The A-Hole Podcast - December 20, 2013

What's up guys! I'm back with another FANTASTIC EDITION of The A-Hole Podcast. I talked for a solid fifteen minutes on the NFL then I brought in fellow TSS writer DanJ Carney to talk about some random topics in the NBA. Trust me, we got off-topic, but stayed in the NBA talk.

The A-Hole Podcast - December 6

This week, I made the "solo talk" short and sweet and brought in fellow TSS Writer DanJ Carney in to talk about the horrible Eastern Conference and the great Trail Blazers.. for thirty entertaining minutes.



I alone took a look at:

• Jameis Winston Innocent!
• #1 MSU GOES DOWN
• MLB Controversy - Fowler to Houston, Ellsbury to NYY
• NFC South Look-in (mainly the Panthers)
• Dan J Carney will join us later in the show. You can find him on Twitter @dan_jcarney and on YouTube under DanJ Carney for his sports show

Follow Me on Twitter: @LetsGoAlex | #AHolePodcast

Russell Westbrook Hits Game-Winner As Thunder Defeat Warriors 113-112

Paul George For MVP?

Check out my video below discussing my thoughts on Paul George and his great possibility at winning the MVP award. Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

Derrick Rose Gets Injured....AGAIN!!!!

Above is a video of my thoughts on Derrick Rose's Injury, Down below is the TSS writers and myself wishing the youngest MVP in history a fast recovery. Follow Tru School Sports on Twitter to stay up to date.

On behalf of myself and the whole TSS family we want to wish Derrick Rose a speedy recovery. RT to pray for D.Rose! pic.twitter.com/HdwVqO88Vb
— Tru School Sports (@TruSchoolSports) November 23, 2013

Young Utah Jazz fan cries after loss (VIDEO)

 Just when you thought the passion behind the Jazz fan base couldn't get anymore sad at the moment, it just did. Now seeing children cry is always a sad thing but you can't do anything else other than laugh at this web gem right here.

I am actually a tad surprised that this video hasn't received that much attention. With only 44,000 views in about a day it's clear this wont be the funniest video hitting the NBA fan base in the 2013-2014 but boy is this one a keeper.

I mean this kid is straight up balling. Do you think he knows what tanking is yet? I'm going to put a strict no on that one right at this moment. The young fan is seen after the game breaking down in tears after the Jazz's loss to the Denver Nuggets on November 11th and the kid seems legitimately pissed.

                          -Could we be seeing more of this kid crying as the season goes on?

He's not crying because he didn't get some toy or he didn't get a good night sleep, this little fan is crying because he hates to see his favorite team be the biggest failure in the entire NBA.

The funniest part of the video is that the clip of him crying is featured in a game against the Golden State Warriors on Monday, seven days later. But wait a second, is the kid back at the game? You bet he is. What exactly is the kid doing at this game? Looking visually upset once again with the score reading 68-42 Warriors mid way through the 3rd quarter.

                                    -Wait what is this guy doing here? I don't know either...

You know what I don't blame this kid for crying. Usually when you see a kid cry for no good reason some get annoyed and ticked off but if I was a kid an my favorite team was 1-12 and clearly going nowhere, I would cry too.

             -Gordon Hayward is one of the few things Jazz fans can be happy about right now

There is no drive in the Utah Jazz crowd anymore, no cheering, no screaming, no nothing. The empty seats and quietness around the arena will be nothing less than common this season as the Jazz fan base will have to cope with constant defeat. 

                                                        -I don't know you tell me...

As the season progresses will we see more crying little Jazz fans? I'm going to put a yes on that one with the way they are playing. Is a top draft pick on the way? Will we see Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins in a Jazz uniform come this time next year? I'd put another yes on that happening.

*Hat tip to ESPN for the great video!

Dan J carney is a sports writer for 3 online sports websites. He writes for Tru School Sports, RantSports.com (covers the Charlotte Bobcats), and he also writes for the league news.com. Dan is also a YouTube sports talk show host where he talks on his channel (DanJcarney) about trending topics, questions, and breaking news about everything and anything regarding the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_jcarney, Subscribe to him on YouTube, or add him on Google+.

A Letter To The 2013-2014 Charlotte Bobcats

The video is self explanatory.

LETS GO BOBCATS!!!

