TRINITY SCHOOL’S PREMIER SPORTS MAGAZINE
GAMETIME VOLUME 02 | ISSUE 01
OVERWATCH THE NEXT BIG ESPORT?
WINTER 2017
USAIN BOLT AHEAD OF HIS TIME
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DURANT: HEROES OR VILLAINS
Mahtab Shihab
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
It’s that time of the year again folks! With the weather cold and snowy, and the doldrums of the middle of the school year upon us, look no further than the second issue of Trinity’s premier sports magazine, GameTime, for memories of warmer, happier times. Whether you want a recap of one of the most exciting Summer Olympics in history, or an objective opinion of the most controversial free agent decision since LeBron James took his talents to South Beach, Gametime has you covered. Once again, our gratitude goes out to Mr. Schmidt, our faculty advisor, and the administration for making GameTime a conceivable reality. If you’re interested in writing for our spring issue, be sure to reach out to our staff of editors. Hope y’all have a blast reading about the most exciting issues in the sports world!
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WHY USAIN BOLT IS AHEAD OF HIS TIME
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IS OVERWATCH THE NEXT BIG ESPORT
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TOM BRADY IS OVERRATED
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THE REBIRTH OF THE YANKEES
RUNNINGMAGAZINE.CA, MAKERS.COM, SPORTSNAUT.COM, REALTOR.COM, AZJEWISHPOST.COM, NEWSWEEK.COM, PERFORMGROUP.COM, WETPAINT.COM, CSNNW.COM, WORDPRESS. COM, INDEPENDENT.CO.UK, BUSINESSINSIDER.COM, PRESSHERALD.COM, THECOMEBACK.COM, IBTIMES.COM, FANSIDED. COM, GAME7NETWORK.COM, COCNOTICIAS.COM, THESPORTSCOL.COM,
Editors-in-chief
Mahtab Shihab Will Cramer
Creative director
Jeremy Ben-Meir
Editors
Jeremy Ben-Meir Jake Fisher Andrew Kornfeld Rayyan Sarker Michael Vassallo
Contributors
Omar Abdelhamid Deen Amanat Stephen Andryc Jake Fisher Alec Kahn Jason Kauppila Charlie McCollum Arnold Nam Henry Puopolo Mit Ramesh Joelle Ramson Mahtab Shihab
GAMETIME
Heroes and Villains Deen Amanat Kevin Durant robbed us all blind this summer. He stole from us one of the most beloved and respected personalities in all of sports: himself. KD, throughout his nine-year career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, has long been recognized as the epitome of an amiable, praiseworthy, and respectable player of the league. Off the court, he has been an extremely active member in both his community, by developing childhood obesity prevention programs with the city council to benefit the local youth of Oklahoma City, and NBA Cares, an organization run by the NBA that allows players to address important social issues around the world through handson service. On the court, in addition to having four scoring titles and an MVP to boast, Durant is an incredible leader and player-coach. Nevertheless, he is just about the most humble guy that one can imagine. When asked about his charming character by the New York Times back in 2012, he responded, “I’m just being me, man. […] Just being nice to people and enjoying what I do.” On top of his personality, the hardships faced by Durant make his achievements all the more admirable. From a young age, Durant dealt with an abandoning father, a young and inexperienced 21 year old mother, and general household instability. Moreover, his AAU coach, Charles Craig, was murdered at the young age of 35, which is the number that he wears to this day. It is fair to say that most would call Durant an inspiration for overcoming the bad hand he’s been dealt, and managing to flourish. Now flash forward to June 5th, 2016, when the Durantula answered the extremely hyped question of where he was taking his talents for the 2016-2017 season. His response was shocking: the Golden State Warriors. The entire basketball nation was in distress, wondering how this trustworthy guy could take the cop-out move of joining the most lethal offense in the league to get the ring that he could not earn himself. It was outrageous. It was cowardly. It was unfair. But for the small minority, it was expected. The real Kevin Durant is not the man we all ‘know’ and love, nor the angel portrayed by the media; that is not a secret, and it never has been. Take the All-Star break of 2015, when Durant was asked about the speculation that head coach Scott Brooks’ job might be in jeopardy. “You guys really don’t know [anything]. […] So I really don’t care. Y’all not my friends,” he told reporters. Then, following his touching MVP acceptance speech, memes of Durant began to pop up all over the Internet, and he lashed out again exclaiming, “I was like, man, that was a real emotional moment for me, and you making a joke about it! Like: Damn. Y’all don’t really believe in s**t.” These actions make it enticing to dismiss the narrative of ‘the nice guy’ surrounding Durant, especially in light of his recent decision to join the Warriors. It’s not hard to see the reasons why many entirely dismissed whatever respect they had for him before. We—the media, the fans, and the league—placed Durant on a pedestal so high, with such great expectations, that no one could have
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possibly met them. This past season Kevin Durant had just enough of it. However, while it is acceptable to reverse our opinions on Durant, we cannot just ignore all the righteousness that he has stood for, so we all must ask ourselves this question: can we blame him? As for his unprofessional behavior, Durant was, and still is, a young man in his twenties, grappling with the never-ending self-reconciliation that every human being is working through, albeit on a much larger stage than all of us. If any regular person were thrust onto a platform as large as the one he stands on, they would likely slip up from time to time too. And as for his decision to leave the Thunder for the Warriors, there’s this: Durant has been in second his entire life. He was the second child, the second-best player in high school, the second pick in the draft, second in MVP voting three times, and second in the NBA finals his MVP year. The moment he reaches for getting a ring and reaches for being first, we all turn our backs on him. Now that is not fair. The criticism isn’t just coming from the fans though: NBA greats are raining their fury down on KD from up high as well. It’s one salty remark after another, and most of it isn’t even justified. Take this NBA player, who, just after the news came out, said on SiriusXM that players these days are not “as hungry or competitive as my generation was”. What is so hypocritical about this statement is that it came from Paul Pierce, a player who, if you didn’t already know, formed a superteam of his own with the Boston Celtics back in the 2007-2008 season. To blast Durant for his move when Pierce did the same thing just a few years ago is
outright unfair. However, Pierce isn’t alone, as former stars like Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller, who never won any titles, and current stars like Damian Lillard and Markieff Morris, who never had to make any decision comparable to Durant’s, have similar critiques. Consequently, they have no right to take the moral high ground in this situation. These guys are winners, and, if they had to face a decision like this one, they would likely follow the same path that Durant did. Durant, to his credit, has been quietly taking the hate and focusing on what matters most to him: basketball. His teammate Draymond Green, however, has not been nearly as silent as Durant on these comments. Just the day after Pierce made his comments, Green made this notable point: “Nobody talk junk about the CEO who leaves Apple and goes to Google. [...] He is the CEO of that business. So him going to play basketball for a different team, the CEO decided to leave where he was at and go somewhere else.” This is a valid point, although a more apt analogy would be a comparison to a highly skilled engineer being sought after by many different companies. That engineer makes the best decision based on what is good for him, and Green points out that the NBA shouldn’t be any different. However, my opinion is not a popular one, and many fans will continue to loathe Durant for many years to come no matter the success he achieves in Golden State. So it seems that, even in the case of Kevin Durant, the pride of the NBA, one proverb will always hold true: you either retire a hero, or play long enough to see yourself become the villain.
