Analyzing the 2013 NBA Free Agent Market

Determining the worth of a Free Agent since the 1970s when free agency entered the NBA. Obviously since both players and General Managers are human their will be contracts that break away from the market standard. By using basketball-reference.com's Win Share statistic and the per annum salaries of players that signed contracts during the 2013 off season we are able to estimate how many million dollars each win share is worth. Even though we were able to find the average amount of money spent on a win share we found that the correlation between win shares and salary is there but we weak with an r-score of only .729. The approximate value for a win share is $1.28 million.

Players like Chase Budinger (injury), Andrew Bynum (injury), Jon Leur, and Wesley Johnson (that bad) were thrown out of the study.

To get a betterlook of how free agency money is distributed let's break it down by position:

As you can see Point Guards are the most underpaid and Centers are overpaid. Examples of this are DJ Augustin of the Chicago Bulls who signed a deal worth $1.3 mil a year despite having 2.8 win shares during the 2012-13 season for a $/WS ratio of $.46. On the other end of the spectrum Dwight Howard inked for $22 mil a year with the Houston Rockets despite only having 7.6 win shares the season before, making him the second most overpaid player. 

Point Guards

Chris Paul was hands down the best player to ink a deal during the 2013 off season but only signed the second biggest contract at $21.40 mil a year. This is quite a bit of money but still falls short of Howard's contract, a player that had about half as many win shares as Paul. The only point guard to be in the top ten of over paid players is Chauncey Billups, who joins his Detroit teammate Josh Smith in the ranks of most over paid free agents of 2013. But what really defines the point guard position is that 3 of the bottom 10 players  in terms of difference between $/WS and the league average were point guards. This includes Nate Robinson who only makes $2 mil a year despite having 5.9 win shares in 12-13.

Shooting Guards

Shooting Guards along with power forwards were the most accurately paid players in the league with a position $/WS of $1.26 mil. Tyreke Evans of the Pelicans and OJ Mayo were both in the top ten in terms of being over paid. Evans makes $11 mil a year despite only 4.4 Win Shares in his contract year. Monta Ellis joins those to at 11 in terms of being over paid. The biggest steal among shooting guards was Nick Young who is making $1.15 mil a year despite 2.3 Win Shares in his contract year, this is most likely due to him expecting to be Kobe's backup in the upcoming years.

Small Forwards

There are three Small Forwards who find themselves to be in the top 10 in terms of overpaidness (it's a new word folks) and they are Andre Iguodala of the Warrior, Earl Clark of the New York Knicks, and Josh Smith of the Pistons (Joe Dumar had a really bad off-season.) Smith actually led the 2013 free agent class in difference between worth and salary. Metta World Peace was the biggest steal for small forwards signing for $1.6 mil a year despite 4.6 win shares the year before. Another New York small forward (although in Brooklyn), Andrei Kirilenko is also in bottom 10 for getting what they are worth.

Power Forwards

Let's just say that no power forward is underpaid (the most underpaid was Carl Landry who was only a measly $.23 mil under the average compared to $.99 mil for Andray Blatche). The average $/WS for the position was $1.25 mil. At the same time that none were underpaid none were drastically overpaid with Jason Maxiell only earning $.11 mil over the league average.

Center

While they are the most overpaid position with Dwight Howard, Chris Kaman, Josh McRoberts, and Zaza Pachulia all showing up in the top 10, their fellow big-man Andray Blatche got the shortest end of the stick during the last off-season.

Now you may have noticed that the most overpaid players tended to be some of the better players in the game; now this got me thinking. Are the third or fourth win share more valuable than the first two. Another group of people in the overpaid category are players with relatively low win shares; this makes me think that league rules regarding veteran salary minimums causes older players to be worth more. First this I'll show a quick graph that shows how different age groups' $/WS compare to the league average.

So it turns out that I was wrong that veterans would be overpaid since the salary floors would cause them to be paid more so than they deserve. These observations are actually easily explainable. The first three groups are players either entering their second or third contract so it can be expected that players might be paid as much for potential as they are for production (Especially the 20-29 year olds.) The veterans are underpaid since their performance can only be expected to decline.

