Editor's Choice: Joe's 13 Favorite Stories of 2013

Joe Flacco and Eli Manning went from pretty good, to elite, to average, to crappy over the course of 2013. What a year...

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

What a year 2013 was.

From a blacked out Super Bowl, to a another NBA title in Miami, to tragedy, controversy and titles in Boston, 2013 will certainly be remembered as a memorable one in the sports world.

It was a pretty fun one for us at SuiteSports as well, as we brought on legendary sportscaster Bob Lobel and saw our traffic explode and grow more than 10 times over. Our resolution is to keep bringing you entertaining, usually silly, and occasionally informative content for at least one more year.

So thanks for reading us in 2013, and feel free to click through my favorite 13 stories below from a year I will never forget.

Taking You to School Podcast: Summer League Stars and Offseason Moves

Join SuiteSport's Jeremy Conlin and Joe Parello, along with their buddy Kels Dayton of RoundballDaily.com, as they discuss the biggest hoops stories of the day.

This week, the three tackle the biggest moves of the NBA offseason and the potential stars of the NBA's Summer League. Also, how will former Butler coach Brad Stevens adjust to life in the NBA as the Celtics' front man? Plus, the obligatory LeBron-MJ comparison and more on this week's edition of "Taking You to School."

Listen to internet radio with RF Sports Radio on BlogTalkRadio

LeBron vs Kobe vs MJ: What Do the Numbers Say?

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

Who doesn't love a good weekend argument!

Here are the numbers, as best I could sort them, for LeBron, Kobe and MJ in their first 10 years in the league. Why did I pick 10 years? Because LBJ just finished his 10th season, and everyone seems very intent on placing him historically far before he's done playing. When looking at this it's important to remember that both LeBron and Kobe came straight out of high school into the association, but also that LeBron spent seven of these years in Cleveland (Two of those years on teams where Mo Williams was his No. 2), Kobe played second fiddle to Shaq for his first 8 years in the league, and MJ missed nearly all of the 85-86 season with an injury.

Remember, numbers mean nothing in a vacuum!

I feel like we debate this literally every week on our basketball podcast, so I wanted to lay the numbers out for everyone before we, inevitably, debate it again Sunday.

Whether you're a LeBron fan, an MJ fan or a Kobe fan, you have to agree that numbers mean something, and even if you're one of those "RINGS" people, I've included championships and finals appearances, along with other individual awards as well. I'm not a total stat nerd/I didn't feel like wasting 8 hours on this, so I didn't get each player's per 36 minutes statistics/efficiency numbers, but I've broken everything down to per game, which is about as far as I'm willing to go in this argument that I don't really care about.

A couple quick notes. Under the "Hall of Fame/Future Hall of Fame Teammates" I didn't count any players that were far past their prime and not playing at a Hall of Fame level. That means Ray Allen and Shaq don't count for LeBron, and Karl Malone and Gary Payton don't count for Kobe.

It should also be noted that since MJ spent a year and a half playing baseball/training to battle the Monstars and save the Looney Tunes, his 10th season didn't come until he was 31. Unfortunately, our buddy Dennis Rodman didn't join the Bulls until 1995-95... MJ's 11th season in the NBA.

So, after looking at the numbers and achievements, who ya got?

Taking You to School Podcast: Game 5 and the Heat vs History

Join Suite Sports' Joe Parello and Jeremy Conlin for their weekly podcast with Roundball Daily's Kels Dayton. This week, the three discuss game five of the NBA Finals, and tackle the debates of Jordan vs LeBron and Kobe vs D-Wade.

Also, what to make of Doc Rivers, KG and Paul Pierce all possibly joining the Clippers.

Listen to internet radio with Real Fans Sports Radio on BlogTalkRadio

Young NBA Players are "Stupid," and Other Insights from Dennis Rodman

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

Dennis Rodman is one of the most underrated players in NBA history, and man, is the guy a character.

