State of the Denver Nuggets

One night the Denver Nuggets are getting run out of the building like their socks are on fire. The next, they are tearing apart the best teams in the NBA.

The state of the Nuggets, in a scientific and collaborative estimation, is unstable. Indeterminate. Unknown.

Denver is a smorgasbord of pieces. They don’t contain any “Super-Stars”; no players that can put the rest of the team on their shoulders and just flat-out go at the snap of a finger, but yet they also don’t have a player that can go cold just as easily, find a reason to lose interest as the team falls flat.

Aaron Affalo (13.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg), Danilo Galinari (15.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg), Ty Lawson (15.1 ppg, 6.7 apg), Wilson Chandler (12.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg), Andre Miller (10.1 ppg, 6.4 apg), Al Harrington (14.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg), Kenneth Faried (9.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and Corey Brewer (9.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg) are all comparable. They are by no means All-Stars, but they are solid additions to any team in the association. The Nuggets are made up a bunch of role players, surrounded by other role players, feeding, once again, off other role players. The sum of its part is no simple algorithm.

.... You can find the rest of this article at
http://sportsmuze.com/state-of-the-nuggets/

Avs playoff push; too much pressure

It’s been an unexpectedly warm March on record for Denver, but on the ice it seems extra cold.

The Colorado Avalanche have lost 4 straight games, during the most inopportune time to go on a chilly streak. They’ve given away, surrendered, and just haven’t found a win to put the closing marks against teams that right there in the hunt with them.

The sharks (including San Jose) have now come and gone. And they have left the young, late-game resilient team to flounder around hoping for one last gasp.

With three games remain, two of which come at the Pepsi Center, the Avs sit just two points out of 7^th place. So they aren’t that far out of postseason play, and they have played as good as any team in the league during spurts this year, but it feels like they are a million miles away.

Every game is said be “the most important game of the year”, and then restated over and over again to no end.

You cannot expect a team to get-up for a game-7 type atmosphere night after night, and then say they have a do-over. (Even though us naïve sports fans would like to think they play with the same heart if Lord Stanley’s Cup were on the line.) It’s physically and mentally exhausting.

Colorado still has an opportunity to get 6 points and get into the mix. They will have to play better hockey to do so, and a little less pressure wouldn’t hurt.

Taylor is college basketball

If there is one player that epitomizes college basketball then you’d have to look no further than the Final Four in New Orleans. Kansas Jayhawks senior guard Tyshawn Taylor is; he’s the good and, at times, the bad.

Taylor graduated high school as one of the top recruits in the nation. He had his choices of colleges, and locations to enhance his skills for the NBA. Bill Self and the reigning National Champions in Lawrence, Kansas seemed to fit the bill.

The year prior Mario Chalmers made the game-winning three pointer to bring the title to KU. He graduated and moved on into the league, leaving behind a legacy that leaves some at Fogg Allen Arena misty in the eyes.

So when Taylor made his way to Kansas, he chose #15, the same number as Chalmers. The invincible highly touted freshman, thinking the slipper will fit right away. Bad.

He played well as a freshman and earned a unanimous selection to the Big-12 All-Rookie team. Taylor averaged 9 points a couple rebounds and assists on a growing Jayhawks team.

Taylor could have bounced to the NBA. Finding a team that would give him a chance, or even select him in the Draft wouldn’t have been hard to find for such a young talented player. He didn’t, he came back to Kansas. Good.

Over the next two years, he refined his game. He became a more all-around player, a leader and a constant for the program. Taylor was one of those players that it felt like he was at Kansas for an eternity. The Jayhawks were good, but they just couldn’t find a way to reach their true potential.

Then at the end of his junior year, Taylor was suspended for a “team violation”, and KU would not disclose the reason. He was forced to sit out several contests heading into the NCAA Tournament. Bad.

Now as a senior, sticking out a career that, looking back, is as good as any player in the recent past. Taylor is in the career record book for games played (1^st), minutes played (2^nd), assists (6^th), steals (20^th) and wins in one of the most competitive conference in the countries.

Taylor leads Kansas into the Final Four with a singular goal. He’s the Mateen Cleaves of this generation. Taylor is college hoops, and all that comes with it.

Buffs program on the rise- Part 2

 Expectations follow success, and expectations mean pressure.

