David Stern Stuff's our Stockings with 5 NBA Games Christmas Day

Christmas Day is loaded with spectacular NBA games all day starting at noon on ESPN. Here is a preview of each one of those games and my prediction to go along with them.

12:00pm EST
ESPN
Chicago Bulls (18-9) vs. New York Knicks (17-12)

Preview: The first game of the day features two teams from the east who figure to make a splash in the east come playoff time. The Bulls are 18-9 on the year and 9-3 since the return of Carlos Boozer. With Derek Rose playing as well as he has, he creates a lot of inside and outside opportunities for this offense and he is almost unguaradble with his quickness and agility. On the other side, the Knicks are making a turnround that many thought would happen, but not happen this quickly. The Knicks are 17-12 but are playing much better than their record shows. They are one of the best teams in the east and if they didn't have their slow start, could easily have the second best record in the east. A'Mare Stoudemire is the key. He averages 26.4 points per and just over 9 rebounds. When he dominates the inside, it opens up the rest of the floor for guys like Daniilo Gallinari, Landry Fields, and Raymond Felton.

Prediction: New York Knicks 109-98 Chicago Bulls

Reason: The loss of Joakhim Noah is detrimental to this team and A'Mare Stoudemire will exploit that weakness and lead the Knicks to a pivotal victory.

2:30pm EST
ABC
Boston Celtics (23-4) vs. Orlando Magic (17-12)

Preview: The Celtics are playing the best basketball in the league right now and their record shows that as they are 23-4 and winners of 14 straight. The team is lead by point guard Rajon Rondo who is averaging just over 13 assists. He creates spacing on the floor for team points leader Paul Pierce, three point specialist Ray Allen, and big man Kevin Garnett. This team is very balanced and gets good bench play from Nate Robinson, Glen Davis, and Marquis Daniels. The Magic on the other hand are completely changing. This past week they traded many key players away including Rashard Lewis, Marcin Gortat, Mikael Pietrus, and Vince Carter, and in exchange they received Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson, and Earl Clark. The team is looking to head in a different direction and a win last night against the best team in the west shows that,

Prediction: Orlando Magic 103-99 Boston Celtics

Reason: I am looking for the new Magic players to make another huge impact and two days after they beat the best team in the west, they will defeat the best team in the east.

5:00pm EST
ABC

Miami Heat (22-9) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (21-8)

Preview: The Lakers are the defending champion 2 times running but this year, something seems to be missing since their great start. With that said, they still have a very balanced team with men like Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom to play down low. Of course they still have Kobe Bryant and with Kobe comes a chance to win every single game that you play. He is one of the best players in the game and healthy or not can make a shot when it counts. The Heat are surging as of late and have won 14 out of 15 with a 12 game win streak in there. LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh are beginning to click and are showing why they all came together. With the return of Wade after a missed game due to a sore knee, the Heat will be energized and ready to go. Mike Miller has also returned to the team after missing the season up to this point with a thumb injury. He will add a lot of spacing to this team and create opportunities from beyond the arch for himself and guys like LeBron and D-Wade.

Prediction: Miami Heat 97-89 Los Angeles Lakers

Reason: The Big Three will show why they teamed up and Mike Miller will find a groove. The Heat show why they are a force in the NBA.

8:00pm EST

ESPN

Denver Nuggets (16-11) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (20-10)

Preview: The Nuggets will most likely be without their leading scorer Carmello Anthony as he is away from the team for personal reasons. That opens the door for guys like Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith to steal the show. We know what Billups can do but Smith is different. Smith is big and quick and can beat you in many different ways. He can shoot the jumper but more often than not he will take the ball to the rim and get to the foul line. Oklahoma City will however have their leading scorer and the NBA leading scorer Kevin Durant. Durant is averaging 27.5 per game. He is vital to the teams' success as is point guard Russell Westbrook. Westbrook creates so much for Durant and the rest of the team as well.

Prediction: Oklahoma City Thunder 103-89 Denver Nuggets

Reason: Not having Carmello will hurt this team and Durant will explode on Christmas to propel OKC to victory.

10:30pm EST

ESPN

Portland Trail Blazers (15-14) vs. Golden State Warriors (10-18)

Preview: The Golden State Warriors are a young and upcoming team. They have a some very good starting pieces in Seth Curry and David Lee. They also have Monta Ellis who can score at will. This team will be good in the future but I don't think they are there yet. The Trail Blazers however have the pieces to contend, they just have to put it all together. Brandon Roy is an all-star and is averaging 16.6 points per game. LaMarcus Aldridgeis the leading scorer for this team with just under 20 and is a guy who can shoot the jumper and also dominate inside on the post. It does hurt that Greg Oden hasn't been able to get healthy and be the low post dominant player he was expected to be.

