Donte Greene Saves a Life

You often hear a lot about the Michael Vick's and Terrell Owens and other negative sports stars of the world, but rarely ever hear of the many athletes who do positive things for their community. This might not make mainstream media, but stories like this need to be glorified. Kings Forward, and former Syracuse player Donte Greene used his former lifeguard skills to save a woman who was trapped in a dangerous river in Sacramento. Here are some of the highlights of the interview he did on KHTK in Sacramento, via www.sportsradiointerviews.com. A link to the entire interview will be at the bottom of this post.

What happened, Donte?

“We went down the American River, out there having fun, we were linked up with a few boats and everything. Been out there, basically all afternoon, so we were wrapping everything up, everyone was grabbing their buoys and everything, untying and trying to leave. She had let one of her friends drive her boat so she was at the back of the boat trying to pull her ladder in, and I guess she didn’t know she was back there and hit the engine and she flew off the back of the boat. So, I didn’t know, I thought she could swim, she couldn’t swim, I think I’m a swimmer, I was a lifeguard coming up in high school. So, I guess I just reacted and just jumped in, someone threw her a life preserver and I pulled her in to a boat (someone else’s) - almost got run over by one…”

What was going through your head when you jumped in?

“I didn’t even think about it, it was just instinct. You see somebody in a position and you know you can help them out. The water, I’m not even gonna lie, was freezing, freezing cold, but I was hot anyway so the water cooled me off, so that was good… It was just something that happened.”

Showing his humility about the moment he was asked to come on KHTK:

“I got the text earlier that you guys wanted to have me on and I didn’t even know what was going on, I thought a bad rumor had started. You know, these days everybody’s saying all sorts of things. No problem having me on, I’m just she’s okay and everything.”

Very refreshing to see an athlete be so humble after doing some as noteworthy as this. Hopefully, this type of deed can make people realize that Donte Grenne may not be as immature as everyone tries to make him seem. This is the side of sports that people need to read, see, and hear.

Donte Greene Interview with KHTK in Sacramento via sportsradiointerviews.com

Syracuse 2009 Lacrosse National Champions

Today's NCAA Lacrosse National Championship provided all of the drama any sports fan could hope for. More scoring than hockey, faster than soccer, and more action than college baseball, college lacrosse is quickly becoming a popular sport. Games like we had today, on Memorial Day, prove why. Syracuse staged a roaring comeback to stun Cornell 10-9 in overtime. Syracuse won their 11th National Championship, most of any school.

Down by 3 goals with 3:37 left in the 4th, hope for the Orange was slim. The Big Red of Cornell were doing a masterful job of playing keep-away from Syracuse for nearly the entire 2nd half. That is the style of play that brought Cornell to the championship game. They built a quick lead against Virginia in the semi finals, and then milked away the clock with tremendous passing and discipline. However, this was a different game, as fatigue started to affect the Big Red.

Lacrosse is known for crazy comebacks, and this one will have to rank up there with some of the best. One of the reasons why is that a team can quickly score a run of goals if they can win the face-offs. That exactly what happened as Syracuse netted two goals to make the score 9-8 with about 1:30 left to go. Then came the ESPNEWS bonus coverage, because anyone could tell we were in for an epic finish. Syracuse won the face-off and made a quick rush, but were denied. They needed a steal against this careful Cornell team, but got fortunate to come up with one. With just under a minute left, the Orange called a timeout to set up one final play to determine a championship. Patience is often the key in lacrosse, but the Orange had to work quickly to get their final shot. Syracuse began to rush, and a simple pass went over a players head and out of bounds for a turnover.

The Orange needed one more steal, but it seemed impossible with under 20 seconds left. All Cornell needed to do was clear the ball and they would be National Champions. Syracuse's defense once again made a game-changing play, a steal at mid-field gave the Orange just enough time for one of the most clutch goals you will ever see. Syracuse's Matt Abbott fired the ball over his shoulder and it was tipped by a Cornell defender right into Kenny Nims's stick and a diving shot went past the goal-keeper for the tying goal with 4 seconds left.

With the momentum on Syracuse's side, it was no surprise that they won the game in the sudden death overtime. Dan Hardy rifled as pass to Cody Jamison, a player that was just reinstated a couple months ago, and it found the back of the net. Syracuse University 2009 Lacrosse National Champions.

Attention Cavs Sidekicks, Feel Free to Show Up!

How does a team go from over-whelming favorites to trailing in a series? Easy, one player does not beat five. Right now, on both ends, Lebron has been the only advantage that Cleveland has against the Magic. He is the only player who is efficiently scoring, and he is the only player that can shut down the man he is defending. The Magic have been dominating the other 4 match ups on the court.

