More NFL Craziness - The SFB Podcast (10/27/2010).....

This NFL season has been as confusing as any I can remember and I am not sure if it we will see "normal" this year, or maybe this craziness is this year's "normal". The Ravens needing overtime to beat the winless Bills and giving up 30+ points in the process, while in New Orleans, the Saints lost to the Browns. I'll take a look back at week 7 and a glance forward at week 8.

Plus tonight is Game 1 of the World Series between the Rangers and Giants. Also, the NBA season got under way last night and we already know the Heat will not go undefeated. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: October 27, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Fallout from "The Decision" - The SFB Podcast (7/19/2010).....

It has been about 10 days since LeBron James told the sports world that he would be joining the Miami Heat and there has been many outside of opinions about James' choice. Now that the dust has settled, let's see what really happened with James choosing to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh  in Miami. Does it really hurt James to play with another great player and not try and "go it alone"? Also The British Open is was played at St. Andrews and the weather won, plus Sam Bradford and the Rams start contract talks. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: July 19, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Lakers are the Champs - The SFB Podcast (6/18/2010).....

The Los Angeles Lakers are the NBA champions after a grueling Game 7 victory over the Boston Celtics. It was not a great game if you liked scoring, but was what championship games should come down to and that is tough, leave it all on the floor, hard playing. I'll look back at this rivalry series, as well as the US soccer team getting another draw, this time against Slovenia, and the US Open at Pebble Beach. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: June 18, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

A Laker Layup - The SFB Podcast (6/16/2010).....

It was awfully easy for the Lakers to dispatch of the Celtics in Game 6 and force the finals to a seventh and deciding game. Does the blowout win carry the Lakers forward for Game 7 or can the Celtics pick themselves up after this hard knockdown? I'll look back at Game 6 and forward to Game 7 in this classic NBA rivalry. Plus Tom Izzo stays at MSU and the US Open starts Thursday at Pebble Beach. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: June 16, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Bzzzzz - The SFB Podcast (6/14/2010).....

Guess it makes sense that The SportsFan "Buzz" has no problem with the sound coming from South Africa and the vuvuzelas during the World Cup. The first weekend of the tournament is in the books and besides the "buzz" about the vuvuzelas, the talk is about the USA's 1-1 draw against England in their first World Cup meeting since 1950. Here in the states, the Boston Celtics are one game away from claiming the NBA title, but must win one more game in Los Angeles to do so after their Game 5 win last night in Boston. Kobe Bryant had a monster game for the Lakers, but can't do it all by himself. Plus, some more fallout from USC's troubles. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: June 14, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Replay the Replay - The SFB Podcast (6/4/2010).....

Mike Tricarico dislikes NHL playoff beards. Yep, it's out there. Mike joins the podcast to discuss the NBA Finals and LeBron James future place of employment. We also look at the NHL Stanley Cup Finals between the Flyers and Blackhawks, Tiger Woods coaching himself, and Ken Griffey announcing his retirement. Plus we talk about Amarndo Galarraga losing his perfect game and take a look at replay used in sports. Enjoy.

Mike on Twitter

The SportsFan Buzz: June 4, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Memorial Day Weekend - The SFB Podcast (5/31/2010).....

After these last playoff rounds there is no debate in my mind as to who is currently the best NBA player. Plus much to cover on the holiday weekend as the Lakers finish off the Suns, The Indy 500 race is run, the NHL kicks off the Stanley Cup Finals with an extremely entertaining Game 1, and we have another pitcher throw a perfect game in the Major Leagues. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: May 31, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Celtics in NBA Finals - The SFB Podcast (5/29/2010).....

The Celtics put away the Magic to gain a spot in the NBA Finals and await the Suns / Lakers winner to see where they will travel to start the pursuit of their 18th NBA championship on Thursday night. Meanwhile, Game 5 hero, Ron Artest couldn't keep the good things going and got into a little trouble with his mouth and tardiness. Plus, I correct an error from yesterday's podcast and the NHL outdoor games and look ahead to tonight's Game 1 between the Flyers and Blackhawks. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: May 29, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Zoned Out - The SFB Podcast (5/26/2010).....

The Phoenix Suns held their home court and beat the Los Angleles Lakers last night to tie up their series at two games a piece. The teams are now down to a "best of three" series, with the Lakers still holding the advantage with two of these games at Staples Center.

The biggest difference in the game was the outstanding play of the Suns' bench as they outscored the Lakers' bench 54-20. Also, the Lakers still seemed to be a little confused against the Suns zone defense, as it forced them into 28 three point shot attempts (against their in season normal number of 20) after trying 30 three pointers in Game 3, and they did not seem to be running their normal offense. Who thought we would be discussing zone defenses being difference makers during the NBA Playoffs?

The thing is, the Lakers are still putting up points, but don't look like themselves in doing so. The bigger problem for Los Angeles is that they are playing awful defense. Giving up 18 offensive rebounds and 54 bench points is a recipe for disaster.

