So much for the NBA being “rigged” in only allowing big market teams to reach the final stages of the season ( I guess David Stern is officially off the hook).  Anyways, this does make the game of basketball a little more interesting because of the lack of the usual teams that are usually still alive at this point.  Although, you could argue that it is less exciting without any big name players like Kobe Bryant or Derrick Rose out of the equation.

Nevertheless, this season’s final four is introducing us to a new type of playoff conclusion.  It may be exciting for the fans of those cities involved, but it may not be for the rest of us.

Being a Knicks fan, it is hard for me to get excited to see another team in general, especially after my team has been eliminated.  In this case, it is especially difficult for fans similar to me because not only are our favorite teams out of the tournament, but there are a lack of big names from the remaining teams.  Even though Memphis has Z-Bo and Marc Gasol, and Indiana has Paul George and Roy Hibbert; these teams do not stick out to the naked eye.  That’s not say that these teams should not be watched by general basketball fans, but I don’t believe that these last couples of NBA games will bring in the types of TV audiences that games at this point in time have.

Only in time will we see if these small market teams can produce worthy TV ratings, or more importantly, produce some great basketball worthy of the stage they have willed themselves to.

This is a monumental step for this region, as it will allow for women to have a taste of freedom.  According to Aziz Youssef, a professor at King Saud University, “Everything is being held back in Saudi Arabia as far as women’s rights… It’s about time.”

Ever since women’s gyms were closed back in 2010 in Saudi Arabia, women have had to operate their sport games underground.  Hopefully, this will initiate even more freedom for women in the near future.  As they are currently not able to drive, run for office, or do much civil things.

]]> http://tnga.com/girls-will-be-able-to-play-sports-soon-in-saudi-arabia/feed/ 0 http://tnga.com/amazing-goal-by-ruben-perez/ http://tnga.com/amazing-goal-by-ruben-perez/#comments Mon, 06 May 2013 15:56:43 +0000 Justin Santiago http://tnga.com/?p=3431

Barcelona witnessed an amazing goal by a midfielder by the name of Rubén Pérez.   In which, from about 35 yards away from goal, he sent an absolute strike into the hearts of the Barcelona faithful.  The goal exposed to the lack of defensive pressure from Barcelona and showed that practically anyone can show up Barcelona (at least in recent games).

Watch the video here (courtesy of deadspin.com):

http://deadspin.com/ruben-perez-long-distance-golazo-against-barcelona-is-j-492494618

A young football star has emerged from the streets, no pun intended.  Angelo Whittis is a teen from Detroit who was previously homeless.  Although, he has made a miraculous transformation, as his football coach can attest to.

Growing up, Whittis never knew his father and his mother was continually in and out of prison.  Upon moving in with his uncle and grandmother, it was discovered that the both of them had serious drinking problems.  As a result, Angelo would go to the streets, but to keep his mind on other things he would start playing football.

After practices, his coach would drop him off at a variety of locations until he realized that something was wrong.  Coach Parker ultimately decided to bring Angelo into his own home and he has thrived ever since. Whittis said “I felt like I was special, and at that time in my life, I finally felt like I was somebody.”

As of right now, Whittis is a Senior at River Rouge High School.  In which he is an inside linebacker, an honor roll student, and has the potential to play college football.

After Kremer’s short time with the Reds, he was invited to attend President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address in February and enjoy the activities in the Opening Day Parade.  Then last Thursday he was invited back to the dugout with his favorite team.

And on Thursday night, he was back in the dugout.  According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Kremer wanted three things: “11 runs, 11 strikeouts for free pizza, and a Todd Frazier home run.”  Fortunately for Kremer, his dream was fulfilled.  In a game where the Reds produced a rout at home against the Miami Marlins.

The best part of this story occurred in the 6th inning, where right before Todd Frazier went to bat, Kremer told him “C’mon, hit me a home run, I love you.”  Fraizer replied “I love you too, I’ll hit you one.” A few minutes later, something special happened. A ball was hit out of Great American Ball Park.