Now what about the idea that win shares become more valuable as the amount a player has increases. This would fit in well with the SuperStar wage theory (where top performers in certain fields earn drastically more than those only slightly less desirable then themselves.) 

Frow what I can tell players with low win shares have exaggerated $/WS because of salary floors. The 8-14 Win Share range is a little odd since only 3 players fell in that range and two of them, Tiago Splitter and David West were in situations where they would have to take discounts to stay with their current team. If you combine them with the 7 to 7.9 range their is sort of a player demand curve to be formulated. But their is still the question of why 6-6.9 are so drastically underpaid. 

So the demand curve looks like a W and this is my theory. Players in the 6-6.9 range are role players on good teams that are willing to take pay cuts to play on contenders. Also, there win shares are probably inflated since they are surrounded by superstars. Players in the 4-5.9 range are role players who have decided to have elevated roles on poorer teams (taking money over wins.) Now if you take the superior end of this demand curve, the 7-14 range you'll see that players are worth about 1.4 mil for each win share. So for elite players like Lebron James and Kevin Durant they are probably worth up towards $30 million in a salary capless league.

Anthony Should have been pulled; Flyers Lose

1. Carmelo Anthony injured his right knee during the Knicks 102-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. He left the game with 6:42 left in the second two nights ago. Knicks' coach Mike Woodson has admitted that Anthony had asked to come out earlier in the game but Woodson decided to keep him in.
2. Terrell Sinkfield, a wide receiver from Northern Iowa ran 4.19 40 yard dash at a pro-day. The event was held at the University of Minnesota and Sinkfield wasn't exactly consistent in his attempts. He ran a 4.27 on his first attempt, a 4.19 on the second. and when called back for a third he ran a 4.4. He reportedly stumbled on the third but the Minnesota Viking's college scouting director said he didn't have a time below 4.3.
3. Real Madrid defeated Manchester United 2-1 in the second leg of their round of 16 Champions League matchup to win by an aggregate score of 3-2. All goals came from Real Madrid with Sergio Ramos committing an own goal at the 48 minute mark. Luka Modric tied the game up in the 66 minute and Cristiano Ronaldo put Madrid up for good in the 69th. Sir Alex Ferguson got shit for not starting Wayne Rooney and the Red Devils lost midfielder Nani due to a Red Card.
WBC Recap

Dae Ho Lee

Despite Korea's (2-1) 3-2 win over Chinese Taipei (2-1) it will be Taipei that will be advancing to the second round. Korea was down 2-0 until the eighth inning when Dae Ho Lee hit in Seung Yuop Lee with an RBI single and Jungho Kang plated two with a double.
Both Cuba (3-0) and Japan (2-1) had advanced to the next round but Cuba earned the number one spot in group A with a 6-3 win. Japan was trailing 6-0 before scoring 3 meaningless runs in the ninth. Wilber Perez got the win for Cuba throwing three innings of scoreless ball. Both Yasmany Tomas and Alfredo Despaigne homered for Cuba.
NBA Recap

Westbrook

Paul Pierce fell a few assists short of a triple double scoring 18 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and dishing out 7 assists in Boston's 109-101 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Thaddeus Young had 19 points and ten rebounds.
The Thunder pulled away from the Lakers in the fourth on their way to a 122-105 victory. Russell Westbrook was the star for the Thunder scoring 37 and grabbing 10 rebounds while Kevin Durant had 26 and had 9 rebounds. Kobe Bryant scored 30 for the Lakers and Dwight Howard had only 6 points despite five of his 16 rebounds being on offense.
Ty Lawson scored 24 as the Nuggets defeated the Kings 120-113. Kenneth Faried had 19 points and 12 rebounds to help Lawson out while Marcus Thornton scored 32 for the Kings.

