Men's Notable Wimbledon First Round Matches

27. Marin Cilic vs Ivan Ljubicic: The Croatians will meet for the second time in their careers at the All England Lawn Championship in the first round. Cilic had two nice wins over Arnaud Clement and Thomaz Bellucci at Queen's Club on grass before he had to withdraw from the tournament due to an ankle injury. It seemed like a precaution so that Cilic wouldn't further injure the ankle before Wimbledon. Cilic is looking to make it past the round of 16 at Wimbledon for the first time in his career but he has played pretty well in his four years at the All England Lawn Championship. Ivan Ljubicic also played at Queen's Club but he only survived two rounds, as after his first round victory over Ryan Sweeting, he lost to Radek Stepanek in three sets. Ljubicic's worst surface is grass. His career record on grass is under .500 at 22-25. The farthest he has ever gone at Wimbledon is the third round.

Prediction: Marin Cilic over Ivan Ljubicic in 3 sets.

22. Alexandr Dolgopolov vs Fernando Gonzalez: The 22 year old Dolgopolov will only be playing in his second Wimbledon this year. In his first tune-up for Wimbledon, he beat Robin Hasse in the first round before losing to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second. He lost at Eastbourne in the first round to Carlos Berlocq in two sets the next week. Dolgopolov has only played 9 matches in his young career on grass, so he doesn't have nearly the experience that Gonzo has on the surface. The advantage for Dolgopolov coming into the match is that he has played a lot of good tennis in 2011, while Gonzalez has not been able to get on the court much. After the U.S. Open, Gonzo had to get surgery on his right hip and his right knee. He didn't return until the end of April but has been out since then. Wimbledon will only be Gonzalez's second tournament of the year and first on grass. He will definitely show some rust because of his long layoff. Gonzalez has played pretty well on the surface before, as he made a quarterfinal run back in 2005.

Prediction: Alexandr Dolgopolov over Fernando Gonzalez in 4 sets.

John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut: The rematch of the longest men's tennis match in history is upon us. Last year for three days, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut battled it out on court 18 in the first round for an astonishing 11 hours and 5 minutes until John Isner finally won in the fifth set 70 to 68. To put that in perspective, the longest match in Australian Open history between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco back in 2009 lasted 5 hours and 14 minutes. The fifth set of John Isner's match against Nicolas Mahut took 8 hours and 11 minutes alone. The fifth set of their match required a record 138 games. Isner also set the record for most aces in a match with 113 and Mahut also had 103 aces, which is the second most by a men in a match. Before the draw for Wimbledon came out this year, John Isner joked with his now close friend Nicolas Mahut, "Watch us play each other." Mahut replied, "No, there's no way. That's not even funny." Although there was a 0.7 percent chance that Isner would play Mahut in the first round for the second year in a row, it has occurred and obviously there was a lot of reaction. Andy Murray said, "Isner vs mahut drawing each other in the first round after last year is the most amazing thing I've seen in tennis! Centre court anyone?!" Andy Roddick said, "Isner/mahut again. Unreal Do they play it on the same court???" Patrick McEnroe said, "ISNER MAHUT rematch in round 1. Since I have'nt been able to get my big brother on twitter yet I will say it-you cannot be serious." Isner said about the rematch, "we're going to enjoy it and laugh at it at the same time." 

Prediction: John Isner over Nicolas Mahut in 5 sets

32. Marcos Baghdatis vs James Blake: Marcos Baghdatis has always loved to play on grass. He made it to the semifinals in 2006, the quarterfinals in 2007, and the round of 16 in 2008. In his tune-up tournament for Wimbledon at the UNICEF Open in the Netherlands, Baghdatis won three matches before losing to Ivan Dodig in the semifinals. The success that Bagdatis has had on grass is the opposite of how Blake has been on the surface. He has lost in the first or second round 6 out of 8 years and in the other two years he only reached the third round. The combination of Blake's lack of success of grass and his recent play makes it a difficult task for him. The last ATP tournament Blake played in was in the beginning of April. He has been recovering from a knee injury that caused him to miss much of the clay court season including the French Open.

Prediction: Marcos Baghdatis over James Blake in 4 sets

Challengers To Rory McIlroy If He Begins To Fall

Rory McIlroy's first two rounds of golf at Congressional were as close to perfection as you could come by in a major. He hit 32 of 36 greens in regulation and played bogey free golf until the 18th hole in his second round when he hit his second shot into the water and settled for a double bogey. Rory followed up his 6-under par, 65 first round with a 5-under par, 66 second round. McIlroy first two rounds at Congressional were record breaking. McIlroy is the youngest leader of the U.S. Open after two rounds since Walter Hagen led the U.S. Open in 1914 at the age of 21. His total score of 131 is the lowest two-day score in U.S. Open history breaking Rick Barnes's record of 132 in 2009 at Bethpage. Rory's six stroke lead over Y.E. Yang after 36 holes ties a U.S. Open record for the largest lead after two rounds with Tiger Woods when he was leading the field at Pebble Beach by 6 strokes in 2000. However, McIlroy is just 22 years and has only won 2 professional tournaments in his short career. It will take two low rounds from another golfer and McIlroy to come back to the pack in order for other golfers to get into contention for the championship. Crazier things have happened before though. Here is a list of challengers that could cause McIlroy trouble if he begins to get into trouble.

Y.E. Yang: Normally when you are 5-under par at a U.S. Open through two rounds, you are sitting in a very, very good position. This year is not a normal year. With Rory McIlroy's unbelievable first two rounds, Y.E. Yang finds himself six strokes behind the leader in second place. This is not unknown territory for Yang though. In 2009 at the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Yang was 1-under through two rounds and six strokes behind the leader, Tiger Woods, who was at 7-under. Yang got to within two strokes after the third round and then won the tournament over Woods by three strokes the next day. There are similarities between Hazeltine and Congressional as well. Hazeltine at 7,674 yards was the longest course that a major was ever played at. The 7,574 yards of Congressional make it the third longest course in major history. Yang has come from way behind before to win a major, so he has that experience to provide him confidence that it can be done. The guy has also played some pretty good golf himself. He has been able to minimize his mistakes and scramble to save pars on some big holes. Yang has shown that he has the focus to forgot about Rory and worry about his own game. When asked about playing with McIlroy in the third round, Yang said, "I'm not going to chase anyone. I'm just going to play my game... Anything can happen in golf.  know it's a different level of golf, but anything can happen." If there is one hole that Yang needs to try and salvage a par on, it is the lengthy 11th hole. The 494-yard monster of a par 4 has caused Yang trouble for two days and he has bogeyed the hole twice in his first two rounds. Out of the 11 par 4's, the 11th hole has the highest average score at a 4.45 and there has been a course low 17 birdies on the difficult hole.

Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson, and Sergio Garcia: These three highly regarded golfers are all sitting in third place at 2-under par and 9 shots behind McIlroy. Although it will be very difficult for these guys to catch McIlroy, if one of them can shoot a crazy number like a 66 or a 67 on Saturday, that would put them in contention to catch McIlroy on Sunday. Kuchar's first round of 72 was all over the place but he showed in the second round that he can play well at this golf course with a 3-under par 68. The sixth ranked player in the world finished tied for 6th in last year's open and began to catch fire in the second round. He will have to continue to play well on the par 5's as he has done in the first two rounds. On the 6 par 5's of the golf course, Kuchar had 5 birdies and a par. Zach Johnson and Sergio Garcia have had two pretty solid rounds. Zach shot a 71 on Thursday, while Sergio shot a 69 and then the two flip-flopped scores on Friday with Zach shooting a 69 and Sergio shooting a 71. Of the three golfers, Zach Johnson is the likeliest to not play a good third or fourth round. He has never played well at the U.S. open with his best finishing coming in 2007 when he finished tied for 45th. Zach's 69 on Friday was his first round under par in his career at the U.S. Open. His average yards per drive of 274.1, ranks 177 out of 187 PGA tour golfers and that doesn't help on the extremely long golf course of Congressional. Sergio has played well at the U.S. Open before and could mount a comeback. He finished in the top ten three years straight from 2001 to 2004 and from 2005 to 2007. Sergio left open the possibility of getting into the hunt when he said, "Overall I think it was a nice round to start with. There's still a long way to go. We haven't done anything yet."