It's sad when Sasha Pavlovic is the best answer that the Cavs can come up with, because no one on Cleveland can defend Rashard Lewis or Hedo Turkoglu. Mike Brown is making a mistake by not assigning Lebron James to defend one of them instead of Rafer Alston. Anderson Varejao is not comfortable guarding Lewis, and Delonte West is too short to battle Hedo. We have not even mentioned the biggest mismatch of the series, Zydrunas Ilgauskas against Dwight Howard. Face it, the supporting cast of Lebron has to step it up on defense.

Also, the sidekicks have been a huge disappointment on offense. Mo Williams and Delonte West have been missing way too many open 3's. Lebron is the best passer in basketball, and when he drives the lane he finds ways to get them open looks. They have knocked those shots down during the regular season, but it is a different story in the playoffs. Instead, those two are taking difficult jumpers and are turning the ball over. If those two players don't become more consistent, Cleveland has no shot to win this series. Moving to Big Z, he should not take another 3 in this series. He only made 15 during the season, and every time he misses, the Magic get an easy fast break.

If I was Mike Brown, I would make a change to the starting 5. Joe Smith needs to start over either Zydrunas Ilgauskas, or Anderson Varejao. Smith is one of the few players on the Cavs that has a chance to defend Rashard Lewis. Therefore, Lebron can defend Hedo, and the Cavs have a lot fewer mismatches on the court. Also, it gives the Cavs the flexibility to switch on more of the screens. Big Z is just awful at defending the pick and roll, and Anderson Varejao isn't really giving the Cavs anything. One of them needs to come off the bench to let Joe Smith enter the starting lineup.

It looks like the Nuggets mental errors will prevent them from disrupting our dream matchup, but Orlando is not backing down from Cleveland. If the Cavs supporting cast continues to shrink from the big stage, and Mike Brown doesn't make adjustments, instead of having a Dream Final we will have a Disney Final.

Lakers vs. Nuggets, Game 3 Live Blog

Tonight will be game 3 of the Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Nuggets. The series is tied up at 1-1, and the first two games have been spectacular. The Lakers took game one led by Kobe Bryant's huge 4th quarter. He finished the game with 40 points. Meanwhile, Carmelo Anthony rose up to the challenge of defending Kobe, and had 39 points himself. In game 2, the Nuggets fell behind early, but mounted a 12-2 run to end the first half. Chauncey Billups had a nice 2nd half to help the Nuggets not make mistakes down the stretch to win game 2.

Hopefully, game 3 can match the excitement of the previous 4 conference final games. Last night, Lebron James hit a shot that Cleveland fans will remember for the rest of their lives. Finally, they were on the positive end of a historic play. His game winner turned the tide of this series unlike any shot we have seen in these playoffs. They went from devastated to exuberant in a matter of 1 second. Game 1 of that series was no dud either, Rashard Lewis hit a game-winning 3 pointer with under a minute left.

This round has been so phenomenal that R2S has no choice but to do a live blog of game 3. The last, and only other time we did a live blog was the epic 6 OT game between Syracuse and UConn in the Big East Tournament. I can't wait for this game to tip off at 8:30 on ABC. Your participation is encouraged; post your thoughts, predictions, strategy tips, and reaction to the live blog below.

Two New York Stadiums, Two Thumbs Down

Right now, baseball's biggest joke is the new Yankees Stadium. Baseball's newest launching pad has caused great concern among baseball. That is why we can already tell that this ballpark has become a complete failure.

Yankees Stadium should be a cathedral, a landmark, but not a bandbox. We have not even reached the hot, humid summer months, and we have seen balls fly out of the park at an unprecedented rate. There have been 82 home runs hit in the first 21 games of the new park. That number is beyond belief, and the highest number of home runs in any park's first 21 games in baseball history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Also, there already have been nine games of five or more homers and three of seven or more. Fifty-one of the homers have gone to right field.

Maybe they designed the park this way so A-Rod can get to 800 career home runs without steroids. It's good that the Yankees acquired CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett this off-season, because they might not be able to recruit another free agent pitcher, regardless of the amount of money the Steinbrenner's throw at them. The good news, only 99 more years until its time to build another stadium.

