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NFL

Tim Tebow Signed to Deal With New England Patriots

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Tebow Patriots pic

News just broke that Tim Tebow has signed a contract with the New England Patriots, and Tebow supporters everywhere should be ecstatic. Although it is not completely clear what kind of role he will be given in the coming season, it is clear that this is a step in the right direction. He is expected to stay at quarterback and work with the man who drafted him in Denver, New England’s Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Being an unsigned free agent with his NFL future in jeopardy, this is – in my opinion – the best thing that could have happened to the polarizing quarterback. He will be given a chance to learn the game from perhaps the league’s best coach in Bill Belichick, as well as 3-time Super Bowl Champion Quarterback Tom Brady. No, he won’t have a chance to compete for the starting job (much like last year), but he has been given an opportunity to prove himself and maybe earn some respect as an NFL quarterback.

Coming off a year where Tebow was center stage of a circus that was the New York Jets, he badly needs a new image. The all-business Patriots are the complete opposite, and if Tebow can buy into this “team first” philosophy – which he should have no problem with, considering his personality – then he should have no problem fitting in in New England, even if he is just a cog in the machine.

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Finals Game 1 Review / Game 2 Preview

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Game 1 Reflection:
Here’s my synopsis of Thursday night’s games in very broad strokes: The Spurs looked like a team that hadn’t played in 9 days (because they hadn’t), and Miami looked like they had just been in a knock-down drag-out fight (because they had). In the beginning quarters, San Antonio let the Heat get away with a few transition baskets and took some time getting up to speed. Because of this, Miami definitely controlled the tempo, leading by 7 or 8 points throughout pretty much the entire game until there was about 5 minutes left in the final quarter. At the end of the game, Miami seemed to rush possessions, throwing the ball away uncharacteristically. The Spurs – who had completely shaken off the rust by this point – took the lead in the closing minutes, and Tony Parker iced it with his unbelievable shot.

So despite playing some of their best basketball so far in these playoffs, the Heat couldn’t deliver that knockout punch down the stretch. And of course being the veteran team they are, San Antonio hung around and took advantage of those late Miami turnovers to steal homecourt advantage.

I don’t think this is a LeBron problem, although many people think that he was too passive in Game 1. He finished with a stat line of 18-18-10, which I have absolutely no issue with. He made the smart decision almost every time the ball was in his hands as he usually does. Although he wasn’t shooting as often as he usually does, he made up for it by passing the ball off and creating opportunities for teammates a few more times than usual.

James did his part, Wade and Bosh both contributed (even though Bosh thought he was Ray Allen at times), and the bench held up – so why did they fall apart down the stretch?

It has to be fatigue. One could assume that the Spurs got off to a late start because they had so much time off. The Heat had the complete opposite problem, feeling drained after a physically and emotionally demanding series with the Pacers.

Game 2 Preview:
I expect tonight’s matchup to look very similar to the type of game we saw in Game 1, at least during the middle quarters. There won’t be a slow start for San Antonio, just like Miami shouldn’t struggle with fatigue late in the fourth quarter. Miami will try to play the more physical game, pushing the pace as often as they can and using their athleticism as their main advantage. If they can do this without the frequent turnovers we saw in Game 1’s fourth quarter, they can put themselves in position to blow the game open and deliver the knockout punch that will prevent any more late game antics by Parker or anyone else.

If Miami lets San Antonio hang around again though, they lose the advantage. And of course its possible that the Spurs control the game by grabbing a few of the rebounds that they missed on Thursday, in which case Miami will find themselves on the other side of a blowout.

Any of these scenarios could play out tonight, but I expect James to take more shots than he did in Game 1. The Spurs seem quite alright with letting him – or Bosh – taking perimeter jumpshots. If he falls into this same trap that was set by the Mavericks a couple years ago, San Antonio should win. However if James and Bosh don’t settle for those outside shots, Heat should come out on top.

Sticking to my guns because it’s still possible, and I’m not wrong yet. Heat in 5.

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NBA, NFL

Control Freaks in Sports

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Just thought I’d chime in on something that was brought up by Colin Cowherd today: being a control freak isn’t such a bad thing – at least when referring to sports. Some names that come to mind are Belichick, Saban, the late George Steinbrenner, and George Karl. When management lets one guy rule with an iron fist, it tends to work out better than when everyone gets to help shape a team philosophy. Don’t get me wrong, I hate communism as much as the next guy, but when we’re talking about building a team, you need clear direction and having a group of people calling the shots instead of one definite leader can complicate things.

Back when (a younger and less senile) George Steinbrenner was running the Yankees, everyone was kept on a short leash. Sure, this lack of freedom wasn’t the most fun way to do things, but obviously it worked. Same goes for Bill Belichick’s Pats; if a player doesn’t fit into his system perfectly, he doesn’t compromise his beliefs to make them fit – think Ochocinco. It seems harsh and perhaps illogical at the time (like when they cut Randy Moss), but it’s hard to argue with the results of his no-nonsense approach.

When an organization trusts one man’s vision of how he wants to build a team and they don’t interrupt the process, they allow him to do what he was hired to do without having to look over his shoulder. For example, Gregg Popovich – the longest tenured coach in the NBA – has been in control of the Spurs since 1996 and hasn’t had to worry about his job security too much. Ask the Spurs how this approach has treated them.

It may take time for an appointed leader to implement his system, but growing pains in the early stages are to be expected – regardless of how good he is. Belichick’s first few years in New England were not pretty, but Robert Kraft trusted that he was leading the team in the right direction and again, look how well the Patriots have been doing under his reign. However, many times management becomes impatient and decides to blow everything up before the previous rebuilding process had a chance to finish.

This is where Jerry Jones of the Cowboys fits in.

Jones isn’t quite a control freak, because he is never completely in control – at least not anymore. Yes he does have the final say about who stays and who goes in Dallas, but he isn’t calling all the shots. He brings in guys like Parcells, Phillips, and Garrett and lets them believe that they are allowed to develop a squad the way they want for a time – then he pulls out the carpet from under them, voicing his dissatisfaction with the team and calling for change. Back to square one. It pains me as a Yankees fan to say it, but I’d be lying if I said that George Steinbrenner didn’t do something similar in his later years. Al Davis was the same way, too. These are all guys who were great control freaks when they were mentally intact, but refused to let somebody else call the shots when they should have – becoming more of a freak than a controller, if you will.

So for the most part, I’d say that when an organization picks a coach and lets him mold the team to his style of play with limited interruption, the results will be much better than they would if the team was run as a democracy.

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