Brandt Snedeker and Robert Garrigus: These two golfers are both ranked outside of the top 45 but are dangerous players if they begin to hit their stride. Snedeker and Garrigus had two solid early rounds, as both of them shot 1-under in both of their first two rounds. Like Kuchar, Johnson, and Garcia, they sit at 2-under par and 9 shots behind Rory. Snedeker knows that he will need some help from McIlroy in order to be in contention for the title. He said, "If he keeps playing the way he’s playing, we’re all playing for second place. That many shot lead going into the weekend, if he keeps playing the way he’s playing, it’s going to be impossible to catch him. You’re trying to shoot the lowest number you can. I personally won’t look at the leaderboard all weekend because there’s no point.” Snedeker has struggled on the par 3, 13th hole. He bogeyed the hole on Thursday and had a double bogey on the hole on Friday. Garrigus has voiced the same opinion as Snedeker. He said, “You can’t be aggressive out here, only in super green-light situations, because there are only a couple of flags you can even shoot at. Even with the greens soft, it’s just stupid to do that.” Garrigus won't be overly aggressive and fire at every pin to try and catch McIlroy. He will "do the same thing" and hope that McIlroy falls back into the pack. Robert Garrigus can really hit the ball off the tee. His average driving distance of 308.5 is the third longest on the tour, which is suited very well for the extremely long golf course of Congressional.

Pulling For Christopher DeForest At The U.S. Open

On June 22, 2008, my father, my brother, and I were going out at night to play some holes at Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, New Jersey. Mountain Ridge was hosting the 52rd annual Ike Championship the next two days, which is a very prestigious amateur golf tournament for players in the Metropolitan golf area. While my dad, my brother, and I were about to play the 13th hole, we saw Christopher DeForest from Illinois University playing a practice round in preparation for the Ike the next day. Chris was a great guy and could really hit the ball. We walked a few holes with him and my dad told him some hints that he should know about course. For the next two days during the Ike, my dad, my brother, and I watched Chris play his 54 holes of the tournament. In the first round, DeForest shot a 2-under par, 69 and was tied for fifth and four strokes behind the leader. He finished tied for sixth, as he shot a 74 in his second and final round of the three round golf tournament. After his final round, Chris threw me his Illinois golf ball that he had been using and I still have that golf ball in my room to this day.

Chris went to Rondout Valley High School in Accord, New York. From 2007 to 2011, he attended Illinois University and played on their golf team. In his freshman year, he set the Illinois record for the lowest single 18-hole score when he carded a 63 in the final round of the D.A. Weibring Invitational. He finished in the top 10 of the Big Ten Championship in all four years of his college career and he was a two-time All-Big Ten first team performer.

DeForest qualified for the U.S. Open after winning a play-off in a sectional qualifier at St. Charles Country Club in St. Charles, Illinois. After finishing his first round at 1-under par, DeForest began to play unbelievably well in the second round. He finished the second round at 7-under par and was 8-under par for the tournament. Since DeForest was tied for second and there were two spots available for the U.S. Open, he played in a three-way playoff. It took Chris two holes in the playoff but he walked away with second place and a chance to play at Congressional Country Club in the 111th U.S. Open.

I had been watching the U.S. Open all day on television when suddenly the telecast showed Chris DeForest playing on the very difficult 10th hole. At the time the young kid from New York was 2-under par after his front nine, as he birdied the par 5, 6th hole and the par 4, 8th hole. DeForest hit a 20 foot birdie putt on the 10th to go to 3-under par and was tied for second at the time in his first ever professional golf tournament. I was so pumped for Chris and I finally had a reason to cheer because Phil Mickelson was giving me nothing to be happy about with his sloppy play. I followed Chris for the rest of his back nine on my computer and it was a very eventful final nine holes. He only had one par on the back nine, which came on the 14th. After his birdie to bring him to 3-under on 10, he had a double bogey on 11. He birdied 12 but came back with a bogey on 13. He bogeyed 15 but rallied with birdies on both 16 and 17. Although Chris double bogeyed the par 4, 18th hole, he had a tremendous first round and finished with an even par of 71. His six birdies on the day were tied for the most in the entire field with Rory McIlroy. 

Any golfers first professional golf tournament is a nerve wracking experience, especially when you see your name towards the top of the leaderboard with guys like Rory McIlroy. It is magnified when your first professional tournament is at the U.S Open. DeForest said about playing with guys like Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy, "They are just people, just like we are, and some of those are better at golf than others. I qualified. I'm in the tournament like they are. I'm going to be as nervous as can be, but I'm going to enjoy myself this week." Considering the fact that Chris's first career professional tournament is at a major and the most important one for an American, the U.S. Open, he had an outstanding first round and should be proud of his performance. I am looking forward to watching Chris and I am hoping that he does well for the duration of the U.S. Open and also in his future PGA tournaments. He has tremendous grace and class and is a great player to watch because of his ability to drive the ball incredible distances. I will definitely be pulling for Chris to have a great final three rounds at the U.S. Open.

After shooting an even par, 71, in his first round of professional golf at the U.S. Open, Chris DeForest is tied for 22nd and is looking to build upon his opening round.

With Rory McIlroy Off To Another Strong Start At A Major, He Will Try To Avoid Another Collapse

In the first round of the British Open at St. Andrews last year, Rory McIlroy shot a 9-under par, 63. His performance was the lowest ever first round score in Open history and tied the St. Andrews course record for the lowest score. He followed his first round performance with a second round 80, the lowest score in the second round of any player to make the cut that year. Although there were bad weather conditions with a lot of wind, McIlroy's second round display was very disappointing especially after he jumped out to such a great start first round. McIlroy said about his second round, "It was just very, very difficult out there. I just let it get away from me a little bit. I could have let the round get away from me, if I'm quite honest." McIlroy finished 8 shots behind the winner Louis Oosthuizen.

At this year's Masters, Rory McIlroy once again jumped out to a great start at a major, as he was tied for the lead at the Masters after the first day with a 7-under par, 65. The 22 year old young star was looking to avoid another meltdown after the first round of a major. McIlroy said after his first round that he didn't expect another collapse at the Masters. He said looking back at his British Open, "At the time, it was very disappointing. But looking back, it was probably very valuable in my progression as a golfer... I have that experience to draw on especially being in a similar position to last year at St. Andrews... I'll be thinking about how I can do things better tomorrow than I did that day in St. Andrews... I feel like I'm better prepared to tee off in the second round of a major with the lead. It's possible that I can go out and shoot another 65, but I know that it's also very likely that I'm not going to do that. So if I do find myself in a bit of trouble, I'm going to have to stick in there, grind it out, and that's something that I feel as if I learned to do at St. Andrews." McIlroy shot a 69 in the second round and a 70 in the third round and had a four shot lead going into the final round of the Masters but he imploded in the fourth round and shot an 8-over par, 80. The four stroke lead that McIlroy squandered was the biggest of a third round leader at a major since Jean Van de Velde lead by 5 strokes at the 1999 Open Championship and lost to in a three-way playoff. His final round was the worst round in history by a golfer leading after the third round of the Masters. Many people compared McIlroy's meltdown to Greg Norman when he entered the Masters with a six stroke lead in 1996 but lost by five strokes to Nick Faldo. For the second time at a major, McIlroy collapsed.

McIlroy said after his final round collapse at the Masters, “You know, I’ll have plenty more chances. I know that." After his first round at Congressional County Club in Bethesda, Maryland, McIlroy has another great chance to walk away with his first win at a major. For the third major out of the last four, McIlroy is leading the pack after the first 18 holes. He birdied 6 holes, 3 on the front nine and 3 on the back nine, and didn't have one bogey on the day. He shot a 6-under par, 65 in the first round of the U.S. Open and leads Charl Schwartzel and Y.E. Yang by three strokes.

