NFL Preview

AFC East

1. New England Patriots- The mastermind Bill Belichick added Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth to already very talented team. Look for Brady to have a big year.

2. New York Jets- Made it to the AFC championship last year and they will not settle for less. Key pickups include Plaxico Burress. Look for the offense to put up big numbers and the defense to shut down opponents.

3. Miami Dolphins- Lost both runningbacks but picked up Reggie Bush. Quarterback issues are preventing the offense from being explosive.

4. Buffalo Bills- The linebacking core seems to be the only bright spot on this team. Major issues remain on offense.

AFC South

1. Indianapolis Colts- The key to having a good year is Peyton Manning's health. When he is on the field, the Colts should put up big numbers.

2. Houston Texans- Switching to a 3-4 defense this year could cause problems early. The only thing preventing the Texans from the playoffs is the Colts, which they have never beaten.

3. Tennessee Titans- Chris Johnson finally got the contract he wanted, which is a major boost to this team. Do not expect a lot of production from anyone else on offense.

4. Jacksonville Jaguars- Could end up with a top five pick in next years draft. Maurice Jones-Drew seems to be the only good thing on the field.

AFC North

1. Pittsburgh Steelers- An interesting offseason for this team should have no effect. As long as everyone stays healthy then the Steelers should be back in AFC championship game.

2. Baltimore Ravens-

3. Cleveland Browns- Showed great signs of improvement last year, however they play in maybe the hardest division in football. Should have a good year with Peton Hillis and Colt McCoy.

4. Cincinnati Bengals- Look for a quarterback change this year, and an okay defense to step on the field for this very confused team.

AFC West

1. Kansas City Chiefs- Had an impressive season last year, now look even better with the addition of Steve Breaston. Should boost passing game and running game.

2. San Diego Chargers- Look for Phillip Rivers to lead this team to a bounce back season after missing the playoffs last year.

3. Oakland Raiders- Went undefeated in this division last year. Quarterback position remains the big issue but should have a decent year.

4. Denver Broncos- First year John Fox has a lot of work to do with this team including who to start at quarterback.

NFC East

1. Philadelphia Eagles- Have become the ''dream team'' of the NFL as they are stacked with the addition of Nnamdi Asomugha and Ronnie Brown.

2. Dallas Cowboys- Had a good season last year until Romo got hurt. If Dez Bryant can stay out of trouble the offense will be the strong point of this team.

3. New York Giants- Eli Manning leads this team that does not look bad on paper but has had an injury plagued pre season.

4. Washington Redskins- Should struggle as they have yet to adapt to coach Mike Shanahan.

NFC North

1. Green Bay Packers- Defending Super Bowl champions should have an even better season this year as they are now going to play with 16 contributors that were injured last season.

2. Chicago Bears- Had a great season last year and should again this year as the addition of Roy Williams should give the offense a boost.

3. Detroit Lions- The lions will have an explosive offense with Matt Stafford back and a stud defense led by Ndamukong Suh. Unfortunetly they play in the hardest division in football.

4. Minnesota Vikings- The loss of Sidney Rice will hurt the offense led by Donovan Mcnabb and Adrian Peterson. Give this team a year ot two and they should be very good again.

NFC West

1. St. Louis Rams- Sam Bradford will finally get the Rams back in the playoffs. If receivers can stay healthy then look for possibly a double digit win total. Steven Jackson and Cadillac William will help give them a boost. Defense looks pretty good.

2. Seattle Seahawks- Had a good season last year, however the loss of Matt Hassleback leaves question marks on offense.

3. Arizona Cardinals- Offense looks okay but should take time to get in rhythm with new quarterback Kevin Kolb.

4. San Francisco 49ers- New coach Jim Harbaugh will have his work cut out for him. On paper the offense looks pretty solid with Braylon Edwards and Frank Gore.

NFC South

1. Atlanta Falcons- Offense should be better then ever this year as Matt Ryan looks to have another great season. Julio Jones maybe the best steal in the draft.

2. New Orleans Saints- Drew Brees always has his team fired up and they have been getting team workouts in since the summer. Look for them to secure a wild card seed.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- A surprising team last year should continue to emerge but as the case with some other teams, they play in a stacked division.

4. Carolina Panthers- Contrary to what many people believe should have a good rebound season with an offense that should be rather productive barring injury.