NBA League Leaders - Mar 5, 3013
Points		P	Assists		A
	1. Russell Westbrook	37		1. Jrue Holiday	10
	2. Marcus Thornton- SAC	32		2. Isiah Thomas- SAC	8
	3. Kobe Bryant- LAC	30		3. Iguodala, Lawson, A. Miller, P. Pierce, E. Turner	7
	4. Kevin Durant- OKC	26		4. Jason Terry- BOS	6
	5. Ty Lawson	24		5. Too Many	5
Rebounds		R	Steals		S
	1. Dwight Howard	16		1. Andre Iguodala	5
	2. DeMarcus Cousins- SAC	13		2. Jrue Holiday- PHI	4
	3. Kenneth Faried- DEN	12		3. Half of NBA	3
	4. EarlClark- LAL	11		4.
	5. Paul Pierce- BOS	11		5.
Blocks		B	Turnovers (bad)		TO
	1. DeMarcus Cousins	5		1. Kevin Garnett	6
	2. JaVale McGee- DEN	4		2. Earl Clark- LAL	5
	3. Kevin Durant- OKC	3		3. Jrue Holiday- PHI	5
	4. A lot	2		4. Paul Pierce- BOS	5
	5.			5. Avery Bradley- BOS	4

NHL Recap
Tampa Bay got off to a 4-0 lead before the Devils could put a buck in the net. Nate Thompson scored two of the Lightning's first four goals before Adam Henrique scored for the Devils 13 minutes into the third period. The Devils added another goal before B.J. Crombeen scored on an empty net assisted by Adam Hall and Nate Thompson (who had 3 points on the night) to only lose 5-2.The Devils have to really be missing Brodeur right now cause Hedberg sucks and they pulled him in favor of Keith Kinkaid 33 minutes into last night's game.
The Canadiens' Tomas Plekanec opened up scoring 5 minutes into the game but that was about the end of Montreal's fortunes. Matt Moulson, Matt Martin, and Michael Grabner all scored for the Islanders in the second before P.K. Subban answered back for the Canadiens to make it 3-2. Brian Gionta then scored for the Canadiens to tie it up but the Islanders answered back with 3 straight goals by Radek Martinek, John Taveres, and Colin McDonald to win 6-3. The Canadiens outshot the Isles 32-24. John Taveres of the Islanders had an assist in addition to his goal and Michael Ryder had 3 assists for Montreal.
The Bruins were up 3-0 after the first but things changed when Mike Ribeiro opened up the second with a goal for Montreal. Tomas Kundratek made it 3-2 6 minutes later and the Caps entered the third down 3-2. 13 minutes into the third the Caps were able to force overtime due to Wojtek Wolski's goal. Overtime lasted quick with Eric Fehr scoring 37 seconds in for the 4-3 win.. Fehr also had an assist in the second and Nicklas Backstrom had three assists on the night.
The Hurricanes were able to fend off a 3 goal third period by the Buffalo Sabres. Alexander Semin scored an insurance goal with 16 minutes left which proved to be crucial as Cody Hodgson brought the Sabres within one with just under a minute left. Semin also had two assists in the 4-3 win while Jason Pominville had two assists for the Sabres.

Nash

The Blue Jackets and the Oilers entered the third period at 2-2 and since no one scored, the game was off to overtime. Again, nothing was settled there and it went to a shootout where Columbus won 2-0 thanks to Antem Anisimov and Mark Letestu. Jack Johnson scored the game tying goal in the second period for the Jackets.
Rick Nash scored twice in the third to bury the Flyers 4-2. The Rangers had used two goals by Ryan Callahan to equal the Flyers two by Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek (they each assisted on each other's goals). In what could be considered a good night for Braydon Coburn, he only had one turnover.
It was a good old fashioned rivarly game between the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche. The Redwings got up 2-0 in the second thanks to Johan Franzen and Niklas Kronwall. Paul Stastny scored in the third for the Avs but with only 1:30 left it was hard to create a comeback. It was a nice clean game with only 3 penalties and Jimmy Howard made 36 saves in the 2-1 win.
Bryan Bickell scored two of the Blackhawks first four goals as they got up on the Wild 4-1 after one. Brandon Saad scored one himself and assisted on of Bickell's and Hossa's. Ryan Suter and Kyle Brodziak scored for the Wild in the third before Patrick Kane put his foot down and stopped their rally with a goal of his own. The Blackhawks outshot the Wild 32-23 in the 5-3 win.

