And the winner is...

With the NBA regular season coming to a close the matches for the first round of the play-offs are set. But before the remaining teams battle it out for the championship, it's time to dish out some awards. So who are this years front-runners?

MVP: Lebron James

I’m sure it will come as no surprise that I (or anybody else for that matter) can see past King James retaining his most valuable player crown. Fresh off the back of winning his first ring last season he has just completed one of the best regular seasons ever seen in the league. 

The Heat power-house averaged 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.9 blocks a game - as well rounded a line as you will ever see. Simply put, whatever his team needs he provides it. 

What makes it more ridiculous is the efficiency he posts these numbers with. Lebron shot 56.5 percent from the field, 40.6 percent from beyond the arc and a career-consistent 75.3 percent from the foul line.

To cap off his historic season James led the Heat in a thrilling 27 game winning streak on their way to securing the best record in the NBA. 

Factor in that he is also a contender for defensive player of the year in the eyes of many and there is simply isn’t a better basketball player in the world right now.

Rookie of the year: Damian Lillard

Sixth man of the year: J.R Smith

Most improved player: Paul George

Odom the Key for Lakers Success

A seven game series in the NBA is all about match ups. 

Every team in the league is capable of beating any one on their day but to progress to the next round you have to beat a team 4 times. This means having a person or people you can consistently rely on to get the better of their matchup. 

Going into the Play-off semi-finals I fancied the Mavericks to cause the Lakers some problems due to the experience in their roster and the influence of one man, Dirk Nowitzki.

Nowitzki is a match up nightmare, there has never been a player like him in the NBA. Playing as a power-forward he’s the size of a centre, Shoots like a two-guard and dribbles like a point guard, making him near impossible to guard.

It’s uncomfortable for Pau Gasol to have to chase Dirk around the floor and they won’t even consider putting Andrew Bynum on him. Nowitzki is capable of taking his game to the 3-point line where the Lakers’ starting big men will struggle, compromising their whole defence. 

For this reason the Lakers can not continue to play Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum at the same time in this series. If they do there is no doubt Nowitzki will kill them in transition.

In my opinion the answer for the Lakers lies in Lamar Odom. Their talented sixth man who blends size and speed with the ability to put the ball on the floor, making him an unusual match up himself. Not only will he find it easier to guard the Dallas foward it will also cause Nowitzki to use some of his energy guarding Odom. Is Dirk comfortable guarding a 6’ 10” forward who can put the ball on the floor? 

A bigger role for Odom will also ease another issue for the Lakers in this series, the depth of the Maverick's bench. 

As it stands Odom’s great numbers can be negated in this series by the production of the Mav's second string. In game 1 Stojokovic and Terry scored 10 and 15 respectively which takes away the Lakers advantage having a guy like Odom coming off the bench. They are used to having the best player coming off the bench in games, but they don’t have that this series and so Odom needs to play starters minutes to up his production and give the Lakers a boost.

Nowitzki is capable of giving the Lakers major problems in this series and at the moment his numbers are overshadowing Odom’s. If the Lakers are to be successful then Odom needs to see enough minutes to cause the Mavericks some problems of their own and give Kobe some space to go to work.

Liverpool Ladies V Doncaster Belles

It's been way too long since I last posted, but i've been really busy. Here's an example of the kind of thing i've been working on, a match report from Liverpool Ladies FA Cup quarter final win over the Doncaster Belles.

Balotelli V the bib...

Regular readers of my blog will know i'm less than fond of Man City's Mario Balotelli. Looking at some of his dodgy outfits since his move to England (remember the 'glove' hat from Manchester market?) I always thought he didn't know how to dress himself, but this video from before Thursday's defeat to Dynamo Kiev takes the biscuit. Not content with being beaten by the bib he then went on to get sent off, costing his team dearly as they crashed out of the Europa League, a competition I know the club were keen to win and must have been one of the favourites to do so. The early bath was obviously the final straw for Roberto Mancini who must have also been perturbed  by the strikers phantom grass allergy that caused him to be substituted in the first leg, and Balotelli has subsequently been dropped from the City squad for this weekends game. He isn't doing much to change my opinion that his stay at Eastlands will be a short one.

Enjoy...

Is football for the fans anymore?

Chelsea play at Bloomfield Road tonight in yet another game moved from it’s traditional weekend slot for Sky’s Monday Night Football coverage. Now, I am one of the fortunate ones who due to my choice of university live a mere 30 minutes away from Blackpool via train, but what about everyone else? 

Being a fan in modern day football definitely has it’s draw backs. Add Blackpool to games with Wolves, Bolton, Sunderland, and to a lesser extent Fulham and Arsenal and you get an extraordinary run of six away league games in a row played midweek due to television. This weekend for example, would it have done Sky any harm to  stop and think “hang on, United only have to travel up the road to Liverpool. Maybe they should be on Monday night” thus making it easier on those who spend their time and money supporting their team and giving them a nice weekend in the supposed entertainment capital of the country. Instead Rupert Murdoch’s cronies sit in their ivory tower dreaming up ways to make more money and take a little bit more of the soul out of football. Factor in Champions League away games with Spartak Moscow and Copenhagen and I would love to know how exactly Sky and the clubs expect fans to make enough money to pay for their tickets and take time off to travel up north in the middle of every other week. 

