Sunday, November 30, 2014

Greg Crawford On Basketball, For November 30th, 2014

By Gregory Crawford---TV, Print and Radio Basketball Analyst-- on twitter @wchoops @kcsportsmgmt @crawssportsbiz

LeBron---- There is no question that LeBron James is the best player in the NBA right now and has been and will be for sometime.

Lately I have heard and read that more people saying LeBron is the greatest basketball player of all time. Obviously a lack of history prevails with these people. LeBron in the end might become the greatest of all time, but for my money always, the great basketball player of all time will be Magic Johnson, not Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain, who are closes seconds.

Scores---- Moved my season record yesterday to 21-15 on my NBA predictions. Of course these are for entertainment purposes only, but here we go for Sunday games.

Miami 88 @ New York 87
Minnesota 87 @ Portland 120
Memphis 105 @ Lakers 107 (upset special of the night)

Concordia---- The great streak of Brad Barbarick's Concordia Cavalier men's team had to end sometime and it did last night at 8 games, as a good St. Martins team beat the Cavs in Portland 73-72. The Saints were led by Tyler Copp and Brent Counts. In case you wondering, yes Brent Counts is the grandson of the great basketball player Mel Counts.

Portland State/Portland---- At the very worst as I write this, the combined records of the Portland Pilots and Portland State Vikings would be 11-2 as they come into Wednesday night's big showdown in Portland, Oregon at the Pilots home venue, the Chiles Center.

Today, the Pilots play in Nashville against a tough Valporiso team and the Vikings travel to Eugene to meet the Oregon Ducks.

No matter what the outcome of those games, if you are in the Portland Metro area, you need to be at U  of Portland on Wednesday night, 7:00 tip.

more Gregory's blogs: http://crawfordsgolfdaily.blogspot.com (golf and sports biz)

email Gregory--- gregcrawfordbasketball@gmail.com

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Greg Crawford On Basketball, For November 29th, 2014

By Gregory Crawford--- TV, Print and Radio Basketball Analyst--- on twitter @wchoops @crawssportsbiz @kcsportsmgmt

Northwest Hoops--- There are combined 9 D-1 men's basketball teams in Oregon and Washington and they are off to a fast start as we approach December. Going into games of November 29th, the teams's combine records are 36-11, with some surprises.

Four of the 9 teams are undefeated, U of Portland, Gonzaga, Portland State and Washington. Per usual, Seattle is bringing up the rear, with November record so far 1-3.

One big game to watch out of this group is Wednesday night, the 3rd of December, when Portland State travels to U of Portland.

Turkey Tournaments---- There just flat out are too many basketball tournaments during Thanksgiving week. Remember the good old days of the Great Alaska Shootout and Maui Invite. Now there is nothing short of 20 tournaments, with some games attended lightly to be complimentary.

As I have been saying for years, Thanksgiving is for football and Christmas is for basketball, end of story.

Concordia----Speaking of undefeated, it will be interesting to see if Concordia (Portland) can stay undefeated on their home court tonight, as they host St. Martins, a team they beat a week past. This is an interesting match-up, as Concordia is playing their final year in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, moving next year to the D-2 GNAC Conference. Cavs are looking to run their record to 9-0.

St. Martins is a member of the GNAC. but along with conference member Alaska-Anchorage, both have lost to NAIA member Concordia already this year, actually Alaska-Anchorage has lost twice to the Cavaliers.

Scores---- NBA games are tough to predict, but for entertainment purposes only, my record so far this season is 19-14 and it is going to get much better for sure. Here we go with Saturday night games.

Houston 99 @ Milwaukee 104
Charlotte 76 @ Atlanta 90
Dallas 110 @ Philadelphia 108

more Gregory's blogs--- http://crawfordsgolfdaily.blogspot.com (golf and sports biz)

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Greg Crawford On Basketball, For November 26th, 2014

By Gregory Crawford----TV, Radio and Print Basketball Analyst---- on twitter @wchoops @crawssportsbiz @kcsportsmgmt @crawfordspeaks

NBA Power Rankings---- Here is my latest Crawford's Power Rankings for the NBA. Of course I always do things in 9s, cause of my love of golf.

