In The Streets » championship

Sports| SuperBowl Review

Adam Watley — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 03:53:14 +0000

Another year has passed with great memories, events that took place this year in the National Football League.

We had the domination of rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. one-handed catch. Including another collapse by Peyton Manning and company.

A very exciting year in football had its closure last night with the defending Champions the Seattle Seahawks taking on the legendary Brady and company. Of course everyone is playing for that title of being called champions.

Last night what seem to be another upset with the Seahawks up by ten points in halftime was just another ending of another successful season for the Patriots.

However, it did not come easy for the New England football club. Tom Brady was even scared when he remembered the “helmet catch” made by David Tyree. He could have sworn it was going to happen again when Russel Wilson threw a bomb towards the sideline to Kearse and he made an incredible catch.

The Seahawks find themselves on the goal line with a little over a minute left. Hello, Seattle Seahawks did you forget that your running back was arguably the best running back in the league this season. That is like Dallas Cowboys forgetting they had Emmit Smith and on goal line just throwing it to Alvin Harper.

The unfortunate thing here is that this bozo play will go down in history. I can already see myself on the couch watching NFL rewind or NFL Films on the NFL Network. I can hear that ole guys voice saying the biggest controversial play calling in Super Bowl history.

One of my favorite parts of the game is seeing Richard Sherman signaling the number 24 calling out Revis. Hey, Sherman your team lost. How about calling your number out.

Overall it was a great game, very close and very competitive. Oh, I forgot to mention, halftime my girl Missy Elliot did her thing, Katy who??? Peace.

Sports | Pacquiao vs. Bradley 2: Changes Pac-Man Should Make in The Rematch

Adam Watley — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 16:26:25 +0000

When first looking at the headline for this article, I am sure the initial response is: What changes?

In reality there is not much more you could ask from Manny in his debacle to Desert Storm. You could ask anyone and they will all say that Pacquiao won the fight.

Just take a look at the final stats, according to CompuBox.

Pacquiao vs. Bradley Fight Stats
Total Punches Jabs Power Punches
Manny Pacquiao 253 63 190
Timothy Bradley 159 51 108
CompuBox

These are the infamous judges and their final score cards; judges C.J. Ross and Duane Ford scored it 115-113 for Bradley, and Jerry Roth had it 115-113 for Pacquiao.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum was apoplectic at the result, per ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael:

“These people don’t know how to score, they really don’t,” Arum, who has promoted fights for almost 50 years, said at the postfight news conference.

“What the hell were these people watching? … How can you watch a sport where you don’t see any motive for any malfeasance and yet come up with a result like we came up with tonight. How do you explain it to anybody?”

Even with his strong performance, Pacquiao has some improvements he can make in a few key areas when the rematch comes along. If he can carry out these three things. then revenge will be his.

Do Not Leave Any Room for Hesitation

The clear thing for Pacquiao to do is beat Bradley so easily that the judges have no choice but to crown him as the winner. Pacquiao can’t let the judges have any sort of case with which to defend.

After the loss, Pacquiao said, “I guess my best wasn’t good enough,” per Rafael.

While the Pac-Man performed well in that fight, it just was not enough. He definitely needs to execute much better in the rematch.

Arum said, “We would like this to be emphatic. We would love an outcome like the Ricky Hatton fight,” per The Telegraph’s Gareth A. Davies.

Pacquiao came out determined in that fight, knocking out Hatton in the second round.

Expecting a performance like that on Saturday is improbable, considering Pacquiao’s five years older. But you can understand the sentiment.

Make Timothy Bradley Desperate into the Late Rounds

Bradley is definitely not a knockout artist. Of his 31 wins, only 12 have come via KO.

Instead, he relies on his speed and technique. Bradley is happy to stay on defense and counter his opponent’s best blows.

Of course, Pac-Man couldn’t be any different. He comes at his opponents early and often, throwing a massive volume of punches.

What Pacquiao needs to do is take Desert Storm out of his comfort zone. He must force Bradley to go on the offensive and take more risks. The more he does that, the more he opens himself up to be knocked to the canvas.

This plays into the first key point listed above. If Pacquiao can be effective and win the early and middle rounds, desperation will start to set in for Bradley. He’ll have to try something different to win the fight in the final rounds, and that could leave him massively exposed.

Don’t Fade Down the Stretch

To say Pacquiao started to fade in the later rounds is not accurate by any assessment. He never lost control of the fight and not in the least did he look like he deserved to lose.

Yet, when looking at the numbers, there seems to be a slight decline from the 10th round on. In the final three rounds of the fight, Pacquiao hit 55 punches, 35 of which were power punches. In the seventh through ninth rounds, those numbers were 67 and 56, respectively.