Muzzin

The Sharks were up 2-0 on the Canucks halfway through the second before Henrik Sedin and Jannik Hansen scored for the Nucks to tie things up. From there things went to overtime where it took four rounds to determine a winner. Chris Higgins scored in the first attempt for Vancouver and Logan Couture converted for San Jose on their third to make the shootout go to overtime. Joe Pavelski scored on Cory Schenider to secure the 3-2 SO win. Schneider is now 6-4-2 with a 2.58 GAA while Roberto Luongo is 5-2-3 with a 2.19 GAA.
Lastly, there were 18 powerplays and 10 goals in the Kings' 6-4 defeat of the Blues but yet there were no powerplay goals. The Kings scored five unanswered to come back from a 4-1 deficit. Jake Muzzin scored twice and had an assist while Jeff Carter had the game-winner with 14 minutes left in the game.

NHL League Leaders - Mar 3, 2013
Offensive Player Rating		OPR	Defensive Player Rating		DPR
	1. Jonathan Toews	20		1. Jake Muzzin	16
	2. Eric Staal -CAR	19		2. Drew Doughty- LA	15
	3. Ryan Callahan- NYR	18		3. Brad Stuart- SAN	15
	4. Alex Ovechkin- WAS	16		4. Slava Voynov- LA	14
	5. Nate Thompson- TB	15		5. Alex Pietrangelo- STL	14
Goals		G	Assists		A
	1. Cody Hodgson	2		1. Nicklas Backstrom	3
	2. Nate Thompson-TB	2		2. Eric Staal- CAR	3
	3. Bryan Bickell- CHI	2		3. Michael Ryder- MON	3
	4. Jake Muzzin- LA	2		4. Justin Williams- LA	3
	5. Rich Nash/Ryan Callahan-NYR	2		5. Shit ton	2
Saves		SV	Shots Against		SA
	1. Justin Peters	37		1. Justin Peters	40
	2. Jimmy Howard- DET	36		2. Devan Dubnyk- EDM	38
	3. Antti Niemi- SAN	36		3. Antti Niemi- SAN	38
	4. Devan Dubnyk- EDM	35		4. Jimmy Howard- DET	37
	5. Jean- Sebastien Giguere- COL	31		5. J. Giguere COL, B. Holtby WAS	33

Randy Moss out of San Fran; Week In Review

1. Randy Moss has decided that he will not be returning to the Super Bowl runner up San Francisco 49ers for the 2013 season. Moss, who has 982 career catches and 15,292 yards in his 14 year career only had 28 receptions and 435 yards in the 2012 season. He has not hinted on where or whether he will be playing next year.
NBA Recap

Wade

The Miami Heat won their 14th game in a row with a 99-93 defeat of the New York Knicks. Lebron James led the way with 29 points and 11 rebounds while teammate Dwayne Wade added 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Carmelo Anthony dropped 32 for the Knicks.
Kevin Durant fell a rebound short of a double-double with 35 points and nine boards in the Thunder's 108-104 win over the Clippers. In a matchup of two of the best teams in the NBA, OKC guard Russell Westbrook scored 29 points while dishing out 10 assists.Chirs Paul scored 26 points and had 8 assists for the Clippers.
A game after upsetting the Bulls the Sixers fell to the terrible Wizards 90-87. John Wall led the Way for the Wizards with 16 points and 6 assists while Emeka Okafor dominated the paint scoring 12 and securing 16 rebounds. No one from Philadelphia is worth mentioning.
The Memphis Grizzlies rightly destroyed the Orlando Magic 108-92. Six Grizzlies scored in double-digits with Marc Gasol scoring 12 while grabbing 11 rebounds and Tayshaun Prince scoring a game-high 14, which is awfully sad for a game-high.
The Kings obliterated the Charlotte Bobcats 119-83, John Salmons scored a game high 22 points for the Kings while his teammate Jason Thompson scored 18 while grabbing 14 rebounds.

