My 2013-2014 NBA Bold Predictions

Basketball! That's right, the NBA is finally back with the Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers tipping off the season at 7 p.m. EST Tuesday night.

Also with them on Opening Night, the Chicago Bulls face-off against the defending NBA champions, the Miami Heat, from the American Airlines Arena at 8 p.m. EST, followed by the LA Clippers and Lakers at 10:30 p.m. EST.

The last time we saw basketball, the Heat were celebrating their second straight championship, winning the NBA Finals in seven games over the San Antonio Spurs.

Over the summer, we saw Chris Paul stay with the Clippers; Dwight Howard picked the Houston Rockets over the Lakers; and the Brooklyn Nets got a lot older, and became more of a championship threat when they added Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in a trade with the Boston Celtics, who are now fighting for one of the top picks in next summer's draft.

Now to this season: We could be watching the Lakers' worst season in a long time with one of their weakest rosters in a while. The Heat will be going for a three-peat. And, of course, the one, Derrick Rose is back in action for the Bulls.

Here are my bold predictions:

NBA Finals Champion: Indiana Pacers

This isn't a real life thought. This is a bold prediction. And I'm predicting that the very young and talented Pacers club with hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy next June.

Paul George, Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert are on the rise as the next big-three, and they're good enough to lead Indiana to where it hopes to go. With David West at the power forward, and CJ Watson as a backup on the bench, this team has all the tools necessary to compete and win.

They came as close as anyone to prevailing over the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, and I think they have a great chance to finally get over them this year.

NBA MVP: Derrick Rose

He is the one, and he is back. Rose will play in his first NBA game since tearing his ACL in the 2012 playoffs. He missed the entire 2012-2013 season, and now he's finally back, and Bulls fans everywhere have a reason to be confident in their team this season -- they're getting back their best player.

Rose was one of the league's best players when he went down, and it affected the Bulls' chances at the title last season.  Even with the Pacers, I've always thought that the team with the best chances to take down the Heat would be the Bulls with a healthy Rose.

I expect him to come back at the top of his game this season, and prove that he is the most valuable player to his team, and throughout the NBA.

Biggest Surprise In The Playoffs: Detroit Pistons

Yeah, I know. It's been a while since the Pistons last made the playoffs, and I think that this could be the year they get back into the top eight of the Eastern Conference. Detroit is a much better team than they were last season.

They acquired the sharp shooting guard Brandon Jennings over the summer, and though he'll be out for a couple of weeks with a foot injury, I expect him to come back and be a big part of the team's offense.

The starting lineup is expected to include the talented Brandon Knight, Rodney Stuckey and Tayshaun Prince. I don't think the Pistons will finish anywhere higher than 6th, and will most likely be making a first round exit from the playoffs.

Don't be fooled by the past, because the Pistons and here in the present, and they're ready to play.

Who Misses The Playoffs: Los Angeles Lakers

That's right, I said it. The Lakers will miss the playoffs this season, and I'm sure a lot of people will agree with me on that statement.

Kobe Bryant will be out until at least December while he recovers from a torn achilles. This roster is terrible, and I can't see any way, even with Kobe, they make the playoffs.

The Western Conference is very strong right now with teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Clippers and Spurs. The Lakers aren't going to have too much success against the top teams in the West.

They're going to have a ton of money to spend next summer with players like LeBron and Carmelo Anthony on the market, and LA thinks they might be able to land some big talent, but until then, they're going to suffer in '13-'14. Get mad, Kobe.

Western Conference Champion: Los Angeles Clippers

I've already mentioned it before, and I'll say it again: The Western Conference is very tough, and it's going to take a lot to get through it in the playoffs. I think the Clippers have more then enough to get through to the Finals for the first time in franchise history, and they're going to be a serious title threat.

The Clippers were able to bring back Chris Paul, who is easily their best player. Him and Blake Griffin create a great show on the floor. And with DeAndre Jordan, too, Lob City will thrive once again this season.

Bringing in Doc Rivers to coach the team was a great move. Not trading for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett from Boston was an even better move. This relatively young team didn't need to get older, then need to get better.

They've got a good pair of shooters in J.J. Reddick and Jamal Crawford, who give the Clippers more reliable threat from outside.

The Thunder won't be at full strength until Russell Westbrook comes back from a torn ACL, and I just don't believe that the Warriors are there quite yet -- give them time, though, that team has a lot of talent.

Overall Prediction: This will be another good season.

There are so many storylines that we'll be watching this NBA season, and we likely won't get answers to most of them until the season has played itself out.

For now, though, I don't want to worry about what the answers are going to be. I'd rather just enjoy the ride. And you should, too. Happy New Year, NBA fans.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter, and give him your NBA bold predictions.

MLS To Orlando Is Something That Can Only Be Beneficial

When you think of Orlando, Florida, you probably think of Disney -- one of the largest tourist destinations in the United States. The Orlando Magic might also come to mind -- and NBA franchise that's celebrating it's 25th year in the league.

Now you can add one more thing to your list: Major League Soccer.

Last Tuesday, Orlando and  the Orange County Commissioner's Office agreed to help fund a new $84 million downtown multipurpose stadium, which pretty much did all but seal the deal to bring the MLS to Orlando -- hopefully by the 2015 season.

