My Outlandish Idea After Election Day

#Np: 24K of Gold - Big Sean ft. J. Cole

Pick: Hornets (-1) over Sixers

The election is over, we have our results, and we know who won. I'm not going to get into my thoughts on the elections or politics. This is a sports related blog only. And to tell you the truth, I think it's stupid that people put their political opinions on social media. Not because I don't think it's right to express your own opinion but you're always going to call very negative attention to yourself, especially during this election season.

But now that it's over, I got to thinking. As much as I love and care about my teams, sometimes I'm not satisfied with how things are run in those organizations. So why not have elections for owners and GMs? Crazy, huh? But, seriously. I understand that it's a business and these people are buying these teams with their own money. But I think more power needs to be given to the people, the fans. For example, my Dallas Cowboys are run by a dictatorship...Jerry Jones. He's the owner, the GM, the public relations guy, the team doctor, will walk your dog, and bring you your groceries. But a lot of people are fed up with him in Dallas because of various reasons. Personally, I'm fed up with the culture he's created. If he has all of the power, how can you expect a coach to get through to his players when they know that they can just go cry to Uncle Jerry if they have a problem with the coach.

I'm not going to say that everyone hates Jerry because I'm sure there are people who are impressed with the talent that he's brought in and I actually agree with those people. But talent only get's you so far...like 3-5. That means there are other problems. So we the people, the fans who support their teams through thick and thin, should have more of a say on who runs this thing. And this is how I would do it:

1) Campaigns - I have yet to see an owner or GM make any sort of speech or campaign whatsoever as to the reason why he would be the best fit for the team.

2) Terms - I guess we could keep it American here and say 4 years per term. I think that's enough time to evaluate how ownership has done. But I think we should reward good ownership and allow them to serve unlimited terms.

3) Registration - Yes, you would have to register to vote for your team. So for those of you who like to switch teams every year, your vote counts for the next 4 years. Or you could just not vote, that's OK too.

4) Age - I've been a die-hard fan since I was young but I think 18 is a good age to help make a decision on your team's future.

5) Popular Vote - I actually don't have a problem with the Electoral College but that concept would be nearly impossible here. So it's simple, whoever gets the most votes wins.

Look, I know this would never ever happen. I'm sure there are so many flaws about my proposal. But like I said, election season has me thinking in these weird ways. Or maybe it's just Jerry Jones, but so be it.

Follow me on Twitter...@KolaAlade

2012 NBA Mock Draft

#Np: Dreams - The Game

Pick: Nationals (-130) over Rockies

The NBA Draft is on Thursday and in a previous post (NBA Draft Lottery Projections) I talked about what players should go to each lottery team. I've made some changes after looking at possible free agents, trades, assessing the whole draft class, and what teams really need now that the NBA season is over. So here are all of my 1st round draft picks.

1 - New Orleans Hornets ==> Anthony Davis (Kentucky)
2 - Charlotte Bobcats ==> Thomas Robinson (Kansas)
3 - Washington Wizards ==> Bradley Beal (Florida)
4 - Cleveland Cavaliers ==> Harrison Barnes (North Carolina)
5 - Sacramento Kings ==> Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Kentucky)
6 - Portland Trailblazers ==> Andre Drummond (UConn)
7 - Golden State Warriors ==> Dion Waiters (Syracuse)
8 - Toronto Raptors ==> Damian Lillard (Weber State)
9 - Detroit Pistons ==> John Henson (North Carolina)
10 - New Orleans Hornets ==> Tyler Zeller (North Carolina)
11 - Portland Trailblazers ==> Austin Rivers (Duke)
12 - Milwaukee Bucks ==> Meyers Leonard (Illinois)
13 - Phoenix Suns ==> Kendall Marshall (North Carolina)
14 - Houston Rockets ==> Jeremy Lamb (UConn)
15 - Philadelphia 76ers ==> Arnett Moultrie (Mississippi State)
16 - Houston Rockets ==> Perry Jones III (Baylor)
17 - Dallas Mavericks ==> Terrence Jones (Kentucky)
18 - Houston Rockets ==> Moe Harkless (St. John's)
19 - Orlando Magic ==> Jared Sullinger (Ohio State)
20 - Denver Nuggets ==> Andrew Nicholson (St. Bonaventure)
21 - Boston Celtics ==> Royce White (Iowa State)
22 - Boston Celtics ==> Terrence Ross (Washington)
23 - Atlanta Hawks ==> Fab Melo (Syracuse)
24 - Cleveland Cavaliers ==> Festus Ezeli (Vanderbilt)
25 - Memphis Grizzlies ==> Tony Wroten (Washington)
26 - Indiana Pacers ==> Quincy Miller (Baylor)
27 - Miami Heat ==> Jeffery Taylor (Vanderbilt)
28 - Oklahoma City Thunder ==> John Jenkins (Vanderbilt)
29 - Chicago Bulls ==> Doron Lamb (Kentucky)
30 - Golden State Warriors ==> Marquis Teague (Kentucky)