Prediction: Portland Trail Blazers 99-89 Golden State Warriors

Reason: Golden State will be a good team eventually but not yet and LaMarcus Aldridge will continue his double double streak and get the win.

LeBron Silences MSG Crowd with Triple-Double as Heat rout Knicks

LeBron disappointed the city of New York during the off season when he decided to take his talents to south beach, and he added more hurt tonight as he went off at the Garden and left the fans, players, and city speechless.

This game was built up from the beginning of the week because the Knicks had won eight straight games up until Wednesdays last second loss to Boston and the Heat were winners of ten straight. A'mare Stoudemire came into this game on a nine game streak of 30 plus points and looked to continue that as LeBron was trying to continue his outstanding success at Madison Square Garden.

The game was tight throughout the first half. The Heat did jump out to a 13 point lead but by halftime that was all gone as it was 57-57. LeBron James heated up early and often for Miami. He was hitting from all different spots on the floor including dunks, spot up jumpers, and three pointers. LeBron ended with a triple double (32 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) the 17th of his career when he scored 30 or more points; passing Michael Jordan on that list.

The game quickly turned in the third quarter where the Heat outscored the Knicks by 16 points 33-17. James was key in this quarter where he went for 14. From there, Miami never looked back. They went on to win the game 113-91 in convincing fashion. This extends their season long win streak to 11 games.

Dwayne Wade ended with 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists and Chris Bosh had 26 points as well with 7 rebounds. Carlos Arroyo has really come on strong for this Miami Heat team who had many questions asked about their point guard in the preseason. Arroyo has added not only stability but an outside scoring threat as well. He had 11 points tonight.

A'mare Stoudemire still had a productive game with 24 points and 14 rebounds but his 30 point streak did come to an end. Danillo Gallinari has been more than expected this year for the Knicks this year but still is subject to trade talks for Carmello Anthony. After his performance today, New York may want to think that over. He had 25 points on 4-8 from three point range. He also shot 50% from the field.

On another positive note for the Heat, Mike Miller is only days away from making his season debut. He says he is "ready to go" but will wait until he is cleared by team doctors. Coach Erik Spolestra considered dressing him today but opted not to due to his lack of practice time. The Heat need him to get in the rotation to add a pure shooter to the lineup.

HEAT RECORD: 20-8
LAST 10: 10-0
STREAK: W11
STANDINGS: 1st Southeast Div. (2.5 game lead)/ 2nd Eastern Conference (2 1/2 GB)
NEXT GAME: @ Washington Wizards (6-18; 5th Atlantic Div.) Sat. 12/18 7:00pm EST on NBATV

Top Performers
Miami: L. James 32 Pts, 11 Reb, 10 Ast, 1 Stl
New York: A. Stoudemire 24 Pts, 14 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk

NFL Week 14 Top 5 Power Rankings

Here are my top 5 teams in the NFL with only 3 weeks to go in the regular season!

Rivers-Jackson Connection too Much as Chargers Overpower 49ers

There is a reason why the San Diego Chargers kept Vincent Jackson and didn't trade or release him... for games like these.

Vincent Jackson completely took over this football game Thursday night against the San Francisco 49ers and showed the world why he deserves to be a major part of this franchise in the long term future.

The Chargers kept their playoffs hope alive last night as they defeated the San Francisco 49ers 34-7, but the game wasn't even that close. On the fourth play of the game, Philip Rivers connected with Jackson for a 58 yard touchdown in which Jackson fought off the corner back for the catch and broke a tackle on his way to the endzone. They were far from done there. After a huge defensive stop on the one yard line, San Diego got the ball back and preserved the shutout. Late in the second quarter, Rivers connected again with Jackson, this time for an 11 yard score. The score at halftime... 17-0 San Diego.

San Diego kept up the energy after halftime and Mike Tolbert added a one yard run in the third quarter to go up 24-0. After the start of the fourth, many expected San Diego to run, run, run but that wasn't the case. For the third time in the game, Rivers hit Jackson for a touchdown. The play was reviewed as it was thought Jackson didn't get the ball over the pylon but the play was upheld.

Brian Westbrook added a three yard touchdown run late in the fourth and the final score was 34-7. With the win, the Chargers go to 8-6 and a 1/2 game back of Kansas City who travels to St. Louis Sunday. Its the other way for San Francisco who continues to disappoint. For a team picked to win the NFC West, they are currently 5-9 and are all but out of the playoff picture.

Both teams will have over a week off and every game for both will be a must win from here on in.