Parsons

It was another high-scoring blowout in Houston as Chandler Parsons scored 32 points in the Rockets 136-103 romp of the Mavericks. Omer Asik grabbed a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. O.J. Mayo led the Mavs with 18 points.
Surprise, Surprise; the Spurs took part in another blow out beating the Pistons 114-75 even without the help of Tony Parker. Tim Duncan had 16 points and 11 rebound while Manu Ginobili 17 points. Greg Monroe scored 16 points to lead the Pistons.
David West scored 31 points as the Pacers beat the Bulls 97-92. Jimmy Butler and Marco Bellnelli each scored 20 for the Bulls.
Kobe Bryant hit a layup with nine seconds left to beat the Lakers in a 99-98 lead that ended up being the final score. Bryant totaled 34 points in the whole game while teammate Dwight Howard grabbed 15 rebounds. AL Horford led the Hawks with 24 points.
NBA Week In Review

2-25 to 3-3 NBA All-Star Game Rosters
Pos	East Starters	Pos	West Starters
G	MIA- Dwayne Wade	G	OKC- Russell Westbrook
G	MIL- Monta Ellis	G	GS- Stephen Curry
F	MIA- Lebron James	F	OKC- Kevin Durant
F	ATL- Al Horford	F	SA- Tim Duncan
F	CHI- Joakim Noah	F	MEM- Marc Gasol

NHL Recap
Tomas Tatar scored for the Red Wings early in the third to make it seem as if the Blackhawks consecutive point streak was gonna end. Patrick Kane came threw on the powerplay with 2 minutes left to save the Blackhawks and force overtime. The game went to a shootout where Patrick Kane again was the hero netting the only goal as the Hawks won 2-1.

Kane

Brad Boyes scored for the Islanders in the first and Mike Zibanejad scored for the Senators in the second to set up a decisive third period. Michael Grabner gave the Isles a 2-1 lead with only three and a half minutes in the game but then Patrick Wiercloch tied things up again with a minute left. Overtime was not able to produce anything and the shootout went to overtime where Frans Nielsen and John Tavares scored for the Islanders as they completed a 3-2 win.
It was another thriller in Columbus where the Blue Jackets had to come from behind for the 2-1 win. P.A. Parenteau scored for the Avs in the second but Vinny Prospal came through for the Blue Jackets 4 minutes into the third. Once in overtime the Jackets' Artem Anisimov scored with help from Tim Erixon and Mark Lestestu for the win. Both of the Jackets' goals came on the powerplay.
This game was not as close with the Blues opening up the scoring 4 minutes into their battle with the Stars. Erik Cole answered David Perron's goal 10 minutes later and then was followed up by Derek Roy to enter the second up 2-1. In the third the Stars solidified their lead with goals by Loul Eriksson and Jaromir Jagr. Derek Roy had two assists in addition to his one goal for a three point night in a 4-1 win.
Remarkably the Panthers- Hurricanes game only had 6 penalty minutes but their was a decent amount of scoring. The Hurricanes' Justin Faulk and Alexander Semin both scored in the last two minutes of the first and Eric Staal scored in the second to give the Canes a 3-0 lead. Jonathan Huberdeau then stooped the bleeding for the Panthers and he then scored again with a minute left in the third. Unfortunately for the Cats, "Hubey" or any of his other teammates were unable to score and they fell 3-2.
The Bruins entered the third period up 3-2 on the Canadiens but Max Pacioretty's goal tied the game up while David Desharnais's goal put the Habs up 4-3 where they finished the game. Patrice Bergeron scored one goal and assisted on the Bruis' other two goals. Brendan Gallagher had two assists for the Bruins.