McIlroy's challenge for the next three rounds of the tournament will be to not have a repeat of his second round at the British Open or his final round at the Masters. McIlroy seems like he has put his Masters collapse behind him, as he said about his bounce back from that tournament, "I don't know if it says that I've just got a very short memory or, I don't know. I took the experience from Augusta, and I learned a lot from it. But I feel like these good starts in the majors are very much down to my preparation and how I prepare for them. But yeah, I mean, you can't, you're going into the U.S. Open. You can't be thinking about what's happened before, you've got to just be thinking about this week and how best you can prepare and how you can get yourself around the golf course. I think you definitely have to analyze the parts that you want to do better. But I stopped, I really stopped thinking about it a week after. You really try and pick it apart and pick things out that you could have done better, but after you do that and you're happy with everything that you've sort of taken from it, then you've just got to move on. I just took, mostly just from the Sunday just being so tentative and trying to keep ahead of the field instead of playing a free-flowing game like I usually do. That's one of the big differences." 

McIlroy said, "I felt like I handled the second round at Augusta this year a lot better than I handled the second round at St. Andrews last year." McIlroy is hoping that he will handle the fourth round at Congressional a lot better than his fourth round at Augusta. McIlroy definitely has the tools and the ability to win a major but will he be able to move past his prior collapses and hand in four solid rounds at a major?

The Boston Bruins Overcame Home Ice Advantage To Win The Stanley Cup

For the first 6 games of the Stanley Cup Finals, only the home team could muster a win. Weather the games were close in Vancouver or blowouts in Boston, only the home team could walk away victorious.

The Canucks took the first two games of the Stanley Cup at home. In Game 1, Roberto Luongo pitched a shutout, as the Canucks blanked the Bruins 1-0. Luongo had 36 saves in between the pipes. Game 2 was another close game but the Canucks once again were victorious at Rogers Arena in overtime 3-2. Luongo was great with 28 saves in the net. In Game 5 in Vancouver with the series tied at 2, the Canucks won another close game 1-0. Luongo had his second shutout of the series with 31 big saves in net.

When the series was in Boston, the Canucks were a different team. Although Roberto Luongo said, "I like playing on the road, almost more than at home. The opposing crowds pump me up," Luongo looked horrible in net in Boston and the Bruins offense was firing on all cylinders. For the Canucks offensively, they couldn't score on Boston netminder Tim Thomas at TD Garden. In Game 3, the Bruins won 8-1 after the score was tied at 0 after the first period. Game 4 was another Boston victory in Boston. Luongo was pulled early in the third period after allowing four goals in a 4-0 loss. In a must win for the Bruins at home in Game 6 with the series at 3-2 in favor of the Canucks, the Bruins once again were great at home with a 5-2 victory. They scored 4 goals in the first 10 minutes of the first period and the Canucks had to pull Roberto Luongo from goal once again.

If you watched the Canucks in Vancouver and then in Boston, you would think that they were two different teams and you would think that Roberto Luongo was two different players. In 3 games in Vancouver, Luongo had 2 shutouts and allowed 2 goals on 95 shots. When Luongo was in Boston, he let in 17 goals and had just 51 saves. The Bruins even admitted that they play much better at home than on the road. Brad Marchand said, "It's always easier to be at home. We feed off the energy, off our fans. They just bring out the best in us." Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg voiced a similar opinion, as he said, "I guess both teams are just really comfortable playing in front of their home crowd, feeding off the energy and playing well. It looks like we're comfortable with the way we played. Just as they did, we feed off the energy in our building." Zdeno Chara added, "It just seems we play better at home. On the road, we have some lapses, do some things wrong and do some things right. You have to pay attention for 60 minutes." 

The advantage of playing at home in the Stanley Cup Finals has been a trend for years. Of the previous 80 Stanley Cups, the team with home ice advantage had won 57 times including 19 of the last 23 and 11 of the last 12. Since 2009, the home team was 17-2 in the Stanley Cup Finals coming into the Canucks- Bruins Game 7. In 2009 and 2010, the road team won just 1 game. The home team was also 12-3 in Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Lucky enough for the Vancouver Canucks and especially Roberto Luongo, Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals was back in Vancouver at Rogers Arena. Daniel Sedin said, " We're 3-3 and we won al three games at home and we have the fourth game at home. So we have the seventh game at home and we'll take that. We are confident." The Bruins would have to get over their road woes or they would fall in Game 7 and have to watch the Canucks lift the cup.

Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien said, "We've created ourselves another opportunity and it's up to us to take advantage of it but we've got to be hungrier than we have been the last three times in Vancouver." Bruins defensemen Johnny Boychuk added, "It's the last game of the season. This is what you play for. Obviously, it's a little kid's dream to win the Stanley Cup. And to do it on the road, it doesn't matter where as long as you win it." The Bruins had to change something up this time in Vancouver, so injuried forward Nathan Horton squirted a bottle of melted ice from TD Garden onto Rogers Arena and the Bruins were a different team than the three previous times they were in Vancouver. The Bruins took advantage of their fourth chance to knock off the Canucks on the road in Game 7. Tim Thomas was great, as he had been all series, home or away. The real key was the Boston offense, which scored four goals including one shorthanded goal to help the Bruins win their first Stanley Cup in 39 years since 1972. The Bruins overcame home ice advantage that had been so useful to the Canucks to win the Stanley Cup and walk away with Lord Stanley.

A Timeline Of The Dallas Mavericks Championship Winning Season

After Jason Terry's 16-foot jump shot with 6:33 remaining in the 2006 NBA finals, the Dallas Mavericks took a 13 point lead and were on the verge of going up 3-0 on the Miami Heat. However, the Heat rallied from 13 down and Dirk Nowitzki missed a free throw that could have tied the game with 3 seconds left and the Mavs lost the game and the three games following their collapse in game 3 to lose the NBA finals 4 games to 2. People labeled Dirk as soft, not clutch, doesn’t have what it takes to win it all. Dirk had to wait five years to prove that he could get it done in the NBA finals and he came through by leading his Mavs to a 4-2 victory over the Heat. Dirk, named the finals MVP, averaged 26 points and just under 10 rebounds per game but it was his big shots in the fourth quarter that were the key to the Mavs win in the series. What LeBron James couldn't do, Dirk Nowitzki did. Here is a look back at the Dallas Mavericks 2010 NBA championship winning season:

June 30: Dirk Nowitzki notifies the Mavericks that he will opt out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. The Mavs set their top priority on keeping Dirk in Dallas. Mavericks President of Basketball Operations Donnie Nelson says, "He is our number 1 priority, period... We're going to do everything we possibly can to make sure Dirk is a Mavericks for a long, long time... I think his heart is in Dallas, You learn to never say never in tis business, but from our perspective we will be doing everything possible to keep him right here."

July 5: Dirk gives the Mavs a hometown discount and helps them have enough money to sign other free agents during the summer by agreeing to a four-year contract worth 80 million with the Mavs, which is 16 million less than the 96 million that was the maximum he was eligible to receive. 

July 8: Brendan Haywood agrees to a six-year contract worth 55 million dollars with the Mavs. The seven footer provides a big presence in the post for the Mavs.

July 12: Ian Mahini agrees to a two-year contract worth 4 million dollars with the Mavs to add youth and athleticism to the Mavs frontline.

July 14: The Mavs acquire Tyson Chandler from the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for Erick Dampier. Mavericks President of Basketball Operations Donnie Nelson says in a statement, "We could not be more excited to add Tyson Chandler. He is one of the most versatile big men in the league today. He gives our front line a defensive, shot-blocking, athletic punch we haven't had here in a while." Chandler adds a much needed toughness and defensive presence that the Mavericks had lacked for years including when they lost to the Heat in the 2006 NBA finals. Chandler had been in the top 10 in rebounding in the NBA three times in his career and the top 15 four times including in 2006-2007 when he was second in the league in rebounds per game.

September 27: Brian Cardinal signs with the Dallas Mavericks to add a three point shooting presence on the floor for the Mavs.

October 27: The Mavs start their season strong with a win at home against the Charlotte Bobcats 101 to 86. From the first game Mavs coach Rick Carlisle puts the emphasis on the defensive end of the floor. He says after their victory, "Our good offense put us in position to guard better. We are one game in, but our defensive numbers are better than they have been. It's the foundation for success."

