Marty probably needs to stop floppin' around if he wants to extend this series. |
1. LeBron James
Honestly, we could put him here everyday of the week. The guy battles more criticism than politicians, directors, American Idol contestants and Kim Kardashian combined. He's also coming off what could be one of the most important performances of his career, but it can only be such if he wins. If he lives up to his 45-point, "I'm gonna have this emotionless, cold look on my face, chin up to the crowd" performance then the LeBron lovers will be blowing up the twitter-sphere with "Oh 'Bron sucks? Get off his d**k). If he goes out and lays an egg, then #TeamHateLebron will be toasting in the streets and we'll be watching the Thunder shred the Celtics to pieces. I was absorbed by not only Lebron's complete takeover of TD Garden, but also by his expression. Is he about to go on some sort of villainous tear that gets him a championship while he loses all those middle-of-the-packers who aren't sure how they feel about him? I'm not sure, but we're about to find out.
2. Martin Brodeur
Will Marty really allow the Kings to frolick around like school children on his home ice while lifting a huge cup that has his name engraved on it three times? Well maybe Marty needs to refrain from frolicking around the crease like he's some Tim Thomas wanna-be. If he wants to win he'll have to go vintage, an old school dominate Marty performance, that's it. Out of all the players on the ice tomorrow night Brodeur is clearly the most recognizable, but will he be the one to send his squad back to Los Angeles? I don't think so, the Kings haven't lost on the road yet so why think they would now? They've lost two Game 4's at home in this playoffs. What did they do in the game following that loss? Win. I don't see them doing anything else.
3. Kevin Garnett
Garnett's Game 6 was about as bad as LeBron James' Game 6 was phenomenal. He couldn't hit a barn shooting 6-14 and he only grabbed 5 boards. If the Celtics want to prolong this pre-retirement party then KG will have to come up big. I don't even think Garnett needs to go out there and score 28, grab 16 and add 5 swats, I just think he needs to bring his energy and tenacity on defense and yeah, maybe grab a lot of boards. If KG looks creaky and old on Saturday then you can almost guarantee Danny Ainge will pull the trigger on the restructuring of league's original "Big Three."
4. Timothy Bradley
When you directly run your mouth at one of the only two people in boxing that the world cares a smidgeon about then you better be ready to back it up. Last time I checked the most highly anticipated matchup in the world of boxing did not have the name "Bradley" in it. Pacquiao will probably undress this fool easily, but then again I know nothing about boxing. Manny P is my boy and I hope to have an opportunity to watch this crazy Filipino straight molly-whop this Floyd Mayweather wanna-be joker. The trash talking almost makes boxing relevant, but not really. Bring me back some Tyson-Lewis why don't'cha.
5. Dustin Brown
How's he going to lift the cup? Will he shoot it up over his head? Will he have the goofy laugh like Messier did in '94? Or will he just lift it like he's been there before? I'm kidding, but not really. If the Kings do finish the job tomorrow then Brown will be only the second American-born captain to ever lift the cup first. Who would be your guess to be the first American-born captain to do that? Yeah I bet it wasn't Derian Hatcher! I'm sure there would have been an Amonte or Modano guess in there. Close on the Modano choice though, he was the assistant captain on that '99 Stars team that won it. My guess is that Brown would fling the cup at Marty's face if he had a chance, but I'm sure he'll keep it in his grasp and just grin without any teeth instead. Oh and I guess yeah, he's gotta lead his squad to a fourth win before all this previous jargon can even be fathomed. USA!
6. Christiano Ronaldo
Tomorrow begins another international tournament that could be Ronaldo's opportunity to overtake Messi as the world's best player. If the Portuguese super
7. Dice-K Matsuzaka
This will be Dice-K's first start of the year and Jesus Christ have mercy, the Red Sox need some starting pitching. Boston is 27th in the MLB in ERA and have watched their Daniel Bard starter-to-reliever experiment absolutely explode in their face. If Matsuzaka can come in and bring some stability to a staggering rotation, then maybe the Red Sox can start living up to expectations. But if you look at Dice-K's numbers over the years it doesn't look like the likely scenario. Another bad season and we can safely say his gyroball just ain't working in the show.
8. Chris Bosh
If the Heat don't win the title this year it's either Bosh or Spoelstra out the door, and every analyst has been saying no one knows who's going first or if they're both going at all. But anyways, Bosh needs to show up on Saturday and make an impact. I don't care if his impact is just being alive and functioning as LeBron James go for another 43/16/8 performance, as long as he doesn't look slow and makes 3 or 4 jumpers then everything will be good. The Heat will need a healthy and effective Bosh to have any chance to beat the high-flying and red-hot Thunder.
9. Patrick Elias
Much like Brodeur, this is probably Elias' last go of it. The 36-year-old hasn't had the greatest postseason at a -3, but I think him and Marty both need to reach into their collective memory pockets and play like it's '03. If this is Elias' last game in the Prudential Center then he better play that way. Am I excited to have Elias on this top ten? No way, but he deserves to be here. Anyways, he probably won't have a major impact on the game, but I think it'd be fitting if the Devils won tomorrow 1-0 and Elias had the only goal.
10. Aroldis Chapman
Yeah, this is probably the most random person on here. But I heard this guy was launching pitches at 106 mph. I'm just putting him on here in hope that the next time he reaches back and fires a ball 106er, that his arm doesn't go along with it.
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