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GAMETIME
US Dominates Olympic Gymnastics Joelle Ramson The US women’s gymnastics team has been the dominant force in the sport since the Soviet Union last won an Olympic team gold in 1988. Since 2011, the US women’s team has been the undefeated world and Olympic champions. Going into the Rio Olympics this summer, the experience of the five-member team, with two Olympic veterans and four members of the 2015 gold medal World Championship team, made the U.S a force to be reckoned with. The 2016 Rio US Olympic team included Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas, veterans of the 2012 Olympic team which captured gold in the team competition; Laurie Hernandez; Madison Kocian; and Simone Biles. Aly Raisman, the oldest member at 22 years old, previously captured gold in the floor exercise, bronze on the balance beam, and closely lost a tiebreaker for a medal in the all-around finals in 2012. Gabby Douglas won the acclaimed title of the individual all-around champion in 2012. Madison Kocian, competing as an uneven bar specialist for the current 2016 team, competed on two gold medal world championship teams and is the reigning world champion on the uneven bars. Laurie Hernandez, the youngest team member, at age 16 won the junior all-around title in 2015. Although she had virtually no international experience before the 2016 Olympics, Hernandez garnered acclaim this year as the run-
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ner-up to the US national all-around title. Lastly, Simone Biles whose elegance and prowess astounds the world, graced the US team with her presence as she entered the games holding four US national all-around titles and three World Champion all-around titles. The team was locked and loaded and ready to dominate the scene in Rio. Gymnastics competition consists of team and individual competitions. The preliminaries commence with a team qualification round in which each team vies for one of eight spots to compete in the finals. The US completed the qualification round with a 9.959 point lead (meaning the US could have potentially fallen nine times and still have come out on top) over China, whereas the rest of the teams were separated by mere tenths. Even though the slate is wiped clean for the final rounds, the US set a dominating presence entering day two of the competition. The preliminaries also began the individual competitions, which included the all-around competition, in which the top twenty-four gymnasts qualified to compete in the finals. The individual competitions also included the event qualifications in which the top eight gymnasts on each apparatus qualified into a specific event final. The current rule allows only two athletes from each country to qualify into an individual final (two for the all-round and two per event final). This year, although Douglas placed in the top three for the all-around competition (with Biles and Raisman in first and second respectively), she was unable to defend her title in the finals. At the end of the preliminaries, Biles qualified in the top spot on vault, beam, and floor; Raisman qualified second on floor; Hernandez qualified second on beam; Kocian qualified first on bars; and Douglas qualified third on bars. Day two of competition was the team final, where eight teams competed to achieve glory for their respective country. The performance of the US
was practically flawless, scoring the most points, not just collectively, but also on each event. The final standings were: the US in first, Russia in second, and China in third. The US dominance over the other countries was exhibited by an 8.209 point lead over Russia, whereas China was behind Russia by just .685 points.
podium. Even though Kocian had qualified in the top spot in the preliminaries, Mustafina was right at her heels. Unfortunately, Douglas made an uncharacteristic mistake at the top of her routine, which landed her in seventh place. Kocian, with some minor errors throughout the routine, took home the silver medal, just .066 points behind Mustafina.
Day three was the individual all-around competition, where the top twenty-four gymnasts battled it out for the revered title of all-around champion. Biles, of course, was the heavy favorite coming into the games, but the real competition was in the battle for silver. In 2012, Aliya Mustafina of Russia beat Raisman out for the bronze in a tie-breaker. Coming into the final in Rio, Mustafina and Raisman once again battled it out for a top spot. In the first event, vault, the Americans dominated as usual with both Biles and Raisman performing one of the most difficult vaults being executed that day. Going into the second rotation on the uneven bars, the Americans were in first and second. However, Mustafina exemplified to the judges the grace and exquisite execution on the uneven bars that the Russians are known for, which left her ahead of both Raisman and Biles in the second rotation. Biles, however, regained some ground during the third rotation on beam, and she returned to her accustomed position in first. Unfortunately, even with Mustafina’s costly mistakes on the beam, Raisman was unable to take over the second spot. The final rotation, the floor exercise, is one of the United States’ highest scoring events. In the end, Biles dominated the field once again, resulting in her second gold medal of the games. Raisman put on a show-stopping performance, receiving her long awaited place on the podium right behind her teammate with a silver medal.
The final event was the floor exercise, the most exciting and lively event of the games. Raisman was competing in hopes of defending her title of Olympic champion on floor, and Biles for her fifth medal of the games. Raisman grabbed the silver and Biles received the gold with her outstanding execution throughout the most difficult routine of the day.
With a few days rest, the athletes were ready to compete in the next part of the competition: individual event finals. The first event was vault, where Biles received a gold medal. The next event was the uneven bars where Douglas, Kocian and Mustafina fought it out for a place on the
Even before making the Olympic team, there was talk about whether Simone Biles can claim the title of the greatest gymnast of all time. It is difficult to compare Biles with former gymnasts, since judging has vastly changed throughout the years. Up until 2005, gymnastics was scored with one panel of the judges on a 10.0 scale, where judges would start at a 10.0 and deduct points from mistakes in the gymnast’s execution (i.e. pointed toes, bent legs, amplitude, etc.). Presently, there are two panels of judges: one who scores the execution starting from 10.0 and deducting points, and another panel which judges the difficulty of the routine starting from 0 and adding up to 10. The two scores are then combined to receive the final point total. In order to prevent the sport becoming a sort of “X-Games” which emphasizes the most difficult skills, the execution deduction points were increased (e.g. a fall was changed from .8 to a full point), in an effort to preserve the artistry aspect. What made Biles so dominant is her ability to perform routines of the highest difficulty, while receiving very few deductions. Today, Biles is unquestionably the greatest gymnast in the world. Nevertheless, compared to someone like Nadia Comaneci, who in 1976, was the first gymnast to ever score a perfect 10 in the Olympics, Biles still has competition for the acclaimed title of greatest gymnast ever.