November 26: The Mavs end the Spurs 12 game winning streak by beating them on the road 103 to 94 and take their record to 11-4. The Mavs avenge their 97-87 loss to the Spurs in Game 6 of the playoffs in the previous year when as a 2 seed they fell to the Spurs 4 games to 2. Dirk has 26 points on 12 of 14 shooting from the floor. The Mavs extend their own winning streak to four games.

November 27: The Mavs play the new look Miami Heat for the first time during the season at home and beat the big three and the Heat 106 to 95. The Mavs dominate the Heat inside outscoring them 48 to 26 in the paint. Dirk scores 22 and Tyson Chandler adds 14 inside to extend the Mavs win streak to 5 and bring their record to 12-4.

December 11: The Mavs win their 12th straight game and bring their record to 19-4 by beating the Utah Jazz 103 to 97 at home. Although the Mavs blew a 25 point first half lead, as the Jazz tied the game with 4:31 remaining, the Mavs showed resiliency, especially Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry by finishing off the Jazz in the end of the fourth quarter. Dirk begins to show that he can get it down in the clutch.

Decmber 20: The Mavs play the Heat on the road and for the second straight time beat them 98 to 96 and bring their record to 22-5. The Mavs are 15-1 in their last 16 games. The Heat once again have no answer for Dirk as he scores 26 points and Jason Terry scores all of his 19 points in the final 11 minutes of the game. The Mavs snap the Heat's 12 game winning streak. Heat coach Erik Spolestra says, "Bottom line is they made bigger plays down the stretch more consistently than we did." This would become a theme when these two teams would match up. Even LeBron James admits about the Mavs, "They can get you off-balance."

January 1: The Mavs starting shooting guard Caron Butler goes down with a knee injury in the first quarter. The 15-point per game scoring is huge for the Mavs because of his ability to be the teams third scorer along with Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry. Coming into January 1 with Butler, the Mavs were 24-7, which is a .774 winning percentage. Without Butler for the rest of the year, the Mavs were 33-18, which is a .647 winning percentage. The mavs really began to miss Butler as the season went along.

January 17: The Detroit Pistons beat the Dallas Mavericks 103 to 89 to give the Mavs their season high sixth straight loss. After starting 26-8, the Mavs fall to 26-14. Dirk only played in 2 of the six games during the losing streak as he was out with an injury.

January 19: The Mavs play the Lakers for the first time all season and beat them at home to snap their 6 game skid 109 to 100. The Mavs balance and production from the bench including over 20 points from both Jason Terry and Shawn Marion outlasts the efforts of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.

February 9: The Mavs beat the Sacramento Kings on the road 102 to 100 to extend their win streak to 10 games and bring their record to 37-15. Mavericks show their great balance and ability to have guys play great games off the bench once again as J.J. Barea steps up with 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting in the victory.

March 4: The Mavs win their 8th straight game and bring their record to 45-16 by beating the Pacers at home 116 to 108. Dirk leads the team in scoring in 5 of the 8 games and Jason Terry continues his hot shooting.

March 12: The Mavs lose to the Lakers at home 96 to 91 and only hold a half game lead over the Lakers for second place in the Western Conference as they fall to 47-19. The Mavs continue to struggle to find scoring from guys other than Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, as they score their fewest points since January 22.

March 31: The Mavs lose to the Lakers on the road by 28 points in a beatdown that sees the Lakers extend their 2nd place Western Conference lead to a game and a half as the Mavs fall to 53-22. The Mavs score just 82 points and shot just 36 percent during the game including 6 for 26 (23 percent) from three point land. The Lakers show that they are more physical han the Mavs, as Bynum scores 18 and has 10 rebounds, Gasol has 20 points and 7 rebounds.

April 6: The Mavs lose to the Denver Nuggets 104 to 96 at home and suffer their fourth straight loss and their record drops to 52-25. Injuries are beginning to catch up to the Mavs as Tyson Chandler misses the game with a stiff lower back and Jason Kidd is also out. The Mavs also learn that Caron Butler is unlikely to return for the playoffs.

April 7: A day after the Mavs lose their fourth in a row to the Nuggets, Nuggets coach George Karl admits he would rather play the Mavs than the Thunder. Karl sees that the Mavs are struggling and have been hit with tons of injuries. He says, "If we had to pick and choose on it, we would probably say 55 percent Dallas, 45 percent Oklahoma City... I just think right now our speed might have more effect against Dallas than it will have on Oklahoma City."

April 13: The Mavs finish their regular season 57-25 and clinch the 3rd seed in the west with a win over the Hornets at home.

April 16: Questions still remain around the Mavs. Many people doubt their chances in the postseason especially without Caron Butler for the entirety of the playoffs. Most people, including myself, saw the Mavericks as the most likely higher seed to not make it at of the first round. On ESPN out of 12 NBA experts, 6 of them picked the Trail Blazers to beat the Mavs in 6 games. In game one, the Mavs beat the Trail Blazers 89 to 81 at home on the backs of a big fourth quarter from Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk had 28 points during the game and 18 in the fourth quarter. There was a span of a little over two minutes in the fourth quarter where Dirk had 10 points from the 4-minute mark to the 2-minute mark to keep the Mavs in the game.

April 19: The Mavs take a 2-0 series lead by beating the Trail Blazers again at home 101 to 89. Once again Dirk carried the team especially in the fourth quarter. He scored 33 points including 14 in the fourth quarter and the Mavs final 11 points. He got to the foul line 17 times and made 15 from the strike. It was a positive sign for the Mavs that Jason Terry scored just 10 points in both games but they got solid contributions from other guys like Jason Kidd.

April 21: The Trail Blazers got the series to 2-1 by beating the Mavs at home 97 to 92 in game three. Only Dirk Nowitzki with 25 points and Jason Terry with 29 points had more than 10 for the Mavs, who struggled to find a third scoring threat. They scored just 20 points in each of the quarters of the second half and had long stretches of scoring droughts.

April 23: The Mavericks collapse to lose game 4 and blow a chance to go up in the series 3-1 heading back home by losing 84-82 in game 4. Once again the Mavs struggle to score as only Dirk scores over 13 points. The Mavs score just 15 points in the fourth quarter as the Trail Blazers come back from 23 points down to tie the series at 2. With 9:48 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Mavs were up by 17 points with the score 73 to 56 but they scored just 9 points during the rest of the game. Most critics say after the game that these are the real Mavs, who blew the 2006 NBA finals, lost to the Golden State Warriors in 6 games as a number 1 seed in 2007 and lost to the Spurs as a number 2 seed last year.

April 25: The Mavs hold on despite scoring just 18 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Trail Blazers 93 to 82 and go up in the series 3-2. Tyson Chandler had a enormous game with 14 points and 20 rebounds including 13 on the offensive end. Chandler says after the game, "Coming out tonight, I knew my team would need me. After a bad loss, a lot of times it can carry over. Tonight, I wanted to bring energy and hope my teammates would feed off it, and they did." Chandler proved the toughness that the Mavs had not had in any of their previous playoff runs. Although the old Mavs would have become discouraged by blowing their huge lead in game 4, Chandler didn't allow the loss to carry over to game 5 and the Mavs took the big game by 11 points.

April 28: The Mavs play a really good game in game 6 to beat the Trail Blazers 103 to 96 and move on to the Western Conference semifinals. The Mavs held off the Trail Blazers in the fourth quarter with 8 big free throws by Dirk in the final stretch of the game. Jason Terry says after the victory, "We're such a confident team. We have so many veteran guys, starting at the top with Jason Kidd on down to Dirk, that we believe. Especially in close ballgames, we've been winning them all season long. So we're confident." Not only did the Mavs prove that they can close games lead by Dirk Nowitzki but they also showed that they can win on the road. Dirk says, "It's definitely big for our confidence to win a road game in the playoffs. We haven't done it for a while so we definitely needed one. In this league, if you have a chance to close out a team, you always want to go for it." The Mavs advance to play the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.