It’s not only midweek kick offs that are detrimental to people being able to follow their club, I know as a Chelsea fan that kicking off at 3:00 on a Saturday in the Premier League is a increasingly rare occurrence. Getting to games that are early kick offs in a far flung town doesn’t make things any easier and playing on Sunday means no drinking and an early night due to work and education commitments the next day, taking a lot of the fun out of being a football supporter. Football to me is about days out with mates and following your team, it’s not just about the result. It’s about the banter and adventures in places you wouldn’t go to, with people you wouldn’t know without that one thing that unites you. 

However, it’s obvious the powers that be don’t care and complaints like this will continue to fall on deaf ears. It becomes clearer with each passing season that Sky couldn’t care less about football and the real fans who make it what it is, infact it probably suits them that people aren’t at the games and are on the sofa watching their channel instead. What makes it worse is that clubs are powerless to resist the wads of money Sky are able to provide, and the only people who benefit are the people sat in their arm-chairs, infront of the TV, wearing their replica shirt.

Fernando Torres Chelsea's number 9...

Well, what a week it has been to be a blue! The arrivals of Torres and David Luiz on transfer deadline day is more than even the most imaginative Chelsea fan would have hoped for and seems to have given the club a real lift. This was swiftly followed by us inflicting only Sunderland’s second loss of the season at the Stadium of Light this season. It’s an easy to overlook result but a massive win and it’s great to see us rediscovering our goal scoring touch.  

On the flip side, it’s unsurprising to see that all it takes is for Roman to get his cheque book out and we become Britain’s most hated again (not that we were popular before). Of course i’m used to this by now and it’s not something that worries me, infact I thinks it’s a sign we’re doing something right. However, what I can’t understand is the bile directed at Fernando Torres this week.

Numerous people have questioned his reasons for leaving Liverpool, with many claiming money was the motivation and even that he embodies everything that is wrong with modern footballers. Anyone with sense can see for once this is not the case. Fernando Torres wants to win things and what was the likely hood of that happening at Liverpool this season or even next? He turns 27 later this month and Liverpool need rebuilding. Time is starting to run down on his career and he could be in his thirties before Liverpool even look like challenging for the top honours again. This morning Phil Thompson explained in his usual moronic way why he couldn’t understand why Torres would want to leave Anfield. He then went on to say: “Fernando Torres has played professional football for 10 years and won nothing”... don’t worry i’m sure he’ll get there in the end. Those Liverpool schools, hey!

A lot of people have argued that Torres made the wrong decision because Liverpool are a much bigger club than Chelsea. Well I guess that depends on your definition of a big club. Yes, Liverpool are a massive club but at the moment they are a big club in a similar way that Nottingham Forest are a big club, based on historic achievements rather than their standing in the game now. People can talk about fans and history until they are blue in the face but when it comes down to it sport is about winning things and being the best you can. What Torres has just done is in essence no different to what Valencia did when he joined Man United, moving to play with better players and challenge for silverware.  I have no doubts Liverpool will rise again but they have to face facts that this is the situation at the moment. If reports are to be believed then not only have they lost their star striker but the man set to replace him didn't even want to join, not the mark of a "big" club. 

Whilst on the subject of Andy Carrol, I can't help but feel there is a lot hypocrisy around surrounding his move. There is no difference between what Torres has done in comparison to Carroll, except for the fact that he genuinely left his supposedly beloved Newcastle without time to find a replacement. I am a (or was) a big fan of Carroll but £35m is a gamble and the club should be wary, if asked in the summer many Liverpool fans would have old you new signing Joe Cole was a world beater.


Liverpool fans can say what they like about the man they called El Nino, but the fact that not only themselves but also club legends have gone out their way to talk about him so much this week shows how they really feel about him despite what they may say. No one is that angry to see a bad player leave their club. 

As one fan said: “We hate him so much because we loved him so much”

Talked the talk but when will he walk the walk?

The subject of todays post could easily become some what of a theme on this blog. I didn’t particularly like Mario Balotelli before he came to the Premier League and since his move to Man City he has far from endeared himself to me. 

My new arch enemy has been at it again this week stating: “Mourinho is the best coach in the world but as a man he has a lot to learn about politeness and respect." Funny that a man that stated he would shove his award for being the best young player in Europe (which he probably didn’t deserve) in Jack Wilshere’s face can talk about politeness and respect. People that live in glass houses Mario...

Since arriving in England Balotelli has talked on numerous occasions about how he is going to return to Milan, showing disrespect to Man City. Today he has generously pledged to stay 18 months before departing for Italy. He clearly thinks the club is beneath him and I can’t understand why the fans are so quick to stick up for him.

Balotelli’s time at Man City has so far been a constant stream of disrespectful comments on other players. As I have said before there is no doubt that the Italian has potential but to realise that potential he will have to stop talking and actually play some football, unlikely.

Great players do their talking on the pitch.