they have football they will have the scandal. Joe Pa will forever be Penn State.

UNC

John Henson, Harrison Barnes and Kendall Marshall entered the NBA draft opting to leave school early. I'm not happy about this. I'm not sure it was the right thing for them to do. Obviously I'm biased because I'm a huge North Carolina Tar heel basketball fan but Barnes couldn't play to his level with Kendall Marshall out during the tournament. I'm not sure they are ready for the NBA draft. John Henson might not be strong enough and should have improved his skills by staying another year and Marshall broke his wrist and had to get surgery during the tournament. Marshall probably should have came back another year just to prove to the NBA teams that his injury did not effect him at all. I'm mad because i know with them UNC would've been the top team next year. Without them they will just have to prove they are still good. I like when they are the underdogs because it gives them more drive and determination to win making them hard to beat. Reggie Bullock and P.J. Hairston have already proved they are ready to move into the starting position. James Michael McAdoo is going to only get better from the way he played this year. I believe McAdoo is going to be one of the best to come out of UNC if he continues to work hard. He has a lot of potential. Lets not forget that Dexter Strickland will also be back. He will be coming back from his injury and should be a good leader for this team next season. I've been a North Carolina Tar Heel fan for a long time and i always believe they can win the National Championship every year. This year coming up will be an adjustment but with Roy Williams at the helm they will always be good and in the running for a top ranking.

The Masters

Many people find golf to be boring but I have found the final day of the big golf tournaments to be exciting. Today took a play off to determine the winner of the Masters at the Augusta National golf course. Augusta is one of the most beautiful golf courses. Bubba Watson won his first ever Green Jacket today. I was rooting for Phil Mickelson to win but I'm not mad that Bubba Watson won. Louis Oosthuizen played a great game but came up a shot short in the playoff. The shot that set up the win for Watson was outstanding. He was in the woods and hit it out of the woods hooking it about 40 yards onto the green.Watson was extremely emotional after sinking in the putt that won him his first ever Masters' title. Phil Mickelson came in third and fought hard to try and take the lead but he just couldn't pull it out because Watson and Oosthuizen were two shots ahead. Today was close right until the end. There were eight different players in the hunt that could have won. Everyone thought Tiger Woods would be in the running today because he won the Arnold Palmer invitational. Woods ended the day plus five tied for 40th place along with Rory McIlroy. The Masters is always unpredictable. You just never know who is going to win it and that is what makes it exciting. There are always favorites but sometimes they don't win and there is someone playing little better that day that might come up and surprise you.