Warwickshire Clinch Chanderpaul Coup

Warwickshire have signed Shivnarine Chanderpaul as their overseas player for the remaineder of the 2011 season. The West Indies batsman will arrive with the county in mid-July to replace Mohammad Yousuf who had figured in the Jim Troughton-captained side earlier this year.

Chanderpaul has played county cricket in England before, having enjoyed spells with Durham and most notably Lancashire.

But the acquisition of the 36-year-old is viewed as major coup for the Edgbaston-based outfit.

“It is universally acknowledged that Shiv is a class act and has proved his worth time after time at the highest level,

NBA – Chicago Bulls beat Boston Celtics to clinch the Eastern Conference Title

Ok, let’s be fair to the Boston Celtics and perhaps for the sake of precision lets just say that the Boston Celtics still have a mathematical probability of winning the Conference Title and holding on to the No.1 seed in the East for the NBA Playoffs. But on the other hand we must also say that the Celtics gasping the No.1 seed is as improbable as it is for the Bulls to lose all of its pending games.

For starters, the soon to be named the league’s MVP, the talented and spectacular Derrick Rose outplayed no other then one of the NBA’s finest point guards: Rajon Rondo. As if that was not enough, Rose, with 30 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists almost, single handedly outscored the Boston Celtics Big three: Kevin Garnet, 10 points, 10 rebounds; Paul Pierce, 15 points, 4 rebounds; Ray Allen 7 points and 6 rebounds.

So this better be a wake-up call for the Boston Celtics if they are really hoping to emulate their National Championship in 2008. Sure, they made it to the finals last year, but considering all the rebuilding and insane investments that the teams in the Easter Conference have made, it is certainly going to be a bit more of a challenge to play the Bulls, the Miami Heat, the Orlando Magic and the Knicks for a spot in the NBA Finals.

The guys from Chicago were playing with much more cohesion and style, there is really no doubt about it: the Bulls deserved the win. Boston was not at its best, and the Bulls made sure they showed everyone watching the game the Celtics many flaws. Chicago outscored the Celtics 44-22 in the paint, outrebounded them 44-35 and held Boston to 38.4 percent shooting. And that’s not the Celtics that we expect to see on a daily basis. That’s not the team that held the Miami Heat to a 3-0 record and which on Sunday could very well sweep the season with a 4-0.

Because there is simple one big issue: Derrick Rose has been certainly a prominent force in this new era for the Bulls. Because let’s face it, we haven’t seen the Bulls play like they have since, well, since Scottie Pippen and Micheal Jordan were working their way into becoming NBA Legends.

Rose was a one-man highlight reel against Rajon Rondo, beating him with his crossover and getting to the rim. His performance in the first half was just outstanding. Rose scored 16 points in the first two quarters as the Bulls build a 48-43 lead. Luol Deng scored 23 points, and Carlos Boozer added 14 points and 12 rebounds.

The bottom line: Rose outplayed Rondo and that just was not good news for Boston. Twice, Rose completely lost Rondo with hard crossovers. In the second quarter, Rose duped Rondo by stepping back and left, fainting to shoot, then crossing back to his right and flying pass three Celtics Players for the layup. It was a beautiful play that simply made Rondo and the Celtics look a bit too soft, too weak, and not quite ready yet for the Playoffs.

NFL – New England Patriots clinch Playoffs Berth

It seems as if the New England Patriots are having a brilliant season.  There is no doubt about that. The Patriots have an 11-2 record so far into the season and the team’s smooth but powerful snow-plowing of the Chicago Bears, 36-7, at Soldier Field Stadium under heavy snow, might be the motivational boost the squad needs to finish the regular season on a high-note.

The Patriots have now won 5 consecutive games, including some important victories over powerful teams that have really proved that Bill Belichick’s team chances of making it to the Super Bowl XLV in the Cowboys Stadium on February 6, are legit. The last 5 weeks the Patriots have defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Indianapolis Colts, the Detroit Lions, and gave the New York Jets a 45-3 crushing that was quite a warning call for the Jets.

And then came the Chicago Bears. It was snowing, windy, and simply it looked like a cold-hell for players and Chicago fans alike, as the Patriots just kept on attacking and breaking through the Bear’s offense. Just for the record, under Belichick’s guidance, the New England Patriots are 10-0 in snowy conditions. So it seems that the bears got cold.

What’s the key to the Patriots success? Well, for starters, Tom Brady is throwing like a real champ, he is fine tuning all his passes and making it very hard for the opposing team defense to pick him up. Then, there is the brilliant mix of players that Bilicheck has brought into the team. Sure, Randy Moss has been gone since early in the season, and some even question Brady’s commitment when he missed part of the preseason traning camp, but heck, the Pats got a very young defense and a extremely experienced offense, a mix that could certainly pay off at the end.

Now, the Patriots will have to face a very complicated game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. The Packers are not experiencing their finest season ever, but still, although favorites, and possibly the strongest team in the league, the Pats should avoid an upset at all costs.