Leap Day!!

            Leap Day is a day that happens every four years, making these so-called years 'leap years'. These leap years also happen to be fall on election years (they fall on years that are divisible by four), so there's a little fun fact for you. Speaking of fun facts, here's a list of athletes born on Leap Day, courtesy of leapyearday.com!!

• Masten Gregory, former American F1 driver (born in 1932)
• Gavin Stevens, former Australian cricket player (born in 1932)
• Alwin Schokemohle, 1976 German Olympic gold medalist (born in 1936)
• Henri "Pocket Rocket" Richard, former Montreal Canadian player (born in 1936)
• Billy Turner, thoroughbred trainer who trained "Seattle Slew" (born in 1940)
• John Niland, former NFL guard for the Dallas Cowboys (born in 1944)
• Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes goalie (born in 1984)
• Adam Sinclair, Indian hockey player (born in 1984)
• Cullen Jones, Olympic medalist competition swimmer (born in 1984)
• Scott Golbourne, English footballer (born in 1988)
• Taylor Twellman, American soccer player for mainly the New England Revolution (born in 1980)
• Simon Gagne, NHL hockey player for mainly the Philadelphia Flyers (born in 1980)
• Darren Ambrose, English footballer (born in 1984)
• Terrence Long, former left-handed MLB player (born in 1976)
• Bryan Gillooly, Olympic diver (born in 1976)
• Mark Farraway, CFL football player (born in 1972)
• Chris Devine, Olympic diver (born in 1972)
• Fabien Bownes, former Chicago Bears wide receiver (born in 1972)
• Cyrus Beasley, Olympic rower (born in 1972)
• Bryce Paup, former NFL linebacker for the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills (born in 1972)
• Pete Fenson , American curler (born in 1968)
• Cary Conklin, former NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers (born in 1968)
• Chucky Brown, former NBA forward for the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks, (born in 1968)
• Henrik Sundstrom, Swedish tennis player (born in 1964)
• Lyndon Byers, Canadian hockey player (born in 1964)
• Dan Daoust, former NHL center for the Toronto Maple Leafs (born in 1960)
• Raul Gonzalez, Mexican world record holder/50K speed walker (born in 1952)
• Rasia Smetanina, Three-time Soviet Olympic-gold medalist/cross-country skier (born in 1952)
• Nikolai and Yuri Pimenov, USSR Olympic-silver medalist/coxless pair rowers (born in 1948)

            A little Leap Day fun fact for you: Gordie Howe scored his 800th NHL goal on February 29th, 1980.

Alley OOP!!!

             Here's to the alley-oop, one of basketball's most exciting and spontaneous moments. One player lobs the ball to an airborne teammate that finishes the job. A work of art, indeed. Here's a tribute to some of the best alley-oops in basketball and one of the bigger fails in the history of the alley-oop.

Kitties!!!

            Today's a day for kitty GIFs and pictures. So enjoy your dosage of adorable kittens today, internet!

Looking at the Potential NBA Trade Targets

            The NBA trade deadline is Thursday and there are moves already being made. The Detroit Pistons just acquired Tobias Harris from the Orlando Magic. Harris is a player who's still on a rookie contract and can score some while pulling some rebounds down. Pistons fans already love the trade... at least on paper. Anyways, here are some players that could be on the move and what they could bring to the table.

Dwight Howard: The Houston Rockets are shopping their center around, hoping for a first-round pick in exchange. It seems like a team would be giving up a fairly decent pick for a player who has no post moves. Not only that, but Dwight's an absolute diva on and off the court. He also has a pretty notorious history of being injured, which should raise some red flags for teams looking to acquire Howard.
Blake Griffin: After an altercation involving Blake punching the assistant equipment manager, the rumors surrounding Griffin being traded have grown. However, Doc Rivers shot down those rumors recently, stating that Griffin "wasn't going anywhere." The Nuggets already rejected a trade for Griffin, so it definitely looks like he's staying in Los Angeles. Like Howard, Griffin has some character issues. However, he isn't too much of a locker room cancer and has scored 23.3 PPG this season.
Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague, and Al Horford: Surprisingly, the Atlanta Hawks are the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. So it would seem interesting that the Hawks are looking into giving up these players. However, rumors are swirling that teams like the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks are pursuing these players. Atlanta hasn't won anything with their group, so maybe it's time to break and shake things up?
Kevin Love: There seems to be trouble with "The Big Three" in Cleveland this year. Kyrie Irving has been out for a good chunk of the season and Kevin Love's scoring is below his career average (15.7 PPG this season compared to 18.4 PPG in his lifetime). Love can still pull down rebounds, so maybe he'll go to where there's less spotlight than what he has with LeBron right now.

Best Slam Dunk Contest Moments

            The All-Star Game festivities are going on right now and tomorrow's the All-Star Game. However, you all probably watch these festivities just for the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. So here's to some of the best moments in the history of the Slam Dunk Contest.

