GJ Sports Blog - Sportzine Volume 2

SOCCER

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

After the first two games last week it looks as though it will be an all German Final but I would be surprised if there wasn't an upset somewhere.

In tonight's semi-final we have Dortmund heading to Madrid to defend a 4-1 lead from the first leg.  That away goal could be massive.  Dortmund have been having a fantastic year but nobody would rule out the possibility of Real Madrid winning 3-0 against anyone.  Whilst it's unlikely that Dortmund will collapse, if Cristiano Ronaldo arrives in the right mood, he could do enough damage to overturn the deficit. 

Similarly, in the other tie, Bayern Munich look to have one foot in the Final but if there's one place in the world I'd not want to be defending a four goal lead it would be the Camp Nou.  Barcelona on their day are simply irresistible.  Xavi, Iniesta and Messi are among the best players in the world and when things click for them there is no limits to what they are capable of.  I seem to remember a few weeks back that the obituaries were being written after Barcelona's 2-0 defeat to AC Milan.  On that occasion they turned it around with a 4-0 win.  Obviously, Bayern are a better side than Milan but Barcelona also have extra gears to go through and I certainly wouldn't rule them out.

Without doubt it looks likely that Dortmund and Bayern will meet at Wembley but they would be very wise not to make any travel arrangements just yet as funny things can happen in the Champions League and with the two best players in the world trying to spoil their plans, there will most likely be a sting in the tail somewhere along the line.


QUIZ

With the Champions League semi-finals taking place this week it seems to be a good time to have a Champions League quiz.  Either comment on this with answers or respond on Twitter, @gjsportsblog.

1. The last Final to take place at Wembley was between Barcelona and Manchester United but who were the beaten semi-finalists?

2. Who are the top three goalscorers in Champions League/European Cup history?

3. Lionel Messi has finished as top goal scorer in the Champions League/European four times. Which other striker has won the title four times?

4. Five different English clubs have won the Champions League/European Cup but how many titles do they have between them?

5. Which European city has the most combined wins?

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

NFL

The big story in the NFL this week was the 2013 Draft in New York.  It wasn't a great draft for the skill positions with just one quarterback and no running backs being selected in the first round.  Instead there were a huge eighteen line men drafted including the first seven picks overall. 

Eric Fisher an OT from Central Michigan went to the Kansas City Chiefs with the first pick of the draft.  In other high profile picks many expected Geno Smith of West Virginia to be the first quarterback drafted but the Buffalo Bills surprised everyone by picking EJ Manuel of Florida State with the 16th pick.  Geno Smith ended up dropping out of the first round completely before being selected by the New York Jets with the 39th pick. 

With the 38th pick the San Diego Chargers made a very clever move in my opinion by selecting Notre Dame's, Manti Te'o.  I was very disappointed that the Eagles passed on him with the 35th pick.  Te'o has obviously suffered because of his off the field issues and a disappointing display in the BCS Championship game against Alabama but if the draft had took place at the start of December he would have been a high first rounder.  He won't be the first or last player to play badly against Alabama and whilst the fake girlfriend story is possibly one of the most bizarre I have ever read these things don't tend to stick around too long in sports.  Sure you will be hot news and everyone will be talking about you for a while but this story has ESPN 30 for 30 series written all over it when Manti wins the Defensive Rookie of the Year award next season. 

Another player who fell a lot lower in the draft than he maybe should have is USC quarterback, Matt Barkley who went to the Philadelphia Eagles as the first pick of the fourth round (98th overall).  Barkley has talent and was listed as one of the favourites for last years Heisman Trophy but he and USC had a disappointing year.  In his first three years he was showing signs of improvement every year and if he can adjust to the NFL then the Eagles could have got themselves an excellent talent.

Meanwhile, in other NFL news, the New York Jets have released Tim Tebow.  Once the Jets drafted Geno Smith it became clear that they would have to move someone on and it's not really a surprise that Tebow pulled the short straw.  My own thoughts on Tebow are that he gets quite a tough time from NFL fans and commentators.  His throwing action isn't perfect but in today's NFL were there is so much emphasis on the mobility of quarterbacks I can't understand why nobody can find a use for him.  The Jets looked like a perfect fit to me.  They were struggling at receiver and with Mark Sanchez having such a bad season, Tebow would have been a perfect fit to give them something different.  Rex Ryan loves confusing offenses with different defensive schemes so I am surprised he didn't try to run more schemes with Tebow confusing defenses.  At time of writing there seems to be a lot of teams linked with Tebow but no concrete offers.  Hopefully, his career will continue in the NFL as while he's not perfect, I think he still has a lot to offer the league.