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GAMETIME
Messi and Ronaldo Summer Omar Abdelhamid The summer of 2016 was home to the two largest international soccer competitions other than the World Cup: The UEFA European Championship and the Copa America Centenario. Both tournaments had their fair share of memorable and surprising moments, such as Iceland’s upset win over former World Cup Champion England, Spain’s failure to qualify for the Euro Championship, the United States’ journey into the semi-finals of the Copa America, and Chile’s 7-0 semi-final humiliation of Mexico. Nothing, however, was as surprising and thrilling as the finals that concluded both tournaments. In Europe, the final match was between Portugal and France. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal had struggled out of the group stages without winning a single match in regulation time until the semifinals against Wales. The French players, on the other hand, were in top form after beating World Cup champions Germany 2-0. Many considered France to be the winner before the game even began. Things looked even more hopeless for Portugal just 24 minutes in, after a strong challenge from Payet sent Cristiano Ronaldo off the pitch for good in hopeless frustration. At that point, many thought a victory for Portugal would be impossible. However, a solid defense, spearheaded by Ronaldo’s Real Madrid teammate Pepe, as well as an unlucky French side that came close to scoring on many occasions, helped Portugal rally for the win. Eder won the game for Portugal after an emotional, heated, and thrilling 109 minutes on the counter attack, making this the first major international championship for Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo. At MetLife Stadium, the exact opposite occurred for one of the game’s greatest. In the match between Argentina and Chile, Argentina was favored to win. Five time Golden Ball winner Lionel Messi looked to be in his usual exceptional Barcelona form for the entire tournament. Having achieved a victory over Chile even without Leo in the group stages, a victory for Messi after a career long international drought seemed inevitable. After a heated 120 minutes for both sides, including many chances at goal, (most notably Higuain’s one-on-one with the goalkeeper that he missed, just like he has in Argentina’s two other tournament finals in the last three years) it all came down to penalty kicks. In the end, Lionel Messi cracked under the pressure and sent the ball flying wide of the goal. This left a Chile team consisting of stars like Claudio Bravo, Arturo Vidal, and Alexis Sanchez victorious for the second Copa America in a row. For a long time Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been easily accepted as the best players in the world. However, many fans believe that in order for a player to be considered to be the best of all time, they need more than the countless victories with their club that both players have been able to produce; they also need the international victory. Pele, Maradona, Zidane, Ronaldinho are all legends who have an international trophy, or a few, to their names. Now, as Cristiano Ronaldo adds his name to that list, he solidifies his legacy in both the international and club level branches of the sport. Many believe that for Messi, clinching the World Cup in Russia in 2018 is his last chance for him to cement his legacy and to be considered the best soccer player of all time.
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GAMETIME
Top Ten Surprises of the MLB Season Henry Puopolo
Shelby Miller for Dansby Swanson Trade. Dansby Swanson was the number one overall pick of last year’s MLB draft, but despite his obvious value as a prospect, the Arizona Diamondbacks sent him to the Atlanta Braves. In return, they received pitcher Shelby Miller. He had a solid performance in his 2015 campaign, garnering a 3.02 ERA and a 1.2 WHIP. However, Miller did not continue this level of play in 2016, suffering an abysmal 7.14 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. It is unclear if Miller will be able to recover from his disappointing play and return to his former 2015 self in the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, in Atlanta, Swanson has already begun his MLB career and remains under Braves’ control until 2023. Yankees Retiring. In only one week, two veteran New York Yankees announced their retirement. Injury ridden first baseman Mark Teixeira, who posted a dismal .204 Batting Average, retired after the 2016 season. Alex Rodriguez, who conjured up a mere .200 Batting Average, ended his career on August 12th. While these sudden retirements mean the loss of two twenty-first century Yankee greats, it provides the team with an opportunity to rebuild with some of their prospects. For example, A-Rod’s retirement means the call ups of Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin. Both of them, at least from their recent performances, have proven themselves as bright spots in the Yankees’ future. Kansas City Royals. Despite being the reigning World Series Champions, the Royals finished the season ranked a mere third in the American League Central Division. They finished with a record of 81-81. The only reason they ever had a winning record this season is because of their divisional games. Against teams not in the AL Central they had an overall losing record. KC’s main issue is their pitching, as their cumulative team ERA rests at 4.01, among the lower levels of the MLB. Michael Fulmert. Major League Baseball has seen a serious shift to younger players in recent weeks. While the aforementioned Yankees rookies have certainly made a splash, it
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has been New York Mets’ Michael Fulmer, who fans might remember from the Yoenis Cespedes trade deal, who has really stood out. The starting pitcher has an impressive 2.69 ERA, second in the MLB only to Cole Hamels. He amassed a solid 11-7 Record. This rookie has a very bright future that Mets fans can all look forward too. Houston Astros. The Houston Astros, despite being headed by lots of young talent that excelled last year, struggled this season as a team. The Astros are ranked 24th in the MLB in terms of batting average, and although being in the top 15 in runs scored, they are still behind their division rival, a strong Texas Rangers team. The Rangers finished 11 games ahead of Houston and won the division. The Astros, yet again, have to watch the postseason from home. Matt Harvey. Matt Harvey had a great 2015 season, leading the young Mets pitching staff through the playoffs, and all the way to the World Series. However, 2016 was not kind to him, as he fell to a 4.86 ERA and a 4-10 record—stats that seem to reflect a different pitcher entirely. His lackluster season came to an unfortunate close when he had surgery and was moved to the 60 day DL, effectively ending his season. Hopefully, for Mets fans, he will be able to come back strong and build upon his stellar 2015 accomplishments. Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz. Despite very new and promising talent in Boston, veterans Pedroia and Ortiz defied all expectations by having great seasons. Pedroia was limited to only 93 games in 2015, but he came back with a vengeance (take notes Matt Harvey) as he sat 2nd in the American league and 6th in the MLB in batting average. David Ortiz, whose glorious 20 year career came to an end this season, is now the oldest player to reach 30 home runs in a season, showing that his power has not declined with age. He is currently ranked 19th of all time in HRs with 533. Both these players led a young Red Sox team to winning the AL East.
Gary Sanchez. Gary Sanchez, another call-up from the Yankees minor leagues after the two retirement announcements, is a catcher who possesses a combination of defensive and offensive prowess that is extremely rare. Sanchez hit 11 home runs faster than anyone in MLB history, doing so in just 23 games. Oddly enough, he hit only 10 in 234 at-bats at AAA this year. Sanchez is part of the “new” Yankees team that sold Aroldis Chapman (Cubs), Andrew Miller (Indians), and Carlos Beltre (Rangers). He and the other youngsters mentioned earlier helped to propel the Yankees to be, at one point, within 4 games of the American League Wild-Card in a year that nobody expected them to be in contention. Bartolo Colon’s Hitting. The hitting of pitcher Bartolo Colon has only gotten better throughout the year. Bartolo hit his first home run this year, and, more exciting, had his second career multi-hit game. Both of these feats are unprecedented stats for pitchers. August 27th is a date that will go down in history, as Bartolo hit both a double and single (scoring afterwards both times). The last time Colon had a multi hit game was August 9th, 2002, with the Montreal Expos (who played their last game in 2005, before relocating to Washington as the Nationals). At this rate, one can only assume Bartolo’s first grand-slam is going to happen sometime soon. Kyle Hendricks. The Chicago Cubs’ past rebuilding plan had consisted of finding great hitters, and letting their pitching figure itself out. This odd strategy worked out extremely well, as Jake Arrieta came out of nowhere to win the Cy-Young award last year, and Kyle Hendricks quietly tore up the league in only his second full season. Hendricks currently leads the National League and MLB in ERA, and is second in WHIP in both the NL and MLB. Despite throwing a modest 89 mph fastball, the main reason for his success is his ability to paint corners and throw precise strikes. He has now become embedded in a very strong Cubs Starting Rotation that has not only Arrieta, but also Jon Lester and John Lackey.
