1. Bulls - Michael Beasley
6-10 PF, Kansas State

2. Heat -  Derrick Rose
6-3 PG, Memphis

3. Wolves - Danilo Gallinari
6-9 SF, Italy

4. Sonics - Jerryd Bayless
6-3 PG, Arizona

5. Memphis - Brook Lopez
7-0 C, Stanford

6. Knicks - O.J. Mayo
6-4 SG, USC

7. Clippers - Eric Gordon
6-4 SG, Indiana

8. Bucks - Anthony Randolph
6-11 PF, LSU

9. Bobcats - Roy Hibbert
7-2 C, Georgetown

10. Nets - D.J. Augustin
6-0 PG, Texas

11. Pacers - Brandon Rush
6-7 SG, Kansas

12. Kings - Kevin Love
6-10 PF, UCLA

13. Portland -  Darrell Arthur
6-10 PF, Kansas

14. Warriors - Chris Douglas-Roberts
6-6 SG, Memphis

Well, Cleveland put up a good fight but they fell short. So my Eastern Conference Finals prediction of Cavs v.s Magic are in the toilet.

I am now faced with the dilema of rooting for the Hornets' big three (who are on my fantasy team) against the Spurs, who I predicted to make the Western Conference Finals.

So maybe I'll switch to baseball prognosticating.

Okay here it goes.

The Milwaukee Brewers will NOT win the World Series.

That's all for now.

The mouth that roared, and roared and roared....

Could the man in the above photo actually become the Governor of Alabama one day?

In today's world, anything is possible, but I'd have to say it's not likely. Just as it's not likely that Barkley will ever be an NBA GM one day, even though he stated matter of factly that he "is going to be an NBA GM" on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption last week.

To many people in the sporting community, Barkley is like a big, lovable, talking teddy bear, who fans and players alike revered for his candidness and on air personality as a broadcaster.

Truth be told, Barkley is a teddy bear that has spit on a little girl at a basketball game (albeit he wasn't aiming at her), broke a man's nose in one fist fight after an away game and threw another man through a plate glass window on another occasion, (Sounds a little more like Chewbacca than the Snuggles Bear to me).

For years Barkley has gotten free pass to speak freely on many sensitive topics of a social and racial nature that many other black sports personalities get blasted for in the media. Jason Whitlock of FOX Sports and Detroit Piston Rasheed Wallace are examples of black sports personalities that have felt the backlash of being openly vocal about racial issues, a dynamic that apparently has no affect on Barkley's relationship with fans or his bosses.

Sir Charles has called Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson race baiters, said that athletes should not be role models for children and also told USA Today that the reason that black people cannot be successful is because of other black people. While there are many who would agree with his assertions, it is still a wonder that in today's 'politically correct' media, the future Hall-of-Fame player remains unchecked.

Now, Barkley's gambling addiction has been thrust front and center for the world to see and the picture that has been painted is not a pretty one.

According to Bloomberg News reports, Wynn Resorts Ltd., which owns a casino in Las Vegas is suing the 'Round Mound of Rebound' for $400,000. Money which the casino reports to have loaned Barkley last October.

When asked why he hadn't paid back the money, Barkley said simply, "I let the time lapse...I forgot." Like the comedian Chris Rock once said. "You don't ever forget where you got some free money."

I do not dislike Charles Barkley, but I don't have any special affinity for him as a commentator nor as a representative of the black perspective in sports. Part of the reason that it seems to get away with being on the controversial side of many topics is because he has always been quick to dismiss the pulse of much of black America, choosing a position that often comes off as elitist.

Even in in his response to the gambling debt he is facing in Nevada now, "I'm not broke..." Barkley added. The problem is many Americans are broke, or close to it anyway. In Alabama, where Barkley wants to be Governor someday, over a million people are living below the poverty level and over 65% of those people are black citizens.

Barkley is taking some heat for his recent gambling revelations, but he continues to push forward as if he's wearing a teflon suit. While the majority of blacks in Alabama are living paycheck to paycheck, he acknowledges that he has lost over $10 million in his lifetime, once over $1 million in a single day.

Yet Barkley continues to brush any character defects off of his shoulders with callous disregard to both the example he might be setting for the next generation of aspiring sports stars concerning fiscal responsibility as well as the judgement capabilities, or lack therof that you think he would need to exhibit for any constituency he may plan on pandering for votes in the future.

One of Barkley's most memorable assertions in his career was that athletes should not be role models. If we are to take Barkley's actions into as much consideration as his words, then he is dead on in that assessment.

If his track record is anything to gauge his performance by, they shouldn't be Governors either.

As my beloved New York Knicks are preparing for yet another afternoon in ping-pong land next month. I find myself continuously researching all sorts of draft analysis and watching You-Tube clips trying to figure out who might land in Gotham next season.

USC 'one-and-doner' O.J. Mayo, predicted to be a top three pick, is a likely candidate for the Knickerbockers and we could certainly use an athlete with his skill-set to help turn our franchise around.

There, that's it, there should be no other talk about Mayo other than where he might play next season and whether or not he'd fit in with his new teammates and/or new coaching staff.

Instead I have to endure all of this incessant dribble about Mayo accepting payments from a sports promoter who in turn works for the agent who now represents Mayo in his professional endeavors. My response to the allegations: so what?!