Cody Zeller Discusses The Origins Of His Nickname, Playing His Brother, Kemba Walker & More

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With the 4^th overall in this years draft the Charlotte Bobcats shocked many fans and experts by passing up on Ben Mclemore and Nerlens Noel taking Cody Zeller. This caused quite a stir with the fans but since then Charlotte basketball have warmed up to Zeller. He was one of the most impress players in the Las Vegas summer league as averaged 16.3 points, 9.3 rebounds on 52% shooting. His high post ability coupled with the low post presence of Al Jefferson gives the Bobcats potentially their best front court ever.

I had a chance to speak with the former Indiana Hoosiers standout about playing with Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson as well as the origins of his nickname and more. 

Anthony Tolliver Talks About New Situation, Cody Zeller & City Of Charlotte

This off season the Bobcats added some depth in the big man department by signing journeyman Anthony Tolliver. The alum of Creighton enters his 6^th season playing for his 5^th team and looks to be a help to a Bobcats big man core that was weak last season.

Last season with the Atlanta Hawks Tolliver posted averages of 4.1 points, 2.5 rebounds on 38% shooting in 62 games last year. With an opportunity to play more of the power forward position this season with the Bobcats Tolliver is looking for a much improved season.

During my media day sit down with him we spoke about his new situation with the Bobcats, rookie Cody Zeller and the city of Charlotte.

Gerald Henderson Speaks On Al Jefferson Addition, Charlotte Hornets, Duke's Chances & More

Last season Charlotte Bobcats starting shooting guard Gerald Henderson averaged 15.5 points per game along with 2.6 assists and 3.7 rebounds on 44 % shooting from the field. This off season the Bobcats resigned Henderson for the next 3 years for 18 million dollars.

As the 2013-2014 season is set to begin here in a few days Henderson is focused on not only improving his numbers from last season but the teams win total this year. The Bobcats made some beneficial additions for him in Al Jefferson and Cody Zeller. With the floor spacing those two will provide in the front court Henderson will have a great chance to improve on his scoring average as well as his career high of 33 % from behind the 3-point line last season.

At Charlotte Bobcats Media day I got a chance to sit down with the former Duke Blue Devil to discuss the upcoming season as well as his off season, Al Jefferson and Cody Zeller additions, Charlotte Hornets name coming back, How he thinks Duke will do this year and a whole lot more.

Bizmack Biyombo Talks About Something To Prove, Playing Patrick Ewing 1 On 1 & More

After being picked #7 overall in the 2011 draft Bizmack Biyombo has had to mature faster in the NBA quicker then most 19 year old players would in the league. After 2 years of inconsistency Bizmack has become the odd man out with the additions of Al Jefferson and Cody Zeller. Biyombo sees things much differently though he sees his new found role on the team a learning experience and an opportunity to get better as a professional.

The Congo native was never known for his offensive ability but has established himself as one of the better rim protectors we have in the NBA today as he averaged 1.8 blocks per game last season. Averaging less then 4.8 points per game last season Biyombo has been written off by countless experts after just 2 seasons in the league but with the chance to learn from the great Patrick Ewing, Bizmac has taken it upon himself to work as hard as possible on his weakness moving forward.

He has clearly embraced his new role as a rebounder off the bench as he snatched 21 rebounds along with 9 points and 2 blocks on October 13^th vs the Milwaukee Bucks in the preseason. With the extra muscle he put on in the off season Bizmack might have finally found the best role for him on the team and to play at the highest level possible.

I got a chance to sit with the Native of Congo at media day. as him and I discussed the upcoming season, playing 1 on 1 with Patrick Ewing and Al Jefferson and more

Charlotte Bobcats Media Day 2013 (VIDEO)

Last month on September 30^th I had the chance to take the trip of a lifetime as I interviewed nearly every player on my favorite team in the NBA-The Charlotte Bobcats. It was the very last Bobcats media day before the name change that will take place next season when the team re brands itself to become the Charlotte Hornets.

I was accompanied by Andrew and Matt of Trade Street Post so make sure you check them out.

It was a ton of fun as I spent time interviewing the Likes of Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Al Jefferson and Ben Gordon. I interviewed nearly every player on the roster from Gerald Henderson all the way to Jeff Adrien. I had a blast attending my very first NBA media day as I picked the brains of the players on the upcoming season among other things.

To say it was a dream come true was an understatement. It was like NBA League Pass came to life for me as one minute I see Al Jefferson, the next I see Patrick Ewing and then Kemba Walker. Made me realize that basketball players are regular people too (even if they are giants).