Cammalleri

Rick Nash (1 G, 1A) and Martin Gaborik (2A) both had two assists in the Rangers 3-2 victory over the Sabres. The Rangers had a 2-1 lead entering the third until Nathan Gerbe scored a shorthanded goal  to force overtime. Overtime produced nothing and the game went to a shootout where Rick Nash and Ryan Callahan converted for the Rangers as they won 3-2.
The Minnesota Wild were led by Mikko Koivu's three points (1 G, 2 A) as they defeated the Oilers 4-2. Koivu broke a 1-1 tie 9 seconds into the third and then his teammate Charlie Coyle added insurance a few minutes later. Sam Gagner got the Oilers back within one before Dany Heatley scored on the powerplay to put the game out of reach.
Mike Cammalleri scored twice including the insurance goal in the third as the Flames defeated the Canucks 4-2. The teams split goals in both the first and the second as the third became a winner-take-all event. Jarome Iginla broke the draw 13 minutes in with assists from Mark Giordano and Jri Hudler to provide the win. Jannik Hansen had two points (1 G, 1A) for the Canucks.
NHL Week In Review

2-25 to 3-3 NHL All-Star Game Rosters
Pos	East Starters	Pos	West Starters
F	BOS- Patrice Bergeron	F	MIN- Mikko Koivu
F	FLA- Marcel Goc	F	CHI- Jonathan Toews
F	BUF- Steve Ott	F	CHI- Patrick Kane
D	CAR- Justin Faulk	D	MIN- Ryan Suter
D	FLA- Brian Campbell	D	EDM- Jeff Petry
G	BUF- Ryan Miller	G	COL- Semyon Varlamov

NBA all star game; Bruins move into first place

As usual there was almost no defense being played in the All Star game as the West defeated the East 143-138. If you look at the numbers you'll see that their is usually about 5.2 blocks a game by a team but last night each team only averaged 4. Now that really isn't too far below the average but with some of the NBA's best players you think there would be some great defensive plays. The blocks were low but the turnover numbers were even higher. NBA team's average 14.5 turnovers a game but last night the team's averaged 17.5 or about 8% higher than usual. Chris Paul was named the MVP scoring 20 points and also dishing out 15 passes. Kevin Durant scored a game  high 30 rebounds while Carmelo Anthony scored 26 while grabbing a game high 12 boards. Kevin Garnett started the game but only played 6 minutes, failing to score, due to his forever aging body. Here are your highlights.

In other news today, Darren O'Day signed a deal with the Baltimore Orioles to make this the first year in the 39 year history of Arbitration in which no hearing has been held.
Former USC quarterback Matt Barkely has decided not to throw at the NFL combine as he continues to nurse his sore shoulder.
Lastly, Danica Patrick became the first women to win the pole at the Daytona 500.

NHL Recap
The Penguins slid (on their bellies) past the Devils into first place with a 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres were leading 3-2 with 15 minutes left in the game but goals by Pascal Dupuis and Paul Martin put the Penguins up 4-3. Thomas Vanek's second period goal increased his total on the year to 12.
Despite a third period comeback by the Kings, the Blackhawks were able to hold on for a 3-2 victory in Chicago. Mike Richards (former Flyer) scored the Kings' two third period goals.
The Bruins pulled a Penguins and got into first place of the Northeast Division with a 3-2 victory of the Jets. The game was tied 2-2 going in to third before Brad Marchand's goal 36 seconds into the third frame but the Bruins into the lead.
In Dallas, the Stars lost to the Flames 4-3. The Stars were up 3-1 entering the third but lost the lead thanks to goals by Roman Horak, Matt Stajan, and Steve Begin. For each one of those guys it was their first goal of the year.
Detroit led the Wild 2-0 until 11 minutes left in the second when the Wild responded with three unanswered goals. Dany Heatley scored his 5th goal of the year to change the tie while Jason Tucker recorded the game-tier and Torrey Mitchell got the game winner.
The Rangers defeated the Capitals 2-1 at Madison Square Garden. Derek Stepan scored the game winning goal in the third to break the one-one tie. Braden Holtby made 38 saves in the lost.
Finally, the Blues beat the Canucks 4-3 in a shootout. It was Luongo's third overtime loss of the season and he has yet to lose in regular time.

