Indiana Pacers Danny Granger Breaks Out

• Author: Leon Caminiti
• Filed under: Casinos
• Date: Dec 12,2009

The Indiana Pacers season did not live up their standards in 08′-09′ winning only 36 games. This is not how most remember the Pacers, but the Miller days are over.

The Indiana Pacers’ Danny Granger had a breakout season, and put himself on the map as one of the best players in the NBA. Few people realize this, as the Indiana Pacers are a below average team that gets little coverage.

The 26 year old Granger made serious waves during his 4th season in the NBA. Always known to be a player with tremendous upside, Granger flirted with this potential during his first few seasons in the league. The 2008-2009 season, however, was a different story altogether.

The Pacers have a young team with a good upside. The defense was their death blow last season giving up more points then they could score. More emphasis needs to be put on defense; we know the team can score.

Guard T.J. Ford had one of his best seasons to date with scoring 15 points per game and 5 assists. If the Pacers ever expect to compete in the same division as the Cleveland Cavaliers, their defense must improve and improve fast.

The Pacers did draft former college player of the year Tyler Hansbrough – what impact he will have in his rookie year in unknown. What Hansbrough lacks in skill he makes up for it in hustle.

The last time the Pacers finished with a record above .500 was in the 04′-05′ season – Pacers fans would hope to avoid another sub .500 season for the fifth straight year.

Their draft this year looks like it could potentially solve this problem, but not right off the bat. Tyler Hansbrough has proven that he can play defense, but that’s at the NCAA level. It will take time to develop into a star in the NBA, but he’s got the potential.

For more on the Pacers, check out the Indiana Pacers forums at RootZoo Sports. Be sure to play their free nba trivia with over 60,000 questions.

The San Diego Chargers Fall Short to the Ravens

• Author: Samantha Gittens
• Filed under: Casinos
• Date: Nov 21,2009

There’s been a lot of hype surrounding the San Diego Chargers entering this new year of football. I’ve heard about Super Bowls in addition to the fact that they’re obvious NFC West favorites. After all, the Chiefs and Raiders have been consistently weak in recent years, not to mention the fact that the Broncos are a shell of what they were last year.

The Chargers have perhaps the easiest division to win, the AFC West – with the Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos there are no serious threats at all to challenge for the division title. Anything less than a Super Bowl appearance will be a disappointment for the franchise.

Philip Rivers – a contender for the MVP award this season in the minds of many – Darren Sproles a stud in the making, and more should propel a highly effective offensive team to a great place this season. Although LT is on the wrong side of 30 now, if he can stay healthy, he’s still got potential for a dangerous year.

The defense hasn’t lived up to their potential just yet though. Things could turn around and in order for the Chargers to have a big year, it must happen soon.

Whatever the reasons are that the Chargers haven’t won the Super Bowl, they could be the classic underachievers. But 09′ should prove to be a make or break year for head coach Norv Turner.

Turner’s career record is under .500 and if he can’t lead the Chargers to a strong playoff run with the talent the Chargers have, he might be looking at the wanted ads at the end of the season.

Still, the obvious flaw in this Chargers team seems to be its defense. Can the team clean up its defensive unit from here? It may need to.

I do believe their offense is powerful, but not enough to make up for the weak defense. For this team to compete and live up to their expectations, the defense needs to improve immediately.

Come join the fun at RootZoo Sports and discuss the latest Chargers news on their Chargers forums. Make sure to check out the latest sports polls as well.

Coach Singletary’s Early Impact for the San Francisco 49ers

• Author: Alvin Huang
• Filed under: Casinos
• Date: Nov 12,2009

The San Francisco 49ers are a young team with lots of upside. Head coach Mike Singletary and his “I want winners” mentality seems to be working.

The 49ers gave the Minnesota Vikings all they could take – it took a Favre miracle pass for the Vikings to win. RB Frank Gore has the potential for another 1,600 yard season and QB Shaun Hill is getting better by the game.

The defense is led by Patrick Willis; the 49ers defense has held its competition to just 26 total points in each of the team’s first two games. He has enough help around him to make it very difficult for teams to get in the end zone.

The 49ers have a good chance to win the NFC West because they are so well coached and overall – the NFC West is rather weak. Whether it’s a weak division or not, the 49ers should compete for the division crown which will get them in the playoffs.

QB Shaun Hill won’t dazzle you with eye popping statistics but he won’t make many mistakes either. Hill is completing over 60% of his throws and has a good QB rating.

RB Frank Gore is one of the best running backs in the NFL. Gores’ best season was in 06′ when Gore started every game, ran for over 1.600 yards and scored 8 touchdowns.

Coach Singletary was a great defensive player in his day for the Chicago Bears or “Monsters of the Midway”. If he can instill the knowledge to his defense and create and terrifying defense that resembles the great Chicago Bears defenses of the’80s – the 49ers will be a contender for years.

The 49ers may not have to worry about the teams in their own division, they will have to worry about the likes of the Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys and other potential NFC contenders.

Check out the most active sports forum online at RootZoo Sports. Be sure to discuss the latest 49ers news on their San Francisco 49ers forum.