My Pet Peeves In Sports

#Np: What We Talkin Bout - Jay-Z ft. Luke Steele

Pick: Thunder (+3.5) over Heat

Pet Peeve: When people say "Go Heats!"...it's the Miami Heat...as in H-E-A-T...no "S"

Pet Peeve: The fact that D-Wade spells his 1st name Dwyane and not Dwayne...what was his mom thinking?

Pet Peeve: Spurs "I Want Some Nasty" T-shirts

Pet Peeve: Lamar Odom Mavs jerseys

Pet Peeve: Russell Westbrook's post-game attire

Pet Peeve: Skip Bayless

Pet Peeve: The fact that the Angels have a 5-foot wall all around their outfield and the Red Sox have the Green Monster...can we at least get a little bit of conistency?

Pet Peeve: Comparing Cristiano Ronaldo to Lionel Messi...there is no comparison

Pet Peeve: Rex Ryan

Pet Peeve: The current college football bowl system...things are changing though...thank God

Pet Peeve: Duke University

Pet Peeve: Bobby Petrino

Pet Peeve: The Ivy League not having a conference tournament for basketball...unlike everyone else

Pet Peeve: The hype of the US National Men's Soccer Team

Pet Peeve: The MLB All Star Game

Pet Peeve: Manchester United

Pet Peeve: 92.1% of NBA Memes

Pet Peeve: When the 1st thing people say is, "But how many rings does he have?"

Pet Peeve: When people say the Mavs championship last year was a fluke...it actually makes me laugh that people are still in denial

Pet Peeve: The Pro Bowl...might as well play with tutus and flip flops

Pet Peeve: Soccer highlights on ESPN...they're sooooo terrible

Pet Peeve: The fact that Eli Manning has more rings than his brother Peyton and beat my favorite QB Tom Brady TWICE to do it

Pet Peeve: When fans go nuts during the National Anthem after the words "banner yet wave"...those aren't the last words people

Pet Peeve: Atlanta Hawks

Pet Peeve: When goalkeepers don't wear #1

Pet Peeve: Erik Spoelstra

I'm sure I have a lot more so when I think of any more I'll just throw it on here.

Follow me on Twitter...@KolaAlade

Cristiano Ronaldo Is The LeBron James Of Soccer

#Np: Tony Story - Meek Mill

Pick: Phillies (-149) over Twins

Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James are 2 of the best players in their respective sports. But that's not the only similarity they have. I've been saying for the longest that Cristiano Ronaldo is the LeBron James of soccer. They both have dominant talent over their competition but have a reputation of disappearing in crucial moments and not coming through in the clutch. I think in LeBron's case it's worse because more people dislike him than Ronaldo. But they both still have this problem.

I'll start by comparing what's happened in the past 24 hours. Last night, LeBron put up another amazing stat line of 30 points, 9 boards, and 4 assists. I'll admit that he didn't get much help from his partner in crime Dwyane Wade but that should have given LeBron more of a reason to become more aggressive. But let's be real, the man can't do it by himself. Everyone can point out that Kevin Durant scored 17 in the 4th but you can't forget that he got a lot of help from Russell Westbrook, who almost finished with a triple double. I did have a problem with LeBron shying away from guarding KD when it mattered. We all know that he's the best defensive player for Miami and that Shane Battier just doesn't have much defensive capability anymore. If you want to win this ring, you just have to accept this challenge because there's only 1 guy on the court that could somewhat slow down Durant...YOU.

Today, the best game of the Euros so far was played between Portugal and Denmark. A great comeback by Denmark, only to see a yeeee ball from Varela of Portugal. But a headline from that match was the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo had 2 wide opportunities to put the game away and did absolutely nothing with those chances. 1 on 1 with the keeper...you have to finish those, especially if you're arguably the best player in Europe. And when Denmark tied the game, it seemed like he wasn't trying to help the TEAM win but he was trying to make up for his personal mistake. It doesn't work that way buddy.

