My Impressions of the NBA After The 1st Couple Days

-Miami Will Win


After just one game you can tell that the Miami players have a chip on their shoulders and they want the title very badly. LeBron James looked like he improved his game and doesn't want a repeat of last year. Dwyane Wade is still the same. The role players performed well, especially PG's Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole. Miami looks solid.


-The Lakers and Mavericks are Missing Parts


The Lakers and the Mavericks don't look good after their 1st couple games and it is for simple reasons. They are missing key parts. Dallas needs a big man that is good defensively and the Lakers need a younger playmaker to complement Kobe. If they don't get these players they will have a harder time becoming champions.


-Phoenix Will Not Play Well


I didn't think much of Phoenix this year and the loss against New Orleans proves it. They shouldn't lose to a team in New Orleans that just dealt it's best player and is rebuilding. Even with All-Star PG Steve Nash and rising star C Robin Lopez, the Suns don't look like they will win much. They are going to look to rebuild and that may include trading Nash.


-Sacramento May Surprise


After almost leaving for Anaheim and the Honda Center at the end of last season, the Kings won their first game of the season against the Lakers. I believe the victory is a sign that Sacramento may be on track for a breakout season. They have a surplus of young players including PG Tyreke Evans, G Jimmer Freditte and C DeMarcus Cousins, have a scoring threat in SG Marcus Thornton, and a few veterans to lead the rookies. They have the potential to make the playoffs, but a playoff run doesn't seem likely.


-Indiana Is Good


The Indiana Pacers just made the playoffs last year. This year, they are going to be a top team in the east. They have a scorer in Danny Granger, two big men in David West and Roy Hibbert, a playmaker in Darren Collison, and a good young player in Paul George. The only thing that may be holding them back is their lack of bench depth.

2011 College Football All-Americans and Bowl Predictions

The Full Count's FBS COLLEGE FOOTBALL ALL-AMERICA TEAM


OFFENSE                       


QB: Robert Griffin III, Baylor, #10
RB: Monte Ball, Wisconsin, #28 
RB: Trent Richardson, Alabama, #3
WR: Jordan White, Western Michigan, #83
WR: Robert Woods, USC, #2
TE: Dwayne Allen, Clemson, #83
T: Barrett Jones, Alabama, #75
G: David DeCastro, Stanford, #52
C: David Molk, Michigan, #50
T: Nate Potter, Boise State, #73
T: Matt Kalil, USC, #75


DEFENSE


DE: Whitney Mercilus, Illinois, #85
DT: Devon Still, Penn State, #71
DE: Melvin Ingram, South Carolina, #6
LB: Jarvis Jones, Georgia, #29
LB: Luke Kuechly, Boston College, #40
LB: Sammy Brown, Houston, #8
LB: Lavonte David, Nebraska, #4
CB: Morris Claiborne, LSU, #17
CB: David Amerson, NC State #1
S: Mark Barron, Alabama, #4 
CB: Tyrann Mathieu, LSU,#7


SPECIAL TEAMS/OTHER


K: Randy Bullock, Texas A&M, #28
P: Brad Wing, LSU, #38
KR: Tyler Lockett, Kansas State, #16
PR: Tyrann Mathieu, LSU, #7
All-Purpose: Brandon Boykin, Georgia, #2, KR/PR/CB/HB/Wildcat QB


