The Giant Germans

The Junkiez continue to analyze International teams and link physicality to style of play and next on the list is Germany. There's only one thing that these guys have in common. They all remind you of that freak at your gym. Germany has always produced the biggest footballers and despite the valiant and admirable attempts made by Ozil and Lahm to break the trend, Germany still stands safely at the top of the "Average Weight" and "Average Height" rankings. Here's the line-up: Manuel Neuer ( 6ft 4" and 200lbs), Mats Hummels ( 6ft 3" and 200lbs), Per Mertesacker (6ft 6", 187lbs), Bastien Schweinsteiger ( 6ft 0", 174lbs), Mario Gomez ( 6ft 2 1/2", 187lbs). Really? Is this the WWE?

Now, when 9 of 11 players on the field are above 6ft tall, its easy to see why Germany are always a great threat from set pieces, especially when they always seem to have a Ozil to swing the crosses in. Their vertical dominance, however, seems to be best expressed defensively. At six feet plenty, Germans are defensively well placed. Set pieces are defended easily, and their long reaches mean that their sliding tackles stretch to infinity and beyond. Their weight also allows them to push the opponent off the ball and play a more physical game. Its also more defensively assuring to have a giant between the sticks. Oliver Khan (6ft 2"), Jens Lehmann (6ft 3") and Manuel Neuer (6ft 4") represent commanding penalty area presences. Germany are known for their powers of penalty taking. The specialist say penalty taking is about psychological as much as technical dominance. So the secret behind Germany's penalty success is absolutely crystal as a man 6ft 6" is much more intimidating than one 5ft 7''.

There is only one possible downside to the German style of play. In this era of obsession with player protection and "beautiful" football and the increased number of Olympic divers in the sport, Germans are quickly penalized by referees for as much as rubbing on another player. No matter how good a team is......if you're 1 man down, you're gonna find it hard to win games.

Kareem.......signin' out!

The Portuguese Pretty Boys

The Junkiez would be exploring 5 international teams and link physicality to the counrty's football. First the Portuguese Pretty Boys, headed by Ronaldo, Quaresma and Nani. Over the years Portugal have been known to produce the most fancy wingers known to world football. Figo, Ronaldo, Quaresma, Nani, Simao......and the list goes on. Its almost as if to be in the Portuguese team the requirement is to move your feet 5 rpms a second! When you hear "pretty" used as a football terms, you think of fancy footwork, bended free kicks and inch-perfect crosses.

The only down-side is that pretty in football also brings with it "soft". The players sometimes lack that physicality in thier game and they sometimes have to rely on their speed and not strength to win balls. They are also get frustrated easily, its as if they' ve been spoilt their entire lives and as soon as a Cambiasso or a De Rossi runs them over they want to cry. They also concede many fouls, as you expect from footballers whose main goal seems to be to embarass the opposition. This can be both good and bad since one of two things can happen. 1. Someone can step up and bend the ball into the onion bag or place a cross right on your eyelids OR the referee begins to get fed up with you and totally ignore you EVERYTIME.

All in all Portugal has brought nothing but interest and flair into this beautiful sport. Not every team in the world produce 7 out of 11 players that can move the ball so fast it breaks your ankles, bend a ball like a boomerang or could place a cross on your nose-peak. I mean lets be serious.....RICARDO can do it! God Bless the Portuguese.

Preview of Mayweather vs Ortiz : Prediction

Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. (41-0 25KO) is set to fight the young, talented Victor Ortiz (29-2-2 22KO)on September 17th for the WBC Welterweight belt. Mayweather, the egocentric, often-criticized, controversial boxer has definitely set his eyes on accomplishing a goal; and that is to be once again considered as the pound for pound best. So who better to challenge than the young, powerful southpaw Victor Ortiz; whose fresh off an impressive victory over Berto to gain his first World Title. Looking to be the first to defeat Mayweather, Ortiz is as dangerous a fight as they come and would be no easy push-over for Mayweather, or so they say. Now that we've gotten the details out the way, the question you've all been waiting for: Who's ass is getting whopped? I must say, though this is an easy one to predict, don't sleep on Mr.Ortiz. Floyd has had trouble in the past fighting southpaws, ala Zab Judah and DeMarcus Corley to name a few, but none as consistent and relentless as Ortiz. However, Mayweather possesses the ability to adjust to any fighter in the ring, a skill possessed by few. His speed and agility combined with his power will eventually prove too much for Ortiz. This fight is nothing more than a tune-up for "Money May" to prepare for the possible mega-fight of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. This bout does promise to be an entertaining one, and one that will be highly anticipated. Sure we might see a couple hard straight jabs, some jaw-shattering uppercuts, and a few head-twisting hooks, but at the end of it all, Mayweather will be 42-0 and Ortiz will probably be needing a few stitches and face mask.

