Maddux Sports Blog

I really don’t understand the Bucks. They traded away Richard Jefferson, so they have a lack of scoring to make up. They drafted a point guard, so they have some depth there. So what did they do? Offered a contract to their free agent point guard and not the solid scoring threat. Ramon Sessions will likely be back with the team, but Charlie Villanueva has been cut loose. Very bizarre. I was certain that it was going to go the other way. It looks like things could end up very well for Villanueva – he looks like he will take he mid-level exception in Cleveland.

(more…)

There’s a lot of hype around this game. It’s not just a match up of two teams, it’s also a figurative fistfight between Los Angeles Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson and Houston Rockets’ head man Rick Adelman. Three times teams coached by Adelman have been knocked out of the playoffs by a Jackson-coached club. However, neither guy will be on the court when this game is played and the fact is whatever these guys have done to get their teams to this point is all in the past. In other words, today’s win has more to do with the talent and skill on the court than the coaches on the bench. Here are five keys to each team’s success in today’s game seven.

(more…)

It turns out that drug cheating isn’t just limited to baseball. NASCAR driver and team owner Jeremy Mayfield tested positive for an illegal substance and has been suspended indefinitely. He’s following the script exactly as he is supposed to – he claims that this is all a big misunderstanding and that it was just prescription medication that caused the problem. Shocking. This should be a much bigger story than the baseball ones. What’s the worst that can happen if a baseball player is high or juiced – he hit better than heshould and makes a mockery of the record books. There is nothing good at all that can come from a guy who is driving 200 miles an hour inches away from other cars who is baked out of his mind.NASCAR really should have a one-strike-you’re-out policy.

(more…)

In round one, the Los Angeles Lakers, the number one seed in the West, easily dispatched the Utah Jazz in five games to move onto the Western Conference Semifinals. Meantime, in the initial round of the NBA playoffs, the fifth seed Houston Rockets beat the fourth seed Portland Trailblazers four games to two. Thus the stage is now set for what should be a tough, hard-fought series between the two clubs. Simply put, the Lakers are favored in this one. Can the Rockets stop them?

(more…)

In the first round of the NBA Western Conference playoffs, it will be the fourth seed Portland Trail Blazers (54-28) against the fifth seed Houston Rockets (53-29). The Rockets took the season series two games to one. Their one loss was a 101-99 OT contest. When they beat Portland, they did it by four and then by 14 points.

(more…)

Wow, is the weather ever ugly at the British Open. If I showed up at a course and the sky looked like that I would turn around and go home. A links-style course does nothing to make the day look any nicer, either.

(more…)