Sports Journalism Institute May 31-June 7

First Round Recap: Lakers vs Spurs

The Winner: San Antonio Spurs 4-0 

Grade: A

Duncan bored with the Lakers effort

It only took four games for the Spurs to put the Lakers’ pitiful season into its rightful place— the dustpan. Their sweep means more rest for their big three and they will certainly need it in their next series.

Speaking of their next series I don’t like the way the Spurs will match up with the Nuggets or Warriors. Both teams are very hot and love to run the floor. The Spurs have looked very impressive with their scoring coming from so many places, but I just don’t trust the Spurs at this stage in their careers.

Nevertheless the Spurs handled the Kobe-less Lakers with ease as they dominated the Lakers outscoring them 416-341 over the series. That is a 75-point difference.  If there is one thing we can take from the series it is that the Spurs definitely do not take games off. Unlike other teams in the West (Clippers)…must be an LA thing. 

The Losers: Los Angeles Lakers (I couldn't wait to write this one)
Grade: F

Why won't people just give Howard a break

The NBA TNT Crew used the literary element I like to call foreshadowing when they featured the last time the Los Angeles Lakers were swept in the first round. That was in 1967 to the Warriors, so if there is a bright spot in the season it has to be the fact that it took over 45 years for it to happen again, right?

Another bright note is the fact that it was not as ugly as two years Mavericks swept them brutally in the second round during the Mavs 2011 title run.

But finally we can get to the negatives. There are just so many…but the main problem I saw with this series was Dwight Howard’s inability to dominate the game. Not only could he not dominate the game, he couldn’t even dominate a quarter. I am not one of the Howard bashers, but in this series he did not make his presence felt enough against defenders like Matt Bonner and Tiago Splitter.

The surrounding cast didn’t help much either. The Lakers could not find a bucket beyond the arc the whole series. The fact that they were starting the D-League MVP shows just how hurt they were at the guard spot. 

The Lakers as a whole did worse than I expected them to do. That is saying something especially since I expected them to get swept anyways. It just seemed like after game one, they knew they didn’t stand a chance, and it definitely showed.

To the Lakers and Lakers Nation, have fun watching the rest of the playoffs. I’m sure the Bucks have space left on the couch.

First Round Recap: Heat vs. Bucks

The Winners: Miami Heat 4-0Heat Grade: A-

The big three swiftly made use of the broom in Milwaukee solidifying their first sweep since they joined forces in South Beach. The most impressive takeaway from this series win was the fact that they won in every way possible.

James satisfied with the sweep

Game 1: The Reserves   

Miami got a huge contribution from their reserves. The Heat bench scored 43 points including 20 from Ray Allen. This propelled them to outscore the Bucks by 16 in the second half. Wondering how much the Bucks bench contributed? 25.

Game 2: Defense

Miami held the Bucks to 86 while keeping both Brandon Jennings (7) and Monta Ellis (8) under ten points. They also received major support from Birdman with 10 points and 6 boards in 12 minutes. 

Miami's perimeter defense stifled the Bucks forcing them to shoot 4-18 from deep. Along with that it didn't hurt that the Bucks beat themselves up at the free throw line (58.8%) while the Heat uncharacteristically converted time after time at the line (84.6%)

Game 3: From Behind

Milwaukee led the heat by 9 at the end of the first and by 2 at the half. Then the Heat woke up, went on a 23-7 run, and dominated the second half. Also Allen's return to Milwaukee was historic as he set the record for career playoff three-points field goals en route to 23 points.

Game 4: Without Wade

With Wade sidelined the Heat completed the sweep. Lebron James' dynamic play (30 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists) and Ray Allen's sharp shooting (4-7 3pt, 16 points) made up for absence of Wade. 

Miami has again proven why they are the championship favorites. They will get about a week of rest and will be well rested to deal with the Bulls/Nets...but most likely the Bulls.

The Losers: Milwaukee Bucks 0-4

Bucks Grade: D+

Giacomo Casanova once said, “Strength without self-confidence is useless.” Who would have though that self-confidence without talent would be equivalently useless.

Brandon Jennings prediction: Bucks in six

What actually happened: 

The Bucks put up a strong fight but it was obvious that Miami was just the better all around team. The Bucks had the confidence, hustle, and will, but they failed to find any offense outside of Jennings and Ellis.

Milwaukee failed to get consistent production (on offense) and failed to reach 92 in all four of their games. This leaves major questions surrounding the team. Mainly, who will be brought back, and who needs to be let go. The trade for J.J. Redick did not translate well in the playoffs and he will be an unrestricted free agent this off-season, but that is besides the main point.

The Bucks are just not good enough

They still gave a concerted effort for a playoff team with a losing record. With only 2 wins in the playoffs since 1990, hopefully the young team can learn from this and come back stronger next year.

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Across the Boards Episode 4

Students Answer: Men's Pirates or Lady Pirates?

New segment on Across the Boards 'Ask 20".

Lindsey Williams takes to the student center at Hampton University to ask students the all important question:

Which team do you enjoy watching more, Men's basketball or Women's basketball?

Shot, edited, and produced by Brandon Theo Dorsey

Across the Boards Episode 3 Part 1

Across the Boards Episode 3 part 2

Interview with 800m MEAC indoor champion Benita Taylor

Game Winning 3!!