Now, the Mets new stadium, Citi Field, and I must say that from an on-field standpoint, the ballpark works pretty well. The Mets wanted a pitcher-friendly park, and that is exactly what they have. They have a quirky wall out in right field, which adds some uniqueness. All of this makes the ballpark look nice on-field, however, it would be nice if all the fans could see the field. There is no excuse for having seats in the stadium where major parts of the outfield are blocked. Obstructed views should not be part of a state-of-the-art ballpark. I was sitting in the highest deck in the left field section, and I literally could not see one-third of the outfield.

Along with having obstructed views, I don't think the ballpark looks that great. I think they tried to hard to create an old ballpark feel to a new stadium, but they didn't accomplish that goal. Instead, it has an ugly in-between feel that is overwhelming. It is such a large structure amongst a bunch of auto shops in the middle of nowhere. You just don't get the comfortable atmosphere that you get in the newer parks such as PNC Park, Camden Yards, Nationals Park, or even Shea.

New York is supposed to have the biggest and the best. These two new ballparks have failed to live up to the hype.

It's Amazing

These NBA playoffs have fit their motto, "It's Amazing". Night after night, we as fans are lucky to be treated with these incredible games. Forget hoping for an easy ride for Lebron and Kobe to the finals, we have battles in the Conference Finals.

We are two games into these two series, and we have had tremendously competitive games, all going down to the final buzzer. Most recently, Lebron James hits an unbelievable three at the buzzer to give the Cavs a much needed game 2 victory. I hope this answers any questions to whether Lebron is clutch.

Charles Barkley said it best, surprisingly, "[The Conference Final Games] have been the best four games you'll ever see." I will hate to see these series end, but the good news is that all four teams seem to be prepared for a long battle. Sounds like seven games to me.

Both game 3's will tell us a lot about how each team reacts to their unique situation. Can the Lakers frontcourt muscle up the strength to match Nene, K-Mart, and Birdman? Can Melo keep up his hot shooting? How will the Cavs find a way to stop the pick and role with Lewis and Hedo? And how will the Magic bounce back from a devastating shot by Lebron.

These playoffs have been so great that I will have to make a top 10 post feeaturing the 10 greatest moments from these playoffs.

Update: This video captures the greatness of the shot by James

Lacrosse Final Four

Sorry for the lack of posts in recent time, but my computer situation has been shaky at best, and it has been inconvenient to continue to post. However, expect more posts during the summer.

Here is a preview of the NCAA Lacrosse Final Four, brought to you by Cedric Lewis, an SI Kids blogger.

The 2009 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament has cut through its original field of 16 and now is down to the final four. The fastest growing sport in the NCAA will hold the semifinal and championship rounds of its Championship Tournament at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA on Saturday and Monday respectively. The four Universities that are left standing are Syracuse, Duke, Virginia, and Cornell. All of these teams have won multiple National Championships except Duke, who has zero National Titles to their name. Syracuse leads the group with ten. On Saturday, the 2nd seeded Syracuse Orange will take on the 3rd seeded Duke Blue Devils at 12:00ET. Then at 2:00ET, the number 1 seed, the Virginia Cavaliers will face off against the 5 seed, the Cornell Big Red. Let’s take a closer look at these two intriguing matchups:

(3) Duke vs. (2) Syracuse
Duke will look to use the momentum that it gained from the nail biting 12-11 victory over their rival North Carolina in the quarterfinal round to beat the lacrosse powerhouse of Syracuse University. Syracuse is coming off of an 11-6 win over Maryland in the quarterfinals. The Orange have their eyes set on back-to-back National Championships and to raise another banner in the Carrier Dome, but Duke attacker and Tewaarton Trophy candidate Ned Crotty will whatever it takes to crush the Orange. All I know is, this should be a heated matchup between two established lacrosse powerhouses.
(1) Virginia vs. (5) Cornell
Cornell, the only Ivy League team left in the field is fresh off of an impressive defensive 6-4 win over Princeton, a usual force in NCAA lacrosse. Virginia, on the other hand, has dominated their way to the semifinals, with an average point margin of 11.5. Twin brothers, Rhamel and Shamel Bratton are leading this surge along with the Tewaaraton Trophy candidate Danny Glading. Shamel Bratton and Danny Glading combine for 12 goals so far in the tournament. Virginia shouln’t have any problem taking care of Cornell, but the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournamnet always has its craziness, so don’t count Cornell out so fast.

This Memorial Day Weekend’s Lacrosse action should be plentiful. This is Lacrosse’s grand stage. Come Monday afternoon, the 16 team field should be narrowed down to just one. Personally, I think the Virginia Cavaliers will be hoisting the trophy after the final whistle blows. Syracuse has some firepower, but Virginia’s offense will prove to be too much for the Orange in the National Championship.