By the time the 10th rolled around, Pac-Man probably figured he had the fight in the bag, so he didn’t go on the offensive as much. Why should he leave himself open to a stupid knockdown when he’s in firm control, right?

However, that late hiccup opened the door ever so slightly for Bradley. Both Roth and Ross gave all three rounds to Bradley, while Ford gave him the 10th and 12th.

Going along with the first key, Pacquiao can’t let up too much late in the fight, no matter how much he thinks it’s his to lose.

Sports | Richard Sherman Talks Controversy

Adam Watley — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 07:10:09 +0000

Richard Sherman in three days has been talked about more then the biggest football game of the year and in the world..

Richard Sherman has been the most talked about sports figure in the past few days then one could ever imagine. On Jan. 19, before the NFC Championship game, the general sports fan knew Richard Sherman to be one of the best or the best shutdown corners in the NFL. Also, most people knew that Sherman has a PacMan mouth on him as well.

In just one moment Richard’s mouth took him to a whole other level. Just a couple of minutes after Sherman batted Colin Kaepernick’s pass to Malcolm Smith, for the game winning interception. He then was interviewed by Erin Andrews.

What happened next, which I am sure everyone knows by now. has to be one of the most wildest post game interviews ever or at least in a very long time.

The reaction was absolutely insane, if you are like me, I did not mine the comments Sherman made. It was indeed brash but filled with such passion. It was definitely better then some of the cliche responses we hear in most of these post game interviews. Unfortunately, some people went on to twitter and other media sites and delivered very nasty racial slurs at Sherman.

In a interview with Rachel Nichols, Sherman talked about the latter group:

Sherman shared that, “it was mind boggling” about the racial comments said to him. “For the people that did react that way, and throw racial slurs and things like that out there, it was really sad.”

The most common word that was mentioned during the reaction, was “Thug”. During a press conference on Wednesday, Jan 22, Sherman talked about how much that bothered him.

As you can hear Sherman makes some valid points.

He definitely was in the heat of the moment after making one of the biggest plays of his career. He has apologized since in a attempt to put some attention on his teammates who helped Seattle book a spot in the Super Bowl versus a dominant Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.

Still, if you do not want to like him, or if you were not pleased by his actions, that’s fine. But to call him a “thug” or bring race into the equation reeks of ignorance.

Sherman is a smart, talented player. Some don’t like him, but he hasn’t harmed anyone. And there’s no denying he plays the game at a very high level with passion and intensity.

He’ll put that on full display in the biggest game of his career in Super Bowl XLVIII.

Skateboarding | Liam Carle Remix

Adam Watley — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 00:55:34 +0000

Check out Australias Native who is a skateboarding sensation. You can catch him out in the streets of Australia riding around exposing his tricks to bystanders through out the city. So check him out in this video.

Facebook | Liam Carle

Sneakers | Nike Luna Terra Arktos Boots

Adam Watley — Sat, 11 Jan 2014 00:42:54 +0000

The host for Superbowls have typically been in warmer climates and or Dome stadiums. The last time a Superbowl was played in the snow was in Detroit. However, Ford Field is a domed football field.

The traditional way of city where Superbowls are usually located are in warmer climates. Or even a dome field to insulate the football field. The Superbowl of 2014 has broken the tradition. The event will be hosted in New Jersey at Metlife Stadium. Cold is expected for the 2nd of February match and Nike is prepared with a cold weather Super Bowl product line.

On the footwear side, Nike Sportswear has fitted the Lunar Terra Arktos Boot in a Super Bowl themed color combo. The kicks are dressed in a frosty grey colorway with black detailing. Check for a release as the Super Bowl approaches.

Sports | Top Sports Stories of 2013

Adam Watley — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 21:40:20 +0000

ITS 2013 Year in Review Sports Edition: Top sports headlines of 2013.

Manti Te’o girl friend hoax

After such a long meaningless investigation by deadspin.com, it was made known that Notre Dames star linebacker Manti Te’o’s supposed girlfriend Lennay Kekua, who had died of cancer earlier in the year, had never existed. A family friend Ronalah Tulasosopo impersonated a female voice, sent photos that were fake and even created a false online social media persona. Te’o discovered that he had been the victim of the hoax before the championship against Alabama.

Alabama earned another championship

Alabama won their third championship in four years by manhandling Notre Dame 42-14. Nick Saban was in glee in the locker room after the cameras were off.

Baltimore Ravens win Superbowl XLVII

The Ravens beat the 49ers in the Superbowl that featured a blackout in the stadium and a stoppage of play. Even though the lights in the Superdome were largely blacked out, Beyonce still tore up the halftime show.