BOWL PREDICTIONS


12/17/11: Gildan New Mexico Bowl- Temple def. Wyoming
12/17/11: Famous Idaho Potato Bowl- Ohio def. Utah State
12/17/11: R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl- San Diego State def. Louisiana-Lafayette
12/20/11: Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl- FIU def. Marshall
12/21/11: San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl- TCU def. Louisiana Tech
12/22/11: Maaco Bowl Las Vegas- Boise State def. Arizona State
12/24/11: Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl- Southern Miss def. Nevada
12/26/11: Advocare Independence Bowl- Missouri def. North Carolina
12/27/11: Little Caesers Bowl- Purdue def. Western Michigan
12/27/11: Belk Bowl- North Carolina State def. Louisville
12/28/11: Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman- Air Force def. Toledo
12/28/11: Bridgeport Education Holiday Bowl- Texas def. Cal
12/29/11: Champs Sports Bowl- Florida State def. Notre Dame
12/29/11: Valerio Alamo Bowl- Baylor def. Washington
12/30/11: Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl- BYU def. Tulsa
12/30/11: New Era Pinstripe Bowl- Rutgers def. Iowa State
12/30/11: Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl- Mississippi State def. Wake Forest
12/30/11: Insight Bowl- Oklahoma def. Iowa 
12/31/11: Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas- Texas A&M def. Northwestern
12/31/11: Hyundai Sun Bowl- Georgia Tech def. Utah
12/31/11: AutoZone Liberty Bowl- Vanderbilt def. Cincinnati
12/31/11: Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl- UCLA def. Illinois
12/31/11: Chick-fil-A Bowl- Virginia def. Auburn
1/2/11: TicketCity Bowl- Houston def. Penn State
1/2/11: Outback Bowl- Michigan State def. Georgia 
1/2/11: Capital One Bowl- South Carolina def. Nebraska
1/2/11: Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl- Florida def. Ohio State
1/2/11: Rose Bowl Game presented by Visio- Wisconsin def. Oregon
1/2/11: Tostitos Fiesta Bowl- Oklahoma State def. Stanford 
1/3/11: Allstate Sugar Bowl- Michigan def. Virginia Tech
1/4/11: Discover Orange Bowl- Clemson def. West Virginia
1/6/11: AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic- Arkansas def. Kansas State
1/7/11: BBVA Compass Bowl- Pittsburgh def. SMU
1/8/11: GoDaddy.com Bowl- Northern Illinois def. Arkansas State
1/9/11: Allstate BCS National Championship Game- Alabama def. LSU

Harvard Crimson Men's Basketball Team Ranked?

With the new AP college basketball poll being released, history was made. Harvard is ranked in the AP Poll for the first time ever, at 25. The USA Today/ESPN Poll has the Crimson at 24. The last Ivy League team to make the AP Poll was Princeton in 1997-1998, where they peaked at 8. Princeton that year first made the poll in Week 3, while Harvard just made it in Week 4. Harvard has only made the NCAA Tournament once, in 1946. However, they made the CIT for the 2009-10 season and in 2010-11 they made the NIT.

Harvard won the Battle 4 Atlantis
http://www.thecrimson.com/image/2011/11/26/mbk-ucf-photo1/

Harvard's success has probably surprised many people. To find the keys to Harvard's success, you need to look at the games they have played. In their first game they demolished D-III MIT Engineers, 76-49. Then, they beat Holy Cross  and Loyal Marymount, both away from home. Next up, was the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. In the first round, they beat Utah convincingly. Then, the upset Florida State, at the time ranked 22nd, in a defensive battle, 46-41. In the finals they beat UCF, who upset UCONN in their semi-final. After that they defeated both Vermont and Seattle. 



There offense is not the biggest strength. The Crimson are averaging 67.6 point a game, ranked 192nd out of 345 teams. Their leading scorers are Senior F Keith Wright with 11.4 ppg, Junior F Kyle Casey with 10.9 ppg, Sophomore G Laurent Rivard with 11.1 ppg, and Senior G Oliver McNally with 7.9 ppg. Defense is easily one of the best in the country. They are ranked 10th in opponents points per game with 54.4 Opp. ppg.


The Crimson don't have the toughest schedule ahead of them. However, their game is probably the toughest. They are facing #9 and the last year's NCAA Tournament champion, the UCONN Huskies. I believe that they have a chance in this game, but playing away at the XL Center doesn't help. If they win, or even if they lose, I would expect much from Harvard.