Author: Chris McGlynn

Monday Night Preview: Week 2

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL

We are minutes away from seeing the finale to the second week of the NFL season. The Philadelphia Eagles have gone on the road to play the Indianapolis Colts in the latter’s home opener.

The Colts are looking avoid starting the season 0-2 after falling short to the reigning AFC champions, the Denver Broncos. Indy’s defense struggled early against Denver and Philadelphia has the team that can exploit that. However, the Eagles needed a miraculous second half last week against another AFC South team in the Jacksonville Jaguars. After being down 17-0 in the first half, the Eagles scored 34 unanswered to pull off the stunning comeback. The Eagles offense had a tougher time than expected running the ball and Nick Foles had a tough time playing mistake free.

What this all means for tonight is we are going to see two teams looking to get off to a good start. Look for Chuck Pagano to get Andrew Luck off to an efficient start early against a porous Eagles secondary. On the opposite side of the ball, look for the Colts to blitz Foles, challenging him to beat them under pressure with a banged up offensive line.

For the Eagles, expect a lot the play to go through their two speedy (shady) running backs. LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles will be a handful. Also, expect them to get the ball of Foles’ hands quickly with that hurting offensive line. Defensively, the Eagles are going to get creative with their schemes and blitzes trying to confusing Andrew Luck. They know they can bottle up Trent Richardson and that Indy running game.

Expectation: Andrew Luck gets hot late as he always does and proves to be too much for the Eagles secondary. The Eagles try to go too fast a little too often and find that one or two mistakes will kill them. The Colts win in a shootout 34-28.

Round of 16 matchup between Belgium and the United States

Chris McGlynn Soccer, World Cup

The majority of the United States watched today as their men’s national team took on the mighty Germany squad. The U.S. fell to Germany 1-0 but managed to advance to the next round after Christiano Ronaldo ended Ghana’s dreams of advancing with a late goal to give Portugal the win. Ironically, Ronaldo was also the same man who set up the goal that prevented the United States from qualifying last week. Funny how these things happen.

On the flip side, Belgium just wrapped up group play with a 1-0 defeat of South Korea. They won all three of their group play games and sealed the deal as Jan Vertonghen scored the game winner despite playing with only ten men. It was an impressive display of resilience. Belgium looked shaky throughout, but for all the U.S. fans gaining a false sense of hope, know that Belgium means business.

This will be an intense match when these two teams, the United States and Belgium, take the pitch on Tuesday. It is hard to say what the outcome of this game will be based on prior results. Belgium beat the USA in a friendly match in Cleveland last May but that does not mean a whole lot. Belgium won 4-2 but two of their goals were scored by striker Christian Bentenke, who is not playing for Belgium this World Cup due to injury. The United States team also resembles nothing of what it currently looks like today. Eddie Johnson was one of the U.S. strikers and Clarence Gooden started next to Omar Gonzales at center back. Jermaine Jones, Matt Besler and Fabian Johnson all did not play in this game for the U.S. either. This time around should be very different.

Unfortunately for the United States, Belgium is a very good team that has an incredible amount of talent all over the pitch. The American midfielders will really need to step up their game if the U.S. expects to be competitive in this game. They looked very sloppy today as they had too many unforced errors. If they play similar to how they played against Germany today, the U.S. will most definitely be on their way home.

The keys for the United States in this game will be maintaining possession and attacking effectively. Having possession will limit the creativity of the Belgium midfielders and it will give their defense a much-needed reprieve. The U.S. had a record low in terms of possession during their game against Germany. The Germans had possession of the ball for 67.5 percent of the match. You can be sure Jurgen Klinsmann will be discussing that with his players this week. They need to be more efficient when they in a position to attack and work the goalkeeper. There is a possibility that Jozy Altidore will be back for the Round of 16 and the United States will need him if they have any hopes of advancing.

For Belgium, the keys will be moving the ball quickly offensively and spreading the ball out wide for cross opportunities. Belgium is extremely athletic and possesses the ability to kill opponents with their speed. With Eden Hazard and Dries Mertens creating a lot of the Belgium chances, they will be looking place through balls and win one on one battles with U.S. defenders who have been a step slow a couple of times in this World Cup. The other aspect of the game that Belgium could exploit the Americans on is the height they possess. Axel Witzel is 6’1″ and Marouane Fellaini is 6’4″. Together these two should find success in directed headers towards goal and giving the United States a lot to deal with.