Jake Fisher’s Racewalking Roundup Jake Fisher
Ah, the Olympics. For some, it means a chance to watch the best athletes in the world or root for your home country (Go Vatican City!), but for myself and like-minded folks who like running but just think it’s too darn fast, it’s a time to watch the best racewalking around. Here’s my recap of this summer’s excitement.
China was the big winner this year, taking two of the three racewalking golds. Wang Zhen won first in the men’s 20k, and Liu Hong went for gold in the women’s 20k. It just goes to show that if you have a population of 1.3 billion, you’re bound to have at least two people who are good at walking really quickly. Meanwhile, in the men’s 50k category, Matej Tótht from Slovakia, the Garfunkel to the Czech Republic’s Simon, got 1st place with a time of 3 hours, 40 minutes, and 58 seconds! What an incredible feat! I’m sure some of my U.S.-based readers will be eager to know how the old stars and stripes did this year. In the men’s 50k, John Nunn won a modest 43rd place and in the women’s 20k, Maria Michta-Coffey placed 22nd. Some may have been disappointed, but most were not, because they didn’t watch. Of course, we all remember the most riveting drama this year, with Japan’s Hirooki Arai’s getting disqualified for the bronze for bumping Canada’s Evan Dunfee towards the end of the men’s 50k. A pleased Dunfee then took Arai’s spot, but only for so long, as Japan filed an appeal and the disqualification was overturned. Maybe next time, Evan.
And that’s it for Rio in racewalking. Now we can spend four years thinking about the excitement that’s to come to Tokyo in 2020. Remember to keep those feet on the ground, Jake Fisher
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GAMETIME
Making History Alec Kahn Michael Phelps’ 16-year Olympic run comes to an end with 5 gold medals and 1 silver at the age of 31 in this year’s Olympic Games. His impressive medal run and domination in the sport has caused many to refer to him as the “G.O.A.T.” (greatest of all time). Indeed, Phelps is most definitely one of the best, if not the best, Olympic swimmer the world has ever seen, and at 28 Olympic medals (23 gold), he ranks among the best athletes in history. Many argue that he is the best athlete of all time, enforced by his countless records for most Olympic medals, most individual golds (13), and most golds in one Olympics (8). However, the playing field for earning medals is not equal across sports. Basketball, tennis, soccer, volleyball, water polo, and many others have only 1 medal opportunity per sport, and even gymnastics has only 6 medal opportunities for women and 8 for men. Despite this, Phelps’ medal run still puts him amongst the greatest athletes of all time, for no other swimmer so far could touch his dominance, and many great swimmers of his time lie in his great shadow. Phelps claims that this Olympics was his last and that his run has finally come to an end, but many find that hard to believe: he is a medal-winning addict who just can not stay away from the pool. On the women’s side of Olympic swimming, Katie Ledecky leads the way with complete dominance in freestyle. At the young age of 15 at the London Olympics in 2012, she won her first individual gold in the 800 meter freestyle. She returned to Rio with more confidence and a greater event inventory, favored to win in the 200, 400, and 800, along with being placed into both the 4x100 and 4x200 freestyle relays. She won gold in all three individual events and the 4x200 relay, settling for only a silver in the 4x100 relay. However, even more impressive than her medal streak was the absolute dominance with which she won her events. She finished the 800 racing against nobody but her own world record (which she broke): her competitors were offscreen at the end of the race. It appeared that nobody could compete with Ledecky at Rio, and she definitively established herself among the greataest swimmers of all time. As Ledecky dominated in mid-distance to distance freestyle, American Simone Manuel made history as the first African-American swimmer to win an individual gold, as she tied Canadian Penny Oleksiak in the 100 meter freestyle. She finished with gold in the 100m freestyle, gold in the 400m medley relay, silver in the 50m freestyle, and silver in the 4x100 freestyle relay. All in all, USA swimming had a very strong Olympics, with many Americans placing themselves among the greats.
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Fantasy Football Jason Kauppila The fantasy football season is upon us once again. While a nation of fantasy football fanatics drafts their teams, I would like to offer a little insight as the reigning champion of a league myself. So here is a list of five busts to steer clear of and five steals that could potentially win you a fantasy football championship: Bust: Matt Jones, RB, Washington Redskins, ESPN Overall Rank: 59. Jones is projected to go in a semi-low round, but I still don’t trust him enough to draft him. The amount of questions surrounding him is scary, and his fumble problem is worrisome. He also averaged just 2.5 yards per carry last season. Staying away from Jones in your drafts is a safe play. Steal: Melvin Gordon, RB, San Diego Chargers, ESPN Overall Rank: 62. Gordon had a whopping zero touchdowns as a rookie last season, and was basically outplayed by Danny Woodhead. This year, however, the former first-round pick looks to show off his impressive speed after an offseason of working out with Adrian Peterson. With a new and improved offensive line, Gordon has RB1 potential and is primed for a great year. Bust: Thomas Rawls, RB, Seattle Seahawks, ESPN Overall Rank: 34. Rawls emerged last year after Marshawn Lynch got injured, breaking out in a big way with 5.6 yards per carry last season. This year, many fantasy owners are taking him quite high on draft boards. The risk that comes with Rawls is the heavy competition he faces on his own team, headed by Christine Michael. Be cautious of choosing Rawls early in your drafts. Steal: Christine Michael, RB, Seattle Seahawks, ESPN Overall Rank: 130. Michael had an extraordinary preseason this year for the Seahawks. With the departure of Marshawn Lynch to retirement, Michael has a chance to surpass Thomas Rawls and start at RB this season. Michael is someone you can take relatively late in drafts, but make sure you don’t let him get away. He could put up big numbers this year. Bust: Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers, ESPN Overall Rank: 43. Last year, when Jordy Nelson went down, Cobb was expected to have WR1 production. Instead, Cobb’s catch rate and yards per reception dropped dramatically compared to when Nelson was the main option. Don’t look for Cobb to have a WR1 or a WR2 year this season, as some drafts suggest he will. With Jordy Nelson returning, he is a WR3 at best.
