HoopWatch

The Phoenix Suns are once again on top of the Western Conference. They share the pinnacle spot with the surprising New Orleans Hornets. Just a week ago, the Suns traded whining Shawn Marion and an ineffective Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat for the Big Aristotle, Shaquille O’Neal.

Many skeptics sighed heavily on the season’s most shocking and biggest trade. Experts believed that O’Neal does not have anything left in his tank. But O’Neal promised that he would want the fifth, and even a sixth, championship ring circling his fingers. And Steve Nash and the rest of Phoenix would want nothing but the Larry O’Brien landing on their laps by the end of the season.

They were robbed-off of a championship last season with the scandal surrounding Tim Donaghue. Hopefully, this season, there’ll no repeat of that misfortune. But most of the other teams in the West have bolstered their line-ups with reliable veterans. The Los Angeles Lakers added Pau Gasol, and the Lakers have won five of their last six. The Spurs added veteran guard Damon Stoudamire into their fold. He is better back-up than Jackie Vaughn. And the Dallas Mavericks are looking forward to add Jason Kidd.

But certainly, Steve Kerr and the Suns took the biggest gamble by taking in a 100-million dollar, aging and ailing big man. They will definitely miss Marion’s versatility, but Shaq could certainly help them inside the paint which is their weakness. They have been giving-up offensive rebounds to opponents. That may all change with the hulking O’Neal in the middle. Could this be the year? I believe so because the last time I remembered, the Diesel, Shaq, has always kept his promise. (photo courtesy of yahoonba.com)

The Boston Celtics have been so far true to their hype. They have dominated the league as of this writing, and leads the NBA over-all. The big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen have been all dominant. They are carrying the scoring load, and they are all hustling as well. Pierce has found a renewed spirit. They are all getting into the act accounting for more than 60-percent of the Celtics production.

But the real question lies on their health. How long can they really hold on? Most teams before who lost just a single player of a mighty triumvirate found it hard to bounce back. Magic Johnson and the Lakers had a hard time defeating the Celtics in the championship in 1979. Johnson had to be truly magical to accomplish that feat. And the rookie point guard proved to be the worthy center for that night, taking the place of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Houston’s own version of Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon never won the title in the 1990’s. They were never truly complete, as one of the three got injured at significant points in those runs.

As Pierce and Allen are known to be perennial sideline residents, how long, once again, can Garnett hold the fort if one or both of his fellow co-superstars go down with an injury? It is even Garnett who got injured this time around. After-all, Boston’s supporting casts are not that dependable at all as of now. Not unlike the 90’s Bulls, where Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman, Randy Brown and even Jud Buechler held the fort in Scottie Pippen’s absence in 1998 NBA Title Run. Yes, they were led by Michael Jordan, but they were able to pull the Bulls to a 62-win season, the second-best for that year. Jordan could not have done it on his own.

KG is no Jordan. And he is not getting any younger. In his last season with the Timberwolves, “The Kid” went down with an injury as well. Rondo, Scott Pollard, Eddie House and Kendrick Perkins all have to dish out sterling performances. And they should all hope that injury prone stars Allen and Pierce will not be sidelined this season. (photo courtesy of yahoonba.com)

Kobe Bryant put on quite a show on Christmas day, helping the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Suns, 122 -115, at the Staples Center.

After scoring just 12 points in the first half, Bryant exploded for 26 in the second half, including an off-balanced triple against Raja Bell, the Suns defensive specialist. Bryant was unstoppable in the second half, and he capped the third quarter with a buzzer-beating reverse dunk, as he blew by Bell, and dunked over Brian Skinner.

Bryant scored 38 points and added eight assists. He had several fade-away jumpers against Shawn Marion.

I just found out about this site which has a compilation of NBA game schedules.� I usually go to sites like CNN or ESPN to check but this one is worth bookmarking.
What I like about it is that it is even segregated by teams so if for example you are an Atlanta Hawk fan, you can see all Altanta Hawk Basketball Schedule here.

You can also check out NFL schedules, even NCAA and College Bowl schedules.� A nice resource for sports fans.

[more at docsports.com]

Before the season even started, the Phoenix Suns have been adorned by almost everyone as the favorites for the NBA Title by the end of next year’s Playoffs. But things don’t look too good right now. They just have lost to the Atlanta Hawks, and were blown out by the L.A. Lakers on their home opening day.

An additional factor to their struggle is the loss of Amare Stoudemire to injury. Amare is taking things slow right now, as he has still to recover from arthroscopic surgery. Only six players scored for Phoenix in that Atlanta game including two-time MVP Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Grant Hill, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa. No one else stepped up form the bench. Nash had to score 34, and Marion with 20. Hill had a measly 13. Hill and Diaw should plug-in the scoring holes left by the departure of Stoudemire.

But the good news is the Suns were 1-5 to start last year’s season, and they had a stellar campaign. They could have been crowned champions if not for referee betting controversy and other unfortunate incidents.

However, the Suns would still need a lot of help from the bench. At this rate, the starters may have spent all their energy this early, with nothing left come March and April!

The Indiana Pacers bowed-off Play-off Contention last season after being in the postseason for a long time. They added Golden State cagers Ike Diogu, Mike Dunleavy Jr and Troy Murphy in the middle of last season. They appeared to be bright components for the future, and they are.

Currently, they are doing so well in the pre-season. They are 4-0, and Diogu, Dunleavy Jr and Murphy have had double-scoring games. The factors that has contributed to this success are the hiring of new coach Jim O’Brien and the additions of former Laker Kareem Rush and former Magic Travis Diener.