First Pick in Draft

Buffalo Bills

NFL Champions

Packers over the Jets

First Annual Swiss Chris Sports Awards

Best NFL Player- Aaron Rodgers. He was consistent and solid throughout the entire season. Played lights out in the playoffs in which the games were all on the road against the leagues best. Was named the Super Bowl XLI MVP after he threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns againt the Steelers. He has become the leader of this team and is one of the leagues best without a doubt.

Best NBA Player- Dirk Nowitzki. Had a monster season scoring 23 points a game and leading Dallas to an NBA championship. He was clutch in every fourth quarter, most notably in game 2 of the finals were he made a three followed by a game winning layup. Arguably one of the best power forwards of all time with an unguardable jump shot.

Best Soccer Player- Lional Messi and Christiano Ronaldo. Messi led Barcelona in goals and also had yet another big year. Also captured his second Champions League trophy scoring a goal in the final. Ronaldo broke the single season scoring record, making 5o goals. Also was a key player in Real Madrid winning the Spanish Cup and to the Champions League semi finals.

Best NHL Player- Tim Thomas. The Bruins goaltender made it clear in the Stanley Cup finals why he is one of the best of all time in the net. Led the NHL in goals against average and save percentage. In the final round of the postseason, Thomas stopped 238 of the 246 shots he faced against the Canucks in seven games. Winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Vezina Trophy as well.

Best College Player- Cam Newton. Led Auburn to the national championship after going through one of the toughest schedules of all time. Played well all season despite allegations and was named MVP of the national championship game.

Best Performance- Aaron Rodgers in Super Bowl XLV. Did what no quarterback was a

ble to do all season ag

ainst the number one defense in the NFL. Dominated the entire game throwing for over 300 yards and three touchdowns. He was named Super Bowl MVP.

Worst Performance- Lebron James. Brought to Miami to help them win a championship and was a no show too many times in the biggest games. He played awful in the finals barely being able to score in fourth quarters. If he would have played to the level that he is capable of playing at there is no doubt he would have won his first ring.

Biggest Upset- This award goes to VCU for their impressive run to the Final Four. Along the way they beat #6 seed Georgetown, #4 seed Purdue, and beating the #1 seed Kansas. Not only did they beat Kansas, but completely dominated what many thought was the best team in the tournament, from beginning to end. They were even up by 18 at one point, thus VCU easily wins this award.

Best Play-

Marshawn Lynch's 67 yard touchdown run in the wild card round of the playoffs against the Saints. This is one of the NFL's best runs of all time. Leading late in the game needing a first down he goes on to break 9 tackles from the Saints defense. What makes this run even better is that this was against the defending Super Bowl champions and the Saints had the 14th best rush defense.

Best Underdog Performance- The Seattle Seahawks against the New Orleans Saints in the wild card round of the playoffs. The defending Super Bowl champions, the Saints, went into this game as heavy favorites. Meanwhile Seattle barely made the playoffs with a lousy 7-9 record. However the Seahawksoutplayed the Saints the entire game looking more focused and prepared. Drew Brees and the sixth best offense in the NFL were kept in check and the Seahawks dominated the Saints defense.

Biggest Disappointment- The Miami Heat. After acquiring two all stars to play along side Dwayne Wade, how do you not win the NBA championship? After proclaiming that they would win eight championships, the Heat looked out of sync and inconsistent throughout the year. When it mattered the most, in the biggest situations, James and company failed to follow through.

Biggest Surprise- VCU. Came out of the Patriot Conference as the #11 seed and went on to shock the brackets as they reached the Final Four.

Best Team- The Green Bay Packers. Top ten in almost every NFL statistic for offense and defense. Most impressive performance had to be in the playoffs as they went on the road four times against the best teams to win the Lombardi trophy. Solid at every position and team chemistry is not a problem. Finished 10-6 during the regular season but could have easily finished 14-2 as they lost two games in overtime and two games without Aaron Rodgers

Worst Team- The Cleveland Cavaliers. With 19 wins and a win percentage of 23% the Cavaliers are maybe the worst teams of all time. After LeBron James departed, Cleveland seemed to have lost all confidence in their play and had a hard time competing. Lost over 10 games in a row and lost by 55 points to the Lakers. Enough said.

