Kris vs Adam or David vs Goliath?

Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone magazine says Adam Lambert single-handedly saved American Idol. “He has the burning “say my name, bitch” thing of Chris Daughtry, the cutthroat vanity of a Carrie Underwood, but also that innocent desire to give pleasure à la Kelly Clarkson. He packs a whole Gong Show of Americana into one pair of striped spandex tights.”

Okay Rob and America, do we even need a final show?

Vegas also favors Adam heavily.

Here are 5 great examples that say yes!

1. 1980 Miracle on Ice

The biggest upset of all-time, sports or otherwise! The magnitude of this victory at a political level was and is unreal. A team of amateur and collegiate players from the United States defeated the Soviet Union considered to be the best international hockey team in the world, 4–3.

2. James “Buster” Douglas over Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson was unbeatable. He was on top of the boxing world. Tyson demolished opponents with ease and had the power and strength of Hercules. Tyson lost his “Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World” title by a KO in round 10 to a 42-to-1 underdog named James “Buster” Douglas on February 11, 1990, in Tokyo.

3. Villanova stuns Georgetown

Villanova Wildcats over Patrick Ewing’s Georgetown Hoyas. Talent-wise, these two basketball teams were at opposite ends of the spectrum. The Wildcats blistered the nets shooting 75% from the field in the game and 90% in the second half. Villanova upset Georgetown in the 1984 NCAA final by a narrow two point margin, 66 to 64.

4. Man O’ War loses only race in 21 starts

And you thought the Kentucky Derby was shocking in 2009 with “Mine That Bird” overcoming 50-to-1 odds to win. The biggest upset in horse racing was 100-to-1 underdog “Upset” beating heavily favored “Man O’ War” in the Sanford Memorial in 1919. Willie Knapp rode “Upset”, the horse whose name has come to mean, “to defeat unexpectedly”.

5. Super Bowl III

Jets Quarterback Joe Namath guaranteed his New York Jets(AFL) a victory over the Baltimore Colts(NFL). The AFL had never won a championship and the victory led to a merger between the two leagues. The NFL had a lack of respect for other league, who had been easily defeated in the prior two Bowls. Namath was named the Super Bowl’s MVP, despite not throwing a touchdown pass in the game or any passes at all in the fourth quarter.

My favorite upset, which I have only seen on NFL films is the last one. In fact, all I knew about Joe Namath was he wore pantyhose. That intrigued me because he had so many women in love with him. Suzy Kolber was the first woman to turn him down!

Q: Rob, are you convinced we need a final now?

A: The 5 “Upsets” above would indicate we do.

We all know Fox is looking forward to the revenue Idol will bring in from advertising dollars.

Q: Can Kris Allen beat Adam Lambert in the showdown?

A: Well, I don’t think he wants to guarantee a victory, though Adam would be the most likely to later wear pantyhose.

Q: I also have heard the debate, “Is it fair that Adam is even a competitor?”

A: Sure, he has enjoyed a semi-successful Broadway career.

I don’t believe he has ever signed a record contract.

Q: Will Danny Gokey’s fans jump on the Kris Allen bandwagon?

A: Twitter has an amazing amount of Adam bashers.

What has Adam Lambert done to the haters besides according to Rob, “single-handedly save” their dying show?

Not going to go there with the gay thing!

Adam haters shouldn’t be too quick to throw stones.

They may, however, want to hand a sling full of them to Kris!

sources: Espn.Go.com, Wikipedia.org

photo source: AP

LeBron vs. Kobe; An Apples to Apples Statistical Look at Their First Six Years

LeBron James just secured his first MVP trophy in his 6th season as a player in the NBA. LeBron is hoping to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to their  first NBA title in 2008-09. He may have to go through Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers to win the championship.

How long did it take Kobe to win the MVP?

Kobe in fact had no MVP trophys on his mantle in his first 6 seasons. He received the honor for the first time 12 years into his NBA career in 2007-08.

How many titles did he have his first 6 years?

Kobe had 3 rings by the end of his 6th season, but he had a little more help in teammate Shaquille O’Neal.

Shaq took home MVP honors in 1999-2000, the first year he and Kobe led the team to an NBA Championship. In fact, many would argue the team had more weapons than just Shaq and Kobe.

Both LeBron and Kobe came straight from high school to the NBA, so this is truly an apples to apples look at the numbers!

Here is a statistical comparison of LeBron vs. Kobe in their first 6 years in the NBA.

LeBron James 6-8, 250 lbs

GAMES    STARTED    FG%    FT%    REBS    ASST    TO    ST    BK    PPG

472              471             47.1    73.8      7.0        6.7        3.2   1.8    .80    27.5

Kobe Bryant 6-6, 205 lbs

GAMES    STARTED    FG%    FT%    REBS    ASST    TO    ST    BK    PPG

414              267             45.8    82.5      4.6        3.8        2.5   1.3    .61    19.8

Source of Statistics: www.NBA.com

photo: AP

Atlanta; No Chance Against LeBron

Can the Atlanta Hawks win the series against league MVP LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers?

A better question might be, can the Hawks win a single game in the series?

The Cavs disposed of the Detroit Pistons in a four game sweep by almost 16 points per contest. The final blowout at the Palace was a lopsided 99-78 win for the Cavs. The Pistons put up little resistance against LeBron and company as the 24 year old superstar finished the game with 36 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists.

“We responded very well coming into a hostile building,” said LeBron in the post game interview, ” we got better every single quarter.”

So, why would the Hawks pose any threat at all in round 2? Atlanta is very athletic, shoots well from the perimeter and crashes the offensive glass. The Hawks grabbed 11 boards at the offensive end in game 7 against Miami leading to 16 second chance points. Cleveland should be concerned.

Or should they?

The Cavaliers won the season series over the Hawks, 3-1. The team with the best home record in the NBA, 39-2, is rested and ready for Joe Johnson and Atlanta. Marvin Williams had 19 points for the Hawks, against the Cavs, in their lone win in Atlanta. Williams, who did not play in the last meeting between the two teams due to a back injury, missed games 3, 4 and 5 of the Heat series with a wrist injury. He figures not to be a factor.

The Cavaliers are rested and according to LeBron, they needed to heal.

It is cliche, but the Cavaliers are on a mission. It has been 45 years since Frank Ryan led the Cleveland Browns to an NFL title in 1964. The town is starving for a winner. The Cavaliers have never won a championship.

LeBron is familiar with his seat at this years playoff table, “It reminds me of the days when I was back in high school. Every time we went out on the court we knew we were going to win. So yeah, this is the hungriest I have been. I see the potential in our team.” -ESPN The Magazine

So, is the King of Cleveland going to let the Atlanta Hawks stand in the way of completing his first real legitimate shot at an NBA crown?

Two words; no chance.