1. Golden State
2. Memphis
3. Portland
4. Toronto
5. Houston
6. Washington
7. San Antonio
8. Dallas
9. Sacramento

Big Sky---- I have been telling anyone who will listen, the Big Sky men's basketball race will be terrific this year. Just small evidence of that, Portland State wins on the road at Pac-12 USC, even more impressive, Eastern Washington ends Indiana's 45 game homecourt non-conference winning streak, by defeating the Hoosiers 88-86 in dramatic fashion.

Of course I love the Big Sky Conference, doing radio shows with both Tyler Geving and Sherri Murrell from Portland State on  weekely basis, but it is with a tinge of sadness when I talk about the Big Sky Conference basketball race on the men's side. Not playing a balanced schedule always brings out a closet champion.

I was really hoping that the Big Sky would be a little innovative when they added a 12th team in basketball, Idaho and play 22 league games. It totally makes sense, as many of the Big Sky arenas are small, teams are not able to attract teams to come and play them at home, so why not more exciting league games.

I have never talked to one single fan in the Big Sky who would rather see a non-league game than a league game.

Scores--- For entertainment purposes only, but on the season I am 17-13. So here goes my choices for Wednesday night in the NBA, with a huge schedule, since the NBA does the right thing and takes Thanksgiving day off.

Portland 99 @ Charlotte 98
Denver 112 @ Phoenix 130
Memphis 101 @ Lakers 104 (upset of the night in the NBA)

more Gregory's blogs: http://crawfordsgolfdaily.blogspot.com (golf and sports biz)
email Gregory at gregcrawfordbasketball@gmail.com

Monday, November 24, 2014

Greg Crawford On Basketball, For November 24th, 2014

By Gregory Crawford---TV, Print and Radio Basketball Analyst---- on twitter @wchoops @crawssportsbiz @kcsportsmgmt

WCC--- It time for a great and underrated basketball league to have an updated power rankings. Keep in mind that power rankings are fluid, they could even change day to day.

1. Gonzaga
2. St. Mary's
3. BYU
4. San Francisco
5. Portland
6. Pepperdine
7. Santa Clara
8. San Diego
9. Loyola
10. Pacific

In even two weeks these rankings will look completely different, but enjoy and have fun with them for now.

Scores---- For entertainment purposes only, my season record is 15-12, as the NBA is really tough to predict, as many people know. Monday games.

Portland 120 @ Philadelphia 100
Orlando 105 @ Cleveland 110
Indiana 78 @ Dallas 98

email Gregory at gregcrawfordbasketball.blogspot.com
more Gregory's blogs: crawfordsgolfdaily.blogspot.com (sports biz and golf )

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Greg Crawford On Basketball, For November 23rd, 2014

By Gregory Crawford---TV, Print and Radio Basketball Analyst---on twitter @wchoops @crawssportsbiz @kcsportsmgmt

LeBron---No one loves basketball more than I do. Having followed the game for 54 years, I am passionate about all aspects of basketball. But, enough is enough. I do not need to know what LeBron eats for snacks, nor do I need to know what kind of toilet paper he likes.

Yes, he is the best player in the game. So my message to LeBron and Cleveland Cavaliers is win more games, as the more the Cavs lose, the more the more we will hear.

The Other Cavs----Speaking of winning and the Cavaliers, congrats to Brad Barbarick and his Concordia Cavaliers on their fast 8-0 start. This is the last year for the Cavaliers in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, as they are moving to the D-2 GNAC Conference next year.

The Cavaliers kept their unbeaten streaking alive on Saturday night, defeating D-3 Lewis and Clark, on the Pioneers home court. Per the L&C stat sheet the attendance for the game was 162. That is sad, when two undefeated teams play each other, no matter what level, 162 fans watching is pathetic.

"Small College" basketball needs to be better marketed and needs more attention. It is really good basketball as is proved every year.

Monday Night----The Portland State Vikings on Monday night will meet the SIU Edwardsville Cougars at the Stott Center in Portland, Oregon.

I was down to Portland State on Saturday and many people thought the game would be lightly attended. My question is WHY? Portland State is really good this year, it is the only game in town that night and if you can't sellout a 1,500 seat arena that is totally sad.

On Saturday another good team, the Portland Pilots took apart SIU on their home floor running their record to 3-0 on the young season.

Keep this date in mind, on December 3rd, Portland State travels to the Pilots, in a game that looks to be the most competitive in years between the two teams.