May 2: Despite the Mavs first round victory over the Trail Blazers and the Lakers struggling to get by the Hornets in 6 games, all 12 of the NBA experts on ESPN pick the Lakers to beat the Mavs. I predict the Mavs to lose in six games to the Lakers. In game one, the Mavs stun the Lakers by winning 96 to 94 in LA to take a 1-0 series lead. The Mavs outscore the Lakers 52 to 41 in the second half including 15 to 16 in the fourth quarter. Just like in the firs round, Dirk came up huge in the fourth quarter. He scored 11 of his 28 points in the final frame and made two free throws with 19 seconds left to give the Mavs a 95-94 lead and their first lead since the second quarter. Jason Kidd said after the tough victory, "You can always learn from your experience. This is a different team. Maybe a little bit older... and maybe wiser. The big thing is we all get along and we all push for each other to have success." Even Jason Terry admitted that, "Years prior, Kobe probably would have had dunk or a layup [on the Laker's final possession." However, this is a different Mavs team. This is a Mavs team that strives on the defensive end of the floor.

May 4: Nobody saw the Mavs winning both games in LA at the Staples Center but they did just that by beating the Lakers in game two 93 to 81. Dirk Nowitzki once again had a huge game with 24 points on 9 of 16 shooting but it was the Mavs defensive that won them the game. They held the Lakers to 13 points in the third quarter and 19 in the fourth. The Lakers bench shot 26.1 percent and had just 12 points. Shawn Marion said after the game, "We made our presence felt on both ends of the floor tonight. We did a good job of handling their pressure and just going out there and doing what we've been doing all postseason, just playing good defense and just playing our style of play."

May 6: In a game that the Lakers had to win, a game that everybody thought the defending champs would win, the Mavs were just too much once again. The Mavs won the game 98-92 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. Dirk was just too much for the Lakers as he scored 32 points including 9 in the fourth quarter. Not even the Maverick players could have imagined in their wildest dream a 3-0 series lead over the Lakers. Dirk was great down the stretch for the Mavs once again. His coach Rick Carlisle reflected this by saying, "Just about everything that happened down the stretch was a direct result of him [Dirk] either scoring the ball or making a play to get somebody a shot, or make a pass for an assist for a three or a two or whatever it was."

May 8: The Mavs keep the pedal to the medal and complete the shocking, stunning, whatever other word you want to say, sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Mavs kill the Lakers by 36 points in a 122-86 beatdown to advance to the conference finals. Jason Terry hit 9 of the 10 threes he took and finished with 32 points. As a team, the Mavs were lights out from three point land hitting 20 of the 32 threes they attempted. The Mavs once again showed something, this time that they can win without Dirk having a huge game. He scored his postseason low 17 points but didn't need to score because of the play of guys like J.J. Barea. The Mavs advance to the Western Conference finals to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder.

May 17: Game one was characterized by three words: ALL DIRK NOWITZKI. Dirk had 48 points on 12 of 15 shooting from the floor and made a ridiculous 24 of 24 free throws. Dirk's 24 straight free throws without a miss in a game was a NBA regular season and playoff record. The Thunder had no answer for Dirk all night and fell to the Mavs 121 to 112 in Dallas. Dirk said after the game, "I was really looking to shoot early and was able to get my rhythm after the first couple of shots. I kept attacking and my teammates kept feeding me and feeding me and I was able to take advantage over some smaller players." Whether th Thunder put Kevin Durant or Serge Ibaka on Dirk, he couldn't be stopped. Dirk's huge game led them to an early 1-0 series lead.

May 19: The Thunder got one back by beating the Mavs 106 to 100 in game two to tie the series at 1 game apiece. Tyson Chandler said after the loss, "When you're afraid of a team [the Lakers] or you feel like a team can beat you every single night, you go out there and you play with a certain type of edge. I feel like we came out here and we took these boys [the Thunder] lightly. There's a reason why they're in the Western Conference finals. They're not a team to be taken lightly, so we've got to make our adjustments and come out and win game 3... When you have a seven-game win streak, you kind of forget what got you there. We started feeling good about ourselves. We've got to get back to what got us there."

May 21: Dirk once again was the closer for the Mavs as they stole game three on the road to take a 2-1 series lead over the Thunder by winning 93 to 87 in Oklahoma City. As he has done all playoffs long, Dirk came through in the clutch and when the Mavs needed him the most with big shot after big shot. Although Dirk struggled during the game as he was just 7 of 21 from the field, he made big plays down the stretch. He had 10 of his 18 points during the fourth quarter. Dirk was the only Mav to score from the 7:22 mark to the 1:42 mark. During that span, he kept the Mavs lead at 9 points and withstood a charge from the Thunder to come back. Rick Carlisle said, "He's our guy. In the fourth quarters, he's going to touch the ball as frequently as we can get it to him. If he misses a few shots, he's not going to get deterred, he's not going to get discouraged. He's got the kind of will, he's going to keep going at it."

May 23: The Mavs huge comeback in the fourth quarter of game 4 to bring the game to overtime and then close at the Thunder 112 to 105 was the turning point of the series. Dirk had another monster game with 40 big points. After a Kevin Durant three pointer with 5:05 remaining in regulation, Rick Carlisle called a timeout as his team was down by fifteen points with the core 99 to 84. Dirk Nowitzki came out of the timeout like a possessed man scoring 12 points in the final 5 minutes to bring the game to overtime. He hit two clutch free throws with 6 seconds remaining to tie the game at 101 and the Thunder were just too distraught to come back as they were outscored 11 to 4 in the extra session. After the Mavs loss in game 2 Dirk Nowitzki said about the team's fourth quarter, "We just didn't have it, couldn't get the stops we needed. We're usually a great fourth-quarter team. We get stops; we go out and run and execute on the offensive end. But those couple of minutes right there where they went up eight or 10, that was the killer." In game five the Mavs and Dirk adjusted and played a phenomenal fourth quarter to come back from 15 down to tie the game and send it to overtime.

May 25: The Mavs had all the momentum in the world coming back home up 3-1 and looking to clinch the series. Although the Thunder kept it close throughout the game, the Mavs once again ran away with the game in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Thunder 28 to 20. Dirk had another big game to cap off his monster series with 26 points including a three to give the Mavs a 95-94 lead with just about 1 minute remaining in the game and the game clinching free throws with 13 seconds left to give the Mavs a four point lead and seal the win. However, the Mavs celebration was short. Dirk said after the series victory, "This is nice for a day, but we set our goals in October to win it all. We haven't done it yet... It feels good to finally go back. This time, hopefully we can finish the job." The Mavs move to the NBA finals to face the big three and the Miami Heat for a right to win the NBA finals. The matchup is a rematch of the 2006 NBA finals that the Mavs and Dirk so infamously lost after being just 6 minutes away from a 3-0 series lead.

May 31: The Heat won game one 92-84 over the Mavericks in Miami on the backs of the big three, who combined for 65 of the team's 92 points. However, the Mavericks do show some positive signs as Dirk scores 27 points and makes 12 of his 12 free throws, while Shawn Marion adds 16 points and 10 rebounds. The Mavs were also happy that they held the Heat to 39 percent shooting and just 92 points and were confident that their offensive struggles in game one would not come back in game 2. Rick Carlisle sais, "We'll play better. I'm very certain of that. We had some opportunities. Shots we normally make, they didn't go down. Look, it's a long series. We'll adjust."

June 2: The game that changed the finals was game two when the Mavs came back to rally and beat the Heat 95 to 93. After a Dwayne Wade's three pointer with 7:13 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Heat were up by 15 points 88 to 73. However, you can never count out the Mavs when they have a guy like Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk had 9 points in the final 2 minutes and 44 seconds including the game winning layup with 3 seconds remaining on the clock. After struggling to score with LeBron James on him in game one, Jason Terry had 16 points including 8 in the fourth quarter. Jason Terry said after the victory, "Unbelievable. I don't know how the finger felt, but I know he [Dirk Nowitzki] didn't care. He was going to do whatever it took for us to get the win... You can just sense it in us that we weren't going to give up, we were going to be resilient." Tyson Chandler added, "Dirk is the kind of guy that is going to be persistent and we're going to keep going to him. No matter what they try to do, we're going to keep going to him. We know eventually they're going to wear down because they're spending a lot of energy trying to keep him out of the game." Dirk Nowitzki said," Definitely a huge comeback for us and we never gave up, and that was big."

