Eli Manning has the stomach bug. So does Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James. Big deal.
January 20th 2012 09:22
So the reports out of the New York Giants camp are Eli Manning went home from practice the other day with an upset stomach. Poor guy but he isn't the only high profile athlete suffering from a bout of winter colds and bugs.
Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James have been battling flu symptoms this entire week but have been able to compete and play at a high level. LeBron James' 31 point effort Thursday night against the Los Angeles certainly didn't look like he was troubled by a fever, an aching body, or a sore throat. He poured in 33 against San Antonio two days ago and is again in the running for another MVP award this season.
Dirk Nowitzki is not only playing with a flu bug, but also weak knees which he says he hopes to regain strength in by building his base back up. Interesting to note in the NBA where it doesn't always look like the pros are elevating on their shots because they are so freakishly tall, Nowitzki readily admits to needing his legs to elevate on his shot. The future Hall of Famer has been off to a slow start but that is really to be expected after he poured his heart and soul into last season's championship run and the lack of a training camp. Remember despite the time off, the Mavericks lost two major role players in DeShawn Stevenson and Tyson Chandler. Adding guys like Vince Carter, Lamar Odom, and getting Rodrigue Beaubois back from his native Guadeloupe (a French region in the Caribbean) and a foot injury made it necessary for the defending champions to have an off season camp to gel.
That was not the case this season and early on you can see Dallas is still feeling their way around each other to see exactly what they have for this season. After two gut wrenching losses in Los Angeles to both the Lakers and Clippers this week, they righted the ship by beating the common misnomer that NBA teams always struggle on back-to-backs.
Not the case here even going into the tough Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah as Dallas pulled out a big win Thursday night. LeBron James did the same, taking his challenge to Kobe Bryant once again as Miami routed Los Angeles for most of the game with a little home cooking.
Eli Manning could use some of Mama Manning's chicken soup perhaps, but I think his competitive juices will be fine come Saturday. In football, it is considered very difficult to beat a team twice in one season. It's more than possible of course, but not only do you have the motivation angle for the team that lost, but they can also go back and make certain adjustments that cost them the last game.
Then again, if you are the 49ers why fix something that isn't broken. You've bean the Giants once at home this season already. No reason it can't be done again so they have that mental edge going for them. Not eye popping to see the spread hovering around a field goal favoring the Niners. Curious to see what the conditions will be on the field ( I am a Bay Area native) but I don't expect it to phase either team too much. The Giants just got done playing in freezing Wisconsin and the 49ers proved they can win in any scenario on the road or at home this season.
Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James have been battling flu symptoms this entire week but have been able to compete and play at a high level. LeBron James' 31 point effort Thursday night against the Los Angeles certainly didn't look like he was troubled by a fever, an aching body, or a sore throat. He poured in 33 against San Antonio two days ago and is again in the running for another MVP award this season.
Dirk Nowitzki is not only playing with a flu bug, but also weak knees which he says he hopes to regain strength in by building his base back up. Interesting to note in the NBA where it doesn't always look like the pros are elevating on their shots because they are so freakishly tall, Nowitzki readily admits to needing his legs to elevate on his shot. The future Hall of Famer has been off to a slow start but that is really to be expected after he poured his heart and soul into last season's championship run and the lack of a training camp. Remember despite the time off, the Mavericks lost two major role players in DeShawn Stevenson and Tyson Chandler. Adding guys like Vince Carter, Lamar Odom, and getting Rodrigue Beaubois back from his native Guadeloupe (a French region in the Caribbean) and a foot injury made it necessary for the defending champions to have an off season camp to gel.
That was not the case this season and early on you can see Dallas is still feeling their way around each other to see exactly what they have for this season. After two gut wrenching losses in Los Angeles to both the Lakers and Clippers this week, they righted the ship by beating the common misnomer that NBA teams always struggle on back-to-backs.
Not the case here even going into the tough Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah as Dallas pulled out a big win Thursday night. LeBron James did the same, taking his challenge to Kobe Bryant once again as Miami routed Los Angeles for most of the game with a little home cooking.
Eli Manning could use some of Mama Manning's chicken soup perhaps, but I think his competitive juices will be fine come Saturday. In football, it is considered very difficult to beat a team twice in one season. It's more than possible of course, but not only do you have the motivation angle for the team that lost, but they can also go back and make certain adjustments that cost them the last game.
Then again, if you are the 49ers why fix something that isn't broken. You've bean the Giants once at home this season already. No reason it can't be done again so they have that mental edge going for them. Not eye popping to see the spread hovering around a field goal favoring the Niners. Curious to see what the conditions will be on the field ( I am a Bay Area native) but I don't expect it to phase either team too much. The Giants just got done playing in freezing Wisconsin and the 49ers proved they can win in any scenario on the road or at home this season.
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