So without further ado I give you the official Tru School Sports 2013 trip to Charlotte Bobcats media day, hope you enjoy it. For more videos on everything sports related stay tuned to my Youtube Channel, check it out by clicking here.

NBA 2K14 Ratings Issues (VIDEO)

NBA2K14 has come with a lot of hype this year but after receiving mixed reviews among st my peers I decided to explore the simpler parts of the game such as ratings. After going through all the ratings in the game I was left flabbergasted as I failed to comprehend how certain players earned a certain rating. Lets begin shall we.

The Overrated

I have never been a fan of ever maximizing a players rating in any sports video game let alone NBA 2K14 so it should come with no surprise that I’m rather pissed off about Lebron James being rated a 99. If you watch the video up top you will see my reaction to that. 99 Is considered a gold standard in sports video game and what 2K sports is saying to me here when they rate him this high is “Lebron James is the perfect basketball player”. Now while James is playing st the highest level of his career and coming off back to back championships I think to rate anybody a 99 is blasphemous.

Another reason that really gets to me is because millions of people who absolutely, positively have no skills in 2K can just pick the Miami Heat and make up for their lack of skills with Miami's incredibly high rating and actually have a chance to win. By even making Lebron's rating just a little higher this makes it easier for scrubs on the sticks to get a win.

Kobe Bryant is another player I take issue with as far as rating due to the fact that at 93 his rating is the highest among shooting guards .Dwyane Wade was rated a 91 and James Harden was an 88.Kobe is a great player and has done so much for the game of basketball but he is not the best 2 guard in the game anymore nor is he better then Wade or Harden at this point in his career.

For other NBA 2K14 overrated players such as Brandon Jennings,Andrew Bynum and more watch the video up top.

The Underrated

Zach Randolph who is known as arguably the best power forward in the league and was an all-star just last season was given a rating of 83. Its messed up to say the least due to the fact that this is a guy who led the Grizzlies to the western conference finals against the spurs and averaged 17 points and 10 Rebounds in the playoffs. I think this is just a straight slap in the face to a guy who has been a huge part of making a once laughing stock a perennial playoff team.

James Harden who was also an all-star an regarded as arguably the best shooting guard in our league was given a rating of 88. Fans and players alike will tell you that the former 6^th man of the year is elite so why isn't he rated at at least a 90. He earned it last season so rewarded him with the rating he deserves.

Final Thoughts

I Have been a huge 2K fan dating back to the Iverson days but they really need to get these ratings right. NBA Live (if its any good) will be purchased if 2K doesn't make any strides this season.

Taylor Hall Scores 2 Goals in 8 Seconds (Video)

Follow me on Twitter @WarraichRoop 

Taylor Hall has had a solid start to the NHL season, highlighted by this sequence of events.

Follow me on Twitter @WarraichRoop

Newly Released Video from Red Bull Space Jump with POV Cameras

On October 14, 2012, Australian daredevil skydiver Felix Baumgartner ascended to over 128,000 feet above the surface of the Earth in a helium balloon in an attempt to set the world record for the highest free fall and to become the first man or woman to surpass the speed of sound.

During this free fall, Baumgartner reached over 830 MPH, thus becoming the first human to surpass the speed of sound without any form of rocket propulsion. The free fall took roughly 10 minutes and required Baumgartner to wear a pressurized suit to deal with the various elements.

Enough of the boring facts though. Red Bull has actually released a point of view video of Baumgartner's record breaking free fall that provides three different camera angles and various statistics including G's, elevation, and how close he is to Mach 1. Here it is:

Browns' Fan Goes On Hilarious Rant About Brandon Weeden (Explicit)

After his Cleveland Browns lost 31-17 to the Detroit Lions yesterday, an extremely ticked off Browns fan took to YouTube to voice his frustrations.

This fan is right about Brandon Weeden's poor performance ... sort of. In regards to Weeden's fourth quarter interception, this fan is absolutely right. Weeden had no business throwing that pass. Like the fan said, Cleveland is still very much in the playoff hunt with a 3-3 record, but with Weeden under center the Browns' playoff chances look bleak. Hopefully Cleveland can get it together this Sunday as they travel to Green Bay to take on the Packers (and prevent another rant from this obviously fed up fan.)