Talk about amazing right? Stories like these are just special in every way.  Just to think that Todd Frazier was able to bravely say “I love you …” is undoubtedly admirable and heart-warming.  Not to mention that he said he would hit a home run on his next at bat, leaves me speechless.  Sporadically stories like these appear and make us all feel good in our hearts.  Baseball can just have that affect on you sometimes

Over the weekend these two teams squared off, marking the 16th meeting between the two sides.  Team World won by a score of 112-98, meaning that they have beaten Team USA for the last two years (Team World’s first time winning back-to-back meetings).

For most of the game Team World was in control.  As they were able to do practically anything they wanted as they charged down the court frequently with ease.  Even though the box score may not suggest it (since each team shot so well from the floor) Team World drove to the hole just enough to get more foul shot opportunities (31/42)and fast break opportunities than Team USA (20 points).

As I watched the game, it just seemed that Team USA could not do anything about the game strategy that Team World prepared for them.  This consisted of constant movement of the ball with an up-tempo pace.  As a result, Team USA was outmatched, but that is not to say that Team USA did not put up a fight as they would claw at the lead on several instances late in the game.  Unfortunately though it was not enough to take the lead (as the only lead they had in the game was in the early minutes).

What does this mean for this upcoming generation of USA basketball players? Absolutely nothing.  While it shows that players around the world are improving, it does not mean that talent here in the U.S. is depleting.  I perceive it as a good thing.  Ultimately, it will motivate players in the U.S. to not overlook the talent that exists around the world and strive to prove at the next summit that the U.S. has the best basketball talent in the world.

Maybe it is just me, but I have been waiting for this playoff match-up all season long.  Besides the fact that this is another New York-Boston rivalry, these two teams have history with one another.  Most recently would be the four regular season games they had this season where the Knicks won three of four games.   Although, in recent playoff history, what comes to mind is the first round sweep in 2011, where Boston took four straight games against New York.  In other words, New York definitely has something to prove.  In the last two contests between these two teams, the Knicks came out the gate running.  As they were able to do anything they wanted to do against the C’s, but none of that matters now.

This is playoff basketball now, where the level of play becomes much more intense and each team has a blank slate.

Both of these teams have had wild seasons that makes you wonder about what you are really going to see from each of these teams here in late-April.

For Boston it has been a season too forget.  With injuries to their aged-future hall of famers, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, they have lost their identity.  Although, the injury to Rajon Rondo has done the most harm to this team.  Without him (who is considered their best player), the Celtics went from a team who had title aspirations to a team that was questioned to even make the playoffs.  Fortunately for them they did pull it together to reach the postseason (you can thank Doc for that). They will be a tough team for the Knicks to beat due to the pride and will that Garnett and Pierce have in themselves.  Plus, with the recent tragic events that the people of Boston have gone through, you can expect each home game to have an atmosphere more explosive than what would normally take place for a Boston playoff series.

For New York, this has been their best season in over a decade.  In which they won the Atlantic division crown (first since the 1994), clinched a playoff spot as the number two seed, and defeated the defending-champion Heat three times.  From the surface this season has been outstanding, but it is not as promising as it may seem.  Just like the Celtics, the Knicks have had an up-and-down season.  In which they started the season 18-5 (the best record in the East), went through a mid-season stretch of mediocrity where they went 20-21, and finally went on a 13-game winning streak at the end of the regular-season.  Obviously someone has identity issues.  Fortunately though it could not have come at a better time for them to get hot.  Not to mention that in their mid-season slump they had an array of injuries to some of their more prominent players.  Including: Tyson Chandler, Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton.  But like I said before, none of it matters right now.