ICE HOCKEY

NHL

It didn't look likely last week but the Detroit Red Wings have kept "the streak" alive.  The Wings finished the regular season with four consecutive wins and it was enough to secure the Western Conference's seventh seed and extend their playoff streak to 22 seasons in a row.

The Red Wings will obviously be delighted to extend the streak but they will be even happier to secure the seventh seed and therefore avoid a first round match up with the Chicago Blackhawks.  I don't say that to disrespect the Anaheim Ducks as they have done well to secure the second seed but the fact is the Red Wings have a better record against them than they do against the Blackhawks.  In their seven games against the two the Red Wings have picked up two wins and a defeat against Anaheim compared to four defeats against Chicago.  Anaheim will still be expected to progress but in playoff hockey anything can happen.

In other playoff ties are:

WEST
Chicago Blackhawks v Minnesota Wild
Vancouver Canucks v San Jose Sharks
St Louis Blues v LA Kings

EAST
Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Islanders
Montreal Canadiens v Ottawa Senators
Washington Capitals v New York Rangers
Boston Bruins v Toronto Maple Leafs

The regular season records would suggest that the Blackhawks and the Penguins are the favourites for the Stanley Cup but no number one seed has won it since the 2007-08 Red Wings so this years title is still very much up for grabs.

BASKETBALL

NBA

I couldn't possibly do this edition of the Sportzine without giving the Chicago Bulls a mention.  I've been watching basketball for almost twenty years now and Saturday nights game against the Brooklyn Nets was as entertaining as it gets.

The Bulls started well and it looked like they were heading towards a comfortable win in the first half but the Nets finished the first half strongly and then stepped things up a gear in the second half.  With three minutes to go the Nets looked to have tied the series as they led by fourteen.  However, Nate Robinson and the Bulls had other ideas and they rallied superbly to take the game to overtime.

Robinson's fourth quarter performance was outstanding and he single handedly dragged the Bulls back into the game.  He scored 23 points in the fourth quarter which is just one point less than Michael Jordan's franchise record.  He continued to make things on offence until he was eventually fouled out of the game in the second overtime.

Credit to the Nets, once they gave away the fourteen point lead I expected them to collapse but they bounced back and held their nerve well to come from behind in the first two overtimes to keep themselves alive.  Eventually the Bulls secured a memorable win when they left the Nets with too much to do in the third overtime, running out 142-134 winners to take a 3-1 lead in the series.

Since then the series has returned to Brooklyn were the Nets have forced a game six after a comfortable, 110-91 win.

In the other games, Miami and San Antonio have swept the Bucks and the Lakers to secure their passage to the next round.  New York, Golden State and Oklahoma City are just one game away from progression, holding 3-1 leads.  The two series that look to be heading to the wire are Indiana v Atlanta and Memphis v LA Clippers.  Both are locked at 2-2 although if the games go with home court advantage it will be Indiana and LA who progress.

There is much basketball still be be played but I still haven't saw anything that makes me believe anyone can stop the Heat repeating as NBA champions.

GJ Sports Blog - Sportzine Volume 1

Welcome to the new style GJ Sports Blog were I will be doing a twice weekly look at the main stories in the sports world.  I will still be looking to write longer blogs on occasion but this feature will be used mainly as a home for opinions on subjects that I don't want to write a full blog on but that I want to say more about than just random Twitter rants.  If you have any subjects you would like to discuss feel free to contact me on Twitter, @gjsportsblog.

SOCCER

Luis Suarez 

Much has been said on the subject and if I'm honest I don't agree with what seems to have become the common attitude,  that he is being harshly treated.  My own opinion is that ten games is about right for the offence.

 
When I was finished replaying the incident multiple times on Sunday evening my thoughts began to turn to an appropriate punishment.  I knew he had been punished for a similar offence in his time in Holland but couldn't remember exactly how long his ban had been.  A quick Google search showed that he was banned for seven games on that occasion and using that as a precedent and taking into consideration that this was his second offence, I felt a ten game ban would be fair enough although if I'm honest I didn't think the FA would have the balls to give him such a long ban. 

