Nigeria: Tribute to a Nigerian legend - Stephen Okechukwu Keshi.

As I woke up on the morning of 8th of June, 2016, I decided to look-up some news on the internet which is my daily routine only for me to be greeted with the news of the demise of a former Nigerian international and Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, it was shocking as well as saddening. This news was later re-affirmed as I tuned my radio to my darling station 88.9 brila fm some few minutes later.

I wasn't having the football cognizance I have now compared to around 1994 when the Nigerian National team put their name on the world map in their first ever appearance at the World Cup to have known Steven Keshi well enough but then, he was the captain of the team that won the African nations cup and was already been fondly called the "Big Boss" among his teammates.

As a manager, he came true during his spells with Togo and Nigeria though wasn't successful with the Mali National team. For the first time in Togo's history, they qualified for their first ever World Cup under his guidance before a well-publicized spat between him and Emmmanuel Adebayor resulted in his sack by the Togolese Football Federation.

For Nigeria, he guided her to their third continental title after 19 years. Under his tutelage, players from the local league like Sunday Mba, Azubuike Eguweke and Ejike Uzoenyi impressed with the National team. He built belief and determination into a group of first timers and quotidian players that jolted them into lifting the African Nations cup trophy in 2013.

In the words of Godfrey Oboabona, after Nigeria defeated continental heavyweights and favorites Ivory Coast in the quarter final of the 2013 African Nations cup en route to lifting the trophy, he said Stephen Keshi told him to believe in himself. "He said Didier Drogba does not have two heads or four legs and if I play to my best. I could do it. That's what I did."

He is the most successful coach in the continent of Africa after winning the Nations cup title both as a player and as a coach while also being the only African coach to lead a team into the second round of the World Cup.

Our dearest country has lost a true gem and son of the soil.

Adios Stephen Okechukwu Keshi.

NBA: The Golden State Warriors 2015 - 2016 Season: Proving skeptics wrong.

Right from the commencement of the 2015 - 2016 season, it has been all about proving skeptics wrong for the Golden State Warriors, from the LA Clippers claiming the Warriors had an easier route to the title, to the Cavs insinuating that they would have won the title had Kyrie Irving & Kevin Love being healthy, to the Warriors going 24-0 from the start of the season, to surpassing the record wins of 72 games in a season held by 1995's Chicago Bulls lead by Micheal Jordan, to coming back from 3-1 deficit to defeat Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals and now closing out the NBA Finals without All-Star Draymond Green.

 First, feelers from the LA Clippers organization was that they should be the team with all the glory of winning the 2015 NBA title had it not been for some monumental collapse after going 3-1 up against Houston Rockets in the Western Conference semifinal last postseason because they had done all the hard work of eliminating the Spurs who were the defending champions. Well, for a second, I share their sentiment but let me quickly remind this organization that life doesn't lay anything on the plate for anybody, you just have to earn it.

The Warriors got all the fire they needed to begin the season by responding to their critics from LA in an emphatic fashion, going 24-0 from the start of the season (if to say I be LA Clippers I for don go hide my head inside rabbit hole in shame after going 14-8 within the same period).

Then came the next, they couldn't break the record set by the Micheal Jordan led Chicago Bulls for the most number of wins during the regular season which was 72 games. Well, there just seems to be some fire ignited in this Warriors team when naysayers come calling (I think I must adopt this philosophy in my dear life). Even when the odds were starked against them as the season drew to an end with having to play against San Antonio Spurs twice with the second on the back end of back-to-back games in the space of seven days, they just mustered all the courage they could get and did defeat the Spurs twice to eventually match and break the record set by the Chicago Bulls with 73-games won in the season.

Next was Oklahoma City Thunder, they were boisterous after decimating Spurs 4-2 in the semifinals to quickly race to a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals. Mehn, I no go lie, I thought the Warriors were dead and buried but wrong I was. They overcame great odds to beat the Thunder 4-3 and became the 10th team in history to come from 3-1 down to win a series. That just tells you the stuff this team is made up of.

Then, the Cavs had the finals they always wanted- a rematch with the Warriors albeit with a healthy roster as to compare with last season when Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were absent owing to injury. But here we are, the Warriors are on the brink of their second successive title.

Somehow, king James can't just go quietly. He decides to make a fuss out of the clash he had with Draymond Green in Game 4 by going public with the fact that the League knows what to do as per Green hitting his groin area. In some quarters, it's been said that King James used his influence as one of the games great to get the League to suspend Green. I think this franchise has done enough to make me conclude that Cleveland Cavaliers may have preferred having Draymond Green on the team than seeking to get him suspended for Game 5 of the Finals. This act from Lebron James will only fire up this team to quickly end this series. This team doesn't believe in being overly dependent on one guy, their mantra is "Strength in Numbers". Remember how they took care of Houston Rockets in the absence of Stephen Curry in the first round of the playoffs?

I just hope that king James will not feel bad at the end of day after they must have lost and he decides to leave his beloved city in search of his third NBA title.

The Warriors just provide the perfect way of responding to skeptics, Turn deaf ears and do exactly what they say you can't do.

English Premiership: Reason for Tottenham's failure by Mauricio Pochettino.

Just think of it as a man who the whole world is against. They keep throwing tantrums  at him like "you fool, you'll never succeed!, bastard! What good are you to this World?, stupid!, foolish!". Just imagine a man that keeps on repeatedly hearing such kind of words. I think that's the simplest way of explaining what Pochettino means.

The whole of England except for Tottenham fans wanted Leciester City to win the title majorly because they were a small club having a Cinderella like season. Even notable players were vocal of their support for Leciester City and their wishes that Tottenham failed. Eden Hazard & Cesc Fabregas were the major culprits in this. They never hid their disgust at the sight of Tottenham having a chance, it was no wonder that both players were instrumental in the comeback of Chelsea FC from 2-goals down to eventually tie the game at 2-2 with Hazard scoring the final goal at Stamford bridge. This was the match that surely ended Tottenham's hope of a title. From there, it went worse for Tottenham, the youngest team in the whole of the Premiership couldn't handle the pressure and eventually capitulated, losing their final two games and finishing third behind their arch-rivals Arsenal.

Speaking to Canal+, Pochettino believes that "everyone" favored a Leciester City title win over a Tottenham one , and that it was "an extra stress" to the players.

"I believe we're brave and took risks." Pochettino said. A team is a reflection is a reflection of its coaching staff, that's something I learnt from Bielsa.

"We're the youngest team in the Premier League. Playing well isn't easy but we failed; failed in the key moments to become Champions."

"I have to admit it (public opinion) was an extra stress. Everyone was against us. The team in second was the one to beat."

So tell me, if it were you, could you handle such pressure or "extra stress" in Pochettino's words?