These two attributes have been a rarity around the Colorado basketball program for quite a while. But after back-to-back twenty win seasons and growing interest around the community and around the country it only another step in Tad Boyles elaborate plan.

“I do think we have a brand that we are trying to establish,” said Boyle, who is keen on developing relationships that will last. “Colorado basketball in the west coast, and what we did this year in the Pac-12 tournament opened some eyes so that might open some doors.”

The tournament that the Buffs upset the balance of power in the Pac-12 Conference was a giant leap for the program. 

In his second year in Boulder, Boyle was already getting recognition. He didn’t win Coach of the Year, despite some pundits pleading his case, but his name did come up in the talks of other, high paid and higher profile, jobs around the country. 

Boyle is here to stay; to see through the imminent positive future of Colorado basketball. 

“My commitment level to Colorado basketball is as high as it has ever been. I am fortunate to be here, I am humbled to be here, and I'm hungry,” said Boyle.

Takeaway from Buffs season- Part 1

Colorado was picked to finish 9^th in their inaugural year in the Pac-12 Conference. Even many Buff fans were hesitant to believe CU had enough scoring to do damage in a weak conference. It was prescribed, by the many scribes, as a “rebuilding year”.

But that was on the outside looking in.

After winning the Pac-12 Tournament, the hard way, and taking their talents to the NCAA Tournament Tad Boyle sounded like he knew it was coming. The head coach put the pieces together, in the correct moments, and peaked right when they need to.

“Obviously, we are celebrating a great year for Colorado basketball, and I wish we were still playing this week (in the Sweet 16) but were not,” said Boyle.  “But as we reflect back on the year we had, and another 24 win season, it was a great run at the end.”

The crescendo of the year came in March, and changed the entire perception of the season.

Throughout the year Colorado showed glimpses of being a solid team. They teased the fans, much the same way as they had done in the past, winning against good teams inside the Coors Events Center but faltering on the road. But then they found something, a way to win, against all odds and with all skeptics scratching their respective heads. They ran the table and garnered a newfound respect.

The season is an epitome of Colorado basketball; pushing through adversity, a snub after last season to provide motivation and consistent, yet unpredictable ups-and-downs over the course of a season.  

It’s a process. Boyle is ready to put in the time and the work.

Buffs basketball recap- Introduction

In the large scheme of things, the 2012 season for Tad Boyle and the Buffs basketball program was a crucial step and a huge building block for the future.

“I am really happy with where the program is today, and probably more importantly now, where it is going in the future,” said Boyle as he reflected on the year, his second on the job.

Back-to-back 20 win seasons for the first time in school history. Four wins in four days to take home the Pac-12 Conference Championship in Los Angeles. And a fan base becoming engaged, gaining momentum for years to come.

Success, especially this much, was a surprise, now it’s to be expected in Boulder.

Tad Boyle’s thoughts on the 2011-2012 season, and the prospect of Colorado Buffaloes basketball…

Tiger Sunday makeover

Tiger’s stripes look thin.

The intimidation factor that he once brought to the golf course, much the same way any golfer brings their clubs, is no longer there. People, fans and competitors are no longer afraid, so visibly nervous of the being in the territory of the Tiger.

Once, not so long ago, just by saying Tiger and ANY other golfer were playing the same game you’d be put in the stocks. Now, the one-time most dominant player to ever interlace pinkies, can’t keep people off the cover of his video game, “Tiger Woods Golf”.

Tiger needs to reinvent himself, again, on the golf course.

He’s gone through more swing changes than Mr. Potato Head goes through hats. He’s gone through a lifestyle renovation while being under the scrutiny of millions of people, seemingly with nobody in his corner.

This Tiger needs a breakthrough, a makeover of simple proportions. Tomorrow in the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Eldrick Woods shouldn’t wear red.

He’ll be in contention for a championship, one that he has won 6 times (at Bay Hill), but this one could be a change, could Wendy Peppercorn, and revive his career as a golfer.

Wear green, knickers, or a plaid sweater-vest but not red.

Athletes, golfers in particular, have changed a part of their routine that are much less simple. A number change, a name alteration or some spontaneous act could set you into a new mindset that delivers you back to a player that you once were.  

Tiger doesn’t look like Tiger anymore, and he really shouldn’t on Sunday.