Scores---Yesterday, I went 1-1 in my NBA predictions, with a season record of 13-10. Of course my score predictions are for entertainment purposes only, but even though I do not bet on sports, I do agree with NBA Commissioner that legalized sports betting is a must in this country. So here we go with Sunday predictions.

Portland 110 @ Boston 105
Denver 112 @ Lakers 115
Clippers 88 @ Memphis 89

email Gregory at gregcrawfordbasketball@gmail.com
more Gregory's blogs http://crawfordsgolfdaily.blogspot.com

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Greg Crawford On Basketball, For November 22nd, 2014

By Gregory Crawford---TV, Print and Radio Basketball Analyst--- on twitter @wchoops @crawssportsbiz @kcsportsmgmt

Philadelphia---- It is such a shame what is happening in Philadelphia, with the 76ers. The 76ers and previously the Warriors are truly a storied NBA franchise.

A series of missteps by many people have put that franchise into the worst shape in its history. There is a very good chance that Philadelphia will have a crowd this year in March and April that will be shy of 2,000 people. It makes it even a bigger shame in that Philadelphia is a big time basketball town, perhaps the best basketball fans in the country, when you combine professional and college. But who can blame them for not showing up, to watch that junk.

On Monday night the 24th, the Portland Trail Blazers will play in the city of brotherly love. The 76ers tonight play at New York and there is a very good chance they will lose to the Knicks. For sure, Portland does not want to be the first team on Monday night that the 76ers beat this year. That would be horrible for the Blazers, especially with the great year they are having so far.

To add more to the mix, the game will be a far cry from May and June of 1977. when Portland and Philadelphia battled to what was one of the best championship series ever in the NBA, with all the drama that was involved.

The 76ers will be back, but it might be 2025 before they are fully back.

Scores---- I am having so, so year predicting winning scores with NBA games, record stands at 12-9. So here we go for Saturday.

76ers 100 @ Knicks 110
Clippers 107 @ Charlotte 108
Chicago 88 @ Jazz 92

More of Gregory's blogs---- http://crawfordsgolfdaily.blogspot.com

email Gregory at gregcrawfordbasketball.blogspot.com

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Greg Crawford On Basketball, For November 16th, 2014

By Gregory Crawford---TV, Print and Radio Basketball Analyst---- on twtter @wchoops @crawssportsbiz @kcsportsmgmt

Portland State--- It was a big win yesterday for Portland State and head coach Tyler Geving in many ways. Any time a Big Sky team defeats a Pac-12 team that is huge, even better winning the game on the home floor of USC by defeating the Trojans, 76-68.

This quite possibly could be the best team Tyler Geving has had at Portland State, with lots of scoring power and a deep bench.

It also should be said there are some other talented teams in the Big Sky this year, including the always tough Weber State, Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona.

Scores---- It was a big Saturday, going 3-0, moving the season record to 12-6. So here goes Sunday's games, with some upsets included.

Milwaukee 97 @ Miami 103
Houston 111 @ OKC 112
Golden State 99 @ Lakers 102

Kings/Grizzlies---You might not have known, as I did not, when you protest a game in the NBA, it will cost you $10,000. That is what the Kings will have to give up as per their protest last week of their last second loss to Memphis.

Sacramento is saying time should have run out, before Courtney Lee got off his last second shot which started with 0.3 seconds. For all the old time NBA fans like myself, it brings back the day when there were plenty of poor timers at the table, who often really, almost cheated in favor of the home team. Nowadays, with all the technology, it is harder to be wrong.

Like most protests in sports, this will probably go nowhere.

email Gregory at gregcrawfordbasketball@gmail.com

more Gregory's blogs:

http://crawfordsgolfdaily.blogspot.com (which features solely golf and sports business)

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Greg Crawford On Basketball, For November 15th, 2014

By Gregory Crawford---TV, Print and Radio Basketball Analyst--- on twitter @wchoops @crawssportsbiz @kcsportsmgmt

Pac-12--- A few years past, everyone was laughing at Pac-12 men's basketball. That laughing in many quarters, has now turned to smiles.

Now, certainly one day does not even come close to a season, but the opening day for the Pac-12 teams  was terrific, with all but one team being in action, it was almost a clean sweep of wins, with the only team to get beat, the Washington State Cougars.