Top Performers
Passing: P. Rivers (SD) - 273 YDS, 3 TD
Rushing: R. Mathews (SD) - 17 CAR, 56 YDS
Receiving: V. Jackson (SD) - 5 REC, 112 YDS, 3 TD

Heat on Fire; Make it 10 in a Row

The 16.5 point spread for this game was just a little too much as the Cleveland Cavaliers came to South Beach and gave Miami a run for their money.

Cleveland controlled most of the first half as they had as much as a 10 point lead before taking a mere 3 point lead into halftime. During that second quarter, Cleveland went on a 14-2 run which opened that 10 point lead. That didn't last long though as the Heat strung a few buckets of their own together to cut the lead to 3.

After the third quarter the Heat had gained a two point lead... and then Mr. Wade took over. This is what Dwayne Wade knows how to do and something the Heat will have to let me do if they want to win ball games. He scored Miami's first seven points of the fourth, then gave Miami a scare when he took a tumble and aggravated his sore left wrist. He sat on the bench in pain as he got it taped up and didn't miss a minute. He came out of that timeout to hit a pull-up three in transition and then another deep 26 footer to ultimately seal it.

This was a complete turnaround for Cleveland. They have not won since the game before LeBron's return home. They have lost every game since then by an average of 20 points but this game was different. Head Coach Byron Scott on his team; "I couldn't ask for them to play any harder than they played, I thought they were terrific effort-wise. They competed for 48 minutes."

This marks the tenth straight win for the heat, the only one during the streak by single digits. "I've never won 10 games in a row," Chris Bosh said. "So I'm happy."

Dwayne Wade ended with 28 points and 6 rebounds. LeBron James added 21 and a season high 13 rebounds. The third man of the big three, Chris Bosh had 16 points and role players like Mario Chalmers who started in place of Carlos Arroyo (death in family) and James Jones pumped in 14 and 11 points respectively.

The Heat will try and make it 11 in a row but will have a tough task in front of them when they face the Surging New York Knicks and A'mare Stoudemire at Madison Square Garden, Friday on ESPN at 7:00pm EST.

HEAT RECORD: 19-8

LAST 10: 10-0

STANDINGS: 1st Southeast Div. (2 game lead)/ 2nd Eastern Conference (2 1/2 GB)

NEXT GAME: @ New York Knicks (16-10; 2nd Atlantic Div.) Fri. 12/17 7:00pm EST on ESPN

BREAKING NEWS: LHP CLIFF LEE AGREES TO TERMS WITH PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

BREAKING NEWS: As of around midnight eastern time, the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers have both been informed via phone calls that they are out of the running to gain the services of Cliff Lee.

Cliff Lee has agreed to go back to Philadelphia where he will join an already loaded pitching rotation. This a preview of what that rotation will look like if this report is true...

1. Roy Halladay 21-10/ 2.44 era/ 219 SO/ 1.04 whip

2. Cliff Lee 12-9/ 3.18 era/ 185 SO/ 1.00 whip

3. Roy Oswalt 13-13/ 2.76 era/ 193 SO/ 1.03 whip

4. Cole Hamels 12-11/ 3.06 era/ 211 SO/ 1.18 whip

5. Joe Blanton 9-6/ 4.82 era/ 134 SO/ 1.42 whip

With this move, the Yankees become losers this offseason unless they are able to swing a deal for another ace Zach Greinke. I was believed that the Yankees offered Lee a 6 year $139 million dollar deal with a 7th year player option.

This Phillies deal is believed to be just a 5 year deal so it is confusing why Lee would sign there.

Heat Make it 9 in a Row

The Miami Heat have won once again and have extended their season long winning streak to nine games with a win tonight against the New Orleans Hornets.

The game was close the entire game until late in the third where the Heat began to pull away. An 18-2 second half run by Miami is what put the Hornets away for good. The trading of baskets went on for the entire first half and New Orleans took a 54-53 lead into the locker room at half.

One re-occurring theme that has shown up during this nine game win streak is the defense of the Miami Heat. They held the Hornets to only 30 points in the second half and only nine in the fourth quarter. When it mattered, the defense held tight and kept Chris Paul in check.

Dwayne Wade lead the game in scoring with 32 points. Wade was recently named the Eastern Conference player of the month. His teammates LeBron James and Chris Bosh had solid games as well as they had 20 and 23 points respectively. James added 7 assists and Bosh had 11 rebounds.