This all means we are set up for an interesting Game 5 on Thursday night. Will the zone work again for a third straight game or will the Lakers finally adjust and get back to their movement offense instead of forcing jump shots? Can the Lakers step up their defense and hit the boards to stop Phoenix's second chance points?

The podcast looks at the Suns/Lakers series, along with tonight's Game 5 between the Celtics and Magic. Also, it is official as Super Bowl 48 will be played in the New York / New Jersey area. Did the NFL make the right choice? Plus other NFL news and a look at the major leagues. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: May 26, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

NBA Playoff preview - The SportsFan Buzz Podcast (4/17/2010).....

A quick podcast preview of the NBA Playoffs. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: April 17, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

NBA Playoff Predictions.....

The NBA Playoffs kicks off this weekend and all eyes seemed to be focused on LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. They come into the post-season with the league's best record and the favorite to take home the Larry O'Brien championship trophy. Over in the west, Kobe and the Lakers are looking to defend their championship, but they will first have to escape a conference playoff where each team won at least 50 games.

Eastern Conference - First Round:
Cleveland Cavaliers (#1) over Chicago Bulls (#8) - Cleveland is too strong, while Chicago is a mess. Making the playoffs just delays the Vinny Del Negro firing until after the series is over.
Orlando Magic (#2) over Charlotte Bobcats (#7) - The defending Eastern Conference champions get the new kids and the Michael Jordan owned Bobcats. Michael is not expected to suit up, so this will be easy for the Magic.
Atlanta Hawks (#3) over Milwaukee Bucks (#6) - The Andrew Bogut is a huge loss for the Bucks, who really played well during the second half of the season. The Hawks move on to the second round.
Miami Heat (#5) over Boston Celtics (#4) - This one was very tough for me and it should be as this is a matchup of the #4 & #5 seeds. Neither team will probably get past the second round, but the Celtic age and injuries during the season makes me wary in picking them here. Maybe the Big Three can scrape together enough to win the series, but I'll take Dwyane Wade to lead the Heat to the next round.

Western Conference - First Round:
Los Angeles Lakers (#1) over Oklahoma City Thunder (#8) - The Thunder have NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant and a nice compliment of teammates, but it will not be enough to upset Kobe and the Lakers. Phil Jackson already tried to get into Durant's head with his referee/foul remarks (which ended up costing him $35K), but the kid shot back at the coach. Should be fun, but the Lakers move on.
Dallas Mavericks (#2) over San Antonio Spurs (#7) - It is hard for me to go against Tim Duncan and the Spurs, but the Mavericks come into the playoffs as perhaps the hottest team in the conference, along with the Phoenix Suns. It is a shame one of these teams will be losing in the first round, but the Mavs are just the better team, so it will be a short playoff for the Spurs.
Phoenix Suns (#3) over Portland Trail Blazers (#6) - This could have been the best series of the whole first round, but the injury to Brandon Roy now makes this possibly the biggest mismatch. Suns move on easily.
Utah Jazz (#5) over Denver Nuggets (#4) - A month ago I thought Denver could come out of the west, but the cancer diagnosis for Coach George Karl has really seemed to taken its toll on the team. The Jazz hope to have a healthy Carlos Boozer back and will move on to the next round.

Eastern Conference - Semi Finals:
Cleveland Cavaliers over Miami Heat - Too much LeBron and not enough Wade in this match up of great players. It will be fun watching these two on the court together. Now if Shaq was back on the Heat...
Orlando Magic over Atlanta Hawks - Orlando is a very talented team and while the Hawks are improved, it will not be enough to stop Dwight Howard and Magic.

Western Conference - Semi Finals:
Los Angeles Lakers over Utah Jazz - This probably goes the distance, but the Lakers have just a little too much with Kobe and will their way to the conference finals.
Phoenix Suns over Dallas Mavericks - This is another series that seems destined to go the full seven games. Ever since Amare Stoudemire's "non-trade" this team has seemed to take it up a notch. A hard fought series that could be comprised of seven great games.

Eastern Conference Finals:
Orlando Magic over Cleveland Cavaliers - Rematch of last year's conference finals and I think we get the same results. Shaq is supposed to neutralize Dwight Howard but I'm not sure that will be the case over a long series. LeBron needs his teammates to step up and not look to him to do it all, but so far in prior playoffs that has not happened and I think that might be the case again this year.

Western Conference Finals:
Phoenix Suns over Los Angeles Lakers - Kobe has seemed "old" at times and I think after the first two series that will happen again against Steve Nash and the Suns. Phoenix takes advantage of their quickness and I think Stoudemire is going to have a monster series against the Lakers' front line.

NBA Finals:
Phoenix Suns over Orlando Magic - The Magic will be the "bridesmaid" again this year as Nash and Stoudemire are just a bit better than Jameer Nelson and Howard and will bring the championship home to the desert. The series will allow the general public who don't follow the NBA too closely will get to see the true talent of Steve Nash and it will make many wonder what the Suns were doing in even thinking about trading Stoudemire.

The SportsFan Buzz (4/4/2010).....