The philosophy of O’Brien is an uptempo type of game. He wants franchise player Jermaine O’Neal to draw the defense, and pass the ball to the shooters. And they have a lot of players who can burn the rim from the outside. Both additions Diener and Rush are excellent three-point bombers. While big men Murphy and Dunleavy Jr can hit from rainbow territory as well.

There is a lot of excitement from the Pacers camp this season. And their new-found games and philosophies may be the gateway back to the postseason wars. At least now, a first-round appearance is highly probable.

Reports, rumors and buzzes around the league have it the Kobe Bryant may leave the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers superstar guard had requested for a trade four-and-a-half months ago. And just a� few weeks ago, Lakers owner Jerry Buss has expressed that he is now willing to ship Kobe. But where should Kobe really go?

If I were to choose a destination for Bryant, I’d say it’s gonna be the Phoenix Suns, in a trade that should include Shawn Marion, Marcus Banks and future draft picks. Marion has been asking to be shipped out for some time now, and Banks is of no use to the Suns. Their salary-cap may bloat a bit, but it would be best for the Suns to have Kobe in their line-up.

Bryant has shown that he can concentrate on defense and not hog the ball only if he has able teammates at his side. It was evident in his stint with the US Team in the recent FIBA Americas. In Phoenix, he will have a lot of scoring help from Amare Stoudemire, Boris Diaw, Leandro Barbosa and even from Steve Nash. Plus Nash knows where to give him the ball. It will be a renewed spirit for Kobe if he goes to Phoenix.

Here’s a lineup of some of the upcoming sporting events in Auckland.

Coastal Classic Yacht Race
19-21 October
See hundreds of yachts launch their colourful spinnakers as they begin one of New Zealand’s most famous coastal yacht races.

Waitakere World Junior Badminton Championships 2007
25 October - 4 November
Head along and support some of our up and coming athletes as they battle it out on the badminton court.

The adidas Auckland Marathon
28 October
Join thousands in crossing the Harbour Bridge on foot and get ready for a day of lively atmosphere and entertainment!

Check out these sites for Auckland Accommodation, Auckland Hotels and Hotels in Auckland

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The De La Salle Green Archers are the UAAP Champions for Season 70. They displayed dominance in the whole forty minutes, winning by nine, 73-64 over the UE Red Warriors, a team that swept the eliminations.

The Red Warriors had at least two weeks of rest, and that proved to have gone against them. They lose the swagger, and they were tentative in taking their shots. They were also forcing a lot of their shots from the three-point region.

The Archers, on the other hand, worked like a well-oiled machine, conquering the Warriors on both offense and defense. They fought tooth-and-nail against the Blue Eagles, and that worked for them, as they learned to work better as a team.

The title marks the sixth one for Franz Pumaren. He had four from 1998-2001, the fifth title in 2004, and his sixth this year, at the expense of his younger brother, Dindo Pumaren.

The Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles ended their season last Sunday, via a 57-62 defeat to their arch rival De La Salle Green Archers. But they fought hard till the last few seconds. If only the desperation three by Chris Tiu would have gone in, they could have won that ballgame and advanced to the UAAP Finals.

But the game went the other way. La Salle won yet again after relinquishing that chance in their first encounter. With the twice-to-beat advantage, the Archers manifested their resiliency and resolve to win the big games. Ateneo has La Salle’s numbers this season. They won three of five matches against the Archers, but they lost the huge games.

With the twice-to-beat advantage up for grabs, La Salle subdued the Eagles. Then last Sunday, with the finals berth on hand for the victor, the Archers won again.

Ateneo has nothing to be ashamed of. They played with a lot of heart. Nobody expected them to be in the thick of things for Season 70’s UAAP Finals appearance. They were ranked behind UE, La Salle, UST and FEU, right in line with NU. This order was determined with the exit of three Star Eagles in JC Intal, Doug Kramer and Macky Escalona. The trio were all drafter in the first round in the PBA Annual Draft.

But Ateneo fought back hard. They were in fifth place at the end of the first round, but won big games against FEU, UST and La Salle. They were not expected to win those games. They were at second place before they lost an all-important game to NU. A very big loss. They dug themselves a huge hole. They failed to seize and grab the opportunity. One lesson Ateneo must need to learn is how to play with a lot of the same intensity after a win against the Archers. Almost each time they defeated the Archers, they always lose their next game. They always appear to spend all their gasses against the Archers, that they appear tired in the next game.

That happened last Sunday. They got tired, and La Salle has done a masterful job clamping down on Tiu, who killed them with big triples in all their three losses. Ateneo failed to secure two all-important defensive rebounds at the end game. That spelled the difference. They were outhustled for those two boards. Those were big let-downs. The Archers were just quicker to the ball.� The Eagles tried to come back, but they were sluggish and exhausted. They have spent all their energy in their previous win. And Tiu was nowhere to be found this time.

But then again, they have overachieved. They fought with a lot of heart. All their games against the Archers, the second round win against UST, the game where they exorcised the past year’s demons against UST (they sent them home this time) – these were all classic games.

Only Ford Arao and Zio Laterre will bid goodbye to the blue-and-white gallery this season. There is a lot of hope for this young team. I must say, Season 71 should be the season that the Eagles will win another title. Tiu, Yuri Escueta, Ken Baracosso and Jobe Nkemakolam may come back for their final UAAP year. Rookies Nonoy Baclao and Kirk Long will play bigger roles. I guess anything short of a title will be an underachievement. After the exit last Sunday, I salute the boys for a job well done, and let me say this loud and clear – I still believe! A title is in the offing next year.