Well, here we are.
After 23 hours of negotiations between the NBA players and owners over the past two days, we’ve arrived at a juncture with only two possible realistic outcomes:
A) A (jam-packed) 72 game season beginning on December 15th.
B) No season at all.
The obvious follow-up question is – which outcome should we expect? Continue reading »
In a solid all-around performance, the New Orleans Saints capped off a very successful weekend of football for the state with a 27-16 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday afternoon in the Mercedes-Benz Louisiana Superdome. Though the game was far from a blowout, it was never really in doubt, as the Saints led by more than one score from midway through the second quarter all the way until about 5 minutes to go in the 4th. Even when the Bucs were able to cut their deficit to 8, Brees promptly marched the team back down the field and allowed kicker John Kasay to convert an easy 34 yard field goal with 1:17 remaining, effectively icing the game. Let’s take a look at this game by the numbers and see in which areas the Saints were able to have the most success. Continue reading »
Turn on any TV this week and tune in to ESPN or any other sports show and chances are the topic of discussion is something pertaining to this weekend’s matchup of #1 ranked LSU versus #2 ranked Alabama. This game has been hyped up for the past 3 weeks, and talk has seemingly now moved into the realm of obsession. Continue reading »
The New Orleans Hornets’ 2011 season kicks off Wednesday night in the New Orleans Arena as the team takes on last year’s #1 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls. The CP3-led Hornets will try to rebound this season after suffering a first round playoff defeat by the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. The Bulls, on the other hand, are coming off an Eastern Conference Championship defeat at the hands of the Miami Heat, and are poised to make another run at a championship behind last season’s regular season MVP, Derrick Rose.
…What’s that? There’s a lockout, you say? Well, that’s one hell of a buzzkill. I already wrote a game preview and everything! I may as well share it with you guys, right? Without further adieu, let’s take a look at the keys to tomorrow night’s fictitious season opener. Continue reading »
Just one week removed from the most lopsided victory in franchise history, the Saints could not have looked like a more different team in St. Louis on Sunday afternoon. New Orleans was outplayed in every phase of the game from start to finish, and didn’t even remotely resemble a playoff-caliber team. As a result, the Saints fell behind 24-0 to the previously-winless Rams, eventually losing 31-21. There is literally nothing positive to discuss in regards to this game, so let’s take a look at where the Saints failed and will need to improve for next weekend’s monumentally important home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Continue reading »
Just wanted to give a quick update to those wondering if and when the NBA would be cancelling more games or coming to an agreement. As of tonight, the New York Daily News is reporting that the owners and players have agreed to try once more to close the gap between both sides, and will attempt to do so on Wednesday in Manhattan. Given how far apart the NBA owners and NBPA were when they last broke off negotiations last week, the odds of a deal being reached in the next few days are fairly minimal. If enough progress is made, however, it could lead to an agreement in time for games to be played as early as December, and doing so could allow the rescheduling of those games that have previously been cancelled in order to play a full 82-game season. Keep in mind that this seems to be the current best case scenario, so while this is a possible outcome, it certainly isn’t the most likely one. For continuous updates on the meeting taking place tomorrow as well as other lockout news, be sure to follow us on Twitter (@HoopDat), as we will do our best to relay news to you as soon as we get any information.
In what quickly became a pleasant, stress-free end to the weekend, the Saints absolutely demolished the visiting Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night. As I noted on Twitter last night, I started to feel like I was watching the Saints dismantle my alma mater’s football team (Tulane), not an actual NFL squad. There are so many ridiculous stats that represent how good the Saints were in this game that I can’t possibly hit on all of them, but I listed my favorites after the jump. Continue reading »
First things first – if you want to know how I’m feeling about the lockout, look no further than this 20 second YouTube video.
Now that we’ve addressed that important aspect, let’s move on to what’s actually going on in said lockout. Continue reading »
Looking back on this game as soon as it ended, the first thing that came to my mind (besides numerous profanities which shouldn’t be repeated) was – “how did we only lose by 6?” The Saints made so many mistakes on both sides of the football that it is honestly a miracle that they were only down by one score in the game’s final minutes. The four turnovers stand out, but there were just as many defensive lapses which makes it impossible to blame this loss on any one area. The following are the three key areas where the Saints failed in Tampa yesterday afternoon (and have really been problematic all season long), and the team will need to fix all three if it wants to keep being considered as a legitimate Superbowl contender. Continue reading »
According to NBA news and rumor website HoopsWorld.com, the Hornets “are moving toward a potential sale, with as many as eight possible buyers in the mix for a deal that would keep the team in the Crescent City.” With the current lockout that’s dragging on, it’s nice to hear anything positive concerning the NBA, especially about the Hornets and their future in the city of New Orleans.