June 5: The Heat took game three in Dallas 88 to 86 despite Dirk Nowitzki's 34 points and late charge in the fourth quarter. His 15 fourth quarter points weren't enough to get a victory for the Mavs but he showed once again that he is an unstoppable force, especially when it comes to crunch time in the fourth quarter. Even Udonis Haslem admitted after game three about Dirk, "He's a great player, 7 feet, so he's going to shoot over me. I've got to make it tough on him."

June 7: After their game three loss, Jason Kidd said, "We have to have somebody step up besides Dirk." In game four when the Mavs really needed a victory and Dirk had a 101 degree fever, the Mavericks supporting cast really stepped up and helped the Mavs get a 86 to 83 victory to tie the series at 2. Shawn Marion had 16 points, Tyson Chandler had 13 points and 16 rebounds, DeShawn Stevenson had 11 points, and Jason Terry stepped up with 17 big points. Although Dirk was fighting that fever and shot poorly, he still had 21 points, a team high. The Mavs defensive was stifling, limiting LeBron James to 3 of 11 shooting and a woeful 8 points for the superstar. Dirk Nowitzki commented on this by saying, "Our defense won us the game."

June 9: With the series tied at 2 games a piece and the Mavs players calling game 5 their "game 7", the Mavs played their best offensive game of the finals and knocked off the Heat at home 112 to 103 to take a 3-2 series lead and become one game away from becoming NBA champions. Dirk had another huge game with 29 points but he got a lot of help from Tyson Chandler, who had 13 points, Jason Kidd, who had 13 points, J.J. Barea, who had 17 points, and Jason Terry, who added 21. Once again, just like every game for the Mavs during the postseason, they turned to Dirk during the fourth quarter. He had 8 points in the final frame and was 6 for 6 from the strike. His jumper with 2:45 gave the Mavs a 102-100 lead, which they would never relinquish. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said, "We made more shots. We did a lot of good things defensively, which led to good offense... The thing we've got to do is we've got to make sure our defense is consistent."

June 12: Nobody could have predicted this. I'm not sure if even the Mavs thought that this was possibly. But they proved the impossible by winning the NBA championship in six games with a 105 to 95 victory over the Heat in Miami to win the title. The Mavs avenged their collapse to the Heat in the 2006 NBA finals by knocking them off to win the title in 2011. A man who couldn't come through in 2006, came through in 2011. Dirk Nowitzki struggled shooting during the game but when it mattered, he came through, which was something he failed to do in the Mavs previous run to the finals. Over and over again in the playoffs Dirk had outstanding fourth quarters to lead the Mavs to victory. He scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and never let the Heat get within striking distance in the final frame. Everytime the Mavs needed a bucket they turned to Dirk and he delivered. Dirk was deservedly named the NBA finals MVP. Dirk said, "We worked so hard and so long for it. The team has had an unbelievable ride." The Mavs are NBA champions.

Dallas Mavericks-Miami Heat Game 6 First Half Reaction

Dallas Mavericks-Miami Heat Game 6 First Half Score: Dallas Mavericks 53 - Miami Heat 51 (For the second time in the series and the second game in a row, both teams scored over 50 points in the first half.)

• The first half was a half of runs. The Heat got off to a quick start and were up 20-11 through about 6 minutes. The Mavericks came back with a run of their own during the final 6 minutes of the first quarter. They went on a 21-7 run to end the quarter and take a 32-27 lead. The Heat had just two field goals during the 6 minute stretch. The Heat jumped out to a quick second quarter start just like they jumped out in the first quarter. They went on a 15-8 run in the first six minutes of the second quarter. The rest of the second quarter was back and fourth.
• Early on LeBron was very hot from the field. He finally got his jumper going and hit his first four shots including a three. LeBron was constantly coming off screens on the baseline from Chalmers, which would free him for a post up on Marion or a pass out to Bosh at the elbow. The zone of the Mavs began to frustrate LeBron. He settled for jump shots but they weren't falling for him. LeBron will have to attack the basket in the second half, which will free guys for open shots especially Bosh from the elbow. 
• Dirk really struggled during the first half. Although he was getting really good looks, he was just 1-12 during the first half and couldn't get his jumper going. Dirk picked up two fouls and was struggling on the pick and roll to stay with Wade.
• The Mavs and Heat were both hot from three during the first half. The Mavs were 7 of 14 from three. DeShawn Stevenson continued his hot shooting with three 3-pointers in the first half. The Heat got a spark from Eddie House off of the bench. House was 3-3 from behind the arc during the first half. Both teams saw considerable improvement from three point land where they were a combined 6-33 in game 4.
• Jason Terry was the difference maker in the first half. He was on fire. In 17 minutes, Terry was 8 of 10 from the field including 3 of 5 from three and had 19 points. Since J.J. Barea began the game hot with 6 points on 3 of 6 shooting and 3 assists, LeBron switched onto Barea, while House took Terry but Terry was too much for House. He beat him off the dribble and from deep.

The Heat Will Have To Stop J.J. Barea In Game 6

With the Dallas Mavericks down two games to one to the Miami Heat, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle made a bold move by starting backup point guard J.J. Barea in the backcourt with Jason Kidd in game 4. The six-foot Barea had started just two games the entire season and both of those were in February. However, Carlisle felt like inserting Barea into the starting lineup for DeShawn Stevenson would provide energy and problems for the Heat defense.

Although Barea's numbers weren't very flashy in game 4, his penetration caused issues for the Heat on the defensive end. In the Mavs game three win, Barea had 8 points and lead the team with 4 assists.

Barea presence was felt even more so in the Mavs 112-103 game 5 win to take the series lead heading back to Miami 3-2. Barea's up-tempo pay lead to a very high scoring game 5, which helped the Mavs much more than the Heat, which struggle to score on the offensive end at times. Barea had a monster game with 17 points on 6 of 11 shooting and 5 assists. He hit 4 of the five threes he took as well. Barea, Jason Kidd, and Jason Terry became the first set of teammates to each have 10 points, 5 assists, and three 3-pointers in an NBA finals game. Barea's penetration was too much for Miami Heat point guard Mike Bibby to handle. Barea was constantly getting into the lane and making plays for the Mavs. In the first quarter, there were three straight possessions for the Mavs where Barea got by Bibby and kicked out to Kidd and then Dirk twice for open jump shots. Barea is not nearly as much of a threat to score when he is in the paint as when he is on the perimeter. He is always going to look to pass when he gets into the lane. However, Joel Anthony consistently helped off of Dirk Nowitzki to help Bibby and was then burned when Dirk was open for an easy jumper from 15 feet. In the fourth quarter when the ball was in Dirk's hands and Terry's hands, Barea spotted up for 3-pointers. He made two big ones in the fourth quarter including one to end a 5-0 Heat run and extend the Mavs lead to five points.

Barea was instrumental in the Mavs two straight wins at home and helping them take the lead in the series 3 games to 2. Tyson Chandler said about starting Barea, "I think it just gives us another ball handler and a guy who makes decisions, and speeds up the pace of the game. Definitely a scoring option threat. He's changed the flow of the game... He's been our little war-. He's been our big warrior throughout the entire season... He's been our spark plug." DeShawn Stevenson added, "I think we needed that at the time, and we've won two games by doing that. J.J., he's doing a great job penetrating and finding a way." Dirk Nowitzki said after the Mavs game 5 victory, "I think the major change was obviously starting J.J. J.J. has been good in the starting lineup. He's been phenomenal for us attacking the paint. He was shooting the ball well. They were going under his screen and rolls. He was able to knock down some big shots down." Barea said about his new starting role, "I'm still going to play the same game, I'm going to always stay aggressive off the bench or as a starter, and I'm going to attack."

It is essential that the Heat defenders stay attached to Dirk and that becomes a much easier task if Barea isn't constantly getting into the lane. The Heat may have to go with Mario Chalmers because he has done a much better job containing Barea than Bibby. Lebron James said about defending Barea, "The guy hit four threes, three of them was at the end of the shot clock with him not even holding his follow-through. A guy like that, once he gets into the lane and gets a few layups, his outside shot becomes better, just like a lot of us. Myself and D-Wade, if you allow us to get to two or three layups, we feel like we're in a good rhythm. So we have to do a better job of trying to keep him out the paint. If you keep him out of the paint early, that's better for us. He doesn't shoot the ball as well as he would if he gets a few layups here, a few layups there, a couple of free-throws. He's a key [to stop]."