Many Liverpool fans have argued that the ban is too long when compared to some of the bad tackles that have been made this season.  My argument to this is bad tackles are a part of football.  It's very easy for someone to commit themselves to a challenge and with the speed that the top players are playing at in the modern game these challenges can often be mistimed and players can suddenly become public enemy number one simply because an attacker was too quick for them.  I'm not saying that every bad tackle is accidental but I would say that quite a few of them are and it's an impossible task to expect a disciplinary committee to get inside a players mind to be able to judge a players intent when making a challenge. 

The Suarez case is completely different and you don't just bite someone by accident.  For me the two lowest places a man can go are if he bites or spits on another man.  Both are absolutely disgusting and both are extremely cowardly.  Had Suarez stood up to Ivanovic like a man and punched him he would have no doubt got a ban but deep down he would have earned a small bit of respect as he took issue with a bigger man and had the guts to stand up to him.  As it was though Suarez sunk to lowlife, corner boy tactics and as good as he is on the field any bit of respect he was still owed after his other misdemeanour's has been lost. 

Many argue that Suarez is being punished because of who he is and not what he done but why is that wrong?  In any other circumstance he would be judged on his past character whether that be in a court of law or an employment related disciplinary hearing.  When making a judgement people will want to know are the actions out of character for the person and on this occasion they certainly were not. 

Suarez now misses the remainder of this season and roughly the first month or so of next season and that will be a big loss for Liverpool.  What would be an even bigger loss to Liverpool would be if he decides to leave the Premier League due to the "harsh treatment" he receives.  Luis Suarez, the footballer is an asset to Liverpool and the Premier League and it would be bad for everyone if he were to leave.  English football has lost a lot of it's star players in the last few years and the league would be worse off without him but the time is long overdue for Suarez to realise that he isn't being victimised and that his situation is 100% his own making. 

Champions League Shocks

When the draw was made for the Champions League semi finals many fans were licking their lips at the prospect of an El Classico at Wembley to decide who were the best team in Europe.  After the first legs though it's looking highly unlikely.  Barcelona went to Munich to play FC Bayern and got absolutely spanked 4-0.  In the second semi final it was Real Madrid's turn to go to Germany and they too were on the wrong end of a beating, losing 4-1 to FC Bayern.

 

The Bayern v Barca game was something that will live long in the memory.  Barcelona have been the best team in Europe for the past few seasons and when Messi, Xavi and Iniesta click they are simply unstoppable.  Many teams have tried to find the formula to stop Barcelona but nobody had really managed it until now.  Not only did Bayern find a way to stop Barca but they also managed to find their weak spots in defence and in the end were fully deserving winners. 

That result was surprising enough but many fans were even more surprised when Dortmund handed out a similar beating to Jose Mourinho's, Real Madrid.  Most fans expected Madrid to have too much strength for the German's but if I'm honest I was less surprised at this result than I was at the Barcelona one.

 

I think I'm blinded with Barca bias but I have bought into the notion of Barcelona's invincibility and always believe that they can overcome any team in the world.  In the other tie, Dortmund had already got the better of Real in the group stages.  A 2-1 win in Germany and a 2-2 draw in Spain thanks to a late Mesut Ozil equaliser were enough to see Dortmund finish top of Group D with an unbeaten record.  They have managed to maintain that unbeaten record and with Real Madrid's up and down season I always believed they would have a chance.  

As it was Robert Lewandowski produced a master class, scoring four goals to give Dortmund a huge lead and one they are more than capable of defending in the Bernabeu.

With the second legs to look forward to all signs are pointing towards an all German Final but I have watched enough European football over the years to know that it's not quite that straight forward.  At least one of the two are going to get a very tough time of it.  Barcelona and Real Madrid are top class sides and they will throw everything they have at the German sides.  If one of them could get an early lead to get the crowd fired up it could suddenly become a lot harder than it should be to protect three and four goal leads.

BASKETBALL

NBA Playoffs

The NBA Playoffs got under way this week and so far they've went pretty much as expected.  The vast majority of games look like going with the higher seeded team with only the Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors looking like causing an upset.  

The Bulls lead 2-1 over the Brooklyn Nets at present with Game 4 due to take place in Chicago tomorrow.  Golden State are currently tied at 1-1 with the Denver Nuggets after splitting the first two games in Denver.  There's still a long way to go but the Warriors have given themselves a chance of progressing by taking home court advantage from the Nuggets.  

At this stage in the NBA playoffs it's mostly about gathering momentum.  With over half the teams in the league qualifying for the post season there's a lot of teams in there who have no real chance of winning a title and it'll be another round before things start to heat up.