Best Newcomer- Blake Griffin. Added an extra spark to the NBA this season with spectacular plays game after game. Averaged 22.5 points per game and 12.1 points. Also won the slam dunk contest by jumping over a car. It is evident that he will continue to improve and be one

of the leagues elite.

Best Coach- Rick Carlisle. Led the Dallas Mavericks to an NBA championship sweeping through the Western Conference. The Mavs had 57 wins this season as they claimed the third best position in the West. Found ways to shut down some of the games best includ

ing Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Kevin Durant, Lebron James, and Dwayne Wade.

Best Game- Uruguay vs. Ghana at the 2010 World Cup. This game is one of the best soccer

games of all time. Ghana was looking to be the first African team to make the semifinals on their home continent but the unlikely heroics of Luis Suarez saved the day. Tied 1-1 in the final minute of extra time, Ghana had a free kick, and after a scramble in font of the net, Ghana shot it and Suarez a forward, blocked it with his hands. The game then went into penalties where Uruguay went on to win. A very competitive and intense game that was very exciting to watch.

Will Jimmer Fredette succeed in the NBA?

Jimmer Fredette, the former BYU star who led the NCAA in scoring last season, will now be playing for the Sacremento Kings. He had a monster senior year, averaging 28.5 points per game, while shooting an impresssive 45 percent from the field. But now the question that has many sports fans talking is whether he can adjust and make the transition to continue his accomplishments in the NBA. There is no doubt that he has the potential, but there are major concerns about his size. He is 6'4 a shooting guard. In college that is a decent size but in the NBA many shooting guards are a few inches taller and longer which will impact his ability to create shots. In college he was great at making plays and creating opportunities so this could affect his game as he will no longer be playing against the Mountain West Conference. However he is a natural scorer and when left open he will make the shot. It will not be as easy as in college but give him time and will adapt. He could also try to develop into a point guard but I highly doubt that that will happen. Another aspect of his game that will be closely watched is his defense. That I think will be very hard to learn and for him to improve he will have to spend a lot of time working on it and going in the weight room as he is listed at 195.

Being drafted by the Sacremento Kings is both a good and bad thing. The bad is that he will be thrown into the starting lineup and be expected to contribute immediately. It is for this reason that I will think he will struggle a little bit at first because this is a major change from college as players are going to be taller, stronger, more athletic. Also, there is no summer league for him to face off against more skilled opponents. But early playing time is good as it will help him to get better and not be forgotten on the bench as J.J. Reddick was. He will also be playing a different style of basketball where he will not be the focus of the offense, so no more pull up threes. The Kings will have to learn to distribute the basketball and play as a team as there will now be three players who will demand the ball. Fredette, Cousins, and Evans but if they learn to work as a unit look for their points per game to increase this year. Jimmer will also sell tickets and boost the Sacremento fan base.

When his career is all said and done I see him finding his rhythm in the league and appearing in a couple All-Star games. I picture him as a Mario Chalmers, who is a really good shooter but will struggle at times. Look for Jimmer to be named rookie of the year as he will definently be a boost to the Kings. He will be under tremendous pressure to be the next superstar and live up to his college reputation, but everyone must understand that it will take a little bit of time for him to flourish in this league.

Tour de France Articles

This summer I am in Europe and I will be writing articles for the Tulsa World about the Tour de France. I have already written two. Follow the links below to view them!

http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=2&articleid=20110709_29_0_bEiooe769873

http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=29&articleid=20110711_2_0_bEiooe615180

June 2011 Athlete of the Month: Dirk Nowitzki

After capping off one of the most impressive and memorable performance in NBA playoff history, 11 time all star Dirk Nowitzki finally hoisted the trophy he has longed for, over the past 14 seasons. Many analysts picked the second seeded Dallas Mavericks to get upset in the first round by a solid Portland Blazers team or in the second round by the two time defending champions, the Los Angelas Lakers and even by the Miami Heat in the finals. Despite this tough road, the Mavericks led by Dirk did not fall victim to these criticisms, playing strong fundamental basketball. The German superstar said after the final, ''I really still can't believe it, we worked so hard and so long for it.'' His most impressive performance had to be in the finals where he continued to make big shot after big shot no matter the situation or who was guarding him. His fade away jump shot is arguably one of the best of all time and unblockable, just ask the Miami Heat or the Oklahoma City Thunder. A defining moment in the finals series came in game 2 the Heat were up 25 going into the fourth quarter. After making a stunning rally, Dirk got the ball on Dallas's last two possessions making two huge shots, giving Dallas the victory. It was clear that he did not want a repeat of an '06 finals meltdown in which the Mavs were up 2-0 in the series and lost 4 straight games in a row. It was clear he came back hungrier, more prepared, and focused. An aspect of his game that separates him from other players and really stood out in the finals, is his confidence. In game 6 he started off the game 1-12 but that did not stop him from taking shots and sure enough he went on to finish with 21 points and taking home the finals MVP award. That is an important ability because staying aggressive keeps the defense on edge and has the possibility of opening up shots to open teammates. He is a