Ray Lewis Retires

After 17 years in a Baltimore Ravens uniform, superstar linebacker Ray Lewis decided to hang up his helmet for good. He closed out his career with a bang wining his second Super Bowl. Thirteen Pro Bowls, Three time AFC Defensive Player of the Year and two SuperBowls? Not a bad career.

Jerry Buss dies

The safe made millionaire, David Buss purchased the Lakers in 1979 and transformed the NBA from sport to spectacle. With getting players on the Lakers like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant, his teams won a total of 10 championships. David Buss died at the age of 80.

Jordan takes Kobe over LeBron

Michael Jordan, now owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, told Ahmad Rashard in an interview, “If you had to pick between the two, that would be a tough choice.” Also adding, “But five beats one every time I look at it.” Of course, this was before James won his second title later in the year.

Louisville wins National Title

Michigan lost to Louisville in the NCAA Championship game. Louisville capped an impressive run of games. The Cardinals star player was even gone, Kevin Ware did not suite up due to a gruesome injury that happened earlier in the tournament.

Lance Armstrong admits to doping

Armstrong admitted to using performance enhancing drugs during all of his record seven Tour de France wins. His remaining sponsors scattered and its unclear what criminal and civil penalties Armstrong may face.

UConn Women win another Title

The Huskies women’s basketball team defeated the Louisville Cardinals to hois their eight championship since Gino Auriemma began leading the team.

Heat win their second title in a row

The lights out shooter Ray Allen hit the miracle game winning shot that kept the Miami Heat alive in Game 6. Lebron had a 37 point and 12 rebound performance that also catapulted the victory in Game 7. The second title was a great finish after seeing the Heat go on a 27 game win streak, one of the longest in NBA history.

LeBron James receives fourth MVP trophy

James won his fourth MVP award with a dominant performance statistically for the season. James averaged 26.8 PPG, 8 RB and shot .565 from the field. Also, winning the title may have had some leverage.

Murray makes history at Wimbledon

After 77 years of pain, Andy Murray became the first British man since 1936 to win the men’s title at Wimbledon. He had a stunning victory over world number one Novak Djokovic.

Serena dominates 2013

With two Grand Slams, 11 titles and a about a trillion overall wins made 2013 one of the best years of Serena Williams already Hall of Fame worthy career.

Aaron Hernandez charged with murder, released by Patriots

The tight end of the New England Patriots Aaron Hernandez was charged with first degree murder of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd. The rising NFL star was cut by the Pats, pled not guilty, and is being held without bond. Hernandez was charged also with perjury for allegedly lying to a grand jury.

Here comes the Hawks

The Chicago Blackhawks returned to Chicago with the Stanley Cup after beating the Boston Bruins for their second title in four seasons. The Hawks also set an NHL record with their 24 game point streak to open the season.

Pirates and Playoffs

After 20 straight losing seasons, the Pittsburgh Pirates returned to the post season after defeating the Cincinnati Reds in the one game wild card play in. They did end up falling to the St. Louis Cardinals in the next round.

Redsox win it all

One year after eating fried chicken and drinking bear in the locker room and having a disastrous 93 loss campaign, the Sox yet hoisted the Commisioner’s Trophy. Their third championship in the last decade. They went from worst to first.

Mariano Rivera hangs up his glove

Mariano Rivera suffered a knee injury in 2012, then he decided he needed one more year to complete his career. He is considered to be one of Major League Baseball’s best closer ever. He received tributes and gifts from opposing teams as he came through town one final time.

Johnson wins again

Jimmie Johnson won the NASCAR championship again. This is his 6th championship, he is one short of Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt who both share the all time record. Johnson already holds the record with 5 straight championships.

Floyd Mayweather JR. defeats Canelo Alvarez

Alvarez was defeated in the hands of Floyd Mayweather Jr. The WBC and WBA super welterweight belts were on the line. With Jr. still being undefeated the controversial conversation of Mayweather being one of the best ever, still continue to grow.

Rose reinjured

After returning from an ACL and MCL injury that forced him to miss the whole entire 2012-2013 season, Derrick Rose tore a meniscus during a game against the Blazers. The former league MVP had to miss another season with this current injury.

Richie Incognito suspended, Jonathan Martin leaves team

Incognito, a lineman for the dolphins was suspended after a series of incidents, including the use of racial epithets, against teammate Jonathan Martin. While the details are still emerging, it’s still not clear if Martin or Incognito will return to the Dolphins or if any legal action will be initiated by Martin against Incognito.

Chris Davis runs it back for Auburn

It has been hard to put in to words still even after weeks that has gone by. The 2013 Iron Bowl ended on a 109 yard run back of an Alabama field goal that fell just short. Perhaps the best football game of the year and some may argue ever.