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GAMETIME
Steal: Sterling Shepard, WR, New York Giants, ESPN Overall Rank: 85. Shepard has impressed at the Giants’ camp thus far. He is an outstanding route runner, but he will be paid less attention to than he deserves, with teammate Odell Beckham Jr. as a top receiver in the league. Expect him to contribute in a WR-friendly offense in a big way. Bust: Jeremy Maclin, WR, Kansas City Chiefs, ESPN Overall Rank: 42. Maclin is the top receiver on a Chiefs team that does not have many established pass catchers on its roster. Yes, he will be thrown to many times, but his pass thrower, Alex Smith, is ranked outside the top 25 QB’s by ESPN. This is certainly not a recipe for success for Maclin. He is no longer a major deep threat, and he has a relatively low ceiling. You should only take him if he slides down draft boards on draft night. Steal: Eric Ebron, TE, Detroit Lions, ESPN Overall Rank: 140. Ebron has shown signs of production in his first two seasons in the league, and he is an established Red-Zone threat for Detroit. As the 10th pick of the 2014 draft, he looks to receive more targets, especially since the retire-
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ment of Calvin Johnson leaves a hole in Detroit’s offense. He has the potential to be a producer at the Tight-End position for cheap. Bust: Jeremy Hill, RB, Cincinnati Bengals, ESPN Overall Rank: 41. It is unlikely Hill will match his 11 rushing TDs he scored last season, which was the only thing that kept his owners satisfied. He put up a meager 3.6 yards per carry last year, and he currently has the consistent performance of Giovani Bernard to fight off as well. He is a risky selection if you are looking for a RB2. Steal: Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins, ESPN Overall Rank: 132. Cousins played brilliantly over the last 10 games of last season, throwing for 23 TDs, dealing with just 3 interceptions in that span. He has an array of weapons to throw to, including Jordan Reed and DeSean Jackson, and he led the league with a=--69.8 completion percentage. Having Cousins as a QB1 is a solid choice, and because he is listed to go so late in drafts, you’ll have the opportunity to build a dangerous team before you even have to consider drafting him as your QB.
Why Usain Bolt is Ahead of his Time Mahtab Shihab The question of Usain Bolt’s dominance is no longer whether he is the greatest track and field athlete of all time, but just how far ahead of the rest of the field he is. In case you’ve been living under a rock, Usain Bolt capped off the unprecedented triple-triple by winning gold medals in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m, at three straight Olympic Games. To achieve such dominance for such an extended period of time is unheard of in the world of sprinting. Not only does Bolt continue to win year after year, but also he makes it seem more and more effortless. While everyone else is writhing in pain as they make their way to the finish, Bolt just smiles and looks back at how far ahead he is. Now that his competitive career is nearing its end, it is time to look at his proper place in the annals of the world’s greatest athletes.
continuously at a relatively steady pace, with the record only decreasing by .07 seconds in two decades. Then, in 2009, Bolt demolished his own world record of 9.69 seconds by an unfathomable .11 seconds, a feat seemingly impossible for a human being at this day and age. It is suffice to say that Bolt’s records should be more than secure for the foreseeable future. Now that Usain Bolt’s dominance has been illustrated, how does he fare against other supreme athletes: the Phelpses, the Jordans, and the Federers of the world? The case for Bolt resides with
being known as the fastest human to ever inhabit the planet. Not only that, but also the gap between him and everyone else is unprecedented for any athlete and their accomplishments in their respective sports. However, other than his unquestionable speed, Bolt is rather one-dimensional as far as his skillset as an athlete goes. Athletes like Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson possessed worldclass speed, agility, leaping ability, and mental awareness. Other athletes such as Michael Phelps are renowned for their versatility in their respective sport. To no fault of his own, Bolt’s premier talent resides with sprinting and sprinting alone.
In his own sport, Usain Bolt really has no competitors. Jesse Owens, known for his incredible feats at the 1936 Games by putting Hitler in his place, does not have times that are reasonably comparable to that of Bolt. Carl Lewis, who also happens to have nine gold medals, was a multi-faceted track and field athlete who used his prowess in the long jump to attain such success. While Bolt does not have Lewis’s versatility, Carl Lewis lacks the consistent reign of success that Bolt has put forth in the last decade. Other notable runners, such as Ben Johnson, Justin Gatlin, and Tyson Gay, have been plagued by doping scandals, diminishing the authenticity of their accomplishments. Bolt’s own Jamaican teammates, Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake, might have given him a run for his money, were they not hindered by injuries that inhibited their utmost potential. As a result, Usain Bolt has been the best ever at what he does, and by quite a margin. However, in the unpredictable world of track and field, with technology and medical advancements developing at a breakneck pace, records are prone to being broken more now than ever before. In these last Olympics alone, Michael Johnson’s seventeen year old 400m was shockingly broken by South African phenom Wayde Van Niekerk. The prospect of a sub-43 second 400m, once a delusional fantasy, is on the verge of becoming a reality. Thus, it appears reasonable that Usain Bolt’s incredible records in the 100m and the 200m are bound to be broken some time in the near future. If only Usain Bolt adhered to the norms. However, according to 1843 Magazine, Usain Bolt’s 100m time of 9.58 seconds was not supposed to happen for at least another three decades. Before Bolt came into prominence, the 100m record was broken
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Muhammad Ali: A Legacy Beyond the Ring Mahtab Shihab
Muhammad Ali, whose accolades rival that of any prominent sports figure, established himself as one of the most decorated athletes of all time. Achieving fifty-six wins, three heavyweight titles, and an Olympic gold medal, Muhammad Ali stood at the pinnacle of the boxing world throughout his twenty-one year tenure in the ring. However, despite his prosperity and eminence as a boxer, Muhammad Ali has become even more renowned as a transcendent humanitarian whose conscientiousness on issues of race, religion, and politics profoundly altered the public perception regarding the capabilities of minority figures. His audacity and courage paved the way for countless individuals to pursue their coveted paths of life. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Ali grew up in a time when discrimination against blacks was ubiquitous and commonplace. The societal standards for black people were inferior and meager. According to the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, “blacks were the servant class in Louisville.” They had no materialistic expectations and held positions in which they subjugated themselves to the desires of wealthier, white individuals. Ali’s parents in particular, had menial jobs that stimulated his struggle to attain a position of preeminence. Muhammad Ali’s father painted signs and billboards while his mother worked trivial domestic jobs. Even during his youth, Ali was cognizant of the intrinsic prejudices that contributed to the socioeconomic discrepancies between minorities and white people. Always having an inherent recognition of social injustice, Ali revolutionized the role athletes had in sociopolitical issues with his stance against the Vietnam War. Following his controversial conversion to Islam, Ali refused induction into the United States Armed Forces on account of his religious beliefs. During the tumultuous era of the 1960’s, plagued by the ongoing battle of civil rights and equality for African Americans, Ali, a black, Muslim
man contradicts the status quo of society to stand up for his own, individual beliefs. He paid the price for his actions by getting stripped of his elusive titles, serving four years in prison, and agitating the vast majority of White America. However, in doing so, Ali became a voice not only for Blacks and Muslims, but also for all of those who were against the “system”. Ali helped reveal the flaws within America’s societal psyche regarding war. By asserting his position with his famous words of “I ain’t got no quarrel with no Vietcong,” he added a humane element to the Vietnam War that most Americans previously had not known about. Ali’s outspokenness about how the war conflicted with his moral compass brought recognition towards humanitarian issues that came with the war. He exposed the hypocrisy of how America induced its poor people to serve in a fruitless war that would only result in other poor people getting killed. He supplanted the ideals of nationalism that had previously been the be all, end all to justify America’s actions. Furthermore, the significance of his actions heightened because he was a individual of color. By garnering respect from all audiences, Muhammad Ali demonstrated that the ability to speak up for one’s own beliefs was not just a right relegated to white people, but one that applied to everyone. Following his career in boxing and his sociopolitical involvement in the 60’s and 70’s, Muhammad Ali continued to advocate for social equality with his altruism and charitable deeds. He became entrenched in his religious readings of the Quran and used his Islamic teachings to promote morality. From involving himself in peace treaties and negotiations to inspiring a myriad of athletes to follow in his footsteps, Ali remained impactful up to his final days. Despite memorable and outstanding achievements in the boxing world, it is what Ali did beyond the ring that is truly the stuff of legends.