In terms of teams that can win the Championship, it's impossible to look past the Miami Heat.  They won it last year and they look even better this year.  LeBron James is unplayable at times and in the unlikely event that one of their opponents find a way to stop him they can fall back on Dwayne Wade who is also capable of winning games on his own.  To win the title the Heat will most likely have to get past Chicago, New York and Oklahoma City.  Those three are all capable of beating Miami but not in a seven game series.

ICE HOCKEY

NHL

With the Stanley Cup playoffs just around the corner we are reaching a very exciting time in the NHL.  In the Eastern Conference there is little to play for with the eight teams already decided but things are a little more exciting in the West.  

Two of the Detroit Red Wings, the Minnesota Wild and the Nashville Predators will be in the playoffs.  With places in the playoffs up for grabs, the stakes are high enough but for me it's much more than that.  I'm a Detroit Red Wings fan and for me it's not about reaching the 2013 playoffs, it's all about keeping "the streak" alive.  

The Red Wings have reached the playoffs in twenty one seasons in a row which is a remarkable record but there's still room for improvement.  The Red Wings hold the current record for longest active streak by quite some distance but they still have a long way to go to match the Boston Bruins record of twenty nine consecutive playoff appearances throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. 

The Red Wings have given themselves a fighting chance of reaching the playoffs and a win in their final game of the season against the Dallas Stars would see them into the post season.  If they can pass that test then you just don't know how they might do.  Last year the Los Angeles Kings were playing desperation hockey in their last few games which led to them coming into the playoffs with a lot of momentum.  Could the same thing happen to this years Red Wings?  In hockey, you just don't know. 

Finally, thank you for taking the time to read this opening edition of the GJ Sports Blog Sportzine.  As this is my first time doing this I would very much appreciate some feedback.  I have a few ideas for other features to include in future editions such as a quiz and a look at lesser known leagues or clubs around the world.  I'm working with a blank canvas at the moment and would like to know what people enjoy reading, don't enjoy reading and what you would like to see in future editions.  Feel free to add comments here or on my Twitter page, www.twitter.com/gjsportsblog.

EPL - 2nd January 2013

Tonight sees three Premier League games and on paper, they look like being three good ones.


Chelsea v QPR

Harry Redknapp takes his relegation threatened, QPR side to Stamford Bridge to take on an in form Chelsea side.  Chelsea have won their last four league games and they look like being the team who will push Manchester United the closest in this years title race.  QPR are in bad form and have lost their last three in a row.  They have the right man in charge though in Harry Redknapp and if anyone can save them, Harry can.

Tonight's game won't have any controversy over hand shakes as neither John Terry or Anton Ferdinand are playing.  Chelsea have made a few changes for this game and their line up includes, Ross Turnbull, Ryan Bertrand, Oscar and Marko Marin.  QPR will look to keep the game tight for as long as possible but they will have their work cut out against this Chelsea team.

Prediction - Chelsea should win by two or three goals.


Liverpool v Sunderland

Liverpool will be without new signing, Daniel Sturridge when they face Sunderland at Anfield.  Sturridge will most likely make his debut this weekend at Mansfield in the FA Cup.  Tonight's Liverpool line up sees a return to action for Andre Wisdom who replaces Jose Enrique.  Sunderland line up in their 4-5-1 formation with Steven Fletcher up front.

Liverpool need to be a bit more consistent.  It seems like they win one, then lose one and for a club like Liverpool that's not good enough.  Sunderland have also been inconsistent this season but they will feel confident of getting a result at Anfield as they have a good record their in recent times.

Prediction - I expect this will be in the region of 1-1 or 2-1 to Liverpool but I'll side with the home win.


Newcastle v Everton

Newcastle will be rocked by the news that striker, Demba Ba is on his way to Chelsea.  Ba has done well in his time at Newcastle and he has scored half of their goals this season.  He will be a big loss for the eordies although it may allow them to bring a slightly more balanced look to their team.  Ba and Cisse as a partenership hasn't always worked and now they can put all their efforts into providing Cisse with the ammunition he needs.

Everton are in good form this season and a win tonight would take them up to fifth, above Arsenal.  Traditionally, Everton are slow starters so it will be interesting to see if they improve in the second half of the season.  If they do, a Champions League place is a realistic target for the Toffees.

Prediction - I can't see Newcastle winning this one and think both sides will be happy with a point. 