With the move, Florida will be getting it's first MLS franchise since the league shutdown two teams, the Tampa Bay Mutiny and the Miami Fusion in the early-2000's. Orlando City Soccer will be the only MLS team in the southeast, and is sure to draw a large following.

"That was an entirely different era," MLS President Mark Abbott said of the failed Florida franchises. "That was over a decade ago. Both the country and the league have changed significantly over that time."

This is a move that Florida soccer fans have been asking for, and it's what they're finally going to get.

Orlando is a city that has a passion for the sports they have, and soccer is one of the sports that they are willing to show up for.

When Orlando City hosted USL Pro Championship game at the Citrus Bowl in September, more than 20,000 people showed up to support the Lions to their second USL championship in three years since beginning play in Orlando.

"When they drew 21,000 fans for the USL Pro Championship game, that really woke up not just us in the MLS, but it really woke up the world of soccer," said MLS spokesman Dan Courtemanche.

Orlando City already has a loyal fan base, and Lions President Phil Rawlins is hoping that the team can build on that, and turn the club into something more then just another MLS franchise.

"Our goal is to build a truly global soccer brand. I believe in less than 10 years we will be counted as one of the more significant brands in the world of soccer, not just in the U.S.," Rawlins said. "That's because we have this opportunity of 57 million visitors annually to Orlando."

And Orlando has an advantage over most team because of the tourism that their city attracts. Millions upon millions of people come to Orlando each year, and maybe a good handful of them will go see a game. Maybe they buy a shirt, scarf or jersey while they're at the game. They go back to their homestate, or country and advertise the team worldwide.

So not only is the team benefiting from the worldwide attraction, but the city will benefit from a little more traffic coming for the games.

Orlando City has a deal in-place with the MLS to guarantee the MLS All-Star Game coming to Orlando within the first five years of the new stadium opening -- there's a heavy load of incoming soccer fans.

The new stadium will also host about five US Men's international matches, bringing in a great deal of US supporters.

And coming up in November, the US Women's National Team with take on the Brazilian National Team at the Citrus Bowl -- there's your load of international traffic.

Soccer is undoubtably the world's most popular sport, and it's growing wildly in the US. In a 2011 Poll by ESPN, results showed that soccer is actually the second most popular sport in the US, behind only football, in the age 12-24 demographic.

Sometimes you can look at the decisions people make and say, "Gosh, that was a dumb idea." But in this case, approving the deal for a new soccer stadium to help bring the MLS to Orlando was one of the smartest moves any government has made in a long time.

We are the purple and red. MLS, here we come.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.

One Game In, The Rangers Still Have Work To Do

New coach, clean slate, same results. Thursday night in Phoenix, Arizona, the New York Rangers opened up their season to see it play out the same way it ended in the spring when the Rangers lost to the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Semis – a sloppy loss.

The Rangers, who went 1-5 in the preseason, found themselves playing like it was just another exhibition game, showing off a lot of sloppy play on both ends of the ice, and not many positives to take way in the 4-1 loss to the Coyotes.

“We just made too many mistakes regarding the way we have to play, no matter who’s the coach, that has nothing to do with it,” Brad Richards said after the game. “We want to play a certain way, and we're going to have to work on it if we want to get there.

“We're in the regular season now. There are no excuses.”

With Alain Vigneault behind the bench instead of John Tortorella, who is now in Vancouver, the Rangers didn't show me anything that says they'll be able to have their way for the rest of this grueling eight-game road trip to start the season while Madison Square Garden in under renovation.

Throughout the night, everything just seemed off, and it didn't look like the team was in sync on either side of the floor.

Phoenix scored early in the first period on a bonehead play by superstar goaltender Henrik Lundqvist when he tried to clear the puck from behind the net, but instead slipped right over to a Coyotes player to setup a one-timer for Kyle Chipchura. The power plays -- which even though it was 1-for-4 on the night -- seemed to be the only thing creating actual scoring chances for the Blueshirts.

Anytime they actually got a good chance to put the puck in the back of the net, Phoenix’s goalie, Mike Smith, was locked in, snagging any loose puck that came his way. Even with Lundqvist on the other side, he was still the night’s best man in goal.

“You have to give credit where credit is due,” Vigneault said, who was making his coaching debut with the Rangers. “Their goaltender handles the puck very well but we’re party responsible, too, because we have to put the puck in the corners, which we weren't that efficient at doing.”

When New York wasn't a man up, they weren't setting up good chances, and passes weren't as crisp as you would like to see. And on defense, Phoenix looked like they should have had a few more goals than they did given their chances early in the game.

“I think we have to figure out when is the right time to be aggressive in our own end,” said veteran defenseman Marc Staal. “There were shifts when I thought we were good at it, but there were other times when we were tired and couldn't get the puck back.

“We're going to have to learn from this.”

The Rangers will have until Monday to prepare for their next opponent, the Los Angeles Kings, get start up the heavy portion of this road trip that include four-games in six nights, with Los Angeles, San Jose, Anaheim and St. Louis all on the docket.

They had six games in the preseason to get things right, but it still spilt over into the regular season. There are still 81 games left in this quest for the cup, but the Rangers have a lot of work to do if they even want to be a part of the quest.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.