Is Overwatch the Next Big eSport? Arnold “Challenger” Nam
Overwatch, released this May, was one of the most anticipated games of 2016 ever since Blizzard Entertainment first announced the release at BlizzCon 2014. A combination of the class-based action of Valve’s Team Fortress 2 and the high-level strategy of Riot Games’ League of Legends, Overwatch is Blizzard Entertainment’s first attempt at a first person shooter. It features different characters each with their own specialized skillset and is designed for team play. The game involves two teams battling it out on an array of maps, with a variety of game modes, including Escort, in which one team has to move a payload while the other tries to stop them; Assault, in which the two teams fight to take control of a central objective; and Hybrid, a mix of those two. More than just a simple online game, Overwatch promotes specific skills in all of its players. Overwatch is able to foster a competitive nature through its specific objectives. The multi-player aspect between two distinct teams creates team spirit and a greater group incentive to defeat the opposing team. Players must learn to work as a team and take advantage of every skill each member has to offer in order to succeed. The competitive community and the emphasis on teamwork makes Overwatch more enjoyable than previously released games while also teaching players useful abilities applicable outside of the gaming world. Players can choose from 22 distinct characters that can either take a lot of damage, give a lot of damage, or restore health points. Each of these characters offer a certain set of skills that provides individualistic appeal to each person.Understanding a hero’s strengths and weaknesses is critical in order to achieve success. However, the skills of each individual serve
only as a part of the most important aspect of the game: teamwork. Teams need to have a good in-game leader making winning decisions. There needs to be good communication with each other so that the leader can create the best possible play for the situation at hand. This takes a lot of skill from the players themselves and requires the team to be vocal when working together. In-game leaders also need to have good strategy to create the best possible play. Strategies often come from outside work, which includes looking into the game to see what works best to win a skirmish or even win the game outright. Strategy is important as teams who devise better strategies coming into the game or during the game often times win. Last but not least, and most importantly, is that the game must be popular. Even if a game has met the previous two standards, if a game is not popular it will quickly fall off the charts following its release. Heroes of the Storm, for example, met the two previous requirements but due to its overpopulated genre, many people did not find Heroes of the Storm as enjoyable. Heroes of the Storm’s rapid decline failed to make it a competitive game. One example, however, of popularity quickly creating a successful eSport is League of Legends. After its release in 2009, people quickly picked up the game. By August of 2011, 15 million people had registered as a League of Legends player; for each month, 4 million people logged in to play and 1.4 million players played each day. Four months later, this number nearly doubled and 32.2 million people were registered to play League of Legends. By then,
there were 11.5 million monthly players, 4.2 million daily players, and 1.3 million players playing at the same time. This growth and popularity makes League of Legends one of the biggest eSports today and it continues to rack more players every year. In the case of Overwatch, however, it remains a very unique game. Other than its similarity to the still excellent game of Team Fortress 2, which was released in 2007, Overwatch is an innovative attempt at a first person shooter by Blizzard. There are currently no games like it on the market that are as popular. This is sure to allow Overwatch to become an increasingly popular game, if it is not already. During the one week of open beta before the game’s official release, 9.7 million players on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation joined to try the game out. In the first week of official release, Overwatch had 11 million players signed up. Overwatch was the best selling game in May, despite being released at the end of the month. eSports in Overwatch had already started within the first month of release as well. Overwatch is considered to be the fastest growing eSport, with major tournaments that award six figure prize pools and smaller tournaments almost every month. However, there are not yet major consistent tournaments as there are in other eSports like League of Legends, Defense of the Ancients, Starcraft II, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Overwatch is primed to become one of the major eSports along the lines of the League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, two of the major eSports. However, only time can tell whether or not Overwatch will rise to the top or disappear like its cousin, Heroes of the Storm.
Olympic Wrestling Stephen Andryc The United States sent fourteen wrestlers to the Rio games this year. Among them were athletes competing in men’s freestyle wrestling, men’s Greco-Roman wrestling, and women’s freestyle wrestling. Their successful run resulted in three medals, America’s first ever women’s division champion in the sport, and the youngest men’s division champion in the country’s history. The United States’ men’s Greco-Roman division qualified to send wrestlers to compete in four of the six weight classes this year. In an article from Sports Illustrated written before the games started, the only predicted medalist was Andy Bisek in the 75 kg category for a bronze. Unfortunately, the United States suffered losses across the board in this event, and did not earn any medals. The men’s freestyle division was able to send wrestlers in all six weight classes. Both Jordan Burroughs (74 kg) and Kyle Snyder (97 kg) were favored to medal in the aforementioned SI article. Another favorite was Kyle Dake (86 kg), one of four wrestlers to win four NCAA championships (in folkstyle wrestling, a similar yet differently scored event than freestyle), and the only one to do so in four different weight classes. However, an upset loss in the Olympic qualifiers resulted in underdog J’den Cox taking his place. Although many were skeptical that he would perform well, J’den wrestled much better than anticipated and surprised fans by taking home a bronze medal. Jordan Burroughs, a gold medalist in the London games, a two time NCAA champion, and a three time world champion, went into the Olympics with an international record of 129-2. However, Burroughs had two upset losses in the games, meaning he didn’t medal, an outcome once thought impossible. Luckily, Kyle Snyder defeated Khetag Gazyumov (Azerbaijan) and took home a gold medal, thereby becoming the youngest man in USA wrestling to ever do so. The women’s freestyle division, like men’s Greco-Roman, only qualified to send wrestlers in four of the weight classes to compete this year. Adeline Gray (75 kg), who won three world championships, was favored in her weight class to win gold. Like Burroughs, she had two upset losses and failed to medal. What was probably one of the most admirable performances of the games came in the 53 kg weight class. Japan’s Saori Yoshida, debatably the most decorated wrestler ever with 13 world championships, four Asian Games championships, and a gold medal at three Olympic games, was expected to continue her dominance. However, the United States’ Helen Maroulis (53 kg) shocked the world when she beat Yoshida with a score of 4-1, becoming the first American woman to win a gold medal in wrestling. In an interview after the match, Maroulis admitted that she had spent years learning Yoshida’s technique, training methods, and even how she thought by translating interviews. Thus, the American wrestlers had their ups and downs during this past Olympics. Disappointment in the men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman division was balanced out by an unbelievable victory by Maroulis.
