World Cup Update #2

From today's matches, I learned many things.

In the Spain vs Switzerland match, we learned Spain is not untouchable. Spain are not perfect and the USA win over Spain was not a fluke. An interesting statistic, no team has ever won the World Cup after losing their first game. You could say that Switzerland's goal was scrappy and bad, but hey, a goal is a goal. They all count the same.

Chile could be the underdogs of this tournament. They play with style and flair almost like a young Brazil team. Yes, they won 1-0 but credit to Honduras. In the final third, they shut down Chile. It took an amazing save by the Honduras Keeper to keep it at 1-0. Chile might be the most underrated team in the tournament.

It was very sad to see South Africa lose to Uruguay. Diego Furlan has proven to be one of the best players in this tournament. He is the first player to score two goals. If you were to ask me, I want Bafana Bafana to get through. This means that France and Mexico would have to tie, then South Africa needs to beat France and Uruguay beat Mexico.

World Cup Update - Day 1

Over the course of the World Cup, I will be writing about the tournament and the matches of that day. I may touch on the NBA finals, US Open and Wimbledon; however I am mostly focused on the World Cup
USA vs. England

Of course, the match that everyone was talking about was USA vs. England. I would have to say the game was okay. good end to end soccer; however, for the American side, England had most of the possession. Now I will say this-- the USA team did get good opportunities but I did no see a sense of urgency from them and frankly, we were lucky to get a point.

Coming Up Next...

Slovenia and Algeria are now pushovers. the Slovenian team is very defensively sound and are organised. however; if we play with pace and let ladon and Clint get the ball we could do some damage. Remember this, a team that lost to Northern Ireland. Algeria are a team that attack well in numbers. However, the defense and goalkeeping are dreadful. This is a team that lost to Egypt 2-0, USA beat them 3-0 in the Confederations Cup last summer.

The Best and Worst

Currently all groups except G and H have played so instead of going in depth, I'll list three teams that impressed me and three teams that did not impress me.

Top 3 That Impressed

1. South Korea - Being as disciplined and attackingly excellent. The Koreans look like they could do damage.
2. Germany - Played amazing without leader Michael Ballack and beat up on Australia that had previously conceded only 1 goal in their last eight matches.
3. North Korea - For being arguably the worst team in the tournament and being in tghe group of death, they held there own against the always amazing Brazilians and at one point looked better than them.

Top 3 That Stuck It Up

1. France - Where do I start? Played awful, got lucky, didn't prove a threat. I don't believe they will get out of the group.
2. Greece - Attacking-wise they are just terrible. Very dull. Need I say more?
3. Italy - Proved what I thought all along. Too old, Too slow, No Quality. Won't make it past the quarter finals.

We'll see what happens tomorrow.

NBA Finals

Hyped up as maybe the best finals ever, the LA Lakers v. the Boston Celtics has lived up to the hype. In every game, one player has stepped up in the game and made a difference.

In the first 5 games, the one common thread that held true. Defense won the game. In Game 1 and 3, LA was able to handle Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce. In Game 2, 4 and 5, the LA Lakers played terrible defense. At one point, I was thinking to myself, "Where are the big men?" Paul Gasol was so critical in Game 1, he really was the difference. With an injured Andrew Bynum, a sick Lamar Odom, Paul Gasol needs to step up if the Lakers plan to win.

I'm going to go ahead and get to my prediction now. The Boston Celtics have played excellent basketball, but their best was at home. Now being on the road, can they produce? All four of their "star" players have already played amazing in a game. I just don't' see it happening again. I believe Kobe is going to Kobe, stepping up and hitting shots. Paul Gasol needs to play big time in the paint and stay our of foul trouble. The Lakers are a very good home team and I see them winning it all.

My prediction: Lakers by 7

Olympic Hockey at its finest

The hype surronding the USA vs. Canada game was unreal. The Americans weren't even supposed to be here. They were loaded with young talent and predicted not to do well at the 2010 Olympic games. Canada on the other hand, were the powerhouse and predicted to win Gold. But after the USA beat Canada, Canada found themselves having to play the powerful Russians. They beat them quite easily and set-up a rematch between the powerful Canadians and the underdog USA. People were saying if the USA won the Gold it would be almost as great as 1980. After a slow start, The pace started to pick up. Brooks Orpik's hit on Corey Perry into the USA bench set the tone for a crazy 2 hours of hockey. After few chances came and went, Jonathan Toews stuck in a rebound after poor play by the Americans and a fine save by Ryan Miller. Toews found a way to get it in. Then in the 2nd period, Ryan Getzlaf made a fantastic run down the left side of the USA threw it back in the middle only to find Corey Perry sitting there giving Ryan Miller no chance to save it. 2-0 Canada. Without Miller however, The USA would have been dismantled as brilliant save after brilliant save kept the USA in the game. The USA would not go down without a fight. Ryan Kesler almost walked through the Canadian defense then dumped it off to Patrick Kane. Kane then shot the puck only to have a wicked deflection off Kesler go off Roberto Luongo and in. The USA deserved a bit of luck after being so unlucky. Then in the 3rd period, This is where the intensity cranked up to 11. The USA desperatley tried to get shot after shot. But after they through to many people forward, Sydney Crosby found himself one on one with Miller. The USA could not have picked a worse player to go 1 on 1. But once again, Ryan Miller was the hero along with great hustle by Patrick Kane to deny Crosby. AS the minutes wore down, so did the belief. 3/4's of th e arena was candian fans screaming as they came closer and closer to a gold medal. Desperation set in for the Americans, pulling keeper Miller who had been amazing all day. The with less then 30 seconds left, What seemed the impossible became possible. After Luongo fumbled a puck that should been caught the Americans worked it around to Patrick Kane woes suprise shot bounced off Luongo into the direct path of Zach Parise and with 24.4 seconds left stuffed in the tying goal. Then we went to Overtime. As we were getting settled in 8 minutes into the Overtime, Sydney Crosby's magnificant run gets in behind 3 USA players. He picks up the puck in the corner and lays it off for Jarome Iginla who somehow is able to find Crosby while falling down and Crosby slots the puck between the fantastic Miller. He simly couldn't do anything. As the Arena erupted, the dejected American players, who had fought so hard all day to get here, came up short. All in all, the Americans earned lots of respect, gained many new fans, and put a glimpse into the future of this sport in America. Ryan Miller was deservedly the Player of the Tourney, stopping the impossible. Patrick Kane, Jack Johnson, Zack Parise, and Chris Drury all played like superstars this whole tourney. America should be proud of these individuals and be excited for the future of this sport in this country.