NFL Match-Ups to Watch For Next Season

            Now that another NFL season is in the books, most NFL fans will feel the drag of the void felt without football. However, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't look forward to next year's biggest games. Now I've left out division games with the exception of the Rams' home opener in L.A. mainly because divisional games are always good games to watch. Here are a few match-ups that you should watch for next season (The NFL schedules don't come out until April).

Carolina vs. Denver: It's the rematch from Super Bowl 50 as Cam Newton looks to redeem himself after Carolina's embarrassing loss. However, there's a good chance Peyton Manning won't be opposing him at quarterback. Still, this could be the Thursday Night game that kicks off the regular season. Speaking of Super Bowl rematches...
Seattle vs. New England: The Seahawks are looking for some revenge of their own after their stunning loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl 49. Both of these teams hate one another, which will add more hype to this match-up. This could be a Sunday Night Football match-up.
The Los Angeles Rams Home Opener: Now that the L.A. Rams are home, Hollywood football fans are giddy to see their original football team play again. Some teams that will make good opponents for the home opener include Arizona, Carolina, and Seattle.
The Last Home Game(s) for San Diego and Oakland: Could this be the last hurrah(s) for either San Diego and/or Oakland in their respective markets? With relocation rumors swirling around these franchises, it could be the final time that Raiders and Chargers fans will get to see their teams play before they possibly relocate.
Detroit vs. Dallas: A year after a controversial non-penalty eliminated the Lions from the playoffs, Detroit looks to get redemption in JerryWorld. However, they could be without star receiver Calvin Johnson as he contemplates retiring.
Dallas vs. Pittsburgh: If you're a fan of two historic franchises duking it out, this game is for you. These two teams have faced off three times in the Super Bowl with Pittsburgh holding a 2-1 edge. However, Dallas leads the all-time series 16-15.

Super Bowl 50 Prediction

            It's that time of year again. The time where the biggest game in the NFL rolls around. The time where the big ratings for the TV station roll around. The time where everyone consumes lots of food. It's the time where playing squares and massive amounts of betting are common. It's also the time where there won't be any football for around seven months (Unless you're interested in preseason football or arena football). However, don't let that get you down as we embrace this big day in the NFL.
            The Super Bowl matchup is between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos, two teams from different conferences that surprisingly have many similarities. Both have household names at quarterback. Both have head coaches that are at their first Super Bowls as head coaches. Both teams should be recognized for more than just their quarterbacks.
             This game will feature two of the NFL's best defenses on display. Carolina led the NFL this season in give/take ratio at +20 while also grabbing the most interceptions during the season (24). As for Denver, don't think that they're going to just keel over and die because Peyton Manning is on his last legs. If it wasn't for Denver's NFL-best defense allowing 4,530 yards and terrorizing opposing quarterbacks (See Tom Brady in the AFC Championship game), then Peyton and company would've been at least out of the divisional round. The Denver secondary also yields 199.6 passing yards a game, tops in the NFL.
             Now this game will come down to who's able to crack through the opposing defense first. Carolina will run the ball in heavy doses, be it by NFL MVP Cam Newton or in the trenches. They also run the ball very well; they're second in the NFL in total rushing yards with 2,282 total rushing yards. If Denver can neutralize Cam Newton today, especially with DeMarcus Ware disrupting Carolina's offense, then Peyton should get another ring (Barring that Peyton has a bad game). Otherwise, this is Carolina's Super Bowl. However, I predict this game won't as unanimous of a choice for a winner as everyone is saying.

Prediction: Carolina 21, Denver 16

Internet Randomness: 95-96 Bulls Edition

            Welcome to another segment of "Internet Randomness!" This time, we take a look at some of the running jokes involving the 95-96 Chicago Bulls. With the Golden State Warriors going on a historic run this season, the emergence of certain jokes has taken over the internet. It has become quite popular amongst the internet community. Check them out!!





But did the Bulls win..?

But can Team SoloMid beat the 95-96 Chicago Bulls?

But could they make sandwiches for the 95-96 Bulls?

But can he apologize to the 95-96 Bulls?

Impressive! But could they do this against the 95-96 Bulls?

But could Monmouth's bench beat the '95-'96 Bulls bench?

But can he sink 20 3-pointer in a row on the 95-96 bulls?

But could these puppies beat the 95-96 Bulls puppies?

But would the 95-96 Bulls be ready for the Blind Side questions coming for them at the Super Bowl?

So the 95-96 cowboys were on par with the 95-96 bulls is what ESPN is saying

But are the 95-96 Bulls ahead of the 95-96 Bulls pace for best record in NBA history?

But could she beat the 95'-96' Bulls in a quick 64-minute dispatch?

But could the 95-96 Bulls beat the 95-96 bulls???

But could he have done it against the 2012-2013 Grizzlies?

But could they score 9 points in under 30 seconds against the 95-96 bulls

but would he punch the 95, 96 Bulls?

But would Couture last more than one round with the 95-96 Bulls?

On the Playlist

            Here's another edition of "On the Playlist," where I give you an inside look at what's on my playlist! Check it out!