All NHL (quick)

Forward- Jonathan Toews- Chicago Scored one goal on the power play as well as chipping in an assist. Also had 4 takeaways in 20 minutes of play.
Forward- David Backes- St Louis Played the role of distributor with an assist. Finished the game with a +1 rating while playing good defense blocking 2 shots and recording 2 hits.
Forward- Pascal Dupuis- Pittsburgh Recorded two goals in the Penguins win and also added in an assist. Finished +2 and also had 3 hits and two takeaways.
Defense- Johnny Oduya- Chicago Recorded an assist while also knocking down 2 Kings.
Defense- Stephane Robidas- Dallas Had an assist to finish +2. Also had 4 hits.
Goalie- Braden Holtby- Washington Although he lost his .950 SV% was second in the NHL only to Henrik Lundqvist. Holtby had to face 40 shots due to a poor defense and made 38 saves.

Eagles Sign Dennis Dixon

Chip Kelly has added another option to his quarterback list with the signing of Dennis Dixon. The former Pittsburgh Steeler will join Michael Vick and Nick Foles for the quarterback job. Dixon was the quarterback at Oregon from 2004 to 2007 and was the starter in 2006 in 2007. Hi senior year also happened to be Kelly's first year as offensive coordinator at Oregon. He threw for over 2,000 yards both his junior and senior year but his senior year was much better than his junior. During his junior campaign Dixon had a not so hot 12:14 TD/INT ratio but dramatically improved to 20:4 his senior year. Dixon was also a running threat for the Ducks rushing over 90 times his junior and senior years. He rushed for his 1208 yards in 4 years. He was named Pac-10 offensive player of the year in 2007 and was a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award and Maxwell Award. Not only was 2007 a big year for Dixon the gridiron; he also played minor league baseball in the Atlanta Braves system. That really didn't work out too well as he hit .176 with a .322 OBP in 28 games at rookie level. DIxon's NFL career started in 2008 when he was drafted by the Steelers in the 5th round. He appeared in one game his rookie year completing one pass for three yards and compiling -3 rushing yards. He made one start in his sophomore season completing 12-26 passes for 145 throwing one TD and one interception. 2010 was his last year of competitive play starting in two games for the Steelers and winning both. He had a 68.8 % passing percentage in those two games but then finished the season on the IR. He did not appear in any games in 2011 for the Steelers and in 2012 he was signed briefly to the Ravens' practice squad but was cut early on in the season. Dixon had a lot of success under Kelly so it will be interesting to see if he is able to win the Starting job this year.

NBA Recap
Only two games last night but they were marquee matchups between the Heat and Thunder and Clippers and Lakers.
In Oklahoma City the Heat held onto their lead despite the Thunder winning the 4th 31-22 for a 110-100 Miami victory. The two stars of the night did not disappoint with Lebron James scoring 39 points and 12 rebounds while Kevin Durant went for 40 and 8.
In a very high scoring affair the Clippers beat the Lakers 125-101. Kobe Bryant led the Lakes with 20 points and 11 assists while Chris Paul did something similar for the Clippers coring 24 points and dishing out 13 assists.

All NBA
With only two games there has to be some repeat teams.

Guard- Chris Paul- LA Clippers As mentioned before he scored 254 points and had 13 assists. His 3 turnovers were a little high but not too bad. He shot a perfect 5-5 from the line and 3-5 from 3pt land.
Guard- Russell Westbrook- OK City He did commit a costly 6 turnovers but he made up for it in other parts of the game. He finished the game with 26 points and 10 assists. He was a below average 7-19 from the field but his 12-13 from the line almost makes up for it.
Forward- Lebron James- Miami *Player of the Night* Hard to argue with this one as he led his team to victory against the Thunder in a repeat of last years Finals as well as a matchup between two teams that don't have an S in their name. He shot 58.3% from the field including 4-8 from long range. HE also dished out 7 assists and grabbed 12 rebounds in addition to his 39 points.
Forward- Kevin Durant- OK City Should be mentioned that he played all but 28 second of the game and he put them to good use. He committed a high 5 turnovers but his 40 points made up for it. He was an incredible 15-15 on free throws.
Center- Chris Bosh- Miami I really don't care for him too much but Bosh played a good game last night. He was 10-14 from the field but he failed to make it to the free throw line (and that is troubling for a big man). He finished the night with 20 points (you could probably have figured that out from the last sentence) and 12 rebounds.