Both sets of players will be looking to make a play that will announce to the world that they mean business. It should be a great game.

Landing spots for top NBA free agents

Chris McGlynn Basketball, Draft, NBA

With the NBA draft happening tomorrow night plenty of attention is being directed to who will be picked, and rightfully so. However, the draft, more often than not, is completely hit or miss. Don’t believe me? Take a look at 2007. The first two picks were Kevin Durant and Greg Oden. Both are immensely talented players, more so Durant than Oden, but they were both regarded as excellent picks that could make an impact and likely become all-star caliber players. Durant did, but Oden could never shake the injury bug and because of that, he has had a largely unsuccessful career. Oden ultimately wound up as a reserve player with Miami this year and saw very little court time.

So, that little tangent leads us to where my focus is instead: the proven performers at the NBA level. The 2014 Free Agents. This is quite the class this year with some massive names potentially hitting the open market including Carmelo Anthony, Lance Stephenson, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol and, the biggest name by far, LeBron James. With another year of big names looking to switch teams, this year’s free agent pool will be fun to watch. I am going to address some of the free agents who will be moving this year.

Carmelo Anthony- Not that he could never resign with the Knicks but I think it is unlikely. Melo really wants a ring and will find a contender. He will probably stay in the East just based on how tough the West is historically. Sorry Lakers fans. I think the most likely landing spot would be Chicago. This is a team that is in desperate need of more scoring and the rest of the team plays defense so well that they could make up for Anthony’s lack of skill on that end of the floor. I think having an established coach in Tom Thibodeau and the potential to play with superstars in Derrick Rose (assuming he is healthy) and Joakim Noah. A wildcard to sign Melo would probably be the Charlotte Hornets. The combination of Al Jefferson, Kemba Walker and Melo could be enough to propel this team much further into the playoffs. Maybe he could team up with a big name big man (Zach Randolph) and head there for a shot at a title. Could Michael Jordan pull together a championship team? We will see.

Luol Deng- There is no way he goes back to Cleveland. None. He didn’t fit there and he will be moving on. Where to will be interesting.  I think Deng will end up in Houston or Memphis (if Zach Randolph leaves). Now Deng is clearly not as sexy for Houston as LeBron but he could be a solid starter pairing up with Dwight Howard and giving the Rockets a much needed defensive presence. Memphis seems like a logic fit just because of the nature of play. They run a lot through their big man Marc Gasol and always love to out rebound and out defend their opposition. Deng could gel nicely with Gasol. The wildcard for Deng: he returns to Chicago. I know the team dealt him last year but he is a talented player that fit into the system and allow Chicago to continue to defend the hell out of opponents. It is unlikely but it is a possibility. Lance Stephenson- This might come as a surprise but I think Stephenson will walk away from the Pacers. He fits the system but I think it is clear he wants a bigger role elsewhere. I honestly think he could end up in Charlotte. That would be quite the off-season for MJ if he got Stephenson to pair with Melo and add to the combo of Walker and Jefferson. I think Stephenson would be allowed to operate as a playmaker with the Hornets. It seemed like he wanted to do that in Indiana but simply wasn’t given the opportunity. He also fits the playing style of the Chicago Bulls but I think Charlotte has a better chance of landing him. A dark horse team to sign Stephenson could be the Minnesota Timberwolves. They need an upgrade at shooting guard and they definitely need some help on defense. Money should not be an issue with Kevin Love likely coming off the books. It isn’t being talked about, but I see that as being a logical move.

LeBron James- I saved King James for last because he would be the hardest to pin down. I think he could return to South Beach but more likely, he will return to his birthplace of Ohio. For as sour Cavs fans have been since he spurned them four years ago, they would welcome their prodigal son home with open arms. With Deng likely leaving, the Cavs would have a hole at power forward. Who better to fill it with than the best player in the world? All 30 NBA teams will be in the mix for signing the superstar do-it-all James but a team that I think could jump in without being perceived favorites could be the Boston Celtics. LeBron will be looking to stay in the Eastern Conference and if he and Melo have any real desire to play together, Boston could be the place to do it. They have a young, up and coming coach in Brad Stevens and LeBron and Melo could team up with Rajon Rondo to form the new Big Three in the NBA. Boston is also looking to land a star to please Rondo. Why not land the two biggest stars in the market?