It was really impressive to see wins by Oregon and Oregon State. At one time in the Oregon victory over Coppin State, the Ducks went on a 35-1 run, almost unheard of at any level of basketball. For the Beavers, they came back big from a horrendous defeat to D-2 Western Oregon one week past, by defeating Rice by 13 points.

As it has been the past couple of years, the Pac-12 will be a good league to watch this year.

Recruiting----With the signing period for 2015 in full swing for college basketball, the Pac-12 also has something else to smile about.

Of course usually paper is only good to write on, but on paper, the Pac-12 by most rankings had 5 teams in the top 25 of best recruiting classes for 2015. Ironically, the Oregon State Beavers who had possibly their best recruiting class ever, were ranked in the fifth position of Pac-12 teams, behind in order,  Arizona, Washington, UCLA and USC.

It is important as we all know to keep in mind, the games are not played by recruiting rankings, they still are played on the floor.

Portland Metro--- Good night of college basketball in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. Lewis Clark College is hosting their annual Bon Appetit Tipoff Classic, with games at 5:00 and 7:00. with Linfield/Evergreen playing at 5:00 and Lewis Clark/Centinary in the nightcap. The teams will play again on Sunday night, same times, but switch opponents.

Across town at Multnomah University, the always exciting offense of the Lions will host the NWAC Sports defending men's champion, Portland Community College at 7:00.

Scores--- With some squeakers, I moved my record of predicting NBA scores to 9-6 this past week. So here goes my typical 3 games for Saturday night play.

Brooklyn 105 @ Portland 109
San Antonio 98 @ Sacramento 105
Charlotte 110 @ Golden State 130

email Gregory at gregcrawfordbasketball@gmail.com
more Gregory's blogs http://crawfordsgolfdaily.blogspot.com

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Greg Crawford On Basketball, For November 13th, 2014

By Gregory Crawford---TV, Print and Radio Basketball Analyst---on twitter @wchoops @crawssportsbiz @kcsportsmgmt

Northwest Conference----One of the great basketball leagues in the country on any level is the Northwest Conference, which has nine teams that are located in the state of Oregon and Washington.

As of late, the Whitworth Pirates have dominated the league, in a fashion that has not been seen since the days of the Ted Wilson coached Linfield Wildcats in the late 60s and 70s.

This 2014-15 season, Whitworth will be looking for its 6th consecutive regular season championship and 9th straight NWC tournament championship. Now coaching the Eastern Washington Eagles, Jim Hayford got this all started and his replacement, Matt Logie has not missed a beat as he starts his 5th year at the helm of the Pirates.

But wait, sometimes all great things come to an end. This is my pre-season power rankings for the NWC, of course which will updated throughout the year as we bring back the now world famous NWC/Cascade Collegiate Conference power rankings. For today, here is my,  without playing a regular season game power rankings for the NWC.

1. Lewis and Clark
2. Whitworth
3. Whitman
4. Pacific
5. Puget Sound
6. George Fox
7. Linfield
8. Pacific Lutheran
9. Willamette

Enjoy and per usual there will be the Crawford adjustments during the season. Tomorrow, I give you my Cascade Collegiate Conference pre-season power rankings.

Scores----I got off to a fast start with my NBA score predictions, but lately that has slowed and I stand at the season, 7-5. So here we go with Thursday night, which is a light schedule.

Sacramento 106 @ Memphis 107
Brooklyn 110 @ Golden State 129
Chicago 88 @ Toronto 90

email Gregory at gregcrawfordbasketball.blogspot.com
more Gregory's blogs---- http://crawfordsgolfdaily.blogspot.com

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Greg Crawford On Basketball, For November 9th, 2014

By Gregory Crawford--- TV, Radio and Print Basketball Analyst---on twitter @wchoops @crawssportsbiz @kcsportsmgmt

Oregon State--- If Oregon State fans are going ugly wild over losing to the Washington State Cougars in football on Saturday, I have a little news for them.

It was even worse for the Beavers, losing in men's basketball on Friday night to D-2 Western Oregon. Now I love basketball, I love the "little guys" in basketball, as my history dictates, but never should a D-1 Pac-12 team, lose to a D-2 team, that is predicted to finish fourth in their conference, the GNAC.

