Inherent Flaws in Sports Nielsen Ratings

Not exactly a shocking headline, but with the playoffs bringing TV ratings to the forefront it’s relevant. Every news outlet that reports TV ratings for sports events documents both the rating and number of viewers, usually adding the annual change in each number.
Maybe it’s a pet peeve of mine, or I’m making too big a [...]

Celtics Become Road Warriors

Venues change, series change, but the recipe to win does not. It’s very basic, the team who’s role players and bench make the biggest contribution, that has a decided three point advantage or rebounding edge, and can hit big shots to stop a run wins the game. Home, away, higher seed, lower seed, MVP, Coach [...]

Lebron Needs Help

Classic sudden death playoff games break one of two ways, the game creates a legend or a legend makes the game. Sunday, one legend and one superstar made the game. Forget Bird vs. Wilkins from ‘88, go back to Oscar Robertson and Sam Jones in 1963 to find the only other time two players scored [...]

Spurs Force Game Seven

Arguably the best second round match-up in the NBA playoffs, going to a decisive Game Seven, yet can this series be called a classic if the first six games were all won by the home team by double digits? Since the first games of a playoff series have never been decided by 10 or more [...]

Why Cavs Can Beat Boston

Two or three losses makes you think, at four its a steak, now Boston’s road problems are a troubling trend, following its fifth straight post-season road loss in Cleveland, evening up the Eastern Semifinal at two games apiece. Home-road dichotomy aside, the Celtics find themselves in trouble because they wilt under pressure.
Boston trailed by 3 [...]

Spurs Bounce Back, Game Four Keys

Nobody envisioned the defending champs would go down without making this a series. Returning home following two decisive losses, where New Orleans made San Antonio appear old and slow, raising at least a few doubts about its longevity in this postseason, the Spurs responded. Gregg Poppovich made two noticeable adjustments, moving Bruce Bowen off Chris [...]

Western Playoff Stampede

San Antonio, Utah, and New Orleans have a chance to end the most lopsided Western Conference playoff round in recent memory. Bad enough the lower seeds have only won three games, six of the 12 games have been decided by double figures – three happen to be in the Utah-Houston series. So much for the [...]