A Head Coach-In-Waiting Just Causes Controversy

Aside from the controversy of USC being stripped of their 2004 national title, the focus of the college football off-season has been the craziness in Morgentown, West Virginia. On December 16, 2010, West Virginia named Dana Holgorsen, the former Oklahoma State offensive coordinator, their head coach-in-waiting for the 2011 season. The Mountaineers planned for Bill Stewart, the current coach, to be replaced by Holgorsen in 2012. However, the situation could not be much worse or more unsettling for West Virginia. Colin Dunlap, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette beat writer, was reportedly asked by Stewart to "dig up dirt" on Holgorsen. He said about the conversation, "He [Stewart] tried to flam-throw the guy [Holgorsen] in December by calling me and at least one other reporter because the other reporter and I discussed it. [Stewart] said, can you get the word scumbag tattooed on the front of the sports page? You need to dig up this dirt; you need to get it out on this guy... it's true that he's even involved with assailing Dana Holgorsen's character or attempting to, this would make the second instance thus a pattern would form of him going after the same man. I just think that the [coach-in-waiting] situation is doomed to fail." Currently, Bill Stewart's future is in serious jeopardy according to numerous sources close to the program. The saga has gone on for so long that even West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck admitted, "no one wants this to drag out any longer than it needs to." This begs the question: What is the point in a coach-in-waiting? Previous history also shows that this tag just doesn't work.

Although Florida St. had one of the smoother transitions to the head coach-in-waiting, it still ended with controversy over the departure of Seminole great Bobby Bowden. Fisher was named the coach-in-waiting on December 10, 2007. The Seminoles felt that they had to make the move because they wanted to keep Fisher, as he was offered the head coaching job at UAB and the offensive coordinator job at both Alabama and Florida. Unfortunately for Fisher, Bowden wasn't ready to retire until two years later. There is irreparably damage between Bowden and the university over his departure. Bowden said about his retirement," Pushed out ain't bad. I was pushed out, no doubt about it. I didn't want but one more year. Gosh, I'm 80... I didn't want them to spread the story that I voluntarily happily resigned." Florida St. felt pressured to give Fisher the coaching job before he would leave for a head coaching job at another school. Although Bowden wasn't ready to retire, they had to make a decision because they promised Fisher their coaching job. Therefore, they had to part ways with Bowden although the great coach wanted to return and it lead to controversy in the media.

What occurs most of the time with a coach-in-waiting is that the coach expects to take over the head coaching role soon after he is hired to be the next coach. When the current coach decides to stay longer than expected, the coach-in-waiting becomes impatient and often leaves the program for a head coaching job elsewhere. This situation has occurred at both Maryland and Texas. 

On February 6, 2009, James Franklin was named the coach-in-waiting at Maryland. Raplh Friedgen coached the team for two seasons after Franklin was named his successor and his contract wasn't set to expire until January 2, 2012. Therefore, when Vanderbilt offered Franklin their head coaching position, he accepted it without a doubt, as he showed his ability to be a good head coach. When Ralph Friedgen was fired by Maryland a few days after Franklin took the job at Vanderbilt, the Terps were stuck looking for a new coach.

On November 18, 2008, Will Muschamp was named by Texas to be their coach-in-waiting and eventually replace Mack Brown. The move was really just a play to try and get Muschamp to stay at Texas for an extended period of time. However, Muschamp realized that he wasn't going to get the opportunity to be the head coach at Texas for years and took the head coaching job at Florida. Mack Brown still had 8 years left on his contract at the time Muschamp was named the head coach-in-waiting. Mack Brown said, "I'm going to continue coaching as I'm enjoying it. I have eight years left on my contract, I am not thinking at all about moving on." Kirk Bohls, a reporter for Austin news, said, "At least one source told me Brown had decided in the offeason to step down at the end of the 2010 season, but he changed his mind after his first losing season at Texas. Muschamp was annoyed by the decision, sources close to the football program have said, and chose to leave what he though was promised [to] him."

Naming a head coach-in-waiting just has too many negative effects. The current head coach feels pressure to perform, so he can stay on as head coach. Often times the head coach feels like he is forced out by the university. The head coach-in-waiting feels like he should get an opportunity to become the head coach but they often grow impatient waiting for the current coach to leave. Therefore, what is the point in having a head coach-in-waiting if nothing positive can come out of it.

For The United States, The Gold Cup Is More Than Just A Tournament, It Is A Chance To Get Into The Confederations Cup

On June 24, 2007, the United States beat Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final 2-1. This victory qualified the United States for the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa. The Confederations Cup, a huge tournament held every four years in the year prior to the World Cup by the host nation of the upcoming World Cup, greatly helped the United States in their preparation for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The U.S. players and coaches felt that a big reason behind their success in the 2010 World Cup was due to the experience of playing in the Confederations Cup the year before. Landon Donovan said, "Winning the Gold Cup put us in the Confederations Cup, which we all feel was a really big help, not only from a confidence standpoint in beating the teams we beat in the Confederations Cup, but also just being in South Africa and seeing the way it works. Getting used to the climate, the travel, that kind of stuff, helped us a lot."

The importance of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup for the United States will be once again to get a shot at playing in the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil the year before the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The United States is in a Group C of the Gold Cup with Panama, Guadeloupe, and Canada. Most people view Mexico and United States as the co-favorites of the tournament and see them facing off in the Gold Cup finals. Clint Dempsey said, "The main goal this year has been looking forward to this Gold Cup, and making sure we win. We want to be in the Confederations Cup." United States manager Bob Bradley said, "In addition to being the best  team in CONCACAF, there's that extra part of representing CONCACAF in the Confederations Cup and what that means in terms of experience and how your prepare for a World Cup." There are tons of advantages in participating in the Confederations Cup, but this can only happen if the United States wins the Gold Cup this summer.

To begin, the competition of the Confederations Cup is on a whole different level than the Gold Cup. In the current FIFA world rankings, Mexico is the only team other than the United States ranked inside the top 30, as they are number 28 overall. Honduras is the only other team from CONCACAF in the top 50 at number 43. 

However, the Confederations Cup is going to feature the top teams in the world. Since Brazil is the host of the World Cup in 2014 and Spain is the last World Cup winner, both teams will appear in the Confederations Cup. Spain is ranked 1 in the world, while Brazil is number 3. Japan, who is also ranked inside the top 15 at number 14, qualified for the tournament as the winner of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup when they beat Australia in the final 1-0. The Copa America winner will also appear in the Confederations Cup, but if Brazil wins that tournament, the runner-up team it will have beaten will qualify. Most likely, Argentina, who is ranked 5 in the world, Uruguay, who is ranked 7 in the world, Chile, who is ranked 13 in the world, or Paraguay, who is ranked 23 in the world, will win that tournament or finish as the runner-up to Brazil and make the Confederations Cup. The Euro 2012 winner will also appear in the Confederations Cup, and if Spain wins that tournament, once again the runner-up will qualify as well. Whoever wins Euro 2012 will be a very high quality team. Nineteen of the top 30 teams in the world are located in Europe, and one of these teams will likely join Spain in representing Europe. The most likely contenders are Netherlands, who is ranked 2 in the world, Germany, who is ranked 4 in the world, England, who is ranked 6 in the world, Portugal, who is ranked 8 in the world, and Italy, who is ranked 9 in the world. The other participants will be the 2013 African Cup of Nations winner and the 2012 OFC Nations Cup winner. To get the experience of playing great teams like these would be valuable to a United States team that is looking for their deepest run ever in a World Cup in 2014. They could possibly see Brazil, Spain, Japan, Argentina, Netherlands, Ghana, and New Zealand in the tournament. If you want to play some quality opponents to prepare for what the World Cup will be like, the Confederations Cup is your opportunity. In the 2009 Confederations Cup, the United States got to play Italy, Spain, and Brazil twice. In the World Cup a year later, they were able to build off their experiences of playing those top teams and were able to tie England 1-1 in the group stage, and took Ghana to extra time in the round of 16 before they were knocked out by a score of 2-1.

