Streaks are meant to be broken

According to ESPN, Tim Duncan made the All-Star team for 13 straight years. And that streak ended this year. That means that from 1999-2011, Duncan was an All-Star. Now that is impressive. But the fact that he didn’t make it this year signals a changing of the guard in the NBA. Gone are the days of Duncan, Iverson, Shaq, T-Mac and C-Webb putting on a show. Now we have Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, LeBron and D-Wade stealing the spotlight. All-Star weekend has always been one of my favorite events in sports. I love it. And I’ve witnessed the change from the older players to the newer ones. The game’s the same, but the players evolve. That’s a given. But that doesn’t mean I can’t long for my middle schools days when Jason Kidd would throw an alley-oop to Vince Carter. I have to give the players of my childhood respect. I watched them studiously. Now we’ve got guys like Kyrie Irving (younger than me) receiving MVP of the Rookie/Sophomore game, and elderly men like Duncan nowhere to be seen. But as long as the game stays the same, I can handle Dwight or Blake overtaking VC in the dunking area, or Chris Paul and Deron Williams quite literally taking over with a “changing of the guards.” But I can still miss the exciting starting five of Kobe, KG, Steve Francis, Yao Ming and yes, Duncan. Even if it was the West.

We are the champions…of the world

We did it!

And to think there almost wasn’t a season…okay, so we all figured the NFL would reach a deal, that’d there’d be games played. Thank goodness! Because the NY Giants are Super Bowl champs! How did this even happen? Let’s recap…there was the strong start to the season where the G-Men simply looked good. Then there was the downfall, highlighted by the blowout loss to the Saints (which I couldn’t watch) and the last-second field goal loss to the Packers (in which I through a book across the room). But then came the comeback. Jets. Cowboys. Falcons. Packers. 49ers. Patriots. See ya. SB champs. That’s how it’s done. When the Giants were on, they were on. And each win was a total team effort. Coaches and players. But I still have to give props to Eli Manning. My faith in him has never wavered. I’ve always said I want him as my QB over anyone else. The Giants wanted it so bad. And they got it. The best feeling in the sports world is those few minutes right after your team wins it all. I’ve been fortunate enough to experience it twice. Thanks Giants. There’s not much better than being world champions. Great season. 

LET’S GO

In the midst of my European travels, I neglected to notice that Kenyon Martin agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers this past weekend. Now, you may be thinking, the Super Bowl with the Giants is on tonight and you’re talking about Kenyon freaking Martin?! Well yes I am. Because Kenyon Martin is responsible for a part of my sports fandom that makes me a Giants fan. Glad to see K-Mart back in the U.S.

Okay, okay, now to the real hot topic. The Super Bowl! G-Men/Pats round two. Let’s hope history repeats itself. Take a look back—circa February 2008. I was in 11th grade, the G-Men were rolling, the Pats were undefeated, then bam! Giants take down the mighty Patriots. It’s 10 p.m. on a school night and the Giants are champs. Gotta love it. Okay, game time in t-minus two hours! Let’s do it again!