UEFA Champions League - Celtic v Spartak Moscow Preview

Celtic finish their Champions League group stage campaign tonight and they still have a great chance of qualifying for the knockout stage for the first time since the 2007/08 season.  The equation is simple, Celtic have to get a better result at home to Spartak Moscow than Benfica get away to Barcelona.  Barcelona are already through to the last sixteen and will rest Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba, Xavi, Andres Iniesta , Cesc Fabregas and Pedro Rodriguez.  Having said that, Barcelona will still have a strong squad to choose from and they have a great record against Portuguese teams at home, winning their last ten.

Celtic cannot afford to worry about what happens in Spain and must concentrate on doing their own job.  Spartak Moscow have had a bad campaign but on their day they can cause problems.  Celtic won in Moscow which kick started this campaign and another win should be enough to take the hoops through. 

In the last game I believe Neil Lennon got the tactics wrong.  The win over Barcelona gave him the confidence to think he could go to Portugal and play 4-4-2.  The difference between the Benfica style and the Barcelona style is width.  Benfica play with wingers who have their heels on the touchline.  Barca don't rely on wingers and play a much more narrow style.  Even when they get the ball out wide, nine times out of ten they'll play it back to the edge of the box.  Against Barcelona Celtic played 4-4-1-1 and defended their own half and the width of the penalty box.  The 4-4-1-1 meant for much of the game they had ten men behind the ball, defending a relatively small area.  Against Benfica Celtic had to defend the full width of the pitch and the 4-4-2 meant they only had nine men behind the ball.  With less bodies and a larger area to cover, Celtic found it very difficult to contain Benfica.  Both sides dominated possession against Celtic but Benfica carried a bigger threat in the attacking third as they had more spaces to exploit.

In tonights game I would like to see Lennon return to the 4-4-1-1 that has served us so well in Europe this year.  I know it's a home game but I just don't think 4-4-2 works any more on the European or international stage.  The teams from mainland Europe are all technically better than the teams from UK/Ireland.  We see it in Europe all the time and England and Ireland experienced it in the Euros.  These sides all line up with one thing in common, three central midfielders.  It might be 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 4-5-1 but almost always, they will have three players in that area.  Most games are dominated by whoever wins the midfield and my opinion is if your opponents are technically superior footballers you have to try to win the physical battle.  No matter how physical your two central midfielders are, it's going to be an impossible task to win over three men.  The opposition will always have a spare man and they have the ability to find him.  Your two players are going to be chasing shadows and will quickly become ineffective.  Celtic need to line up with a forward player in a deeper role and they have a perfect player for that job in Georgios Samaras.  Samaras is quick enough to break out from midfield when Celtic win back possession and he is a great option to have as an out ball.  If Celtic use him right, I think Samaras could be the difference between winning and losing. 

The line up I would go with is as follows.  Frazer Forster is an obvious choice in nets and the back four will most likely be Mikael Lustig, Emilio Izaguirre, Efe Ambrose and Kelvin Wilson.  The midfield will pose the biggest problem for Neil Lennon but I would expect him to line up with Scott Brown, Joe Ledley, Beram Kayal and Charlie Mulgrew.  I've already mentioned Samaras in an attacking midfield role and I would play him just behind Gary Hooper who was fantastic in Moscow.  The only other option would be starting Kris Commons ahead of Beram Kayal and playing him on the right wing and putting Brown in the middle but I would expect Kayal to start.  I expect to see Commons come on for Scott Brown at some stage but I prefer him coming off the bench on European nights.  The suspended, Victor Wanyama, will be a huge loss for Celtic and everyone will have to give a little bit extra to compensate for his absence.  Wanyama has been outstanding this season and has been instrumental in getting Celtic to this point.

Win, lose or draw tonight I hope the Celtic fans get behind the team and we don't see a repeat of the criticism Neil Lennon has had to endure from his own support.  People have short memories and a wee bit of success goes to their head.  The league form has been poor but Celtic are most definitely not the first team to struggle to be competitive domestically and in Europe.  Better teams than Celtic have struggled to juggle the two competitions and with our former rivals no longer with us, we can afford to put all our eggs into the European basket for a few months.  Celtic are in a much better position than we were when Neil Lennon was appointed and in my opinion he is doing a fantastic job.  Lennon's team is a work in progress and this Champions League campaign will have made them better players and I can see bright futures in football for quite a few of the squad.      

When the Champions League draw was made I set a target of European football after Christmas.  We have already guaranteed that so let's raise the bar a little and lift the target to Champions League football after Christmas.  Either way Neil Lennon and his team have done themselves proud this year and I for one will never forget the joy and relief when that final whistle blew at Celtic Park on 7th November 2012.