Ok, we know that Ronaldo hasn't done much with his national team. But this doesn't mean he hasn't disappointed in crucial moments with Real Madrid. A lot of people get on LeBron for going to bed at a quarter past 3 but Ronaldo has had those moments also. Example: in the 2nd leg of the semi-finals against Bayern Munich in the Champions League this year, Ronaldo opened the game by scoring 2 goals. We all thought it was over and Madrid was going to be in the Final. Well, Bayern got an important PK from Robben which evened the score on aggregate. In the waning moments of the game, Cristiano Ronaldo started playing what I like to call "Hero Ball." Questionable decisions with the ball, tunnel vision, deer in headlights, basically trying to be the hero...only to come up short with every chance he had. The game went to a penalty shootout. Ronaldo was the 1st to take a PK for Real Madrid and of course...he missed. Well, saying he missed would be an understatement. He basically passed the ball to Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer. Madrid ended up losing the shootout and a chance in the Final where they were favorites at home.

I'll look at it from both ways though, Ronaldo did step up and score the game winner this year at Barcelona minutes after Barcelona tied up the score. This essentially won Real Madrid La Liga this past season. And I'm not going to look past the fact that he scored the game winner last year against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey (which they then dropped during their parade and ran over). But ever since he put on the Real Madrid uniform a couple of years ago, his reputation has been similar to LeBron's since he's put on the Miami Heat jersey. If you try me, I can even go back to Ronaldo's days at Manchester United and show you that he's failed in big moments.

I would say the only difference between these 2 is the fact that Ronaldo has won more trophies than LeBron with obviously more opportunities. In soccer, players aren't measured by the number of Champions Leagues they've won when they already have multiple domestic league championships. If that was the case, then Ronaldo and LeBron could literally have the same DNA. But in basketball, players are heavily measured on 1 thing...rings. And there's only 1 way to get a ring...win the NBA Finals.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a great soccer player, definitely a top 5 player in the world. However, I don't like him...too much of a pretty boy attitude and acts like he's so much better than even his own teammates at times. But I'm a huge LeBron fan, I'd like to see him win a ring this year even though he hasn't done the smartest things off the court.

Is that weird???

Follow me on Twitter...@KolaAlade

Mavs 1 Year Anniversary, Remember 6.12.11

#Np: Thank You - Jay-Z

Pick: Thunder (-5) over Heat

Even though the Mavs got swept in the 1st round by the Thunder this year, today is a day to reflect. Exactly one year ago on this day, the Dallas Mavericks won their 1st NBA championship. Every single Mavs fan like myself will remember where they were, what they were doing, and who they were with on June 12, 2011 around 9:30pm. I sure do...watching the game with my family, calling and texting fellow Mavs fans, looking at all of the madness on Facebook and Twitter. My parents, my aunt, and I are huge Mavs fans but my younger brother and sister are actually Miami Heat fans. It wasn't the 1st time I got emotional over a Mavs game but it was the 1st time I was just at a total immediate loss for words. After celebrating with my family and watching the immediate player reactions, I had to leave the house. I walked outside, and just took a quick walk up and down my street. Just in disbelief that we actually did it. After almost getting to the Finals in 2003. After dropping a 2-0 lead to Miami in the 2006 Finals. After winning a team-record 67 games in 2007 and then losing to the 8-seeded Warriors in the 1st round. After dealing with the possibility that Dirk Nowitzki could have been gone after we lost to the Spurs in the 1st round as a 2-seed in 2010. To then beat a team like the Miami Heat who have 3 of the best players in the world. It kind of felt like we did it for America since EVERYONE hates the Miami Heat now. We deserved that ring and we sure as hell earned it with the run that we made. Tough series with Portland in the 1st round, which consisted of a Brandon Roy takeover in the 4th quarter in Game 4 that hurt our hearts. Then not only beating the Lakers but SWEEPING the Lakers, which consisted of a 36 point smacking in the close out game. I hope you guys remember Game 4 of our series against the Thunder, down 15 in the 4th. And all of the sudden, Dirk just went nuts. My cable actually went out that night and I had to rush to a nearby bar in order to catch the comeback. And then we all know what happened against Miami.

I'm 23 years old going on 24 and there's no doubt that this was the greatest moment I've ever had as a fan. All of the haters can go ahead and tell me it will never happen again or whatever. But what you don't understand is that after all of the disappointments and heartbreaks...I wasn't asking for a dynasty, I wasn't asking for a couple, I just wanted one. That's it. I can now die a happy man.

Follow me on Twitter...@KolaAlade