Hampton University 85

Delaware State 84

Across the Boards Episode 2 2/6

Across the Boards Pilot Episode

Lebron's Selfless Act Before Breaking Kobe's Record

Lebron James as he scores his 20,000th career point  (Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images)

King James proves his selflessness prior to becoming the youngest player to 20,000

Lebron James became the youngest player to reach 20,000 career points at 28 (Previously held by Kobe Bryant), but not before pulling yet another unselfish move. With about 4 minutes left in the second quarter of Wednesday night's game in Golden State, Miami ran a play specifically to isolate James for him to accumulate his 20,000th point.

Right when it looked as if he would make his move for the milestone, he dished the ball to the corner for a Ray Allen 3 point attempt. Allen uncharacteristically missed the shot, but it was another showing of just how selfless James is. 

The key trait that continues to separate him from many of the other greats is his willingness to concede to his teammates for the greater good. And if the greater good continues to be championships, I don't think anybody in Miami will be complaining.

This is not the first scoring milestone this season he did not seem too interested in.

James started off this season on a 33-game streak of 20 points or more. When he was notified of his streak in an interview with espn.com, James had this to say:

"If I wanted to, I could lead the league in scoring, but that's not my job here," James said.

"My job is to do a lot of everything -- rebounding, passing and defending so that takes away from my scoring. I've done (the scoring title) before. I'm capable of doing it, but my game sometimes doesn't allow me to have those big nights."

I can't argue with that. In fact I believe if scoring was in the forefront of his mind, we would be witnessing him maybe reaching 25,000 points this season. 

All "ifs" aside, James has to be considered one of the most unselfish superstars in the history of the game. Especially when you consider the skills he possesses to score the ball.

"The greatest athlete in the history of the league," said Dave Pasch during the NBA on ESPN broadcast of Wednesday night's game, and athleticism definitely helps in the art of scoring.

As for the game, the Miami Heat routed the Golden State Warriors 92-75. James led the way with 25 points and 10 assists. With Curry sitting out and Klay Thompson struggling, Jarrett Jack led the Warriors with 16 points. 

The Warriors have now lost 4 out of the last 5, and the Miami Heat improved to .500 on the road this year (9-9). 

The Heat have been struggling as of late, and they are going to need their surrounding cast to execute around the most unselfish superstar in the league today. 

Nick Saban: Best Coach Ever

(Photo: John David Mercer, USA TODAY Sports)

Nick Saban is surging to the top after his 4th BCS Championship

After Alabama head coach Nick Saban captured his fourth national championship Monday night in a blowout win over Notre Dame (42-14), it is premature but justified to predict Saban will go down as the greatest collegiate coach of all time.

Two heavily regarded coaches Bobby Bowden and the late Joe Paterno have many more wins than Saban, but also have both coached 40+ seasons each. The area Saban shines in is the one that really matters -- championships.

In their combined 86 seasons, Paterno and Bowden have won the same number of championships together (4) as Nick Saban alone in the past 8 years. And in his 4 championships there were little to no dispute due to his teams annihilation of their oppositions.

Saban coached teams have outscored opponents an astonishing 121-49 in BCS national championship games. This creates terrible ratings but proves his Alabama Crimson Tide as a dominating dynasty.

When you bring up dominance and Alabama, it is hard not to mention the legend Paul "Bear" Bryant. Here is how Saban matches up with Bryant all-time:

Nick Saban

Paul "Bear" Bryant

                      Record
323-85-17                              154-55-1*
                    Winning %
.780                                          .733*
                   Bowl record
15-12-1                                      8-6
                  Championships
   6                                               4
           Winning % at Alabama
.808                                            .839

                                                                * 5 wins vacated in 2007 season, stats according to sports-reference.com


He is currently sitting 2 championships behind the legend Bear Bryant, and the way his tide have been rolling, it is definitely not a stretch to believe he can get three or four more. Saban has many young players returning next season including quarterback AJ McCarron and playmaking receiver Amari Cooper.

Coach Saban is also prolific at the most important aspect of college football. Recruiting. Alabama has the 2nd best recruiting class falling short to only Notre Dame according to ESPN. This will come in handy for Saban to keep up the dynasty that he has created.

Nick Saban is definitely the best active coach, and if he can continue to keep his teams focused, there will be no force that could stop the Crimson Tide.

Bar in Green Bay Cleverly Taunts Peterson

Photo by: (@KeithLeventhal)

An unnamed bar in Green Bay has decided to tease Adrian Peterson for falling 9 yards short of the season record for rushing yards in week 17. Peterson's 199 yards came in a winning effort as he dismantled the Packers for the second time this year in a win that propelled the Vikings to the playoffs and cause the Packers to lose their shot at a first-round bye.

It does not seem like the brightest idea to upset Peterson who has a strong candidacy for MVP this season, but since when have clever moves been made in Green Bay bars?

Of course the chances of Peterson stepping foot in this bar are little to none, but it is the playoffs and I'm sure Peterson needs no motivation to go into Lambeau Field and defeat the Packers.

I previously predicted Adrian Peterson to do away with Eric Dickerson's record and was wrong, but I do believe he will have another huge game tonight. The Packers will most likely come out on top with Joe Webb starting for the Vikings and the game being in Green Bay, but I expect it to be a good game.

Peterson and the Vikings will attempt to get the last laugh as they take on the Packers tonight in their wildcard playoff matchup in Green Bay at 8:00 pm Eastern time.