Rasheed Wallace proclaimed his team would win tonight's against against the Cleveland Cavaliers.  His prediction was no suprise, it is something he has done many times before, and had always been right.  Tonight, however, his prediction did not come to pass. 

With Rasheed on the bench for the final five minutes of the game, it was up to his teammates to back his strong words.  This time they were unable to prove Wallace right and, despite poor shooting, Lebron once again took over the game in the fourth quarter.  With their second straight victory at home, the Cavaliers were able to protect their home court and tie the series at two apiece. 

The shooting by King James in the second half Monday night was subpar, yet he still led his team to victory.  He has the ability to lead his team through solid offense and defense, and even when his shooting may be off, he still finds a way to lead his team to victory.  At just 21 years of age, what Lebron is doing is simply amazing.  Since arriving in Cleveland he has changed the face of the franchise from a notorious loser, to one of the most exciting team in basketball. 

With all the hype surrounding Rasheed Wallace and his guaruntee, King James simply took over the game and thwarted any thoughts of a Detroit victory.  It may not have been pretty, but it got the job done.  In his first trip to the NBA postseason in his career, Lebron James has already learned how to close playoff games for his team.  It is only a matter of time before he and the Cavaliers win NBA championships.    

Like the NIKE commercial says...we are all witnesses. 

When the Redskins hired Al Saunders this past offseason, Gibbs handed over the offense, and comparisons were made between him and Bobby Bowden. 

Bowden has been known for years as a coach who is more of a grandfather figure.  He is the wise old man who steps in when necessary, but for the most part he let's his highly acclaimed assistant coaches do the majority of the work.  This is due in large part to his age, he is old but doesn't want to retire. 

Now at first it may seem like Gibbs is the same as Bowden, a man who only steps in when needed, but it is not the case at all.  While he may stand silent on the practice fields for portions of the day, and spend less time coaching one individual side of the ball, he knows everything that is going on at all times.  Gibbs runs the team and is in total control of every player and coach on the team.  He has the final say in everything that takes place each day. 

Bowden may the have the utmost authority, but he does not have the control Gibbs has.  Gibbs knows he can spend less time focusing on coaching because he has such great assistant coaches.  This allows him to spend his sleepless nights focused on other things, rather than the playcalling.  When all is said and done, Joe Gibbs will be the reason this team fails or succeeds.  Bowden is the most important influence on the Seminoles, but he is not in total control.  Mickey Andrews and Jeff Bowden are in total control of their respective sides of the ball. 

So while it may seem as though they are similar in the way they lead their respective teams, in reality they are nothing alike.  But that's O.K., because they are both successful in their own way. 

Jon Leiber pitched 6 2/3 innings of perfect baseball before Adam Dunn broke it up with a seeing-eye single up the middle.

Entering the game Lieber had an ERA of 6.60 and the Reds had been scoring runs in bunches and destroying pitchers with much better ERA's.  So when Jon Leiber pitched almost seven innings of perfect baseball, it was suprising to say the least.  Leiber's pitches were dominant, but to pitch a perfect game is near impossible, and against the Reds, it is impossible.   

The Reds were shutout and the Phillies went on to win 2-0, dropping the Reds to 23-14.  With Griffey and Felipe Lopez on base in the bottom of the ninth, Adam Dunn was struck out by closer Tom Gordon to end the game.  A much different ending this game compared to a recent game, when Griffey hit a walk off home run in the bottom of the 11th in his first game back from the DL. 

The Phillies continue to win games and have run their record to 21-15.  The Philles have been riding the bats of young stars Utley and Howard,  and closer Flash Gordon has been shutting down the ninth inning.  They are now just two games behind the Mets for first place in the East.  With today's loss the Reds will fall a half game behind St. Louis for first place in the Central. 

While most people are unfamiliar with Charlie Casserly and only know him as the general manager who passed over Reggie Bush, his story of NFL success is a good one, and gives hope to many. 

His resignation today, as stated by John Clayton, had nothing to do with drafting Mario Williams.  Apparently it was something that had been brewing for a while and all along he had planned to leave after the draft.  The guys of NFL live described him as a good "soldier" for the Texans.  Now he is looking to obtain a job working for the NFL front office in New York.  Not to bad for a guy that started off as an intern working under George Allen of the Redskins.   

Although I completely disagree with his choice to draft Williams over Reggie Bush (it could go down as one of the worst draft blunders in history) anyone who can work his way up from intern to general manager of two seperate teams, is someone I look up too.  With the dream of cracking into the world of sports any way that I possibly can, I have always thought about Casserly and how he made it. 

One day maybe I will be in Charlie Casserly's shoes.  Although if I am, I will be sure to draft Reggie Bush. 

The way the Phoenix Suns play basketball is the way most people play basketball on video games.  After watching them continuosly rain in three pointer's and dunks on the Lakers all series long, I have broken down their offense. 

Nash runs down the court like a mad man all over the place until someone is open for a dunk or a three.  He then gets the ball to that person no matter what defender may be guarding him and the player who receives the ball (doesn't matter who) automatically scores from wherever they are.  Unless of course Nash himself is open, in which case he scores the basket from wherever he is. 

If that is not a video game offense I don't know what is.  Other stats are similar as well, such as low rebounding numbers, extremely high field goal percentages and three point percentages.  And just like in video games, where most players destroy the computer opponent, the Phoenix Suns are winning ball games, and have become impossible to stop. 

I guess the best way to describe the video game offense is "exciting."  The Phoenix Suns have become very successful at playing exciting fast paced basketball.  Every one wishes their favorite team could do that, but only the Suns truly can.  I am not a Suns fan, but I have to respect what they are doing.

Having fun and winning games, every basketball players dream.