John, and I'm out.

Our Top 10!

After weeks of inexcusable absence, I have finally gathered the strength to post a new article. I hoped that you missed me a little while i was gone, in the words of Aubrey Graham. Now it's time to get back to business. Here at Junkland, we marvel at the skill and sheer talent of the NBA's premier players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade etc. However, the future holds no promising prosperity without up and coming talent. Today, marks history at the Junkland. The first top 10 ranking will be conducted; my fellow writing peers didn't have the creativity and the wit to think of such awesomeness, no offense. We rank the top 10 players under 25 in the NBA.

1. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
No surprise here. If being the youngest player in history to lead the league in scoring isn't good enough, how about winning 50+ games and taking the Champs to a thrilling 6 game series that couldn't have went either way. Scary thought of the day: he's still getting better.

2. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magics

Superman flies, and he flies high above every other at his position. Howard is without a doubt the best center the league has to offer and with a developing offensive game, is primed to be an unstoppable force on the court, not just at the Slam Dunk contest.

3.Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls

The young pg is on the verge of breaking superstardom, his performances in the playoffs; averaging 26.8ppg, 3.4rpg and 7.2apg; is remarkable. If he can add a more complete offensive game coupled with his speed and explosiveness, he'll be an unstoppable guard.

4.Tyreke Evans, Sacramento Kings

This rookie had the whole of Sacramento buzzing about basketball again. Averaging an astonishing 20ppg,5rpg, 5apg in his first year of the league was Jordanesque. He still has a lot to learn and will get better over time, but he definitely has the talent to take him to the top of the ladder.

5.Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics

He was the anchor for his team in the playoffs. Brilliant series against the Cavs, and powering the Celtics to a 7 game series with the Lakers puts him in the discussion of best point guard in the league.

6.Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee Bucks

No one expected Brandon Jennings to have the season he had. From lighting up the Golden State for 55 points, to leading his team to their first playoff appearance since 2006. Jennings has definitely caught the eye of every basketball fan around the league. Now all he has to do is prove that he belongs with the superstars of the league.

7.Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks

An all-star and key piece to Atlanta's core group, Horford is one the league's top young big men. Though he may not be as offensively talented, he makes up for in his rebounding, defense, and overall hustle. He's very coachable and is as efficient as they come.

8.Blake Griffin, L.A Clippers

How does a player who hasn't even played a single NBA game make this list? Because he's that good. Griffin is so multi-faceted, exceptionally powerful, so skilled that he's guaranteed to excel at a high level, and with an extra year to grow he'll be ready for the NBA. He has all the tools to be great, he just has to go out and use them.

9.Stephen Curry, Goldent State Warriors

If he performs anything like how he did the latter part of last season, he'll move up this list very quickly. With a shooting stroke practically heaven sent, he's an offensive threat every given night. Now he has a much larger role this season than last, and he must show he can deliver every night, on both ends of the floor.

10.Andrew Bynum, L.A Lakers

With a flourishing offensive game and strong defensive skills, Bynum is establishing himself as a legitimate low-post dominance. Injuries has affected his development, but he still has tremendous upside once healthy. He also had to split time with All-star forward, Pau Gasol. If given the oppurtunity, Bynum can easily be an All-Star center in this league. However, I'm sure he'll rather just win championships

Notables: John Wall, Russel Westbrook, O.J Mayo, Jeff Green, Eric Gordon, Kevin Love, Brook Lopez, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Demarcus Cousins,

your main man, John

Burn After Reading

So, moments after reading probably the most bias, idiotic, illogical piece of writing of the last month or so. I just could'nt resist, must......blog....now...ugghh. Before i get my Adam Sandler on, I just want to say that i have nothing against the Miami Heat or their superstar trio for I am now completely over the shock. Throughout I'll drop some extracts of what the idiot, i mean Mr. Benny Vargas wrote, while educating you on the real 411.

Now he touched on the fact that every GM would have jumped on the oppurtunity had they had the chance to, which is probably true. But then it got a bit, stupid for lack of a better word.
"This leads to the most astonishing thing of all. Practically every single one of you reading this right now if given the option would have done just what Pat Riley and the Heat did.
The Lakers would have traded Kobe. The Magic would've traded Dwight Howard. New York, Chicago, and New Jersey all would've loved to have the " 3 Amigos" forsake bigger contracts in order to team up in their cities. Mark Cuban would've probably chopped off another mans private parts and proceeded to take it down like Kobayashi; if it meant that the "Trio" would be wearing Maverick jerseys next season"...