Going into the off-season-Football

As we head into the off-season, The Saints have to be the favorites going into the 2010 season. Drew Brees and Sean Payton have lead this team and city to place its never been, and after Hurricane Katrina, they deserve it. So obviously the Saints are favored to go back to the Super Bowl with a high powered offense and physically stout defense. It wil be interesting though to see which teams can challenge the Colts and Saints for the top spot. I believe the sleeper team going into the 2010 season are the Houston Texans. After two 8-8 seasons and a 9-7 season last year, I believe the Texans are turning the corner. Matt Schaub has proved he can be a good Quarterback in the NFL. Andre Johnson is without a doubt one of the best if not the best Wide Recievers in the game. The Schaub and Johnson connection should be firing on all cylinders as long they can keep Schaub standing up. With 25 sacks last year, Houston will be lookig to get a Offensive Lineman in the Draft. This will help Schaub and Steve Slaton, who had an mediocre year last year, will beneit from this. So with the 19th or 20th pick in the draft (depending on a coin flip with Atlanta), Houston should go after Bruce Campbell out of Maryland. His 6'6 frame should help that offense out alot. Houston defense greatly approved when they drafted Brian Cushing out of USC. Cushings quickness and tackling ability helped strengthen that Houston Defense. I expect Houston to go 10-6 next year and make a good push into the playoffs and challenge the Colts in the AFC South.

The Beginning of a new season-NASCAR

As the 2010 season is among us, there are many stories coming out of the Daytona 500. Lets start with the winner, Jamie McMurray. His story is pretty amazing considering what was going on last year. He won the Fall Talladega race, but had no clue what his future would be like. After NASCAR reduced the amount of teams from 5 to 4, McMurray was te odd one out at Roush Racing. He was a lame duck when he won that race. So when Martin Truex Jr. left the #1 team after Michael Waltrip, the door had opened for McMurray. With basically a new team, McMurray went into the Budweiser Shootout with no clue what would happen. His car was suprisingly fast and stayed at the front for the majority of the race. Going into the 500, very few people believed McMurray could do it. After Martin Truex Jr., the man who formally drove the #1 car, and Kevin Harvick mixed it up, McMuarray found himself in second next to leader Kevin Harvick. After McMurray got a bad restart, It seemed Harvick had won it. But McMurray and Greg Biffle stayed nose to tail through the backstrectch and got Harvick. Then as they tool the White Flag, McMurray went to block Biffle but and Biffle went low on McMurray. McMurray was stuck on the top with only Truex to help him. Biffle on the other hand had 4 cars lined up behind him. But shear determination of McMurray kept him from losing Biffle. Then in a split second decision, Clint Bowyer went up high give McMurray a push. McMurray go a big lead, while Biffle was mixing it up with fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. When Jr. got a push from David Reutimann, Junior was able to wiggle his way between Bowyer and Biffle. Junior was just to far back though, McMurray was smooth sailing to the finish line and won his first Daytona 500. When McMurray got back around to the finish line, the sheer joy was flowing through him. His arms pumping, swinging everywhere. But then a very real moment came to McMurray, He collapsed on the Daytona 500 writing in sheer disbelief that he had actual won the Great-American race. McMurray will be remember as the Little Engine that could. He did anything and everything to win that 500, and he did.

Welcome

Thank You for viewing this blog. My name is Jonathan Taylor and let me tell you a bit about my self. Im 15 and from Georgia about 30 minutes outside of Atlanta. My passion is sports. I can talk about any sport at any time. My favorite sports are Football, NASCAR and Soccer, but that dosent mean I can't talk to you about some others. I dream one day is to work for ESPN on the Radio or on TV or on the internet. If I can do anything at ESPN that would be a dream. I wish to race go-karts since NASCAR is one of my favorite sports. I have a talent of racing cars but money is the only reason I dont. I will be posting about major events that happen in the sports world. So come back every day and expect I new story. Thank You