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J.P. Flynn

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In Case You Missed It…The Week That Was At TheSportsNotebook

Because I know so much of Western civilization hinges onTheSportsNotebook, I make sure to compile all the features run here this week into one simple post, so they’re easily accessible even after they leave the home page. (an aside–I used to work with a horse race handicapper who regularly called his hotline “world-famous”–and meant it. We used to joke that it’s what they were talking about in the salons of Paris). Here’s what ran from February 27 thru March 1….

The Pac-12’s Five Contenders To Move Off The NCAA Bubble

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No conference race has as many good scenarios for the final week than the Pac-12, as the league begins its usual run of Thursday night games that set the stage for the weekend. The championship is in play, five teams are on the radar for the NCAA Tournament, and only one can really feel secure about its position in the Dance. So if you don’t feel like following the controversy that’s flared up at UCLA about whether Ben Howland is or isn’t in control of the program, there’s still plenty of on-court action to keep up with in the Pac-12. TheSportsNotebook will look at the five relevant teams.

The LA Lakers Keep Hanging In The NBA’s Western Conference

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At the start of the season the Los Angeles Lakers were being mostly written off as a serious contender for the NBA title. They only had three players worthy of the name, in Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. They were coming off a humiliating postseason, where they were first swept home by Dallas and then embarrassed themselves with dirty play that got Bynum suspended for the start of this season. Finally, after they completed a trade to get Chris Paul, commissioner David Stern steps in, nixes the deal and Paul ends up across town with the Clippers. From about last May forward, not a whole lot went right for this organization. But here they are on the first day of March, 21-14, only a ½ game back of the Clips for the Pacific Division title and lurking in the mix. TheSportsNotebook goes inside the Lakers to see if they’re going to again be a real title threat.

The Big 12 Middle: Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State

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In the Big 12, Kansas has locked up another conference championship and Missouri’s gotten plenty of attention, both here and elsewhere for their strong second-place finish. Texas is on the NCAA bubble. In between these teams are a trio who are heading for the NCAA Tournament, but need some attention of their own. So just as TheSportsNotebook paid tribute to the Big East Middle & the Big Ten Middle, today it’s time to give a shoutout to Big 12 and take a look at Baylor, Iowa State or Kansas State…

The St. Louis Blues Are A Legitimate Stanley Cup Contender

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There’s some good hockey being played in the NHL’s Western Conference. Between Vancouver and Detroit jousting for the #1 spot, to Phoenix rolling through the month of February undefeated, the West is asserting its superiority as we come down the stretch of the regular season. But don’t overlook the St. Louis Blues, who are only two points back of Detroit in the race for the Central Division crown and what would be one of the top two seeds in the playoffs. St. Louis has a four-point lead on Nashville for the four-spot and home-ice advantage in the first round. TheSportsNotebook takes a look at the Blues as we turn the calendar into March.

Morning Line Archives: February 20-26

Friday, February 24: WEEKEND EDITION TheSportsNotebook is looking ahead to a big weekend, and we’ll have a lot of preview articles going up throughout the day. Furthermore, I’ll be podcasting over at PrimeSportsNetwork.com with Greg DePalma at 3 PM EST to look ahead at the weekend, specifically the race for March Madness. Tune in at […]

The Big Ten Middle: Michigan, Wisconsin & Indiana

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In the Big Ten’s race for the NCAA Tournament, three times fall in the Forgotten Middle Class. At the top you have likely conference champ Michigan State and Ohio State, still with an outside shot at a co-championship. On the bubble, you have Purdue and Northwestern, and if you’re feeling generous, Illinois and Minnesota. But […]

Analyzing The Boston Celtics’ Slide In The NBA Eastern Conference

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On the morning of February 8, Boston Celtics fans—present writer included—were feeling our oats. The C’s had just won the first four games of a five-game homestand, were up to 14-10 and at minimum were in position to be a second-round team in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. And we could be forgiven if some thoughts of springing an upset on Miami or Chicago might have briefly skipped through our minds. It’s been all downhill since then, as Boston has lost seven of eight. TheSportsNotebook takes a look at the losing streak to see if it’s just a bad stretch or if it’s time to break up the band.

The Big East Middle: Marquette, ND, Louisville, Georgetown

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The Big East’s powerful middle class has two of its members on ESPN tonight when Notre Dame visits Georgetown (7 PM ET). The Irish and Hoyas are part of a four-team group, including Marquette and Louisville, that may have been overshadowed by Syracuse in the regular season, but all four are threats to cut down the nets at Madison Square Garden next week and perhaps even to go dancing in New Orleans when the Final Four starts on March 31. Today, TheSportsNotebook looks at all four.

The Philadelphia Phillies: Best Team in the MLB

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Forget Albert Pujols and forget Prince Fielder.  Forget Jose Reyes and Ozzie Guillen.  Forget Matt Moore.  Yes, that’s right.  Forget everything that has made headlines during baseball’s offseason.  The Philadelphia Phillies are the best team in baseball regardless of all this.  They have been dealing with a number of issues in the last two seasons, […]

Will The Washington Capitals Turn It Around In Time?

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The Washington Capitals have got themselves a reputation going for dynamic regular seasons followed by playoff failures under the leadership of head coach Bruce Boudreau and star forward Alex Ovechkin. Tired of the bad rap, Boudreau was fired in late November after the Caps started slowly, but it appears the way Washington will find some consistency is just to play mediocre hockey all year, rather than just in the playoffs. If the postseason started today the Caps would be home. TheSportsNotebook takes a look to see if there is any possibility for a turnaround in the season’s fourth quarter.

NBA All-Star Break Report

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It’s All-Star Weekend in Orlando, the halfway point of the NBA season. It seems like not so long ago I was sitting in front of the TV set on Christmas afternoon watching the Celtics-Knicks from MSG and then enjoying Bulls-Lakers with some relatives from Chicago. Most voices I hear on the mainstream media bemoan this shortened, compressed schedule, but I’m all for it. There’s good games each night and a regular season that’s used strictly for seeding and to eliminate only the worst teams is cut back.

There are very few surprises in the NBA, so even though my Oklahoma City-Chicago pick for the NBA Finals is holding up nicely, that’s just evidence that the league can be so predictable even I can get in the ballpark of being right. Here’s a general overview of how the landscape looks as the stars come out in Orlando…

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