I am a former Division I scholarship athlete. In fact, I was an All-American at the University of Nebraska, in track & field. Do you know who paid for my athletic scholarship, Head Coach Tom Osbourne, or more appropriately QB Steve Taylor, Linebacker Broderick Thomas, Defensive End Neil Smith, etc...etc...etc.

Since I left Nebraska, there have been several wonderful additions to the campus in the form of student activity centers, new dorms and too may things for me to list here. Guess who paid for it? It sure as hell wasn't the math department.

There will more than enough pieces written that will argue the validity of paying Div-I athletes salaries (a concept that not only am I in favor of, but I think would actually help collegiate athletics), so I won't waste my time trying shout louder than everyone else on the page. What is true, however is that as long as schools have television contracts, bowl payouts and shoe company endorsements then athletes will get paid under the table. As long as coaches are biting their nails wondering whether or not that 20 win season is enough to allow them to keep their multi-million dollar salaries, then athletes will get paid under the table.

In fact, as long as universities continue to rely on the revenue earned by it's athletic teams to pay for teacher's salaries and school improvements because state and federal funding continue to dry up at an alarming rate, athletes will get paid under the table.

When I first thought about how to approach this topic, the first thing I did was do some research on the percentage of collegiate athletes who make it to the professional level, the cost of a college degree, you know, statistical stuff.

Then it hit me, there really is no story here!

A few years back, in fact last year, we were stil dealing with the fallout of the USC scandal involving Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush. So now, in May of 2008, how many New Orleans Saints fans have even the slightest concern for what money Bush may or may not have taken while in college? You see, nobody cares.

The top three picks in the upcoming NBA draft will most likely be, Derrick Rose (Memphis), Michael Beasley (K-State) and Mayo (USC). Please tell me the names of the last three heart surgeons, public accountants or rocket scientists that has gone on to world acclaim from these institutions.

USC, like most other big time athletic schools is a professional athlete factory, that's what they do. Trust me the top three picks in the NFL draft, MLB's draft and any other draft you can think of were paid long before they signed their name on any dotted line to play professionally.

Now everyone wants Mayo and Coach Tim Floyd's head on a platter; why?

If that's the case then every student who has had the fortune of having their tution paid for by revenue earned by the basketball and football teams should have their achievements revoked as well, ditto for professors, janitors, alumni car dealerships and real estate agencies who parade their affiliation with the athletic department to potential clients like badges of honor should all be forced to forfeit any and all achivements accomplished while the athletes in question were...err..on the payroll?

In fact wasn't Snoop Dogg spotted at some USC games and Will Ferrell as well. Let's recoup some of the royalties from their albums and movies respectively for associating with Bush and Mayo as well.

Let's go further than that, any student who decided to atttend USC knowing full well that the university's primary contribution to pop culture is the number of professional athletes and filmakers that it sends out into the world every year, should be put on academic probation for not having the good sense to attend Harvard or MIT.

All supermarkets who sold meat to tailgaters, all beer, hot dog and popcorn companies who had the audacity to provide food and drink to the tens of thousands of evil fans who dared attend these disgraceful athletic competitions should be imprisoned.

In fact Congress needs to open an inquiry into how many television households were tuned in to any games that Bush and Mayo played in and if it's found out that you were watching these scourges of society you should be forced to suffer ten lashes at the hands of NCAA head honcho Miles Brandt.

O.J. Mayo took money, so will the next kid, and the next kid, and the next kid and so on and so on and so on... you get the picture. If you don't like it, then stop watching collegiate sports. In fact if it wasn't about the money, you wouldn't be able to watch collegiate sports because networks wouldn't fork over 75 million dollar contracts to teams like Notre Dame. American Express wouldn't be paying  Duke's basketball coach millions of dollars to hawk a credit card.

The bottom line is that athletes will get money under the table, until...it no longer has to come from under the table.

Now, can we please start next season. I'm dying to see whether or not Pete Carroll and USC can make another run at the national championship because THAT would be newsworthy.

Miami sends Dwayne Wade and Shawn Marion to the Chicago Bulls for, Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Dwight Gooden, Chris Duhon and Sasha Thebolosha and a second round draft pick.

Each team will keep it's lottery picks, regardless of the order determined on Draft Day.

Deng and Gordon have to be signed and then traded to ensure that all salries match.

Bulls starting five next season:                    

PG Hinrich                                                        

SG Wade                                                          

SF Marion                                                         

PF Thomas                                                       

C   Noah     

Heat starting five next season

PG  Gordon/ Rose*

SG  Davis/ Cook

SF  Deng

PF Haslem/ Beasley*

C   Blount

                                                         

* Assuming the Heat land one of the top two draft picks. The Heat should land in the top five which would expand this player pool to Bayless, Lopex and Mayo.

This trade allows Wade to go home to play in Chicago and still gives the Heat something to sell their fans on after trashing their Finals roster.

The Bulls field a much better team than last season and should compete for the Eastern crown.

The Heat become a playoff team again and depending on how the ping pong balls fall may contend themselves.

The Bulls still have Nocioni, Hughes and Gray on their bench as well as this year's lottery pick.

The Heat still have Duhon, Thebolosha, J. Williams, Gooden, Banks and Quinn on their roster.

This trade makes both teams relevant again and helps Miami avoid the debacle that is certain to come when Wade starts grumbling about the Heat's roster and inability to contend as he pulls a Kobe and tries to talk his way out of South Beach.