Eminem Sports Detroit Pistons Shirt In New Music Video

Marshall Mathers aka Eminem has recently announced that he is will be dropping his long awaited “Marshall Mathers LP 2” on November 5^th. Yesterday he dropped the music video for the his first single titled “Berzerk” . In the video he sported a Detroit Pistons back to back championship shirt from the bad boy days. Eminem is a Detroit native and is a huge Pistons fan and proudly wore the shirt in his video. Lesser known Detroit based rapper Royce Da 5'9 also made a cameo sporting a throwback Grant Hill Pistons jersey. Sports apparel such as shirts and jerseys aren't really popular in hip-hop culture these days so I thought it was a semi big deal to see the biggest rapper in the world wearing a Pistons shirt in the 1^st video for his new album. Since its upload to Youtube yesterday the “Berzerk” music video has received over 2 Million hits and counting.

Watch the video down below.

Knicks Legend Bernard King Speaks On Scoring & Intensity

Bernard King is one of the purest scorers in NBA history and he finally gets enshrined in the basketball hall of fame. The 4-time all-star was recently featured in an NBA TV Documentary titled “Unstoppable” which premiered tonight on NBA TV. The film featured many NBA greats such as Magic Johnson and George Gervin speaking about the greatness of Bernard King.

When I watch film on Bernard King I see the 1^st of his kind which is a small forward who perfected the use of high post moves and really made pivot moves and the turnaround jump shot popular. The guys like Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant that we see use those same high post moves today to score the basketball followed in the footsteps of King. “Money Bernard King was Money” said Magic Johnson. During his time in the league King was one of the most feared scorers and the legend of so his greatest scoring efforts still love on today, such as his 60 point game against the Nets on Christmas day 1984. getting

“I couldn't play with a smile on my face like Magic, I had to play with an intensity or I wouldn't win” stated King. The Knicks legend carried himself a certain way and always played with a high level of confidence. Nobody could stop him from scoring “if you play off me I have the jump shot, force me left I have moves going left, force me right I have moves going right, If you overplay me I know how to get open”. He commands respect and displays unshakable confidence which is why he can go out and have back to back 50 point nights as George Gervin stated in the video.

King in many ways embodies the culture of New York basketball, that “ you can't stop me even if you tried mentality” if you will. Magic said it best “ We knew where he was going to that spot, the 18,000 fans in the arena knew he was going to that spot but you just couldn't do anything with this man”. It way to long but congratulations to Bernard King on his 2013 hall of fame induction!

Dwyane Wade vs Kobe Bryant (The Twitter Debate)

Before I get into the whole premise of this article let me just first start off by saying that this is not to slander or discredit the knowledge of these basketball fans. In fact I would appreciate if you guys followed everyone of these people on Twitter. The whole point of this post is to help you guys better understand what it is I am referring to in my video up top. With that said, several weeks ago Court Vision asked the following question down below and you can clearly see my answers.

The question of top 5 shooting guards was on display in a public forum (Twitter). So my top 5 Consist of the following as you can see in my Tweet above.

1. Michael Jordan

2. Dwyane Wade

3.Kobe Bryant

4.Reggie Miller

5.George Gervin

@CourtVisionNBA Jordan,Wade,Kobe,Reggie Miller,Gervin
— Brendan Taylor (@ThatboyBTaylor) July 26, 2013

Minutes after posting my tweet answering the question many people attacked my list with a bunch of tweets about how Kobe is better then Dwyane Wade but gave me no concrete facts. After I stated that Wade is a more efficient player then Kobe, Court Vision even said that FG percentage isn't everything when it comes to determining how great a player is. He is right but it is certainly the foundation in which we judge how great a player, which is exactly the reason Michael Jordan is held in such a high regard 

@ThatboyBTaylor @NBAsNewsDaily FG% isn't everything my man.
— Court Vision (@CourtVisionNBA) July 26, 2013

While I continued to get many more tweets which lacked any kind of facts or logic to back up the opinion the Kobe is a better shooting guard than Dwyane Wade, I pulled an article from ESPN's John Hollinger which ranked the greatest NBA Finals performances ever. The article was basically a guide or reference if you will of how great certain players played on the games biggest stage. In the 2006 NBA Finals vs Dallas, Dwyane Wade put the Heat on his back from a 2-0 deficit to their 1^st ever NBA Title. His statistical averages were beyond crazy.