Yes, I was one of the first people to jump onto the bandwagon over the hiring of Wayne Tinkle as the Beavers' new basketball coach and in no way am I jumping off the bandwagon. As a matter of fact, Tinkle is a much bigger winner as a college coach, than the beloved Beaver football coach Mike Riley. Tinkle will get it done at Oregon State and will get them into the NCAA tournament very soon, something Beaver fans have not seen since 1990.

In the meantime, no matter how much you have to rebuild, if you are Oregon State, you just can't lose to Western Oregon, under any circumstances. Even though it is billed as an exhibition game, it is one of the worst losses in the storied history of Oregon State basketball.

It will get better Beaver basketball fans, but if you are upset with the football, you need to be equally upset with this loss in basketball and not even equally, you have to downright distraught.

email Gregory at gregcrawfordbasketball.blogspot.com

Crawford's Sports Biz 59 Seconds, For November 9th, 2014

By Gregory Crawford--- COO of Kiyokawa Crawford Sports Management--- on twitter @crawssportsbiz @wchoops @kcsportsmgmt

For first time ever, Wal-Mart will dedicate several feet of floor space for college-themed merchandise and apparel starting November 17th.

Over 270 colleges/universities will have their apparel and merchandise in 2,700 Wal-Mart stores during the holiday season. Annually, the business of college apparel and merchandise tops $3 billion. Can we help you find the school you root for?

email Gregory at crawfordssportsbiz@gmail.com

more Gregory's blogs: http://gregcrawfordbasketball.blogspot.com

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Greg Crawford On Basketball, For November 8th, 2014

By Gregory Crawford---- TV, Print and Radio Basketball Analyst--- on twtter @wchoops @crawssportsbiz @kcsportsmgmt

Sacramento Kings--- It it time, perhaps it is overtime. Sometimes things are slow to change and of course there is still plenty of resistance from people all over, that the fact the Sacramento Kings might just have turned the corner in the NBA and have become a solid team.

Going into Saturday, the Kings have lost once in 6 games, with some impressive road wins, including last night's double overtime win at Phoenix. Of course you must also look at the home win against Portland, a team that is playing some of the best basketball in the NBA.

It would be fun and nice to see a good team in Sacramento, a team that has some of the most loyal basketball fans in the entire NBA.

Scores---- Once again it is time to pick some scores for tonight in the NBA. Being a non-bettor, this is always fun and I look forward to your picks in the comment section.

I am 5-4 on the season, need a big day today hopefully. So in saying that, I am going with some upsets.

Portland 101 @ Clippers 98
Golden State 113 @ Rockets 109
Memphis 88 @ Bucks 89

There you go, never afraid to go out on limb, with 3 upsets.

College BB---- It is a huge day of college basketball in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. In keeping with tradition, here are few score predictions of games locally.

New Hope 113 @ Multnomah 120   Tipoff 2:00 PST free food with all paid admissions

Linfield 71 @ Portland State 119     7:30 tip free food with all paid admissions

Concordia-Irivine 89 @ Portland 101 7:00 tip and free admission for everyone attending

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Greg Crawford On Basketball, For November 2nd, 2014

By Gregory Crawford----TV, Radio and Print Basketball Analyst---- on twitter @wchoops @kcsportsmgmt @crawssportsbiz

Scores---- It is always fun to predict scores, I have always enjoyed doing it and even better, I do not bet on anything, just a fun thing to do and so far this year, I am 5-1 on my NBA scores. So here goes 3 games for Sunday.

Charlotte 97 @ New York 94
Sacramento 103 @ Clippers 117
Golden State 132 @ Portland 134

Concordia----Congrats to Brad Barbarick and his Concordia Cavaliers on winning their season opener over British Columbia, 62-61. Next up for Concordia, will be a Wednesday night game against Curt Bickley's Multnomah Lions, at home, 7:30 tip time. Coach Bickley and Barbarick will be on the Portland Metro Small College Hoops Show tonight, 9:30 PST. To listen, http://tobtr.com/s/6974637.

Clackamas CC----Congrats to all the people at Clackamas CC who work so hard to put on a great show for their annual jamboree. Yesterday was the 21st year for this event, well done with 10 teams and we will discuss it tonight with head men's coach Clif Wegner on the Portland Metro Small College Hoops Show, at 9:30 PST.

email Greg Crawford at gregcrawfordbasketball@gmail.com

more Greg Crawford blogs:
http://crawfordsgolfdaily.blogspot.com