David West led the Hornets with 26 points and 12 rebounds as point guard Chris Paul had 11 points to go along with his 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

Next Games:

Miami Heat: 12/15 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers 7:30pm

New Orleans Hornets: 12/15 vs. Sacramento Kings 8:00pm

http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/mia/miami-heat

Daemen's D Holds Strong in Offensive Struggle

For the second straight game, the Daemen defense stepped up and helped to equalize a weak offensive effort. After a very sluggish first half Daemen found themselves down by 3, 31-28 at halftime. During the break coach Don Silveri made some adjustments and at the start of the second half, Daemen switched from their traditional man-to-man defense, to a 2-3 zone. The 2-3 zone, something that Syracuse University runs, and runs very effectively.

This second half zone held Wilberforce to only 18 points and Daemen managed to pull away at the end for a 61-49 victory.

The game was tied at 45-45 with about nine minutes left to play. At this time, over a 90 second stretch, MJ Oridami hit three straight three point shots to give Daemen a 54-45 lead, something they hadn't had since early in the first half. They finished the game on a 16-4 run to leave Wilberforce in the dust.

Oridami had 14 points on 4 of 9 shooting. Dom Mazzocchi was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 10, to go along with 8 rebounds. Mark Coppolla continued his dominant point gaurd play without putting the ball in the basket. He had seven assists to go with only one turnover. Khorri Silcott had a career high in rebounds with 13 with 9 points.

With the win, Daemen moves to 5-7 and an all important 3-1 in conference play. The Wildcats play next against Wilfred Laurier on December 21st.

BREAKING NEWS: OF CARL CRAWFORD SIGNS WITH RED SOX

Breaking News: The Boston Red Sox and Carl Crawford have agreed to a 7 year deal worth $142 million.

Once thought to be just a Yankees and Angels race, the Red Sox snuck in and snatched Crawford. According to multiple sources, the deal has been confirmed by a source close to the Red Sox. This will play Crawford over 20 million a year.

The New York Yankees will now have to focus ALL of their attention solly on Cliff Lee who just saw his value, along with the market go up significantly.

This move hurts the Angels the most as they needed someone to fill their offensive void. They will struggle to find someone of the caliber of Crawford.

This story is developing and more information will be here once available.

Heat Extend Winning Streak to 6

After a month of struggles, I think the Miami Heat (15-8) have finally started to click. They won their sixth straight game today defeating the Utah Jazz (16-7) 111-98.

The Heat were dominating most of the game and lead by as many as twelve but found themselves down 78-77 entering the fourth quarter. As they have done during this win streak, they have took control in the 4th quarter and put away teams. In this 4th quarter, the outscored Utah 34-20, a 14 point margain.

LeBron James lead the way with 33 points 7 rebounds and 9 assists. Dwayne Wade was not far behind with 28 points. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had a double double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Chris Bosh had a quiet game with 14 points and 9 rebounds.

Utah, who earlier in the year beat the Heat 116-114 in a comeback fashion, was lead by Al Jefferson with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Deron Williams also was over 20 points with 21 to complement 12 assists.

The Heat seem like they have finally hit their stride. They are best when they are in transition. When Wade and James get in the open court, they almost impossible to slow down. On his teammate and three point specialist Mike Miller, LeBron James said he is 'about a week or two away from returning.' That is an encouraging sign for the team who still needs an outside shooter like Miller.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=301208026

Daemen Women Move Up to 17th in Nation

The Daemen College Womens Basketball team has had a great start to the season as they now are ranked inside the top 20 at number 17.

The team is lead by the nations' leading scorer Sarah Soroka who averages 22.89 points per game on 50.3 percent shooting. Soroka has been a dominant force inside for the Wildcats and has proved to be a difference maker for this team. Her 8.33 rebounds a game help the team establish an inside presence and limit the opponents second chance points.

The team is lead by other veterans such as Bridgette Burke, Marybeth Nugent, and Allana Laguerre. Burke is averaging 13 points a game and shooting 50 percent from the field as is Soroka. Burke leads the team in rebounding at just over 8.5 and had her best game of the year against Rio Grande at home where she went for 21 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Nugent is averaging just under 9 points per, and Laguerre is at just under 5. Sophomore Tara Bailey anchors the team at point guard and is a three point specialist. She is shooting 41 percent from three this year and averages over 7 points a game.

Other contributors include Ellie Allen and Lindsay Stoddard. Allen always provides a spark for the team with her quickness and ball handling. Stoddard, a freshman is getting quality minutes and has made a significant impact playing in all nine games and averaging 3 assists per.