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Tom Brady is Overrated Mahtab Shihab The first month of the 2016 NFL season is another reason why Tom Brady is one of the most overrated quarterbacks in the league. For someone recognized by many as the greatest quarterback to play the game, his team has done just fine without him during the early portion of the NFL season. Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett, I repeat, Jacoby Brissett, have put up more than respectable numbers in Brady’s absence. More importantly, the Patriots have pulled off a rather run of the mill 3-1 start without their star-studded quarterback. Will the Patriots be better with Tom Brady? Of course they will be. However, what the past four weeks have further exemplified is that Tom Brady is more so a product of the system rather than the individual greatness most claim him to hold. To really get a sense of why Brady is overrated, let’s debunk the aspects of “greatness” that contribute to Brady’s claim to fame. Postseason Greatness. The reason why Peyton Manning will always be inferior to Tom Brady is because Brady played his best when it mattered most: the postseason. Brady’s accomplishments in the postseason are un-
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paralleled: 10 AFC championship appearances, 6 Super Bowl appearances, 4 championships, and a remarkable record of 22-9. No quarterback in history has the resumé Tom Brady achieved during the playoffs. However, just how much credit should be given to Brady? It is important to recognize how much of a team sport football is. Despite the position of quarterback’s being the most important position on the football field, quality quarterback play is not a requisite for a championship team.
Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers. Following the 2005 season, each of the quarterbacks above have accumulated just as many passing yards and touchdowns, while equaling or surpassing him in championships. Therefore, if he was just a glorified game manager for his first three championships, and an impressive, but clearly not the best quarterback for the majority of his career, why should he be regarded as the potential G.O.A.T?
Again, let’s look at Brady’s stellar 22-9 record. About half of those wins came when he started 10-0, and three out of his four Super Bowl rings come from almost a decade ago. In two of those three postseasons, he averaged under 200 yards a game, and in the other year, he had a completion percentage of less than 60. To say the least, his early postseason performances left more to be desired. The defenses around him, on the other hand, were phenomenal. The championship Patriots of the early 2000’s never allowed more than 17 points a game, consistently ranking amongst the top five defenses in the entire NFL. Thus, the burden on Brady to perform spectacularly was minimal at best.
Clutch Gene. The myth of the “clutch gene” gets perpetuated even further when discussing the accolades of Tom Brady. Most pundits concur that when it comes to money time, Tom Brady is one of, if not the most reliable, quarterback to have. Such assertions have led to Brady’s nickname “The Comeback Kid”. However, if he truly were “The Comeback Kid” he would have the most fourth quarter comebacks in the NFL. Instead, players such as Tony Romo, Matt Ryan, and Eli Manning have all been more efficient than the so-called greatest quarterback of all time. According to Ticketcity, Tom Brady just barely edges out Matthew Stafford in the claim to be the greatest quarterback in the fourth quarter, while being heavily surpassed by Tony Romo and Matt Ryan.
Following the early three championships, it took ten years before he could win another chip. During that span, although he accumulated remarkable numbers, his play was on par if not inferior to other quarterbacks of the time, including Peyton Manning,
What seemingly distinguishes Tom Brady from all these other quarterbacks with impressive exploits in the fourth quarter, are the defining moments in which he has portrayed his “clutch gene”. The game winning drive against the Rams in his first Super Bowl,
his impeccable performance to come back in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks in Super Bowl 49, and beating the Raiders in inclement, snowy weather are just some of the occasions that add to Brady’s mystique. Nonetheless, these few defining moments should not eclipse the overall body of work of other quarterbacks. Otherwise, someone like Eli Manning, would be regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, which he is evidently not. Therefore, while Brady’s “clutch gene” is nothing to scoff at, his accolades in the fourth quarter are not exemplary enough to establish him as the greatest quarterback ever. Quality of Teammates. The age old adage has been that Tom Brady makes his receivers better than they should be. You could give Tom Brady random guys from the practice squad and he would be able to make them into competent NFL starters. Who had ever heard of Julian Edelman or Danny Amendola before they started catching passes from Tom Brady? It does not matter who he is throwing to: Tom Brady will still be an elite quarterback. Part of what apparently supplants Tom Brady over Peyton Manning is that Manning has gotten to play with allstar receivers, such as Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, on a consistent basis. On the contrary, Brady has had “only” Randy Moss. However, Tom Brady has a noticeable dip in his performance when lacking high-quality effective receivers. This decline is most conspicuous with the absence of Rob Gronkowski. According to numberFire, Brady’s net expected points regresses to that of an average NFL quarterback without Gronkowski. Furthermore, other quarterbacks have been able to put up comparable results as Brady with the same quality of teammates. When Brady got injured at the start of the 2011 season, Matt Cassel took over and was still able to lead the Patriots to an 11-5 record. The beginning of this season has been even more indicative that maybe the reason for the Patriots’ success for the past 15 years can be credited to Coach Belichick and his system, rather than the play of Tom Brady himself. Therefore, when discussing the greatest quarterbacks of all time, one should be hesitant to position Tom Brady towards the top of the rankings. While boasting an impressive career, the facets that attribute to his greatness are not as illustrious as they appear. Nonetheless, while he may be overrated, he merits the respect of being a great quarterback who ascended from his status of being a 6th round draft pick.