Playing the Devils and losing on Easter weekend is probably not a good thing. The NHL is in its final week of play and the races are tight. Kobe Bryant re-signs for big bucks with the Lakers and it is Final Four weekend. Plus what are the Eagles thinking in having their top 2 QBs on the trade market, and I make my predictions for the upcoming MLB season. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: April 4, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas

This & That (Friday 1/22/2010).....

--- Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers checked himself into a rehab clinic for alcoholics. It was on an outpatient basis and Cabrera underwent three months of treatment. After his strange behavior during the last week of the season, when the Central Division was still on the line, most people assumed something was wrong, and it seems Cabrera himself knew there was something wrong.
Good for Cabrera to see there was a problem and to seek help to overcome it. Hopefully he is able to defeat this demon, because he has the abilities to be a very big offensive star if he gets his personal life together.

Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners avoided arbitration and instead got together to on a new contract for 5 more years and $78 million. The deal keeps Hernandez in Seattle until 2014, when at the age of 28 and in his prime, he will be able to test the free agent market and collect on a second large payday.

Hernandez and the newly acquired Cliff Lee will lead the Mariners’ staff this year and look to bring the team back into the playoffs, which they have missed since their last appearance in 2001.

Lee’s old team, the Philadelphia Phillies, who said they had to trade Lee because of their bloated payroll avoided arbitration with pitcher Joe Blanton when they agreed to a new three year, $24 million contract. While I thought it was short sighted to trade Lee after acquiring Roy Halladay, you could understand what the Phillies were saying when talking about the high payroll they were trying to avoid, but this new deal just makes you wonder if the Phillies just didn’t want Lee around. While Blanton is a nice starter, for only a little more money this year they could have had Halladay and Lee at the top of that rotation.

Add in the club extended Jimmy Rollins through 2011 before the 2010 season even started, and from the outside it has been a head scratching off season for Philadelphia.

--- To correct and then comment something discussed in the last podcast, the Cowboys only extended Coach Wade Phillips’ contract through 2011. It was first reported that Phillips was given a three year extension, but the correct story is only a one year extension. While I thought the three year extension was strange, it told me Jerry Jones had confidence in Phillips. Now by just adding a year to the contract, the same questions will start being asked of Phillips throughout the year about his contract status. Of course Phillips and the Cowboys can squash all questions by playing up to the team’s potential, but isn’t that the reason we have the questions in the first place?

Rex Ryan handed out a game ball after beating the San Diego Chargers in last week’s Divisional Playoffs. While there usually is nothing special about a game ball, this one was a little different because of who it was issued to, Marty Schottenheimer. Marty, the father of Jets’ offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, was fired by the Chargers following the 2006 season after leading them to a 14-2, but losing as the #1 seed in the divisional playoffs to the New England Patriots. I’m sure Charger AJ Smith didn’t laugh out loud when hearing the news.

--- Hopefully you got a chance to watch hockey and basketball’s best go head to head on Thursday night. It doesn’t happen often (During the regular season, Bryant and James meet twice a year and Crosby and Ovechkin four times), and even rarer that it would be happening on the same day.

In Cleveland, LeBron James and the Cavaliers were hosting Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. While in Pittsburgh, the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby welcomed Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.

Kobe scored his 25,000th point and became the youngest player to do so (it helps that he started playing at 18, and oh yea, LeBron will eventually top this mark), but it was James leading the Cavaliers in the 4th quarter to a 93-87 victory.

On the ice in Pittsburgh, the Capitals broke open a 3-3 tie game with two goals in the first three plus minutes of the third period on way to a 6-3 win. Ovechkin had 2 goals (giving him 32) and an assist, while Crosby scored his 33rd goal of the year.

Both basketball and hockey league offices and many fans (if it can’t be their favorite team) hope for these match ups in the spring when the playoffs roll around, but for now we’ll take the regular season collisions and just enjoy the show.

Best of the Decade - The SportsFan Buzz Podcast (12/30/2009).....

It is the end of the decade and Mike and I are covering the sports best players and the memorable events from the last ten years. In part one we discuss the NBA, the NHL, and some "fringe" sports. I also talk about an incident during the 2006 NHL Playoffs that will not get me on any Father of the Year lists. In the second part of the discussion, Mike and I cover the NFL and MLB, along with some sports fan tech.

Some highlights of the best and memorable that we discussed:
Golf: Tiger Woods
Tennis: Roger Federer and Serena Williams
NASCAR: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt's death
Others: Michael Phelps, Lance Armstrong, World Cup Soccer

NBA: Kobe Bryant / Los Angeles Lakers / "The Brawl"
NHL: Nicholas Lindstrom / Martin Brodeur / Detroit Red Wings / The Lockout
MLB: Barry Bonds / Mariano Rivera / New York Yankees / steriods / many highlights
NFL: Peyton Manning / New England Patriots / many, many highlights

The SportsFan Buzz: December 30, 2009 (Part A)
The SportsFan Buzz: December 30, 2009 (Part B)


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