The Confederations Cup allows the teams in the tournament to get used to the stadiums and venues that the World Cup will use the following year. For example, in 2009 the United States played against Egypt in Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenberg, South Africa during the Confederations Cup, and then pulled off a huge surprise when they tied England on that same field 1-1 in the 2010 World Cup. The US played on Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria twice in the Confederations Cup, and beat Algeria 1-0 on that same field in a pivotal 2010 World Cup game. These experiences provided the U.S. with the atmosphere and playing field  that they would be playing on in a year.

The stats show that when the U.S. plays in the Confederations Cup, they fare much better in the World Cup the next year. In 1992, the United States finished 3rd in the Confederations Cup, and went on to reach the round of 16 in the World Cup in 1994. In 1999, the U.S. finished 3rd in the Confederations Cup and went on to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 2002, which was their farthest run in the tournament ever. In order to reach the Confederations Cup and increase their hope for gold in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the US must win the Gold Cup this summer first.

Euro 2012 Qualification Rundown

Qualification: Euro 2012 will feature 16 nations. There are nine groups for the Euro 2012 qualification with 6 groups containing 6 teams and 3 groups containing just 5 teams. The 51 teams are buying for the 14 remaining sports in the tournament, as the two host nations, Poland and Ukraine, receive an automatic bid to the tournament. The team at the top of each of the nine groups will qualify for Euro 2012 automatically. That encompasses 11 of the 16 sports in the championship. Since some groups have six teams and other groups have five teams, matches against the sixth place team in groups that have six teams are not included in the tiebreaking procedure of second place teams. The second place team with the highest number of points obtained in their eight matches will also qualify for the tournament. The remaining eight, second place teams will play in a two-legged qualification play-off for a right to be in the championship.

Group A: Germany is one of only three teams (Spain and Netherlands being the other two) who has a perfect record and has not suffered a draw or loss thus far in qualifying. They are all but through into Euro 2012. The Germans have been lead by Miroslav Klose's 8 goals in 7 games including 6 in Germany's first 4 games. The race for second is up for grabs between Belgium and Turkey. Belgium is currently in second place with 11 points but Turkey has played one less game and is sitting just one point behind on 10 points. The two teams played on June 3rd and had a 1-1 tie after Belgium missed a potential go ahead penalty kick in the 75th minute. For Belgium to get through, they will have to take care of business against the bottom two teams in the table, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, and then get a result against Germany in their final game on the road. Turkey plays Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Germany and they also have an extra game against Austria. Turkey's only remaining game away from home is against Austria on September 6th. 

Group B: Group B currently has three teams sitting on 13 points and at the top of the table. Ireland, Russia, and Slovakia will all have a chance to win the group or come in second. The three teams will each meet each other one more time with each team having one game at home and the other on the road. Ireland will have to continue to get scoring from Robbie Keane, who has 5 goals in 6 games including 3 in his 2 games this year. Russia defense has been great the entire campaign but they have seen a spike in goals especially with Roman Pavlyuchenko playing so well up front including a hat trick against Armenia on June 4th. Slovakia has really struggled to score. While Slovakia has allowed just 4 goals, they have scored just 6. Slovakia travels to Ireland on September 2nd and then the Irish take on Russia on the road the next week. On October 7th, Russia will travel to Slovakia in another huge game. 

Group C: Italy has 5 wins and 1 draw in six games and their 16 points have set them up to make it to Euro 2012. They have scored 14 goals, while allowing just 1. The new generation of Italian stars such as Giuseppe Rossi and Antonio Cassano has provided wonders for an Italian side that failed to make it past the first round of the 2010 World Cup. The second place spot will come down to Slovenia and Serbia. Slovenia is 3 points ahead of Serbia but have played one more game. Serbia has already had to deal with issues from fans rioting when the team played Italy at home on October 12th. The match had to be abandoned due to violence from the crowd and Italy was awarded a 3-0 victory. The loss was a costly one to Serbia and really has hurt their goal differential. Slovenia and Serbia have a big game on October 11th in Slovenia that will likely determine who comes out of group C along with Italy.

Group D: France has not run away with group D and it is wide open for first and second place. France leads the group with 13 points, while Belarus has 12 and Bosnia-Herzegovina has 10. France and Bosnia have played one less game than Belarus as well. Only Italy and Montenegro have allowed fewer goals than France and Belarus who have allowed just 2 goals in 6 games. France could only get a 1-1 tie out of their fixture with Belarus on June 3rd, while Bosnia-Herzegovina gained ground with a 2-0 victory over Albania. Belarus will play Bosnia-Herzegovina in a huge game on September 2nd in Bosnia and then Bosnia will travel to France to play the French on October 11th in a pivotal game for both sides. 

Group E: Group E has seen some really great futbol from Netherlands, Sweden, and Hungary. It is a shame that one of these teams will not have a shot to make it into Euro 2012. Netherlands is a perfect 6-0-0 and has scored an incredible 21 goals in just 6 games. The Dutch have been lead by Shalke 04 striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who had 8 goals in the team's first four games of qualification including 2 goals against Sweden in a big 4-1 victory. Dirk Kuyt also has 4 goals including 3 in 2 games against Hungary where the Dutch beat Hungary 4-0 on the road and 5-3 at home. Sweden have scored 20 goals in 6 games, while Hungary are not far behind with 18 goals in 7 games. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has 5 goals for Sweden, while Balazs Dsudzsak leads Euro 2012 qualification with 8 assists. Sweden will play Hungary in Hungary in a huge game on September 2nd and if they win that game, they may have a chance to surpass Netherlands for first place if they can beat the Dutch at home on October 11th. However, Hungary will be looking to crack the top two with a victory over Sweden on September 2nd. 

Group F: Group F is very much like Group B with three teams all in contention for first and second place. Greece leads the group with 14 points, while Croatia and Israel sit in second with 13 points each. Israel has played one more game than the other two teams. The three teams will each meet each other one more time with each team having one game at home and the other on the road. All three teams have seen great stuff from their superstars. Croatia has seen strong play from their midfielders Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar, and Danijel Pranjic. Kranjcar has four goals for Croatia including 2 in a 2-1 victory over Israel. Chelsea star Yossi Benayoun has also racked up four goals. He scored a huge goal for Israel in their 2-1 victory over Latvia to keep them in contention in the group. As always, Greece has seen spectacular play from their defense, which has allowed just 3 goals and none on the road. Israel will have a must win game against Greece at home on September 2nd and then another equally as important game the next week on the road against Croatia. Greece will host Croatia on October 7th. 

Group G: Group G appears as if like England and Montenegro will finish 1 and 2 but the order will be determined by the team's remaining 5 games. Montenegro has scored just 4 goals in 5 games but they have made up for it be allowing just 1 goal. They won their first three games by a score of 1 to 0 and they played England to a 0-0 draw at Wembley Stadium in London. England had a very disappointing draw with Switzerland at home on June 4th as Switzerland scored two unusual goals off free kicks. The two teams will meet in Montenegro on October 7th in a game that will likely decide which team will win the group and which team will come in second. 

Group H: Group H is another group that has three teams who could all take home first place. Portugal, Denmark, and Norway all have 10 points through 5 games. Portugal got off to a very rough start that included a 4-4 tie to Cyprus at home and a 1-0 loss to Norway on the road. They have rebounded since then winning 3 straight games and outscoring their opponents 7-1 in those games. While Norway won their first three games, they tied Denmark and then lost to Portugal in their last two games. Denmark is hosting Norway on September 6th and then Portugal on October 11th in two huge games that will determine the fate of the group.

Group I: Spain is running away with Group I, as they have a perfect record of 5-0-0 and have 15 points. Just like in the 2010 World Cup, David Villa is leading the charge with his 5 goals in 5 games. Although it is still early, Scotland will have to catch ground on Czech Republic. Although Scotland has played one less game than Czeck, they are five points back and need to gain ground fast. Scotland will have an opportunity as they host Czech Republic on September 3rd. Scotland will need to get a great performance from Charlie Adam in the midfield to contend with the Czechs.