I think the theme of the first 2 weeks of the new NFL season is how wide open the AFC appears to be.  Several factors have contributed to blow the whole conference up and how it settles down at seasons end is anyone's guess.  Lets examine some of the Pre-Season favourites.

Patriots - No Tom Brady = No Super Bowl.  I really believe this.  I'm not gonna say they won't make the playoffs but there is no question that the Patriots are left reeling by the loss of Brady.  So far they have struggled to beat two very average teams in the Chiefs and Jets, and the lack of swagger is palpable.  With the loss of one man, the Pats go from being one of the most watchable teams in the league, to just another team with a couple of good receivers and a decent defense  and, it must be said, a very very good coach.  Brady is just too big a part of what they do for this team to be where they want to be.  You saw it here first, a year after going 18-1, I guarantee that the Pats don't win a playoff game this season.

Colts - The Colts have also struggled in the early season, and if Tarvaris Jackson could play they would be 0-2.  Peyton Manning missed preseason and has looked rusty so far.  However, I have no doubt Manning will get better as he gets up to game shape.  Where the Colts have problems is on the injury front.  They've already lost Jeff Saturday, the starting center, and tight end Dallas Clark, who is extremely important to Peyton in the offense.  With injury problems building up, its hard to see this team getting enough reps as a unit to form championship caliber consistency.  However, it's early in the season and of all the teams in this list, the Colts are the only ones I think have the potential to make a lot of noise in the playoffs.

Chargers - Everyone can see that the Chargers have a galaxy of stars on both sides of the ball and, thus, every year they fail to get to the big dance.  They've lost both their games this season in heart breaking fashion, and the biggest stars of all, LT and Merriman, are both injured, Merriman for the season.  Even with these two, and maybe especially with these two, I just don't think the Chargers have a championship mentality.  Their stars are too concerned with being stars and getting theirs, and that never leads to trophies.  This is obviously completely my own opinion and maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not, and Denver will win the division with or without LT.

and so on and so on..there are more teams that were preseason contenders who don't look like it now, but to be honest I'm tired of writing...The theme of the article is that all of a sudden the conference which has been so dominated by the Colts and Pats in recent times is now much more open..fans in Denver, Buffalo, and especially Pittsburgh rejoice.

Kobe was Jordanesque in leading his Lakers to the best record in the West, Chris Paul pushed Mr. Bryant all the way, and Lebron once again, almost single-handedly, took his sorry Cavs to the playoffs. 

But who didn't deliver the goods last season?  This is the 2008 NBA All Under-Achievement Team.

I have stayed away from bad seasons as a result of injury ( D Wade ) and the whole mess in New York, they all played badly with a couple of exceptions, and we all already know that.


G - Jason Kidd - Dallas Mavericks

Even though JKidd's career is starting to wind down, and he should be almost safe from lists like this, I think he deserves one last mention based on the high profile nature of his season. 

Kidd's trade to the Mavericks was one of the much talked about trades in the Western Conference this season, along with the Gasol and Shaq trades.

Of the three, Kidd was by far the most disappointing in his new surroundings.

Brought in to turn the Mavs into a winner in crunch time, we were instead witness to what was a sad ghost of a once great player.  Kidd's defense was exposed and exploited by younger, faster guards. 

Saddest of all was the visible lack  of confidence Kidd had in his shooting game.  Although shooting range has never been Kidd's strong point, the deterioration of his shooting skills made for some embarrassing, and hard to watch, moments.

G - ?

To be honest, no one really stands out at the 2 as having really under achieved this season.  Ray Allen may have slowed down a step and had his playoff struggles, but he's doing what his team needs him to do on offense, while playing great D on Kobe in the Finals.

In your comments, throw in a vote for your choice for the second 2008 NBA All Under-Achievement Team guard.