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The Rebirth of the Yankees Charlie McCollum While the New York Yankees have missed the playoffs for the third time in four years, the atmosphere in the Bronx has not been this optimistic since the early days of Joe Torre and the Core Four. A new age of Yankees baseball has emerged in what was thought to be an off year for the organization. The team conveyed its commitment to the process by dealing stars like Andrew Miller (31), Carlos Beltran (39), and Aroldis Chapman (28) for young prospects at the deadline. Additionally, Alex Rodriguez (41) suddenly announced that he would retire in the middle of August, taking an advisory role with the team for the rest of the season. With the inclusion of the retirement of first baseman Mark Teixeira (36), the team has managed to drop the average age of the team from 28.5 to 27.6. However, much to the frustration of the rest of the league, the Yankees haven’t skipped a beat since these moves. Alex Rodriguez retired on August 12th. When he requested to start at third base in one of his final games, manager Joe Girardi refused, saying: “I’m trying to do what my responsibility calls for, and that’s to try to win games, and I will continue to do that.” The decision was heavily resented: the team was 4 ½ games behind the second wild card spot and just traded away some of their most valuable assets, there seemed to be no reason to fulfill one of Rodriguez’s last wishes. On August 13th, Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin were both called up to make their MLB debuts against the Rays. In their first time ever at bats, the duo connected for backto-back home runs. The start to the revamped roster could not have been more fitting. Unnoticed by many fans, catcher Gary Sanchez had played his first game for the Yankees a week earlier. In his first 55 games, he managed to hit 20 home runs, a historic streak that made him a viable Rookie of the Year nominee, even with his limited amount of time on the team. The Yankees finished the season a respectable 84-78, just 5 games shy of a wild card spot. However, unlike many teams in the postseason race this year, this team did not have much to lose, and now they have the pieces set to build a powerhouse brimming with youth similar to those of the Cubs and Red Sox. Judge, Sanchez, and Austin are only the beginning of the Yankees’ plans for the future. The current team has a topfive farm system in the MLB. This season, its AAA affiliate, the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Rough Riders, won the 2016 title. Players such as Clint Frazier, Gleyber Torres, and Jorge Mateo should become household names in the future, as they are all currently among the top 20 prospects in the MLB. Both Torres and Frazier were pieces acquired from Cashman’s moves at the deadline. Even with these players currently in the minors, the Yankees boast one of the youngest rosters in the MLB. As a team notorious for its heavy spending and star-studded rosters, the Yankees recruit bigname players and have mastered the farm system, forming a deadly combination, similar to the legendary dynasty of the late 90s and early 00s. The instant success and potential of the Baby Bombers is something that should reinvigorate the Bronx, as well as the entire Yankees fan base.
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Does Cleveland Title Validate LeBron’s Legacy Mit Ramesh The 2016 NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors served as the completion of a 13 year goal for LeBron James to bring a championship back to his home city of Cleveland. The Golden State Warriors came off of a dominant regular season, where they lost only a record nine games. The Cavs faltered early in the series, as they fell into a 3-1 deficit to the Warriors, who were on the brink of back-to-back NBA championships. However, led by LeBron, the Cavs won three straight games, beating the Warriors and bringing a championship back to Cleveland. LeBron’s performance was brilliant and awe-inspiring once again: he averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.3 blocks, which surpassed all players (including the Warriors) in each of those statistical categories. With the help of Kyrie Irving, who also had a great finals (capped off with the game-winning 3 in Game 7), LeBron was able to finally bring a championship back to Cleveland and win his third ring. This win brings up the question: Does LeBron’s Finals performance supplement his status as an all-time-great? LeBron’s performance in the Finals was nothing short of astounding, and served as a reminder of his deserved position among the all-time-greats. Although he is 3-4 in the Finals, LeBron has almost always (except for the 2011 Finals) delivered astonishing performances while his teammates were subpar. Arguably, three of his four Finals losses were due to the mediocre play of his teammates. In both 2007 and 2015, LeBron single-handedly carried a team that had no other scoring threats besides himself and generated most of the offenses himself, while facing a more talented team with a better system of ball movement and points generation. In the 2007 Finals, LeBron averaged a modest (by his standards) 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6.8 assists. However, he shot a woeful 35% from the field and was forced to attempt 90 shots in just 4 games, as his teammates could not produce. His opponent, the Spurs, were one of the best organizations in basketball and LeBron was also guarded by one of the most revered defenders of his time, Bruce Bowen. Fast forward to the 2015 Finals, where LeBron faced this same issue of having to carry his teammates through the Finals as the Cavs were seriously depleted with injuries to Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving. Despite the lack of his fellow two stars, LeBron’s performance in the 2015 Finals was nothing short of awe-inspiring, as he averaged a breathtaking 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists (even if it was an inefficient 39%). His performance paralleled those of NBA greats, but his team simply was not good enough to beat the Golden State Warriors-- a team whose ball movement and small ball lineup was too quick and too talented for the Cavaliers to surpass. It is unfair to completely fault LeBron for his Finals losses, as he lacked the assistance that many NBA greats had prior: Jordan with Pippen, Kobe with Shaq, Duncan with David Robinson and Manu Ginobili. The scrutiny LeBron has received for his move to Miami disregards the fact that many of these same greats he has been compared to had capable
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talent around them. LeBron simply did not have competent teammates playing in the 2007 and 2015 Finals, and his team simply was not talented enough to overcome the well-balanced teams the team faced. Even in the 2014 NBA Finals with the Miami Heat, LeBron’s teammates performed with mediocrity at best. During the final two games, as Dwyane Wade shot an inefficient 28% from the field and Chris Bosh averaged a mediocre 12.5 PPG, LeBron was left to pick up the slack himself. The Heat could not generate enough offense to combat the extremely efficient San Antonio offense. Despite
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all of LeBron’s abilities, his mediocre teammates hindered him from winning various finals. Even with a dominant LeBron (ie: the 2015 NBA Finals), his team was just too weak to compete for the win. Thus, the main knock on LeBron’s postseason record comes from the 2011 Finals. LeBron’s performance in the 2011 Finals, specifically the fourth quarter, was putrid for any superstar in the league; he constantly disappeared and deferred, limiting his ability to close out like a superstar. According to ESPN’s John Hollinger,
LeBron averaged only 2.2 points per game in the fourth quarter-- a far drop off from his regular performance. Furthermore, LeBron did not score once in the clutch (5 mins left in the game, score margin is at most 5) in the entire series, while the eventual Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points. LeBron’s statistical output for the team during the 60 minutes of fourth quarters he played in the 2011 Finals matched the output of Joel Anthony and Juwan Howard: two bench-warmers on the Miami Heat. LeBron’s disappointing performance greatly
contributed to their loss, as he failed to exhibit a superstar type performance in the Finals. His 0 points scored in clutch/crunch time and woes in the 4th quarter did not warrant any consideration as an all-time great, as LeBron failed to get it done when it mattered most. Despite his strong supporting cast, LeBron did not perform up to his standards and broke down in the spotlight of the finals, unlike Jordan. This failure to perform in the 2011 postseason and his 3-4 record in the Finals shows that LeBron isn’t in the same category as
Jordan, as Jordan was able to perform well all six times he played in the Finals. Granted, Jordan did have help, but he knew how to close games when it mattered most, unlike LeBron. However, LeBron’s performances can and should be regarded in the same class as Kobe Bryant and Duncan. Though LeBron failed to command the record that Duncan and Kobe established, he was dominant in the 2015 and 2016 NBA Finals and was able to win three rings. Both Kobe and Duncan
have experienced a loss in the Finals, making LeBron’s mistakes not as threatening to a position as a fantastic player. Despite his record, LeBron still commands a dominance in the field. The fact that he almost won the 2015 Finals MVP on the losing team is evidence of his status among the all-timegreats. His legacy can only rise from here, and there should not be any more questioning of his status as an all-time great. If LeBron is able to slay the monster superteam constructed by Golden State, he may be up there with Michael Jordan himself.
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GAMETIME
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