PanamaWilly________
Super Bowl XL Preview, NBA Western Conference Analysis, and Panama Willy?s Last Hurrah
Super Bowl XL will match the NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks (13-3) against the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5) this Sunday at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. I am here to preview this game for you and make my Super Bowl selection. Also, last week I wrote about the NBA?s Eastern Conference at the midway point, so this week I will tell you about the Western Conference at the midway point. Finally, this will be my last article for the Bestline Times, so I have a parting shot I will share with my readers.
Super Bowl XL Preview??
Seattle vs. Pittsburgh (-4): This is an intriguing match up that should make for an outstanding game. The Steelers are going for their fifth Lombardi Trophy in their storied franchise history, while the Seahawks are looking for their first Super Bowl trophy. The Seahawks come into this game representing the NFC as the number one seed in the conference. The Steelers come into this game representing the AFC as the sixth seed in the conference. You would think the Seahawks would be favored coming into this game; however, this is not the case. The Steelers have been on a roll, winning three consecutive games on the road in the playoffs to become the first sixth seed in the history of the NFL playoffs to advance to the Super Bowl. This team has clicked on all cylinders over the last several weeks and it is clear they are feeling very good about their football team. Remember though, the Seahawks have been no slouch either, having won thirteen out of their last fourteen games, with their lone loss coming at the end of the regular season in a meaningless game. Both of these teams have outstanding quarterbacks and excellent running games. Both teams are strong against the run on defense and create lots of pressure on opposing teams? quarterbacks with their pass rush. This game will come down to the team that plays better on defense and the team that does not turn the ball over. The Steelers have the better all around defense and they will come up with a scheme to shut down Seattle?s Shaun Alexander. They will also continue their creative play calling on offense and should be able to exploit Seattle?s secondary. Expect a couple of turnovers from the Seahawks and none from the Steelers. The Steelers and Jerome Bettis are on their way to capturing a fifth ring for the franchise with a 28-20 victory over the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. Pick: Steelers
NBA Midway Point??
Western Conference
Northwest Division
The Denver Nuggets are out on top of this division at the midway point of the season with a 25-21 record. Forward Carmelo Anthony leads the Nuggets in scoring, averaging 25.6 PPG. More than halfway through the season now, the division has been disappointing with every other team below the .500 mark. In second place is the Utah Jazz with a 21-23 record. They actually are playing better than many expected and they are led by forward/center Mehmet Okur, who is averaging 17.8 PPG and 9.5 RPG. In third are the disappointing Minnesota Timberwolves with a 20-22 record. They recently traded their second leading scorer in small forward Wally Szczerbiak to the Boston Celtics for a handful of players in hopes of jump starting their team. Forward Kevin Garnett who is averaging 22.3 PPG and 11.2 RPG continues to carry the load for the T-Wolves. In fourth place is the disappointing Seattle SuperSonics with an 18-25 mark. They have already fired their head coach and things are not getting much better. Guard Ray Allen leads the team with 24.8 PPG. Bringing up the rear of the Northwest Division are the Portland Trail Blazers. They have a record of 15-27. Small forward Darius Miles is having a solid season for the Trail Blazers averaging 18.2 PPG. If the season ended today, they would be hard pressed to have two teams qualify for the playoffs depending on a tiebreaker.
Pacific Division
The reigning champions of the Pacific are once again out on top. The Phoenix Suns have a 28-16 record, having accomplished this feat without the services of forward Amare Stoudemire, which makes what they have done even more remarkable. Earlier in the year, I downplayed point guard Steve Nash?s MVP performance of last year, when I wrote that without the services of Stoudemire he would not be as effective and that I thought Stoudemire should have been the MVP of this team from last year. Well, Steve Nash has proved me wrong and he is having an even better season this year, averaging 19.3 PPG and 11.4 APG. He is getting help from the versatile Shawn Marion, who is averaging 21.5 PPG and 11.9 RPG from the forward position. Next in the division are the Los Angeles Clippers with a 25-16 record. They are right on the heels of the Suns having played three less games. Power forward Elton Brand is having a great season, leading the Clippers with 24.5 PPG and 10.5 RPG. In third place is the other team from Los Angeles, the Lakers. They have begun to turn their season around and when you have a guy that puts up an 81 point game like he did the other night; you know who is leading the way for them. I don?t care much for the guy, but guard Kobe Bryant is having a spectacular season, averaging 35.9 PPG in keeping them in contention for a playoff spot. The Golden State Warriors are in fourth place with a 20-23 record. Guard Jason Richardson leads the team with 22.8 PPG. In last place are the disappointing Sacramento Kings. They have recently made a trade exchanging former all-star sharp shooting forward Peja Stojakovic for volatile forward Ron Artest. They hope Artest can give them more of a defensive presence and help them make a playoff push. Point guard Mike Bibby leads the Kings averaging 21.3 PPG. If the season ended today, three out of the five teams in the Pacific would qualify for the playoffs.
Southwest Division
Clearly the cream of the crop in the Western Conference, the Southwest Division fields some strong contenders for an NBA title. Currently, there is a two-way tie for first place in the division. The San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks both have a 34-10 record. The defending NBA champions are led by their All-Star forward/center Tim Duncan. He is averaging 20.2 PPG and 11.5 RPG. The Mavericks are playing outstanding and they appear to be real contenders this season, with a much improved defense. Forward Dirk Nowitzki is leading the way averaging 25.9 PPG and 8.4 RPG. The Memphis Grizzlies are unfortunately lumped into a division with two heavyweights; otherwise they would be competing for a first place spot in any other division with their 25-18 record. Forward/center Pau Gasol leads the Grizzlies with 19.7 PPG and 9.1 RPG. In fourth place are the young and surprising New Orleans Hornets with a 21-22 record. They have played better than expected and leading this team to an almost .500 record is the current favorite for rookie of the year, point guard Chris Paul. Paul is averaging 16.3 PPG, while dishing out 7.4 APG. In last place is the injury plagued Houston Rockets. They have been without the services of both forward Tracy McGrady and center Yao Ming for many of their games. McGrady has now returned to the line-up and leads the team with 27 PPG. If the season ended today, three out of the five teams in this division would qualify for the playoffs, with the Hornets making a push for a fourth team to qualify.
Panama Willy?s Farewell??
I am sad to announce that this is my last article I will write for the Bestline Times. It has been an honor to bring you Panama Willy?s Sports Takes for the last 23 weeks and I would like to thank all the readers for their support. Also, I would like to thank Fat Pat, my colleague and friend, for his support. Without him, putting together this newsletter would have been quite a challenge. Thanks to guys in the IT department like Greivin, Javier, and Diego for their contributions in this project. I would like to thank Terry for giving us the resources to make this possible and I would like to thank our management group. As well, thanks to all those that contributed in any way to this.
As for me, Panama Willy is on his way back to the United States to begin a new life. Maybe, you will see some work from me down the road in a more prestigious publication, or maybe not! In closing, I really enjoyed writing about topics that I receive great pleasure in following. To me, sports is a huge part of my life and without it, I would be duller than I already am. Now, I get to look forward to following basketball, hockey, baseball, and other sports much closer with my return to the United States. In Panama, I was fortunate to see lots of football games, but not many of the other major North American sports. So, I am looking forward to planting my a$$ in a comfortable chair and kicking back with a cold beer, while watching sports on a regular basis. Goodbye and best of luck to all of you.
Statistical contributions for this article were obtained from espn.com
