Thursday, February 16, 2012

LIN or Lose?

Photo courtesty of bostonherald.com

LIN-tastic, LIN-credible and LIN-sane are just a few of the new nicknames overnight NBA sensation Jeremy Lin has received in the past couple of weeks.

Lin, a Taiwanese or Chinese descent, has Asian television stations drooling to add MSG, the New York Knicks' television station, to their broadcasting schedules.  His popularity has sky-rocketed because of his, as many would say, LIN-derella story.

A point guard for the Knicks, Lin has gone from a reserved, unused bench player that slept on his brother's couch at one point to a star-studded point guard, owning his own apartment in the Trump Towers and becoming the talk of the town in the biggest market.  

A Harvard graduate majoring in economics, Lin has expressed his intelligence on the court, moving the ball around and making his teammates better players.  He is a fast-paced player with a sweet jumper, however, many of his teammates as well as opponents respect his absence of fear to drive into the lane and take a hard foul.  Many analysts compare his play to future Hall of Famer Steve Nash.  

Even Nash said it himself in a recent tweet on Twitter, "It's crazy! I'm watching Linsanity hoping every shot goes in. Hope I never grow up."

Adding more of a comedic humor to Lin's run was TNT's own Shaquille O'Neal tweeting, "Linderrella story of the year jeremy lin has lingle handedly played lensational lincredible I'm linpressed all he does is Lin Lin Lin gd jib."

In the past five games, Lin has scored 136 points, the most of any NBA player who began his career after the merger.  He has most recently helped the Knicks win seven in a row without stars like Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.  

The New York Knicks were a sloppy, below average team that couldn't gel their superstars together before Lin came into the picture.  Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni was very close to losing his job because of his horrific start to the 2011-2012 season.  Lin, a devout Christian, is hearing his praises now from D'Antoni, as he should be, for saving his job. 

Many are comparing his accomplishments to that of Tim Tebow's.  Where there was Tebowing, there is Linning; by the way, Linning is to rock your geek glasses proudly while dominating life like our beloved superstar and supernerd Jeremy Lin, according to Linning.com.     

How long can this run last for Lin?  Do you buy or sell this dose of LIN-sanity?  Last but not least, why does he have to be a New York Knick?   


   


Thursday, February 9, 2012

New "Kings"of NFC East

Photo courtesy of nydailynews.com

A new team has emerged as superiors of the NFC East.  No, not the Philadelphia Eagles, but as difficult as it is for Eagles' fans to digest, it is now the New York "football" Giants.

Ugh, that hurts to say.

Admittedly so, the New York Giants are the best team in football right now; they have the Lombardi trophies to prove it, winning two Super Bowls in a five year span (2008, 2012).

Even though Eagles' fans can say they were a better team than the Giants this year, beating them with their backup squad during the regular season, the Giants, however, got the job done down the stretch.  

Starting off the season 6-2, the Giants gave themselves some leeway to regroup and make a run at the end of the season.  This wasn't the same for the Eagles; they struggled, starting the season with a 1-4 record.  The starts from both teams became a factor as the season came to an end.  Philadelphia would miss the playoffs, while the Giants would make it, and eventually become Super Bowl champions.
  
How will the Eagles regain their stature as the kings of the NFC East?  The answer is simple.  Not by winning NFC East divisions.  Not by having a great record.  But, by winning Super Bowls. 

 The first step is winning that first one, and for the Eagles, it has been oh-so-difficult for their franchise, obtaining zero rings in their existence.  

When will a parade down Broad Street ever happen for Eagles' fans?  The only way it can happen is through good management, good coaching and a plan within the organization that everyone believes in.  

Till then, more suffering will continue for Eagles' fans in the Delaware Valley.