Ummm, excuse me? why would the lakers trade kobe, for ANYTHING? The lakers are champions buddy, incase you dont get satelite reception in that cave of yours. And the Magic has a more complete team than the Heat at this very moment. Trading Howard would be the dumbest thing to do. And the "Cube Man"...well, he's extremely homophobic, so there you go.

"Now LeBron James will finally prove all the doubters that he is indeed the true heir to Jordan's thrown." .....Excuse me? You do know that this is Wade's team right?

"The King will return. Meaning that LeBron will be back in an NBA Finals for the first time since 2007. Once he arrives he will have the opportunity to dethrone the current ruler of the league"....Wow, I bet you were into Star Wars as a kid huh? Newsflash: using words like ruler and dethrone, doesnt make you sound poetic. I thought this was about the betterment of the team and "sacrificing their image" for a championship. I see a lot of LBJ youknowat riding going on here.

"Kobe has managed to enhance his legacy by winning a title the last two years.
Still if one takes a closer look they would notice that Kobe has once again won not thanks to his play solely. Rather Bryant has reaped the rewards of two great additions. Ron Artest and Pau Gasol have given Kobe the weapons with which to ascend back to the top of the NBA landscape."....Yep, we all knew it. Someone had to say it sooner or later. Atleast Kobe was the Michael Jordan on his team. Lebron, he's the Scottie Pippen.
Invalid argument my friend.

And last but certainly not least. this.
"Kobe for all his greatness has never dominated Dwyane. Now you add LeBron James and Chris Bosh to the mix. Bosh will offer a counter punch to the low post dominance that Gasol has given the Lakers.
Then there is James. LeBron is going to run wild on Los Angeles. He along with Wade and Bosh are a force the likes of which Kobe has never had to go up against."...1. I guess a hungry Garnett, Pierce and Allen doesnt count?
2. Gasol isnt the only dominating post player L.A has. Bynum is already on the verge of stardom, and since Bosh will most likely play center for Miami, its not Gasol he'll be up against, it will be 7'0 285pound Bynum. Goodluck with that.
And 3. LeBron, "dont have it like that." L.A's defense has been their backbone and with the addition of Artest, it will be just all the more difficult for LeBron to try and dominate the game. It will rest more on Wade, than anyone else. Your logic is flawed Vargas.

As the great Mr.Phillips once said, "this is sports, nothing is written in stone." We must not try to analyze what is not there. The 2011 Finals is yet to be determined. So until then, L.A are champs and the Heat are just another contender. And if you dont know, now you kno....dude.

your main man John

The open letter to Cavs fans by owner Dan Gilbert

Pop the hood for the full details of the cavs owner Dan Gilbert open letter to all Cavalier fans and Cleveland.
http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/gilbert_letter_100708.html

It's Getting Hot in Here

Mr.Phillips here I just had to make my feelings known. So, Mr.Riley how are you doing today? wow you sir are unbelievable, my hat is off to you, only god knows what you did to swing this.

OK, bringing Wade back: amazing, getting Bosh to join:pretty awesome but acquiring Lebron:absolutely terrifying. I mean this is by far one of the most power plays we have seen in a while in the NBA the big three in Boston look like the big chumps now but I have to hand it to you, pretty good pretty good...I guess you were going with your motto "No rebounds no rings" and brought in some rebounders.

Positives: The team is hungrier, revenue to Miami will skyrocket, fans are definitely excited and this brings a playing style that could certainly spread the floor. They are three guys on the same team in the starting five who on any day have to be doubled team and when this happens someone gets open looks easy cuts and drives the whole works. So what do you do "One man defense" unfortunately this is not as good as you got three guys on the same team in the starting five who can easily take on anybody one on one. This creates problems on paper this offense is unstoppable; you got Wade that could kill you in the paint and knock down perimeter shots, you got Bosh that could get easy second chance opportunities and is quite agile in the paint and then there is Lebron who can drive,drive,drive. Wow when I'm analyzing this, it does not look good for the East people...wow...

Negatives: With such dives in the pockets the heat basically gave up some good cast members so the bench and the remainder guys in the starting five are pretty much mediocre to say the least. As terrible as the three stars sound they are still human and opposing teams above .500 will take advantage of them being on the bench this is where momentum switches and big runs might and will happen but lets hope they figure out this little chink in the armor. By the way, lets get a little hypothetical here, what if this does not work out for Miami? Surely Lebron knows that its Dwayne's team right? right? If there is a slight hint of control issues this may cause some trouble but hey Lebron can deal with being a roll player can't he?

You guys let that marinate for a little will you?

Mr.Phillips out...Peace!