F - Carmelo Anthony - Denver Nuggets

Coming off an extremely successful off-season with Team USA, where he was the best player on the court (one he shared with the likes of Kobe and Lebron, ) Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets looked like having a successful season.

No doubt, the Nuggets won a lot of games this year before being bounced in the first round by the Lakers.

No doubt, Carmelo's scoring was a huge factor in the success of the Nuggets this season.

However, a  team with as much talent as the Nuggets should be better than they were, and the problems start on the defensive end of the floor, where Carmelo is the main culprit. 

As the face of the franchise, it is Carmelo Anthony's responsibility, especially in the playoffs, to put his hand up and commit to playing hard at both ends of the court and everywhere in between.  This is something that Anthony failed to do and, come playoff time, the Nuggets as a team reflected Anthony's softness.

The Laker's with Kobe's new found pride in defense, and the Celtic's with Garnett's insistence on all-around intensity  are two prime examples of what happens when star players bring their lunch pail to work. 

Until Carmelo toughens up, the Nuggets will always fall short of their potential.

F - Rashard Lewis - Orlando Magic

Rashard definitely didn't have a terrible season, with 18.2 PPG and 5.4 APG.  However, given the size of the contract he signed in Orlando, I think he should have been more than just a spot up shooter for them.

Lewis did make the occasional foray into the paint, but for the most part, left that to the much improved Hedo Turkoglu.  He seemed content to chill in the corner and pop the jump shots that were afforded him by Dwight Howard's presence inside. 

Come playoff time, the Magic could only ride Howard's ridiculously broad shoulders for so long, and needed Rashard Lewis to be more aggressive offensively to balance out the offense a little bit. 

Lewis is only 28, so wee may see a return to the more complete offensive player he was while in Seattle.

C - Andrea Bargnani - Toronto Raptors

Andrea was only a sophomore last year, but a strong rookie campaign suggested the potential that this guy has, however he made very little progress this season.

Bargnani is a near 7 footer who can stroke the 3, and put the ball on the floor to beat slower opponents off the dribble, as well as play surprisingly sufficient perimeter defense when needed on switches and so on.

Bargnani struggled with his shot last season and, despite increased opportunity, never seemed to find his groove.  He has the skills and confidence to make a difference, but his game can become very static.  His offense basically consists of long jump shots, and pump fakes on long jump shots before taking it all the way to the basket.

If the jump shots aren't falling, Il Mago has very little left to offer.  Last season...the shots weren't falling.

Bargnani is a post player who can spread the floor and do damage, but he has to become more adept at doing the things 7 footers are supposed to do: rebound, score down low, block shots, and basically become a presence in the paint.  If Bargnani can develop these parts of his game, his outside game will be all the more effective.

Before I get into this, I should admit: yes, I too ignored and belittled the Grizzlies when they were here, but don't hold the Grizzlies against us!

With teams like the Sonics in serious financial trouble and looking into the possibility of relocation, something stirs deep in my soul. That is, the desire, no the need, to have some more major sports teams come to Vancouver.

I know the Grizzlies didn't do so well here the first go round, but that was a long time ago, when the Canadian dollar was comparable to the Peso and Vancouver was still a small city aspiring to greatness. This is no longer the case: the Canadian dollar is in way better shape now, so any new franchise wouldn't have that disadvantage.

Vancouver has grown up a lot since '95, when the Grizzlies first came to town. Since then, we have hosted the World Junior Hockey Championships and have the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics coming to town. Vancity is no longer a small city...it is a rapidly expanding metropolis on the West coast. We're ready for some big time teams, I promise!

