Sports Takes Tag

Now that the NCAA’s Men’s Basketball Tournament is over, it’s time to think about the 2015 NBA draft. If you root for a team like the New York Knicks or the Minnesota Timberwolves, you may have been thinking about June 26, 2015 for a while now. Your team’s name is called and a tall young man walks across the stage. He puts on a hat with your team’s logo and he shakes the commissioner’s hand. At first, he’ll represent hope for your favorite franchise, but soon the season will start and he’ll helpRead More
The Final Four gave us a whole lot to remember. No more is Kentucky’s dream of an undefeated season – and arguably the greatest season in NCAA history. Thanks to the Wisconsin Badgers, a scrappy group of guys who did not fear the blue monster, the National Championship game will be a matchup much different than most people expected. While Wisconsin grabbed all the headlines in the Final Four by taking down a Kentucky team that a lot of fans and analysts alike thought to be invincible, the Duke BlueRead More

Posted On March 30, 2015By Ascher RobbinsIn Sports, Sports Takes

Final Four Power Rankings

…And then there were four. From the 16 teams that were still hanging around on Thursday, the final 4 contenders have emerged in Kentucky, Duke, Wisconsin, and Michigan State. In this group we have three iconic programs, and a Wisconsin team that has been excellent for years, even without the prestige of the other three schools. The Final Four promises to be full of big names, star players, star coaches, and plenty of intrigue. So, as we await the Final Four matchups next weekend, let’s look at where our 4Read More

Posted On March 26, 2015By Ascher RobbinsIn Sports, Sports Takes

Sweet Sixteen Power Rankings

Well, in just one week’s time, we’ve narrowed the field of 64 teams down to the final 16 contenders for college basketball’s National Championship. There have been some major surprises (UCLA, NC State) and some very predictable developments (Kentucky dominating). With the field getting trimmed down to four by the end of this weekend, it’s time we rank the remaining teams as to how likely they are to make the Final Four.     #16: West Virginia After holding off a quality Buffalo team in the Round of 64, theRead More
Jump around! The NCAA tournament may be back this week, but march madness really began this past weekend, in the tennis world. First it’s Indian Wells, then onto Miami to account for an exciting month of outdoor sports in this early spring. It’s become a ritual of sorts for many fans of the sport. People make the annual pilgrimage to these warm destinations from all over the country to escape the frigidness of northern cities. But it’s more than just the weather. For people who love the majors, I canRead More

Posted On February 5, 2015By Ryan DaughertyIn Sports, Sports Takes

National Signing Day: Baylor Bears

Wednesday, February 4th was National Signing Day for College Football, and with the 31st ranked class in the nation (according to ESPN, 44th according to scout.com), the Baylor Bears have what Coach Art Briles described as the best class in Baylor history. The Bears received 20 letters of intent on Wednesday, adding great players to an already talented football program. Here is a list of the newest Baylor Bears with quotes on each from Coach Briles. Dominic Desouza: Ju-Co Offensive Tackle transfer, 6’7, 300 lbs “We can redshirt him if weRead More

Posted On February 3, 2015By Harry Edwards FloydIn Sports, Sports Takes

10 Key Topics Discussed in Friday’s State of the NFL

The Super Bowl is over and now the NFL offseason begins. On Friday of last week, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell spent close to an hour addressing the media in Phoenix, AZ. The commissioner began Friday’s press conference with what resembled a State of the Union type speech before he went on to take questions from the media. The topics Goodell dove into are ones that can occupy the idle time of NFL fans for the next few months. Goodell said that the previous year has been “a year of humilityRead More
For yet another year, the top seeds in the AFC and NFC will square off in the game of all games – this time, Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona. Pitting the AFC’s #1 seed, the New England Patriots against the NFC’s #1 seed, the Seattle Seahawks, this Super Bowl should be an interesting game between two very different teams. For much of America, it will be the “Lesser of Two Evils” bowl, as the Patriots and Seahawks are pretty much universally disliked except by their respective fanbases. But we don’t haveRead More
This season, the Western Conference has been as competitive as ever. Every single night a win or a loss could raise or drop you 2 or 3 spots in the standings. The West is hell, and there are eight or nine teams who have a legitimate case to come to represent it in June. The Dallas Mavericks currently sit in 5th place in the West, but are only 2 games out of 2nd and 4 1/2 out of 8th place. 42 games in the season they are 29-13, but they stillRead More

Posted On January 19, 2015By Darryl BrazleyIn Sports, Sports Takes

NBA: Where Shifting Priorities Happens

These are the Nationally Televised Games for the week. All times are Eastern Standard Time. Monday Detroit at Atlanta 2:30PM ESPN “We are shifting priorities to aggressively develop our younger players while also expanding the roles of other players in the current rotation to improve performance and build for our future. As we expand certain roles, others will be reduced. In fairness to Josh, being a highly versatile 10-year veteran in this league, we feel it’s best to give him his freedom to move forward. We have full respect forRead More
The tennis grand slam calendar starts today, and there is reason to be pumped up. The men’s draw is interesting to say the least, so without further adieu, let’s break it down… 2014 Will Not Be Repeated I love Stan Wawrinka (recall my man crush article “How Stan Became Stan the Man”), but he will not win another Australian Open title this year. He made his breakthrough last year, played the tournament of his life, and accrued a major title. But this year, look for someone else to win. ItRead More
For the second consecutive season, the Baylor Bears have suffered heartbreak after having their best season in program history. After giving up a 20 point lead in the 4th quarter to Michigan State, the Bears enter the 2015 season as a long shot to replicate the past two seasons. Last season was most likely Baylor’s best shot at winning a bowl as big as the Cotton Bowl. They had it won. The trophy was theirs. But yet again, discipline came into play as the Bears made every possible mistake theyRead More

Posted On November 20, 2014By Brian WrayIn Sports, Sports Takes

Roger: The Quitter?

The finale of the 2014 Barclays World Tour Finals was won by Novak Djokovic. But there was no match, as Roger Federer dropped out of the tournament one hour before he was set to take the court. He made the announcement in an arena filled with stunned and disappointed tennis fans. People who had paid hundreds of dollars to see him play, and had traveled half way around the world. I was almost one of those people. I had traveled to London last week to see some of the tournament,Read More

Posted On November 13, 2014By Darryl BrazleyIn Sports, Sports Takes

NBA 2014: The Return of Basketball

Basketball used to come at a perfect time for me. Usually, by October, I’m chomping at the bit for basketball to begin. Usually there’s no basketball over the summer, other than Summer League, and by mid-October, my beloved Dallas Cowboys have already shown signs that they are headed to another season of mediocrity. This year was a bit different. The FIBA World Cup, along with an exciting rookie class, kept my attention throughout the summer. Also the Dallas Cowboys started off well, winning 6 of their first 7 games. WhenRead More

Posted On November 8, 2014By Ascher RobbinsIn Sports, Sports Takes

College Football Playoff: Better, but Still Flawed

With just over a month left to play in the 2014 NCAA football season, one thing is becoming abundantly clear: even with the switch from the dreaded BCS to a 4-team playoff system, there is an overwhelmingly good chance that there will be all sorts of controversy over whether the four best teams in America actually make college football’s new Final Four. As things currently stand, the four teams that would vie for the National Championship would be Mississippi State (obviously), Florida State (obviously), Auburn (okay…), and Oregon (ummm). LeftRead More