NHL Recap
Three of the six games last night went to overtime last night and we will start with a shootout in New York.
The Rangers defeated the Islanders 4-3 thanks to goals by Frank Nielsen and John Tavares in the shootout. Tavares also scored in the second period.
The Hurricanes picked up their third straight win with a 3-1 Jussi Jokinen's goal in the second put the Hurricanes up 2-1.
Eric Fehr scored two goals in the Capitals 4-3 defeat of the Lightning. This is the 6th straight loss for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Rene Bourque scored two minutes into overtime to give the Canadiens a 1-0 win in Florida.
The Predators handed the Coyotes a 3-0 defeat. Pekka Rinne made 19 saves for his second straight shutout.
In Minnesota, the Wild and Avalanche decided things with a shootout.Milan Hejduk and Matt Duchene both converted for the Avs in the shootout on their way to a 4-3 victory.

All NHL
Forward- Zach Parise- Minnesota Minnesota's newest addition netted one goal on his 9 shot attempts. Finished the game with a +2 rating and 4 hits.
Forward- Eric Staal- Carolina Dished out an assist but made his mark defensively with 4 takeaways.
Forward- Matt Duchene- Colorado Similar to Staal in that neither of them are strangers to this list. He scored one goal last night in addition to 2 blocks, 2 hits, and one takeaway.
Forward- John Tavares- NY Islanders Scored one goal in regulation and one goal in the shootout to lead the Islanders to victory.
Defense- Dan Girardi- NY Rangers In 26 minutes of ice time Girardi scored a goal, had three takeaways, two hits, and 2 blocks.
Defense- Tyson Barrie- Colorado Got a powerplay assist in the second period for the Avs and also blocked 3 shots.
Defense- Joe Corvo- Carolina Recorded two points on a goal and an assist, both in the second period.  Finished the game with a +2 +/-.
Goalie- Carey Price- Montreal Made 26 of 26 saves in his team's 1-0 defeat of the Panthers.
Goalie- Jose Theodore- Florida The former Hab was against his former team and despite the loss he saved 31 of 32 shots. His .969 SV% was the highest last night of any non-shutout performance. (Pekka Rinne had a shutout but only faced 19 shots)

Spurs Run Thunder in Game 2

Tonight the Thunder started off clueless against the Spurs pick and roll game. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were successfully able to get to the rim all night because of the Spurs’ big men relentlessly screening Russell Westbrook. He was left on an island all by himself because Thunder big men did not want to leave Tim Duncan wide open down in the post as a result of helping Westbrook. The Spurs started off dominating the game even though Duncan had an awful performance on from the field. Duncan was able to get open in the paint was either not able to make the shot or had trouble getting a hold of the ball. Great ball movement from Parker and Ginobili allowed Kawhi Leonard and other Spurs role players to get open shots.  The Spurs also played superior defense in the first half as Durant was the only Thunder really able to get to the rim with Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Westbrook.

Splitter spent much time at the line due to the
Hack-A- Splitter technique

The Thunder on the other hand really struggled to get the ball rolling at all during the game. They had no real offense going throughout the game and most of their points coming from their Big 3. Unable to run plays, the Thunder relied on one on one basketball and fast break points for their offense. With the Spurs running all over the Thunder the Thunder decided to go to the Hack-A-Splitter strategy. It worked a little as Tiago Splitter struggled from the line. In the end it did not work as well as planned because the Spurs were able to score with the clock stopped and the Thunder failed to capitalize on offense.

Unless the Thunder can find some sort of homecourt advantage the Spurs will most likely run all over them on their way to the NBA Finals. What more can you expect from a team that seems to have everything. They have a big 3 that is capable of rebounding, scoring, and passing while also possessing a great depth of role players. This depth will help them later on in the season as they will not get tired late in games. They also have the most experience together of any of the teams left in the playoffs, Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan have been around since the end of the David Robinson era. It will be interesting to see if the Heat or Celtics challenge the Spurs in the Finals.