All of this madness will begin in the days following the end of June as free agency opens. Let me know what projections you agree with and which ones I got completely wrong.

How hard is it to repeat?

Chris McGlynn Baseball, Football, MLB, NFL, Soccer, World Cup

The soccer gods really have it out for Spain. They have just become the first defending World Cup champion to be eliminated after the first two matches of group play. Spain and a good part of the world I believe were shocked by the sudden fall of the Spanish national team that was so dominant four years ago. It was not gradual either. Spain entered this tournament still maintaining the number one rank in the world. Suddenly, they have dropped two games by a combined score of seven to one. They were simply blown out of the water by Holland and Chile and it truly looks as if an era has ended for Spain. Andres Iniesta will not be returning, neither will Fernando Torres, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas, Pepe Reina, Xavi Alonso nor David Villa. This team is going to most likely be decimated.

However, this is not unheard of in international soccer anymore. At three of the last four World Cups, including this one, the defending champion has failed to make it out of group play. France, Italy and now Spain have all failed to return to the same form they were in during the previous championship campaign. It is shocking how quickly teams can fall apart.

Believe it or not, over the same time frame (twelve years) the NFL has seen similar problems. Of the twelve Super Bowl winners, starting with the 2001 New England Patriots all the way to the 2013 Baltimore Ravens, only six of those twelve teams even made it back to the playoffs the next year. Additionally, only the Patriots won back-to-back championships in 2003 and 2004. Those six unsuccessful teams fell apart over the course of less than a year and failed to even make it back for a shot at another championship.

Baseball has a very similar story. From the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks to the 2012 San Francisco Giants, only six of those twelve teams have made it back to the postseason the following year. None of them have repeated as champions. Again, only half of the teams who win a championship one year even make it back to the playoffs the next year. Baseball only has 10 of its team making the playoffs, the fewest of any major sport, making it even harder to make it back to the playoffs the following season.

I was surprised to see this trend across more than one sport. A lot of the issues with repeating as champions can be traced to lack of desire or drive. That edge you have when seeking that championship the first time around fades often times going into the next campaign as teams become complacent and rest on their laurels. Another key aspect is players looking for more money. This happens more in the NFL and MLB than in international soccer. Players who have a successful run in the playoffs look for more money and often become unaffordable.

This doesn’t completely explain the ass-kicking Spain got in the first two games but it certainly helps to identify where the issues may have started. Let me know your theories as to why the Spanish fell so far so fast.

Expanding goal line technology

Chris McGlynn Soccer, World Cup

I just read yet another reaction to the controversial and widely regarded as incorrect penalty awarded to Brazil’s Fred in the World Cup opener against Croatia. All of this talk has gotten me thinking about whether FIFA should find a way to solve this from happening. I keep hearing how it is part of the game and it keeps the human element but it does not seem right to me.

In many ways, I feel like Croatia was cheated of a chance to beat Brazil. Would if not have been more beneficial to introduce replay capabilities to review the legitimacy of penalties. I think it would make sense to add it. It would eliminate any bias or uncertainty from the official. It also would not make much of a difference to have the review. The official can simply add stoppage time to compensate for it. It seems only like a logical progression. Every other major sport utilizes replay technology, which is more than accessible.

It also helps in other situations as well. After watching Mexico play Cameroon and seeing on two separate occasions a goal wrongly disallowed for Mexico. Mexico eventually won the game 1-0 but what if they hadn’t. If somehow Cameroon had scored in the game and forced a draw, Mexico loses out on two points in the world’s biggest competition. They would have been robbed of a win they should have had. If the wrongly disallowed goals were reviewable and overturned then it wouldn’t be an issue.

I only see this benefitting soccer. It adds even more integrity to the game as now teams cannot win on a technicality or a mistake from an official. It makes the game much more fair. Not to mention no longer has to make embarrassing apologies for poor officiating. I don’t see a downside to this either. They could use the same technology that ESPN has on every play involving offsides, which clearly shows the correct call. FIFA has already embraced this integration of technology with the new goal line technology. It only seems like the next logical step.

Those are my thoughts on it. Let me know what you think.