The team is currently on a roll and has won seven straight games. Coach Dave Skolen is doing a great job with the team and has high hopes of winning a conference championship. If the team continues to play like this, they are legitimate threat of not only making the national tournament, but making a deep run. The Wildcats next game is Friday where they will travel to the Shawnee State tournament to face Indian Wesleyan. On Saturday, in the same tournament, they will take on defending national champion runner up, Shawnee State, who Daemen defeated earlier in the year.

http://www.dakstats.com/WebSync/Pages/Team/TeamPage.aspx?association=10&sg=WBB&sea=NAIWBB_2010&team=158

http://athletics.daemen.edu/default.php?sport_code=wbb

Daemen Goes Toe to Toe with Nation's Number One

If I told you on Friday that the Daemen Wildcats would hold a lead on the number one team in the country with just over nine minutes left in the second half, everyone besides coach Don Silveri and his players would have looked at me funny. Well, that's exactly what they did and they played well enough to win, but fell just a mere two points short in the end.

The Walsh Cavaliers came into this contest at 6-0 (2-0) and the newly ranked number one team in the country. Daemen came into this game off a huge conference win against Notre Dame 77-69. They brought that energy into this game and gave Walsh a run for their money.

After another slow start, something Daemen has become notorious for, they regrouped to comeback and tie the score at 31 at the half. With just over nine minutes, Walsh went on a 9-2 run powered by seven points from Jeremy Shardo. With under two minutes left, MJ Oridami hit two clutch threes to cut the deficit to two with 26 seconds remaining. After missed free throws by the Cavaliers, Casey Sheehan missed a three point opportunity. A quick foul brought Walsh back to the free throw line where they missed another pair and a push up the floor brought a 24 foot opportunity for Oridami but it was just a little strong and the Wildcats' effort fell.

Although a loss was put on the record of Daemen, they will be able to take a lot out of this game. The ability to compete with the best team in the country brings out many positives.

In this game, the Wildcats were lead by Moustapha Baidy who had his best game of the young season as he went for 12 points and 7 rebounds. He was able to use his size and strength to provide a dominant force down low and compete on the glass. Khorri Silcott led in rebounds with 10 and added six points. Casey Sheehan had nine points and three assists. MJ Oridami and Aaron Davis each added eight points. Mark Coppola led in assists with five.

Daemen, now at 3-7 (1-1) will have to re-focus as they travel to Roberts' Wesleyan for a big conference showdown Tuesday Night.

UB's Starks Finally Gets His Shot

After James Starks broke his collarbone in his senior summer, most thought that his NFL draft possibilities were done. He missed the entire season and was not awarded a medical redshirt. After a lot of hard work and rehabilitation, he was invited to the NFL combine where he worked out in front of all 32 NFL scouts.

Starks was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round. He was expected to be the third running back on the depth chart behind starter Ryan Grant and backup, Brandon Jackson; But a hip injury put him on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list. Once again, Starks experienced a setback. Like his setback in college, Starks also came back from this one. He made his debut this past Sunday as the starting running back against the San Francisco 49ers. With injuries to both Grant and Jackson, the show was left to Starks to run. He made the best of his opportunity rushing for 73 yards on 18 carries in a 34-16 win.

In his illustrious career at Buffalo Starks set a career rushing record with 3,140 yards, and scored 40 total touchdowns. He registered back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons as a junior and sophomore. He was one of the elite backs in the MAC and the nation and became the first 1,000-yard rusher in the Bulls’ Division I-A era. He also became the first UB freshman to earn All-MAC honors in 2006. He was named to the All-Mac Second Team as a freshman and sophomore, and was named to the All-Mac First Team as a junior.

Starks' teammate at UB, Naaman Roosevelt is also making something of his pro career. He is currently playing for the Buffalo Bills. Roosevelt set many records at the University Buffalo. In his career he caught 268 passes for 3,551 yards with 28 touchdowns. His breakout season was his junior year where he had 104 catches for 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns.

James attended Niagara Falls High School in Niagara Falls, New York. He ran for 1,048 yards and threw for over 600 yards for the Wolverines of Niagara Falls while earning All-Western New York honors in his senior season and served as a captain for three years.Roosevelt attended St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute in Buffalo where he played at the quarterback position before staying in Buffalo to attend the University at Buffalo. Roosevelt was the first recruit of new head coach Turner Gill.

It is great so see local players such as Starks and Roosevelt get a shot as a professional. People think that the MAC conference is a joke, but I'm here to tell you that it is anything but. By going to most of the Buffalo home games, I realize and see what good football is being played by the teams. There is a lot of talent, and as it may not be a Pac-10 or SEC, it is still a competitive conference that produces a lot of good players. It has produced players such as Jason Taylor, Shuan Suisham, Chad Pennington, James Harrison, Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Gates, Michael Turner, Chester Taylor, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Asante Samuel.

Atlanta Hawks @ Miami Heat Recap: Heat Win 89-77