This series is going to be a dogfight, no way around it.  Although, I firmly believe that the Knicks will win this series.  Besides the fact that they had their way with Celtics this season, the Knicks just have too much riding on this postseason, convincing me that the Celtics will be helpless.  Overall, the Knicks have had their best season in over a decade and with Carmelo Anthony at the helm, there is no way the Celtics will win this series.  Anthony knows that he needs to prove the naysayers wrong and show that even though he has only won one first-round playoff series in his career, it has nothing to do with this season.  It reminds me of how people treated LeBron before he grabbed his first title last-year, but I think this is much more difficult on Anthony because LeBron was able to join forces with other high-caliber players and get the monkey off his back.  In Anthony’s case, his legacy is on the line and if he let’s the Knicks lose in the first round to an old, beaten Celtics team (without Rajon Rondo mind you) then he should not be surprised when New York fans start to turn on him.

Each game will come down to the final minutes, but I am picking the Knicks in 6.  

On the ensuing play, quarterback Taylor Martinez handed the ball off to Hoffman.  After being redirected towards the direction of his blockers, Jack was able to run sixty-nine yards for the score.

Moments like these should not be overlooked, as they transcend the game.

For those unaware, Jack Hoffman is a seven-year old who was diagnosed with pediatric brain cancer in 2011.  For the last two years, Jack has served as an inspiration to the football team, especially running-back Rex Burkhead (who admitted that Jack served as an inspiration in his mind).  In 2011, the University of Nebraska invited Jack and his family to the campus, in which Burkhead had the honor of hosting Jack and his family (as Burkhead was Jack’s favorite player).  Subsequently Burkhead treated Jack to lunch and took him for a tour of Memorial Stadium.

This was an experience that Jack and his family are sure to cherish for a long time, but Burkhead may have been the lucky one.  Before departing, Jack gave Burkhead a red wristband with the inscription “Team Jack Pray” upon it.  Since then, Burkhead has worn the wristband, crediting  the wristband as an inspiring tool for him and his team.  As they came back from a 14-point halftime deficit to defeat Ohio State in 2011.

“Jack was the inspiration,” Burkhead said. “We were dog-tired, but looking down and knowing what he was going through, there was no way I was going to give up.”

The inspiration that Jack Hoffman serves for University of Nebraska football team should inspire everyone.  Jack Hoffman’s long run for a touchdown in the Cornhuskers’ spring game should stand out to all people that aspire to do great things in life, but are looking for something to motivate them.  Jack Hoffman is only one of many that have to battle with cancer, but when considering his age and his ability to stay strong in light of his situation show just how special he is.

We should all thank little Jack Hoffman for reminding us that certain things are more important that football.  Now we must join his team, “Team Jack Pray”.

If you have not seen the youtube video, it is a must-watch.  This trickster, who titled his video “Kickalicious”, kicks the football from a variety of angles, distances and terrains.  Proving that he has the potential to kick the football accurately regardless of the circumstance.  As a result, he caught the attention from a few NFL teams.

Rugland’s youtube video currently has more than 2.5 million views.  The video shows Rugland kicking the football in a variety of ways; including onto a moving car and over several large hills.  More importantly, Rugland is able to “bend” the direction of the ball while mid-air, which can make his kicks more accurate in inclement weather.

Fortunately for Rugland, he has already been signed to a contract by the Detroit Lions and has a legitimate shot at the starting spot.  Rugland’s major competition will be with veteran kicker David Akers.  Akers is coming off of one of the worst seasons in his career.  In which he only made 69% of his field goal attempts (causing concern for the San Francisco coaching staff during their playoff run).  Thus making Rugland the front-runner going into camp in the coming weeks.

Rugland was able to showcase some significant accomplishments in his video.  Such as, how he is able to kick the ball from 60 yards.  Although, I find that the most intriguing dimension of Rugland’s game is that he is able to kick the football like a soccer player, which can be seen in the way the ball tends to “bend” mid-air.  This ability can be very useful if he gets the opportunity to kick in an NFL game.  In his video, he showcases this several times, proving how effective he can be.

Rugland should have a great deal of support from fans as he makes the transition to the Lions and contends for the starting job.  This is good news for Lions fans, who have just lost one of the best players in the history of their franchise in Jason Hanson and are looking for a successor.