Top 10 Athletes: According to Vineesh

Today in sports, there are so many stand out athletes that are out to make a name for them selves, and not to live in shadows of other stars that once were in their shoes. Recently, I have been thinking about my favorite professional athletes, and those that are most dominant in their sports. Some of these athletes are known all around the world, and others are under the radar. None the less, these athletes play the game hard, and are well respected for what they do. Here are my top 10 athletes of today:

10) Albert Pujols-the most consistant hitter in baseball over the past 5 years

9) Larry Fitzgerald- best reciever in the NFL, at this point in time

8) Alexander Ovechkin- most overlooked young athlete in the world

7) Usain Bolt- fastest man ever
6) Rafeal Nadal- the changing ofthe guards became official in my eyes at the Ausie Open

5) Cristiano Ronaldo- footballer of the year

4) LeBron James-52, 9, 11 at the garden...

3) Tiger Woods- though injured, he will in 4 majors this year

2) Micheal Phelps- knows how to win, and party with college kids

1) Kobe Bryant-KOBE

Lebron...Or Kobe...

Lebron James... or Kobe Bryant. I do not even watch the NBA, but after seeing what the two just did back to back games at the Garden, I do not know who the best player in the league is at this point in time.

Let us take a look at Kobe. 61 points: the highest mark in the Garden ever put up by a player, both home and visiting. The league's reigning MVP will go down as one of the best players to ever play this game. Kobe's 61 came at the perfect time. Laker's center Andrew Bynum went down with a torn MCL and will be out 8-12 weeks. Kobe is the NBA's third leading scorer behind "The King" himself, and Miami's Dwyane Wade. Kobe has proved himself many years ago to the world. He, along with James won a gold medal in the summer Olympics.

Lebron aka The King aka The Chosen One. What else is there to say. Coming out of High School, he was the most talked about, and recruited player. He had NBA talent in 11th grade. And he wasted no time. Let's flash forward to Wednesday night: 52 points 11 assists 10 rebounds. One word: ANIMAL. Lebron saw what Kobe did, and said to him self... where were the assists, and no rebounds? He laughed and said Kobe, step your team game up. Lebron is making a case for MVP. He wants it: he won't say it to anyone, but deep inside, he wants it. He wants that title of MVP, and all that hoisted that trophy. He too will go down as one of the best, if not, the best.

Bynum Done.... Or Is He?

Los Angeles Lakers' center Andrew Bynum fell to the ground holding his knee just the way he did last year around this time. As Kobe Bryant drove in the lane, Bynum went to the net, but going for the rebound, Kobe landed on his leg, eventually send Bynum to the ground.

The diagnosis Monday was a relief to Bynum, who initially feared he might be out for the season.
"It's better news than I expected to hear because of the shot that I took," Bynum said before the Lakers played at the Knicks on Monday night.

Bynum hopes his comeback occurs closer to the eight-week mark, which would give him about 10 games to prepare for the postseason. Twelve weeks would mean the playoffs had already started.

Bynum is the Lakers' third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, averaging 14.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.
The 7-foot, 285-pound Bynum's injury brought back bad memories of last season for the Lakers.

If Bynum doesn't come back and produce, say goodbye to the Lakers' chance of winning a championship. They needed a dominant center in the finals last year to take care of business down low, but that did not happen.

A Little Bit of Everything

This is a busy time in the world of sports. The Superbowl is less than 2 weeks away, the NHL and NBA are midway through the season, and baseball season is right around the corner. There's a few things that I want to bring up. The first being the World Baseball Classic.



I didn't really get into the 2006 WBC but I am excited for this one. The rosters aren't fully set, but I already feel that the Dominican Republic is going to be the team to beat. Their lineup is going to be unstoppable. Players who have already agreed to play for Dominican are Alfonso Soriano, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Vlad Guerrero, David Ortiz, and Robinson Cano. I don't think any pitcher on the planet wants to see those guys all in a row. I could care less about their pitching, which I'm sure is great too, but this lineup alone is enough for them to dominate.

With the NHL's All Star break this weekend, theres many things to discuss about the first half of the season. The Sharks and Bruins lead their Conferences but I feel the best team in the league is the Detroit Red Wings. They're keeping pace with San Jose and are only 3 points behind. This team has a great chance to win back to back Stanley Cups. In the East Boston has been ahead of everyone the whole season but look out for the Washington Capitals and the New Jersey Devils. Alexander Ovechkin is flat out the best player in the league and he can take this team deep into the playoffs. The Devils are almost fully healthy and can jump into first place in the Atlantic Division with a game at hand with a win Wednesday before the break. When Marty Brodeur comes back, this team is going to be dangerous.

There have been many surprises so far in the NBA. Although the Celtics are still an elite team, they came back down to Earth and other teams are now finding out how to beat them. I still think the Cavs will be champions after the season and as long as they are healthy I feel like the Spurs can make a run through the West. LeBron is the favorite for MVP but in last night's matchup between the Cavs and Lakers, Kobe Bryant showed me he should not be forgotten about. Kobe played great defense on LeBron and got the job done offensively, all while playing with a dislocated finger in his shooting hand. This is what I like to see in players and it's nice to see a NBA player not cry like they all do. The Knicks have clearly made improvements and Mike D' Antoni is doing a great job. David Lee is a beast, and if this team can go on a run in the near future, the Knicks could possibly be in position for a playoff spot in the weak Eastern Conference.

I just wanted to get some stuff out there because there is a lot going on and needed to be talked about. I'm pretty pumped for the next couple of weeks in sports. It's a big time of the year.

NBA's Best Alley-Oop Combo?

At the bottom of the Friday Bullets over at Truehoop, I followed the link over to Dime Magazine's website who posed the ever-important question, which tandem of teammates is the NBA's best alley-oop combo? Here are the candidates the give:

• Mike Bibby to Josh Smith


• Rajon Rondo to Kevin Garnett


• Ray Felton to Gerald Wallace


• Mo Williams to LeBron James


• Derek Fisher to Kobe Bryant


• Jameer Nelson to Dwight Howard


• Andre Miller to Andre Iguodala


• Steve Nash to Amare Stoudemire


• Sergio Rodriguez to Rudy Fernandez


• Chris Paul to Tyson Chandler


• Deron Williams to Ronnie Brewer

The way I see it Paul to Chandler is the most consistent alley-oop combo out there. They aren't the flashiest but Paul probably throws the best alley and Chandler is always looking for the oop. As far as highlight reels go, anything involving LeBron or Amare has got to be up there. Also, Sergio and Rudy usually team up for some nasty oops but lets be honest, Rudy just can't do things like the LeBrons, Kobes, and Amares. I think Kobe is the best in-game dunker in the NBA but he doesn't alley-oop all that much. Iguodala is athletically good enough to be one of the top guys, but I don't think he has the game-sense to consistently put himself in the right places on the court to get the oops. That's just my thoughts, what do you think?