complete basketball player that has all the components of a true champion. If Nowitzki was not considered one of the best in the game before this series then he has definitely solidified his spot amongst the games best. He easily out performing the ''Heatles'' who were favored to take the championship back to South Beach led by Dwayne Wade and LeBron James. Nowitzki put the team on his back this entire post season even improving his scoring average by over four points from the regular season. This ring will definitely bring Dirk in the conversation of possibly being the best power forward ever. Congratulations Dirk Nowitzki on being the June 2011 athlete of the month.

Lebron James and Miami

Almost one year ago Lebron James announced that, ''I am going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.'' A short time later the self proclaimed ''Heatles'' took to the stage in their home arena proclaiming a new era and that they would win, '''not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven championships.'' As a result, James became one of sports most hated figures. His decision to change team was over the top and lacked true class from a gifted player. Today we are questioning the Heat more than ever as the Dallas Mavericks defeated them in 6 games for the NBA championship. It was clear that the Mavericks outplayed, out hustled the Heat from beginning to end. Miami failed to show team chemistry which ultimately proved to be a deciding factor in this series. While Wade and James mocked the opponents best player and finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas was working hard to bounce back from their '06 finals defeat.

Dwayne Wade talked about sacrifice that each player would have to make to better propel themselves for an NBA championship. However this ''sacrifice'' during the finals turned into lack of effort, a lack of physical play and the inability to finish games. It was clear in the finals especially in games 3 and 4 that Dallas wanted it more. Cameras often captured the heat with their shoulders slumped or with their heads down. Furthermore this led to a lack of physical play. Lebron James is at his best when he gets the ball on the perimeter and attacks the lane due to his size and incredible athletic ability which most of the time leads to one or the other happening. He makes the shot/dunk or he is fouled sending him to the free throw line which is not a bad thing as his career free throw percentage is 74%. Many times during the games he was guarded by smaller defenders. James is 6'8 and he was often defended by Jason Kidd and Deshawn Stevenson who are 6'4 and 6'5. I was often stupefied that he did not take advantage of this size advantage especially when he had two other superstars on his team on the court at the same time, which prevented double teams. This is a major flaw in his game that is preventing points from bring scored which could have been useful in their dreadful fourth quarters. When Lebron is getting to rim good things happen, with this timid play that we saw it was clear that Miami was going to struggle.

The fourth quarter problems did not begin to occur until the finals. Miami even had a miraculous game 5 comeback led by James in the Eastern Conference finals against the Bulls. This is a result of bad coaching and again lack of aggressiveness by Miami. It seemed as though they lost that spark and determination they had in the first three series in which they no doubt looked like a championship team.

Miami, next year will be a contender that is no question. But the team needs to rally around the big 3 and realize that they are capable of being beaten. On a coaching stand point there needs to be a more disciplined run team as well as motivation from the coach. Current head coach Eric Spoelstra has a championship caliber team and just needs to put the right pieces in the right place. As for Lebron he needs to come back next year, hungrier and ready to do whatever it takes to win that ring. This team led by James will for sure be a contender next season however there is a lot of work that still has to be done to achieve winning the championship.

NFL Interviews

Several weekends ago, I was fortunate enough to interview three current NFL stars and one former star as they came together in Tulsa, Oklahoma for a football camp. The camp is run through New Orleans Saints Wide Receiver Robert Meachem's foundation called Follow Your Dreams Foundation. These stars were nice enough to grant me exclusive interviews with them. Topics ranged from football, the current lockout situation, to the importance of helping out the community. Follow the link below to view the interviews in their entirety. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOdRFC1fShI