I mean, seriously, he made the interview I did with controversial slugger Jose Canseco last year look tame. Neither ended well, as Canseco gave me the stink-eye for asking about Roger Clemens and steroids, and "The Worm" hung up on Bob Lobel and I after Bob asked him to discuss his role in the famous Larry Bird interception of Isiah Thomas during the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals.

By the way, I was less than six-months old when that happened, so hearing these guys argue about it was pretty amusing.

"He's one of the most underrated players, but one of the most overrated interviews," Lobel said after Rodman hung up.

Catching Up with Bob Lobel: Special Guest Dennis Rodman

This week's episode of "Catching Up with Bob Lobel" featured an interview with one of the most polarizing figures in American sports history, Dennis Rodman.

In the interview, Rodman talks about the San Antonio Spurs "having the nerve to trade my ass," and argues with Lobel about Larry Bird's famed interception of Isiah Thomas. He also says he would take Jordan over LeBron and Scottie Pippen over Dwyane Wade… But reminds us that it doesn't matter because they're all black.

Oh yeah, and he touches on how bad Larry Bird would be if he played today.

This one gets crazy, so I think you need to listen in below for all the other ridiculous things he said.

 

Listen to internet radio with Real Fans Sports Radio on BlogTalkRadio

Suite Sports Exclusive: Lobel to Interview Dennis Rodman

To say Bob Lobel has interviewed some big names would be an understatement.

After all, the man hosted one of the most memorable sports hours of all-time when Larry Bird, Ted Williams and Bobby Orr all joined him for an episode of WBZ's Sports Final in 1992.

Now, Lobel and Suite Sport's Joe Parello will get the chance to speak with one of the most unique personalities in American sports history, Dennis Rodman.

Whether you know him as the greatest rebounder and enforcer in NBA history, the man who wore a wedding dress to promote his best-selling autobiography, the retired player who traveled to North Korea for "basketball diplomacy," or the celebrity that appeared on multiple reality shows and wrestled with Hulk Hogan, you can't deny that Rodman has captivated America for the better part two decades.

A five-time NBA champion with the "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons and Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls, Rodman will lend his insights to the upcoming NBA Finals, and whatever else "The Worm" feels like talking about. All this, and more Bruins talk, on this week's edition of "Catching Up with Bob Lobel," Thursday at noon.

Grab your popcorn folks.

Studs and Duds: Chuck Norris and Tebow Jokes Return

Tim Tebow got the Walker Texas Ranger Bump this week.

By Jeremy Conlin and Joe Parello

Studs and Duds is a weekly feature on Suite Sports. Who had a good week? Who had a bad week?

Studs

LeBron James

I had a realization last weekend, but really it was something I'd always known. My nephew Michael and I were talking hoops and football, and the subject turned to how LeBron James was just an absurd force of nature. I then said that he was the best athlete on the planet. There were people bigger, people stronger, people that could jump higher and people faster, but nobody had the combination of those attributes like LeBron.

The Best Video Game Athletes Ever

No dude, you can't use Ken Griffey Jr. in Ken Griffey Jr's game!

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

With the NCAA men's basketball Final Four in the books, ESPN is set to unveil the Final Four of its annual Madden NFL Cover Vote tomorrow. It's the 25th Anniversary of EA Sports' fantastic football franchise, so this year's cover voting features not only the brightest stars of today, but 32 "old-school" players fans can vote for as well (One from each team).

As of now, Joe Montana faces Barry Sanders in one Elite 8 matchup, while Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders go head-to-head in the other. If you're wondering, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is taking on Arian Foster in a "new school" semifinal, and Robert Griffin III is battling Adrian Peterson in the other.

Obviously, all deserving players, and each of them (Except for Wilson, who wasn't even a starter in last year's game) have been a dominant force in Madden. But who are the greatest video game athletes of all time? Not just in Madden, and not just in football games, but in the history of virtual sports? Well, I am here to tell you my favorites. And no, there is no Bo Jackson or any other Tecmo Bowl players. That game came out when I was 10 months old.

So heck, let's start with the best-selling sports game franchise of all time, branded by a man that also did ads for (BOOM!) tough actin' Tinactin

Football

Michael Vick: Madden 2004