James Quizon

The cliché is to throw away all the numbers during a Game Seven of any series in sports. We’re hard-headed here in IBT, so we’re throwing that suggestion away and still take a good hard look at the stats the past six games in the best-of-seven series among the PBA’s best teams in the Governors’ Cup, the San Mig Coffee Mixers and the Petron Blaze Boosters.

After the Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard fiasco— both number one picks in the NBA Draft and both left via free agency on not-so-good terms—the Magic is hell-bent in getting that top pick again. The NBA lottery will ultimately decide Orlando’s position in the 2014 NBA Draft but the franchise has done enough (or not enough) to get maximum ping pong balls at the end of the season.

After back-to-back wins, things are looking up for the Carolina Panthers while the same cannot be said of the same to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which are one of only two teams left in the NFL still in search of their first victory of the 2013 NFL regular season.

All NBA owners have approved the return to the old NBA Finals format or the 2-2-1-1-1, replacing the current 2-3-2 format which has been used since 1985. The announcement was made on Wednesday by NBA Commissioner David Stern and Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver via nba.com. The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the change to the format of The Finals effective with the 2013-14 season.

The Charlotte Bobcats have a combined total of 28 wins the past two seasons. They recorded a laughable 7-59 win-loss card in the shortened lockout season of 2011-12 and had improved three-fold, though still not very good, to 21-61 the following 2012-13 NBA season. But if last season’s “slight” improvement was a sign, then the Bobcats are moving in the right direction. The moves they did in this offseason just about confirms that they are done “tanking” this season and beyond.

If Brandon Rios throws the same volume of punches like he spit curses in interviews, then Manny Pacquiao might be in trouble come Nov 24, 2013, at Cotai Arena in The Venetian Macao in Macau for the “Clash in Cotai” boxing match for the vacant WBO International welterweight championship.

The perfect Pelicans are taking on the defending champs on Wednesday night in a preseason game at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Derrick Rose is back being Derrick Rose. At least in the preseason games where he has led the Chicago Bulls to a perfect 6-0 win-loss record. Rose and the Bulls visited Oklahoma City on Tuesday and took on the Thunder, which are still missing the services of their own star point guard in Russell Westbrook.

Victor Oladipo was picked 2nd overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2013 NBA Draft. This early in his NBA career, he's already showing flashes of brilliance after having played six preseason games. On Tuesday evening, Oladipo and the Magic visited the San Antonio Spurs, which are still finalising some roster spots although their core players have been established already even before preseason began.

In the annual survey from nba.com that queried all 30 GMs of the pro league, the Heat superstar garnered 89.7 per cent of the votes as the player whom GMs will sign “if they were starting a franchise today.” Sixty-nine per cent also agreed that James will win his fifth NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) trophy in the 2013-2014 season.

In the annual survey from nba.com that queried all 30 GMs of the pro league, 75.9 per cent said that the Heat will achieve the rare NBA three-peat, which has only been accomplished by three other franchises in the history of the league.

What’s life without Josh Smith for the Atlanta Hawks? The bad news is that they have not won a single game in five outings so far; the good news is it’s just the preseason. On Tuesday, they face the Indiana Pacers which are also not looking good—record-wise— exactly a week before the 2013-2014 NBA regular season begins.

Toronto Raptors forward Tyler Hansbrough is known as “Psycho T”. Not anymore, after he folded in front of the real-crazy Metta World Peace, forward of the New York Knicks in preseason game at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The Chicago Bears have lost three of their last four games. But the worst part is probably about to come as the Bears will miss Jay Cutler for the next four to six weeks because the starting quarterback tore a muscle in his groin during their game vs. the Washington Redskins last Sunday.

Kobe Bryant missed the Lakers’ last practice because of treatment on his torn left Achilles tendon and head coach Mike D’ Antoni said that “he has no idea” when will the Lakers star re-join team practices.

It’s an early Texas tiff in the NBA when rivals Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets face each other in a preseason game on Monday night.

The Phoenix Suns had one of the worst records in the NBA in the 2012-2013 season. How bad? They were the worst team in the Western Conference with just 25 wins and fourth-worst in the entire league. For their efforts, they were rewarded the fifth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft where they nabbed 7-foot-1 center from Maryland Alex Len.

Two struggling teams hesitantly go under the Monday Night Football spotlight but both are raring to go at each other and finally start something positive in the 2013 NFL regular season.

Peyton Manning faces the Indianapolis Colts for the first time and the connection will not be lost when his present team, the Denver Broncos try to keep their perfect record this season against the franchise he led for 13 years from 1998 to 2010.

Two proud franchises, the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers are struggling at this point of the season. A win over their rivals will probably erase some of the disappointment and re-ignite their campaign this season.

After a bad stretch to begin the season, it looks like the San Francisco 49ers are back in contender mode after stirring wins the past few games. They’ll be facing a Tennessee Titans team that is starting to struggle after what was a good start this year.

Through six weeks into the 2013 regular season, the Kansas City Chiefs are one of two undefeated teams in the league. The last four haven’t been pretty for the Houston Texans. These teams meet Sunday afternoon in a match-up between one of the hottest teams in the league and one of the struggling teams in the league.

Both the Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions are surprise division leaders at this point of the season. The teams meet Sunday afternoon with both teams looking to prove the early success is not a fluke.

NFC rivals Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles take the field Sunday afternoon and both will be missing key starters in a crucial tiff with the division lead at stake.

The Indianapolis Colts are on a three-game winning streak and look to continue their run when they visit the San Diego Chargers, who have yet to find their consistency this 2013 NFL regular season.

After years in the doldrums, it looks like the Cleveland Cavaliers are finally going back to playoff contention. Along with offseason acquisitions via free agency and the draft, the return of Brazilian forward-center Anderson Varejao to full health will most likely boost the Cavs’ chances in the 2013-14 season.

Early in the 2013 offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers have been projected by many as the worst NBA team in the upcoming 2012-2013 NBA season. The unabashed, almost shameful offseason has seen the following transactions for the once-proud franchise. Philadelphia supporters/haters call it tanking, the Sixers front office call it “starting over”:

The New Orleans Saints vs. New England Patriots game on Sunday is guaranteed to be one of the NFL’s best match-up of the week, which will show off not just a battle of two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, but also of two of the best and highest paid coaches in the NFL today.

It will be an ambitious Week 6 for the Oakland Raiders when they face long-time AFC rivals Kansas City Chiefs at the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Boasting a 5-0 record this season, the Chiefs have been a surprise success after bringing over new coach Andy Reid, who has spent 14 years with the Philadelphia Eagles. Merely in his first season, Reid was able to transform the franchise from a bottom-feeder to an actual playoff contender.