Dwyane Wade's 2006 Finals Statistics

34.7 PPG 7.8 Rebounds 3.8 Assists 46 FG% 33.8 PER (Highest In NBA Finals History)

So think about that for a second this guy is a 6'4 shooting guard and averaged 7.8 rebounds a game in the NBA Finals. He leads his team to a championship down 2-0 to a very good Dallas team lead by Dirk Nowitzki. To top it all off in the process of doing that he averages just under 35 points per game and collects the highest player efficiency rating at 33.8 in Finals history. Kobe Bryant NEVER played at that level on the biggest stage in basketball. To make matters worse Kobe Bryant isn't even in the top 10 all-time statistically as far as finals performances go, Wade has 2 top 10 performances (2006,2011).   

If you think Kobe Bryant is better then Dwade then you are probably a Laker fan or just uninformed here you go http://t.co/V5bo76k5jL. READ!
— Brendan Taylor (@ThatboyBTaylor) July 26, 2013

I then posed the challenge of to any Kobe/Laker fans to debate me on why Kobe is better then Wade using facts and it didn't happen.

This Tweet is directed at ALL my Laker/Kobe Followers...If Kobe is better then Wade give me just a few logical reasons why and back it up
— Brendan Taylor (@ThatboyBTaylor) July 26, 2013

One of the funnier responses basically said Kobe was better than Wade based solely on the fact that he gets comparisons to Michael Jordan and Dwyane Wade doesn’t. That’s because Kobe plays offense like him to a degree. Kobe has never been a shutdown defender and most likely will never win defensive player of the year. The premise of that statement is nonsense.

@ThatboyBTaylor @CourtVisionNBA Kobe is no MJ but he at least gets comparisons.
— SportsFeedDaily (@SportsFeedDaily) July 26, 2013

So after that I was tweeted a picture placing Wade and Kobe's accomplishments next to each other. Keep in mind that Kobe has played in the league 7 seasons longer then Wade and the accolades were still close (which was sad by the way). Wade has done more in his 10 years then Kobe has in 17, its about number of seasons not accolades. Again this comes back to efficiency and in terms of making all-star teams and the playoffs in that department Wade is more efficient than Kobe as All NBA Talk says down below.

@CourtVisionNBA @thatboybtaylor Wade missed playoffs/all stars 1x, Kobe did twice. Both missed all NBA team 2x. Gotta think abt # of seasons
— All NBA Talk (@OnlyNBATalk) July 26, 2013

A new Kobe supporter decided to join the conversation and asked if I was serious about my pick of Wade over Kobe Bryant, of course I told him yes and backed it up with facts as you can see down below.

@NBAsNewsDaily @CourtVisionNBA Wades better on defense, oiffense and you can't sit here and tell me that he isn't a winner because he has 3
— Brendan Taylor (@ThatboyBTaylor) July 26, 2013

@NBAsNewsDaily @CourtVisionNBA rings and at 31 years old shot the highest % of his career at 52% at 31 years old your boy Kobe shot 45%
— Brendan Taylor (@ThatboyBTaylor) July 26, 2013

Real acknowledges real as you can see down in he tweet below!

@ThatboyBTaylor @courtvisionnba @nbasnewsdaily this dude is speaking with all facts! Efficiency makes players great!
— All NBA Talk (@OnlyNBATalk) July 26, 2013

In a very empty statement I get another opinion on from what I think is Kobe supporter.

@ThatboyBTaylor I've been watching basketball as long as you've been alive Wade is great but he's just not in Kobe's class, no knock on wade
— rellimsportingview (@rellimsportview) July 26, 2013

One last opinion based statement.

@rellimsportview I'm not getting any reasons though besides your opinion and an opinion without facts is just words
— Brendan Taylor (@ThatboyBTaylor) July 26, 2013

Had to let my followers know its love and that I love talking basketball with them at the end of the day.

Just wanted to let all my followers know that regardless of what I say to you I love talking hoopswith you guys #Salute
— Brendan Taylor (@ThatboyBTaylor) July 26, 2013

I know many would beg to differ on my opinion on the NBA's top 5 shooting guards but I feel like Wade is better then Kobe. He has accomplished as much in a decade as Kobe has in 17 seasons and has been more efficient as far as shot made along with displaying a better shot selection. As a basketball player you need to have a great since of self and stay within yourself while not trying to do that. Wade does that, Kobe doesn’t which explains why he is a more efficient player than Bryant. If you disagree with me feel free to tweet me @Thatboybtaylor or @Truschoolsports.

Kemba Walker-Most Improved Player (Video)

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Kemba Walker for the 1st time in his career has respectable talent around him and that is enough for me to think he will elevate his game to a new level this season in Charlotte.