Monthly Archives: May 2015

A Year in Review: The Last Post

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By Kaleb Page

May 8, 2015

As finals week approaches, so too does the end of posting for the Maxwell Media Watch.

This experience started back in the fall and it was one that allowed me to do what I’ve always loved to do: talk sports.

I wanted to use this final post to not only look back on what I did this year, but to also reflect on all the important people who made things possible.

My first post of the year was on the media overreacting to the Patriots collapse early in the season to the Kansas City Chiefs. That will always be a special post to me since it was my first one and I think I really critiqued the situation well (doesn’t hurt that I was right too).

There have been countless posts over the year and each one had its elements I enjoyed a lot. I tried to mix up my approach as much as I could, and spread my sports thoughts across everything from football and basketball to soccer and mixed martial arts. I enjoy a wide range of sports and hopefully for those who read you enjoyed what I had to say from sport to sport.

While it was nice to have this platform to post every Tuesday and Thursday, it would not have been possible without the many important people around me and the people who put this all together.

First, I would like to thank Mr. Maxwell, Kaitlin Rohrs, Steven Kubitza and Dr. Spencer for doing what they did this year. Mr. Maxwell gave us such a great platform to use and fine tune our writing ability. Rohr, Kubitza and Spencer each had a hand in making this whole year a smooth one along with given good advice on how to make us better (me included).

It was a great experience and I truly do have to thank those mentioned above for providing this opportunity.

Aside from the architects of this, I also want to give a shout out to all of the other bloggers as well. I enjoyed reading other works from fellow sports minds and getting perspectives that I necessarily never thought of before. I wish you all the best moving forward in whatever you happen to do and hopefully we all can look back at this as the starting point to something special.

Now it’s time to thank the most important people, my family and friends. I have the best support around and I am so thankful to have the mom, dad and brothers that I have. It means a lot to also have an extended family that has supported this as well and continues to read posts. I work hard for all of you and I hope I set a good example to be proud of.

For my friends. Thank you for reading my posts during the year when you had the chance to do so. I know we are all busy and don’t get the chance to talk as much but thank you for the support and I enjoy seeing your successes as well. (Oh and Joda Green, great comments this year. Just some classic comments this year.)

In the end, thank you all for reading, commenting or even giving my post just a quick glance. It means a lot as I chase a dream that is on a high level of attainment. It has been a great ride this year and I hope to have more material in the future for you all to look at.

Thank you all very much.

Kyrie Irving Faces Biggest Challenge in Basketball Career

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By Matt Stevenson

May 1, 2015

Last Sunday the Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Boston Celtics and knocked them out of the playoffs in Game 4 of the series. A great first playoff series win for this young Cavaliers squad, but it came with a major repercussion.

Kevin Love left the game in the first quarter and it was scary. Not knowing what specifically happened at first glimpse, the live broadcast shows Cavaliers Forward Kevin Love getting tangled up with Celtics Kelly Olynyk while scrambling for the ball. Immediately after, Love sprinted right to the locker room without stopping to talk to anyone. After several replays, it was clear his shoulder was indeed dislocated.

A debate on whether it was intentional or not has taken the social media world by storm. The game itself was incredibly physical with technicals and ejections being issued.

Cavaliers Center, Kendrick Perkins, set a hard screen on Celtics Forward, Jae Crowder, that sparked some shoving and much trash talking. However, later in the game Crowder and Cavs Guard J.R. Smith got into it while positioning themselves for a rebound.

The video shows Crowder shoving Smith pretty hard (definitely foul-worthy). J.R. Smith retaliated though by flailing his arm, with a closed fist, and connected with Jae Crowder… right in his face.

Accidental? Maybe. Suspension? Definitely. How long? Nobody knows.

So Kevin Love is reportedly out for the rest of the playoffs. J.R. Smith is for sure getting suspended and it could potentially be a few games. After sweeping the Celtics on Sunday, we wait for the Bulls as they look to close out their series with the Bucks.

This means the Cleveland Cavaliers are without two of their starters and the two other members on the team, besides LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, that can be consistently relied upon to create their own shot. This takes away a huge element of the Cavs game as they rely heavily on Love and Smith to hit 3’s and space the floor.

This may be one of LeBron’s biggest challenges in his career, without a doubt. But I think this focus’ more on Kyrie Irving.

Kyrie Irving will be expected to score a lot, as LeBron will be busy defending the variety of players Chicago has such as Jimmy Butler, Nikola Mirotic, Taj Gibson, and Mike Dunleavy.

Two other key players for this series that must step up to win are Tristan Thompson and Iman Shumpert. Defensively they need to show up, but offensively Shumpert needs to hit perimeter shots and Thompson needs to continue his offensive rebounding giving Cleveland second chance points.

Is Kyrie Irving ready to accept the challenge and put the stamp on the “Superstar” label? This series will indeed determine that as he faces a Bulls team which is finally healthy and has been labeled as the Cavaliers only threat all year in the Eastern Conference, WITH Kevin Love and J.R. Smith.

This Round 2 series of the NBA Playoffs between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls will be the first big test of Kyrie Irving’s young career. Is he ready? We’ll find out this weekend. GO CAVS!