Not only were economic conditions back in '95 much less ripe, terrible drafting ensured that Vancouver never had a player that got people out of their seats, or into them in the first place. The closest thing we had was Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who was never an explosive, exciting, charismatic player. Just for fun, lets take a look at who was drafted into Vancouver in the first round, and some of the players that could've been had. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but just for fun:

Year                                       Drafted 1st Rd.                                               
     Coulda Had

1995 -------------------------- Bryant "Big Country" Reeves ------------------ Michael Finley, Brent Barry
1996 -------------------------- Shareef Abdur-Rahim -------------------------- Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash
1997 -------------------------- Antonio Daniels ---------------------------------- Tracy Mcgrady
1998 -------------------------- Mike Bibby ------------------------------------------ Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki
1999 -------------------------- Steve Francis -------------------------------------- Lamar Odom, Ron Artest,
2000 -------------------------- Stromile Swift --------------------------------------not much to be honest
2001 -------------------------- Shane Battier -------------------------------------- Joe Johnson


So, while having top 5 picks almost every year for the better part of a decade, Vancouver failed to build a team capable of respectability, let alone playoff basketball. The year that stands out the most is 1996. We take a SF with bad knees over Captain Canada and the second coming of MJ?????

Oh well, I just hope that we get another crack at it soon. Come on NBA, put some symmetry back into the league and let us balance out the Raptors. You guys know you miss those hotly contested Naismith Cups!

I was watching Game 1 of the NBA finals the other night, and something occurred to me.  Is it just me, or should that big championship trophy painted on the court be under the lines of the court? 

Not once, but twice, calls were made regarding the over and back rule and twice the action happened right over the trophy, making it very hard to see what the correct call was.  Now, I don't have access to the game to watch the replays in super-slo-mo, but it kind of looked to me that a) Pau Gasol did not go over and back and b) Kevin Garnett did. 

Whether or not my feelings on these calls are right is unimportant.  What is important is that the NBA makes sure that these games are played fairly, and on a basketball court, not an NBA Finals mural.

Although the freshly commenced Euro 2008 should be dominating soccer headlines, one story is so big that it demands attention, even now. I am referring, of course, to the ongoing transfer saga revolving around arguably the best player in the world, Christiano Ronaldo. Speculation is rife as to whether the talented Portuguese winger will stun Manchester United supporters the world over, and force a move to Real Madrid.

We cannot know what Ronaldo's decision will be, with Spanish newspaper Marca, where much of the rumors of Ronaldo's desire to leave England originate, notorious for printing sensational transfer stories based more on fancy than fact. Couple this with the player's refusal to answer questions on his future for fear of becoming a distraction to his national team, and it is impossible to know for certain where the truth lies

One thing is for sure, that leaving Manchester United now would seem to be rash and ill-advised decision, for many reasons.

1.    Fresh off a campaign which saw them claim both the Premier League and Champion's League trophies, United are poised to build on their success for years to come. The average age of the squad is 28, with the only outfield players of note over 30 being Messrs Giggs and Scholes. Much of the squad is in their peak, or entering into it, with talented youngsters Nani and Anderson providing ready made replacements for the aforementioned Scholes and Giggs. This Manchester United squad, under the steady guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson, one of the greatest club managers of all time, is poised to become a truly great side. One that could conceivably win many more titles over the next few years.

2.    Ronaldo is currently playing in what has undoubtedly become the best league in the world, at least for the time being. The Italian league has yet to recover from its match fixing scandal, while the Spanish league has become a one horse race in recent years, although Barcelona fans will surely disagree. The performance of English sides in this year's Champions League was no accident, and a trend that looks set to continue. By performing as he does in this league, Ronaldo can better stake his claim as the best in the world.

3.    Ronaldo has time on his side. He has stated that to play for Real Madrid is his dream, and who am I to denounce a man's dream. But, it is a dream that will be waiting for him when the time comes. Ronaldo is still quite young at 23, and has many years of football left in him. What he has at United is a perfect situation, he is popular in the dressing room, adored by the fans, valued by his manager, and respected by the footballing world. To give that up for the relative instability of the Bernabeau would be, I think, a mistake. Ronaldo should wait for a better time, perhaps in 3 or 4 years time when Sir Alex retires and he has cemented his place as another legendary United number 7.